On the cusp of Spring Training, Joe Girardi gets a Jack Curry profile in the Times:

As Girardi raved about embarking on a new beginning with the Yankees, he meandered into an emotional discussion about a possible ending. After Girardi drives to Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday for spring training, he is not sure when or if he will see his ailing father again.

Jerry Girardi has Alzheimer’s disease and is in an assisted-care residence in Illinois. Two weeks ago, Girardi visited his father and saw a once-robust man who had lost more than 40 pounds because he forgot to eat, who slept a lot and who was mostly reduced to giving one-word answers.

“He doesn’t talk,” Girardi said. “But I felt like there were two seconds when I left and said, ‘I love you, Dad,’ he responded. He said, ‘I like you.’ I just felt like he looked at me different for two seconds. That’s big for me.”

Jerry Girardi will be rewarded, in Heaven, with the 27th championship.