Girardi family has fun on new manager's first day

TAMPA, Fla. -- Joe Girardi kneeled halfway between the mound and home plate on his first day in uniform as New York Yankees manager and threw a little BP.

Serena Girardi took her cuts, and the 8-year-old followed with a cartwheel in foul territory. Dante Girardi, wearing his father's No. 27, had some swings, then put on the catcher's gear and moved behind the plate before dad slid home, stuck out an arm and knocked down the 6-year-old as they laughed.

Lena, just 17 months old, toddled around in a blue batting helmet as mom stood to the first-base side of the mound and watched.

These aren't Joe Torre's Yankees anymore.

"It happens real fast," the new manager said Friday after the team's first workout of the year. "You spend a couple months, three months planning for this, and all of a sudden you're in it."

After pitchers threw their bullpen sessions and did their sprints at Legends Field, after the catchers blocked balls in the dirt, Girardi addressed the media, then went back onto the diamond for what seemed to be Family Day.

No sight of Billy Crystal in the manager's office or Marvin Hamlisch and a chorus line of celebrities in the dugout. Perhaps they'll put in appearances across the state at Vero Beach, where Torre has taken over as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers following 12 years in pinstripes.

While 67-year-old Torre walked with a limp across the clubhouse carrying a cup of green tea, the 43-year-old Girardi moved briskly, holding a banana. Instead of a Daily Racing Form on the manager's desk, there was a silver Blackberry, a black ThinkPad laptop, sunflower seeds and a health drink. His end-of-workout session with reporters lasted 16 minutes, a fraction of Torre's 30-to-45 minute Q&As.

Girardi fastidiously picked up balls from the field when batting practice ended.

"That's my wife's influence," he said. "She doesn't pick up after me anymore."

Torre won four World Series titles in his first five seasons but none in the next seven. When the Yankees offered him a paycut after last October's first-round elimination, Torre decided to move on and general manager Brian Cashman picked Girardi over Don Mattingly as the replacement.

With his stories of Bob Gibson, a soothing demeanor and an innate ability to defuse dissension, Torre etched himself into Yankees history alongside Miller Huggins, Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel -- Hall of Famers all. Torre became a New York icon, as famous as his All-Star players.

"Joe Torre for me was a father figure, and we're going to miss him dearly. He's a great man," catcher Jorge Posada said. "Joe Girardi brings a -- he's just a little different. He's a hands-on guy. He's going to be a little bit more critical and he's going to be a little tougher on us than we got it in the past."