Former Yankee Teixeira says Girardi's intensity may have cost him job

Mark Teixeira wasn't surprised by Joe Girardi's departure from the New York Yankees.

Few have experienced Girardi as a manager as extensively as Teixeira, who played for the Yankees from 2009 until his retirement following the 2016 season. Despite liking and respecting Girardi, Teixeira cited the manager's communication skills as his undoing, according to the New York Post's Dan Martin and Kevin Kernan.

"Everyone loves Joe, everyone respects Joe, he is a good manager, he is a good man," Teixeira said. "But with baseball the way it is played today and the need for a manager to be a better communicator and communicate with the front office the reasoning for doing things and to be a little bit more relaxed - especially in a place like New York, where the pressure is everywhere. He just wasn’t the best man for the job anymore."

Related: Girardi leaves Yankees 'with a heavy heart' after 10 seasons

Teixiera, who is now an analyst at ESPN, said Girardi's intensity also worked against him, and his ability to connect with his roster was likely a deciding factor in his exit.

"The communication and the highs and lows of the season weren’t Joe’s best assets and he will probably tell you that," Teixeira said. "He manages every game like it’s Game 7."

Under Girardi, the Yankees went 910-710 in the regular season, with one World Series championship in 2009, which also coincided with Teixeira's first season in pinstripes.