Way to Go, Joe!
Just before the All Star Game, Sports Center and every other media outlet was talking (ad naseum) about the Yankers being in a huge hole (Red Sox with the high ground) and the Joe Torre, the manager who'd gotten that New York franchise to the post season 12 seasons in a row, was on the chopping block. Cut to October. The Yankers rage into a comeback, they get the AL Wild Card, narrowly missing the division championship. Off to the playoffs, where they lose to a remarkably tough Indian team, 3 games to 1.
Since that last game, the buzz had started buzzing again about Torre's future with the Yankers. This happened mostly because, true to his ass-head history, George Steinbrenner made a statement to the press that Torre "probably" wouldn't be brought back if they lost the ALDS. Making such a statement in the middle of the ALDSis just the typical jerk behavior that you come to expect from the egomaniacal tyrant that owns baseball's most storied team.
Yesterday, after a week of screwing around, the Yanker brass, including Steinbrenner's sons, Dill and Doe, summon Torre to Tampa to make him an offer. A cut of 1/3 in his salary, a deal limited to one year, and incentives for each level of the post season. To his credit, Torre told them to go crap in their caps.
First, only an idiot would ever take a one year deal to manage the Yankers. He would spend his whole season looking over his shoulder for the ax at every sign of trouble. Then there's the 33% cut. Sure, Torre is the highest paid manager in the MLB. He still would be, even with the cut. But when you manage the team with the highest payroll, the highest profits, and the highest expectations, you should be the highest paid manager. Moreover, when a guy manages his team to twelve consecutive post-season appearances (four of them World Series titles) lowering his salary should be considered only after things like launching the owner into space or changing the team colors to orange and pink. In other words: Never! If this were any other team in the league in the same situation with the same recent history, would they even remotely consider letting go the skipper? Absolutely not.
Let's not forget the fact that the Yankers will in all probability suck without Torre (at least initially.) Mariano Rivera is less likely to stay, as is Posada, and A-Rod, too, I think. I'm not guaranteeing that these guys are gone, but that if they do stay, it will be a bit of a surprise considering the Torre exit.
In a world where everything changes, maybe some comfort can be had by all of this. For all the years that Steinbrenner has owned the Yankees, they sucked (for the most part) until Torre. Most of the reason they were lousy? George. Now that the owner is pushing eighty, his son's first public action is to insult the man who is responsible for the first dynasty of the free-agent era in baseball. So, does it follow that we can look forward to another generation if borderline mentally ill ownership for the Bronx Bombers?
I for one hope that Torre (after a probable year off) takes a job with an AL team and kick the living you-know-what out of the Yankers every time he faces them.
See ya, Joe. You're the goods!
Since that last game, the buzz had started buzzing again about Torre's future with the Yankers. This happened mostly because, true to his ass-head history, George Steinbrenner made a statement to the press that Torre "probably" wouldn't be brought back if they lost the ALDS. Making such a statement in the middle of the ALDSis just the typical jerk behavior that you come to expect from the egomaniacal tyrant that owns baseball's most storied team.
Yesterday, after a week of screwing around, the Yanker brass, including Steinbrenner's sons, Dill and Doe, summon Torre to Tampa to make him an offer. A cut of 1/3 in his salary, a deal limited to one year, and incentives for each level of the post season. To his credit, Torre told them to go crap in their caps.
First, only an idiot would ever take a one year deal to manage the Yankers. He would spend his whole season looking over his shoulder for the ax at every sign of trouble. Then there's the 33% cut. Sure, Torre is the highest paid manager in the MLB. He still would be, even with the cut. But when you manage the team with the highest payroll, the highest profits, and the highest expectations, you should be the highest paid manager. Moreover, when a guy manages his team to twelve consecutive post-season appearances (four of them World Series titles) lowering his salary should be considered only after things like launching the owner into space or changing the team colors to orange and pink. In other words: Never! If this were any other team in the league in the same situation with the same recent history, would they even remotely consider letting go the skipper? Absolutely not.
Let's not forget the fact that the Yankers will in all probability suck without Torre (at least initially.) Mariano Rivera is less likely to stay, as is Posada, and A-Rod, too, I think. I'm not guaranteeing that these guys are gone, but that if they do stay, it will be a bit of a surprise considering the Torre exit.
In a world where everything changes, maybe some comfort can be had by all of this. For all the years that Steinbrenner has owned the Yankees, they sucked (for the most part) until Torre. Most of the reason they were lousy? George. Now that the owner is pushing eighty, his son's first public action is to insult the man who is responsible for the first dynasty of the free-agent era in baseball. So, does it follow that we can look forward to another generation if borderline mentally ill ownership for the Bronx Bombers?
I for one hope that Torre (after a probable year off) takes a job with an AL team and kick the living you-know-what out of the Yankers every time he faces them.
See ya, Joe. You're the goods!
Labels: baseball, Red Sox, Steinbrenner, stupid, Torre, Yankers
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on Friday, October 19, 2007 at 10/19/2007 11:59:00 AM.
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