Girardi keeps his challenges in perspective

Joe Girardi has April 22 circled on his calendar.

And it's not because the lifelong Cubs fan has more interest in beating the White Sox than he does the Red Sox.

Not at all.

The new Yankees manager knows a trip to Chicago represents perhaps the last chance to see his father, Jerry, who has late-stage Alzheimer's and is getting significantly worse by the day.

"I was there (in Chicago) a couple weeks ago and it's not a situation that's improving,'' Girardi said by phone from Florida. "He's lost an incredible amount of weight because he doesn't remember to eat.

"He sleeps most of the time and doesn't say a lot, doesn't know anyone. It's pretty sad. It's actually very sad. I don't know if he'll be there when I get there, but I'm really hoping I get that chance.''

It's not as though Girardi doesn't have enough on his plate, entering his first year as Yankees manager replacing Joe Torre, working for the Steinbrenners, and shrugging off attacks from Marlins management, not to mention handling the New York media.

And, oh, yeah: Yankees fans expect a World Series this year, as they do every year.

"The game doesn't change because it's magnified,'' said the 43-year-old Girardi. "And nobody has higher expectations than I do. It should be the expectation of every player and every person in the organization.

"But my expectations are the same every year, and (managing the Yankees) hasn't changed that.''

It is a significant change from managing the very young and cheap Marlins two years ago to the veteran and very expensive Yankees, but Girardi doesn't look at it that way at all.

"It doesn't feel different to me because I still think the job and the goal is the same,'' Girardi said. "As manager, you're supposed to get the most out of your players, and that's the goal here.

"Everything is magnified here and I'm no stranger to any of it, having played here and coached with Joe (Torre) here, but you can't allow yourself to think like that.

"Baseball is baseball no matter where it's played. That's the way I looked at it when I played here and we won three World Series in four years.''

Tough start

As if managing the New York Yankees doesn't bring with it enough daily stress, Girardi was forced to open camp answering questions about former teammates Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens.

"My thought on it is that I'm not called to judge,'' Girardi said. "I think our job as coaches and players and management is to try to repair the damage done to the game and help people make good decisions in life, because all I know for sure is exactly what I did.

"I'm concerned about people I know and have grown close to over the years. I'm concerned about what children see and what they do to themselves.

"The only thing I can do at this point is try to be an influence on people and walk them through situations and give them advice.''

As for the tough questions, Girardi says he learned from the beating he took during the 1994 strike when he was the player rep in Colorado.

"That was a pretty difficult time and we were asked a lot of questions, and to answer those all the time was not a lot of fun,'' Girardi said. "But there's always going to be controversy. That's just life. You accept it and learn from it and move on -- and you don't make the same mistake twice.''

King of pain

Not only are the Yankees trying to break a streak of seven years without a World Series title, but owner George Steinbrenner would like to finally bust his winless streak in the Kentucky Derby.

Steinbrenner is 0-for-6 after his favored Bellamy Road finished a very disappointing seventh three years ago.

Now he's got Majestic Warrior, a colt that opens the second Kentucky Derby Pool today at 20-1 in advance of Saturday's Louisiana Derby, where he will face Pyro, who opens this pool at 6-1 behind War Pass (5-1), which waits until March 15 for the Tampa Bay Derby.

Oddly, Steinbrenner has nothing to do with two others from Pool 2: Georgie Boy (20-1) and Yankee Bravo (30-1).

Hoops at Harry's

Stop by any Harry Caray's location and fill out an NCAA Tourney bracket for a chance to win a first-pitch opportunity at Wrigley Field. Sheets must be filled out between Selection Sunday (March 16) and the start of games a couple of days later.

Box-office blues

The Onion: "Commissioner Gary Bettman announced yesterday that the NHL has offered actor/comedian Will Ferrell $350 to write, direct and star in a sports comedy about the game of hockey. 'We deliberated long and hard about spending our entire promotions budget on a single venture, but I think investing in Mr. Ferrell is a wise choice,' Bettman told reporters, adding that an 80-minute Will Ferrell hockey movie can give the league more visibility than an 82-game season ever could.''

Packing it in

Sportspickle.com: "With Brett Favre out of the picture in Green Bay thanks to retirement, 2005 first-round pick Aaron Rodgers says he is ready to take over for the future Hall of Famer -- and, with that, will begin contemplating his retirement immediately.''

And finally …

Comedian Alex Kaseberg: "To clear the air of pollution during the Olympics, the Chinese claim they will control the weather and create rain. Control the weather? They can't control lead from going in their toys.''

brozner@dailyherald.com