Mark Teixeira with Good Insight on the Difference Between Joe Girardi and Rob Thomson
Rob Thomson fever has settled on the Delaware Valley after the bats came alive this weekend and Bryson Stott walked it off Sunday afternoon. I’ve been looking for fun stories about him all morning, but I haven’t found much other than a couple of Spring Training hits, because career bench coaches don’t exactly move the needle.
Here’s a 2017 Mark Teixiera interview from The Michael Kay Show, where he talked about the difference between Thomson and Joe Girardi as managers after Thomson was being considered for the Yankees job:
Who would you rather play for? The manager you want to have a beer? Or the guy who wants to clock in, clock out, and get home?
Now that’s probably not fair to Girardi because his intensity for the game is well known, but Rob Thomson seems like a manager who can bring the intensity but also has the ability to relate to everyone on a personal level and the social skills to know when to turn it on/off. He’ll jersey you in a fight and then have a cup of Timmy’s with you after, like a true Canuck.
In Thomson’s introductory press conference, there was a lot of talk about his ability to communicate. That seemed to be a problem with Joe along with his inability to connect with the young guys in the clubhouse if you read into Bryce Harper’s quote after Stott’s walk-off dinger yesterday:
Harper on Stott's walkoff home run: “I’m so happy for the kid, man. What an at-bat. What a situation for him. Being able to put our trust in our young guys the last couple days, and really let them just play… it’s been great. And it paid off today.”
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) June 5, 2022
Icy.
But that was then and this is now! Four straight! Two comebacks in one game! First stop the Wild Card. Next stop the division! The Mets can’t keep this going forever because the collapse is right around the corner:
we’re having fun here and enjoying the season, so now is the perfect time to tell you all that the 2007 mets were also 33-17 through their first 50 games
— green man (@real_green_man) June 1, 2022
Plus it wouldn’t be the first time a Canadian saved the season: