I like this guy. Always have…I’ve been watching Joe Girardi on the tube tonight and have seen a couple of moves I’ve found impressive.

First, when Melky Cabrera lined out hard in his first at-bat you could see Joe trying to catch Melky’s eye while the center fielder was putting his helmet back in the cubbie. Moments later the camera panned back to Joe, with his back to the game, talking to Melky and seemingly offering encouragement to the struggling young player. The next time up Melky hit a double. Now, Melky may have hit a double regardless of Girardi’s pep talk, but all players — particularly young ones — need encouragement from time to time.

Second, Darrell Rasner has just finished the top of the fifth inning and has struggled, yet managed to keep his team ahead 4-2 to this point. Once again, Girardi is up and this time talking to Rasner. Maybe it’s the teacher in me, but I can’t help but find this mentality refreshing in a world of laissez faire managing.

The Yankees are getting hot right now, and I begin to wonder if Joe G’s personality is beginning to take hold on a club that may have felt a bit unstable without Joe Torre anymore. The jury is still out, and the Yankees are not hot enough to get too excited, but it’s nice to see a coach connecting with his players.