Yankees Protect Mattingly?

Joe Girardi officially became the manager of the New York Yankees today. He beat out Tony Pena and Don Mattingly for the job, though in all honesty Pena never really had a chance. He never played for the Yankees during his 18 year Major League career. Sure, he was a coach with the Yankees, but it really seemed like they wanted to keep in the family.

With Pena out of the way, it was down to Girardi and Mattingly. Brian Cashman gave all the typical answers in the press conference today - Girardi played for championship Yankees teams, he has leadership ability, and, perhaps most importantly, he has Major League managerial experience. Could there be another reason for hiring Girardi over Donny Baseball?

I know the Yankees are all about winning, but indulge me here. Mattingly is one of the most beloved Yankees of all time--just search for Don Mattingly Tribute and see how many sites come up. Even I like Mattingly, and I despise the Yankees. If Mattingly was named manager of the Yankees and was not successful, it could have taken some of the luster away from his career as a Yankee. Maybe the Yankees didn't go in a different direction for this reason, but there really might be some Yankee fans that are glad they did. Besides, if they hired him, I would have to remove him from the list of Yankees I don't despise.

I also have no idea why Mattingly doesn't have a mustache in that picture.

A few Mattingly links:
Official Site

DonMattingly23.com

Fan Tribute Site

Another Tribute Site

Video Tribute

Induct Donnie