Elsewhere in Yankeeland, Joe Girardi is racking up frequent flier miles. From LoHud’s blog:

Meanwhile, I received this e-mail from the Yankees while I was gone:

Yankees manager Joe Girardi is down in the Dominican Republic this week. He had dinner with Yankees senior Latin staff and visited the coaches on Tuesday. This morning (Wednesday) at the Yankees Latin Beisbol Academy, he gave a speech to the Latin coaches and staff followed by an interactive talk with 55 Latin players and eight players from the ‘06 and ‘07 draft. He then watched a Dominican Instructional League game against Toronto and viewed tryouts.

So in a span of two weeks, Girardi was at the GM Meetings and then spent time with the staff and players in the Dominican. This is why Brian Cashman wanted Girardi, so he could have a manager heavily involved in development.

Joe Torre managed the 25 guys in the majors. Girardi is clearly going to have input in all facets of baseball operations. It’s an interesting dynamic.

We’re not in, umm, somewhere any more, Toto.