Girardi silences critics with title No. 27

A couple of hours before Game 1 of the World Series, Joe Girardi spoke with reporters in the interview room at Yankee Stadium. Someone asked how he felt to be in this position after what must have seemed like an epically long two-year managerial stint with the Yankees. After all, Girardi's team didn't even make the playoffs in 2008. Injuries were a big factor, but the Yankees had made the postseason each of the previous 13 seasons before Girardi took over. Six weeks into this season, his team was mired in third place in the A.L. East. But after all of that, here he was as the skipper of the first New York team to reach the World Series since 2003. "I think you grow from all experiences, whether they're bad experiences or good experiences," Girardi said. "I wouldn't necessarily consider last year a bad experience. It was an experience that I got a chance to be the Yankee manager and I learned a lot. You learn a lot about your team. The more time you...