Girardi prepared to smooth things over with Ellsbury

The New York Yankees' season ended among lingering questions about manager Joe Girardi's decision to bench starting center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury in a crucial wild-card contest against the Houston Astros.

The manager is prepared to smooth things over with his star outfielder in the offseason if need be.

"That's to be determined, I guess, as I talk through things with players over the course of the winter," Girardi told reporters Friday. "Only time will tell. I thought we had a great conversation that day, and I thought his attitude was great that day. He had the right attitude. No player wants to sit there. Even the guys who knew they didn't have a chance to start don't want to sit, they want to be out there, but that's the way you want it."

Girardi sat Ellsbury in favor of Chris Young and Brett Gardner, citing their success against lefties with southpaw Dallas Keuchel on the mound for Houston. However, leaving Ellsbury's $153-million contract on the bench in a postseason decider caused some controversy.

"I have three outfielders who have pretty substantial contracts," Girardi said. "I did what I thought was the best at the time. Did it work out? No. But the question I'm going to (have) is, if I had played Ells, would it have been better? Would it have been three runs better? I don't know that. None of us know that."

Gardner and Young combined to go 0-for-6 with four strikeouts in the contest. Ellsbury did make a pinch-hit appearance, popping out in the eighth inning.