By Thursday morning, of course, Joe Girardi had become, in the estimation of a large chunk of the Mets’ fan base, a combination of Casey Stengel, Vince Lombardi, Pat Riley and Toe Blake. It is hard to blame anyone for thinking that, because he was the most obvious choice to be the team’s next manager. It was obvious in May, when it became clear Mickey Callaway was in over his head, when they first should have been vacuuming the red carpet for Girardi.
And it was abundantly clear when the job actually opened, when Girardi and his championship ring and his 10 winning seasons in 10 tries with the Yankees and his (you would assume) furious desire to pay the Yankees back from the other side of the RFK Bridge, became, clearly, far and away, the best available and most viable candidate.