When the Yankees filmed an advertisement for a web development company this summer, it humorously played off Manager Joe Girardi’s image as a square, fatherly figure puzzled by the priorities of his younger players.
As it turned out, art was not imitating life — it was forecasting it.
Girardi’s inability to communicate well with an increasingly young clubhouse was the primary factor that led to his dismissal, General Manager Brian Cashman said Monday.
Cashman, speaking for the first time since Girardi’s departure from the team nearly two weeks ago, praised him in a nearly hourlong conference call with reporters. He described Girardi, whose contract expired after this season, as an exceptional manager with a tireless work ethic who served the Yankees well on and off the field during his decade in charge.
But with the Yankees having successfully transitioned over the last year and a half from a team laden with veterans to one with an abundance of emerging stars — right fielder Aaron Judge, catcher Gary Sanchez, first baseman Greg Bird, shortstop Didi Gregorius and pitcher Luis Severino — Cashman said it was time for a new voice.
The main area of concern was “the ability…
