Klapisch: Girardi, Manny don’t mix

That’s because Girardi Skipper Dogs…

Just how much of the Yankees’ ineptitude was the fault of the over-zealous manager, who transferred his anxiety onto his players? Girardi’s postgame death stare was legend in the clubhouse; at times he wouldn’t even speak to his players, much less look at them, as he marched back to his office after a loss.

So before they start negotiating in earnest with Scott Boras, Manny’s agent, the Yankees need to consider how Ramirez would respond to Girardi’s state trooper mentality. Here’s an early theory: He won’t.

...It figures to become terrific theater in the next few weeks, but it’s Girardi who should be sweating. Either the Yankees steer clear of Ramirez and Mark Teixeira, leaving the Bombers with a third-place caliber offense.

Or else Ramirez bursts through the clubhouse doors in spring training, dreadlocks in full sway, marking the beginning of the end of Girardi’s tenure.

Either way, there won’t be any soft landings in 2009. If ever there was a win-or-else edict issued to a manager — stated or not — it’s about to cling to Girardi like a second skin.