Girardi takes it out on sportswriters.

1) I also thought the "Joe Mauer third strike" excuse was absurd.

2) I don't know why Girardi is afraid to lash out at an unpopular player:

"This was no subtle, side-of-the mouth slur. Two steps toward the dugout, Burnett turned toward Girardi as he appeared to say, 'That was [expletive] [expletive].' You better believe the manager heard it, as did the Yankee infielders who’d gathered on the mound.

Girardi kept his back turned, pretending to be unaware of the insult. When he got to the dugout, however, Girardi followed Burnett into the runway and moments later the right-hander was back on the bench.

It looked like a seminal moment for Girardi, except that he backed away from it. Instead, the manager lashed out at YES Network’s Jack Curry, responding with sarcasm after being asked about the exchange.

'This is silly. This is really, really silly,' he said. 'You know what? We had a fistfight, is what we had. Nothing happened between me and A.J.'

The manager and Burnett stuck to an absurd story they’d cooked up, claiming the blow-up was rooted in a close pitch to Joe Mauer that wasn’t called a strike. No one bought it, not even the YES announcers. Ken Singleton, following what he called the 'old-school' code of conduct, stated the obvious: Burnett showed up his manager in front of millions of viewers.

Too bad Girardi didn’t have the guts to stand up to Burnett in public. He found it easier trying to bully Curry, who stood his ground. The angrier Girardi became, the more it looked like he’d been caught in a lie."

On the other hand, maybe Girardi and Burnett are telling the truth.