"lex Rodriguez said he believes Joe Girardi deserves to take home another Manager of the Year trophy.

During the clubhouse celebration of the Yankees' division title late last night, Rodriguez praised Girardi's performance.

"For me, he's obviously the manager of the year," Rodriguez said. "We lost our seventh-inning guy, we lost our eighth-inning guy. We lost our third baseman. We lost our shortstop. We lost Phil Hughes. And overall he's been the one constant that floated over the water. He's just been terrific.

"He does a fantastic job with our veteran players, communicating with us," he added. "A lot of his great leadership things you guys will never know about. That's what makes him so special.

"I think Joe does an incredible job and I don't think he gets enough credit.""