Joe Girardi recently made a smart move (if not an entirely original one) in trying to improve his relationship with players by canceling a workout and taking them to a pool hall.
Of course, the true test will come as the season goes on and the tension rises, as it inevitably will. But it was a good first step. Girardi, taking a page from New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin, opted for a little less work and more bonding when he told his team that a spring training morning workout was off and that buses were waiting to take them to a pool hall for a team tournament.
Coughlin, who nearly lost his job as the Giants' head coach, did a similar thing in training camp the year his team defeated the undefeated Patriots to win a Super Bowl, instead opting for a bowling alley.
The move went a long way in showing the Giants their curmudgeon of a coach cared about more than what they could do for him, but he also continued to build that relationship as the year went on -- while also maintaining the team-first mentality in which he'd always believed.
Girardi will have a lot more challenges during a 162-game season, especially with the subplot of Alex Rodriguez hovering overhead all year. But Girardi has made an effort to point out he's not as rigid as people have thought and it was a good first step.
An even better element of it was his consultation with veterans Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada to get their opinion, especially since Girardi sometimes failed to communicate with his veterans last season.
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