Joe Girardi still wishes he was managing the Yankees

Former Yankees manager Joe Girardi spoke to reporters about his old team’s success and his own future on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 (5/8/18), the same day New York opened a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium and MLB announced the Red Sox and Yankees will play a pair of games in London in 2019.

NEW YORK — At least Joe Girardi is honest.

Girardi said he’d love to still be coaching the Yankees and that he’s pulling for them to keep winning, which they did, 3-2, over the Red Sox on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees have won 16 of 17 games and they tied the Red Sox atop the American League East.

Earlier in the day, Girardi, the 53-year-old who managed the Yankees 10 seasons, attended BTIG Charity Day in Manhattan.

Takeaways from Yankees’ win over Sox

Here’s what he said, via NJ Advance Media’s Darryl Slater (questions have been abbreviated for clarity):

What’s it like watching baseball now? 

I really don’t get a chance to watch a lot, because my life is busy. When you’ve been gone a lot, 10 out of the last 11 years, I’m very involved with my wife and the kids. I really don’t get a chance to sit down and watch a lot of games. Kids have a way of taking you away from the TV.

Weird to be away from managing?

Obviously, it’s different, when you’ve done something 11 out of the last 12 years. Your schedule is much different, but that’s all part of life. And I’m making the most out of this time at home.

Did you get interest in managerial openings?

By the time I was let go, most of the positions were filled. We’ll wait to see what happens. As I’ve said, I would like to do it [manage] again, but we’ll see what happens.

On the Yankees’ current success …

They’ve been hot. Obviously, when you win that many games, most things are going right. The lineup is as deep of a lineup as the Yankees have had in a long time, with so much power. So they’re going to score runs.

Wouldn’t you love to manage this group? 

I said it last year, at the beginning: Who wouldn’t want to manage this team? It’s a really good team and it’s young, and it’s very enjoyable to be around. But that’s not the reality of what’s going on [since Girardi was let go], and I’m OK with that.

Are you pulling for the Yankees now?

You develop relationships, so yeah, you pull for people. I want to see the guys do well. When you’re not part of a team and you’re not there on an everyday basis, your rooting interest is different. But yeah, I pull for them. These guys were a big part of my life the last 10 years.

Do you wish you had done anything differently with Yankees?

No. I did what I thought was best at the time and gave them everything I had. And they went in a different direction.

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