MLB Fastball 10.12.07: The Joe Torre Story
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 10.12.2007
Every year, it seems to be the same theme in New York – a first round playoff exit and Joe Torre’s job is on the line. In this week’s edition of MLB Fastball, Neil Borenstein discusses this issue, as well as responds to a piece of two-week old feedback that he just managed to find the time to get to!
The Joe Torre Story
Is This It For The Yankees Skipper?
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports
Joe Torre's fate is once again up in the air after another first round exit.
To let go of Joe Torre or not to let go of Joe Torre? That is the perennial question the New York Yankees are faced with.
After another embarrassing first round exit in the MLB playoffs by the Bronx Bombers, owner George Steinbrenner is once again faced with that usual dilemma – dismiss his skipper or allow him to return. And also once again, we're all left to sit and wait on this decision.
Steinbrenner indicated following Game 2 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians that if the Yankees did not win, he would see no reason to bring Torre back. His essential point was that with the money Torre is being paid ($7 million), he better get his team to win when it counts and not allow another first round loss. And while the Yankees won Game 3 to delay the process, Game 4 went Cleveland's way. So all they did was delay the inevitable.
One big difference between this year and last is that Torre is actually no longer under contract. At least last season, he had one year remaining on his contract. That's doesn't mean he couldn't have been fired. But it's also a good excuse to give a guy one last chance – he only has one year left anyway.
But Torre's contract has expired now. He doesn't exactly have that saving grace. And maybe it's just time for a change. I still believe the position of manager is entirely overrated and that no matter what manager is brought in, the only way the team will succeed is for the players to step up. However, a new face in that clubhouse and a fresh start as a result might be what the Yankees need to get themselves on track as something other than a team that bails out of the playoffs too early.
There are some decent options out there.
Tony La Russa is a name being thrown around quite a bit lately, and Steinbrenner could definitely throw enough cash at him to entice him to come to New York. La Russa's tenure in St. Louis is widely believed to be over and he will probably be on the market to search for a new job relatively soon. How much New York is on La Russa's radar is uncertain. But I'm suring he wouldn't scoff at the idea to lead the pinstripes.
Joe Girardi is another option for the Yankees. He's essentially been waiting in the wings for the Yankees managerial position. That couldn't have been made any clearer than when he turned down an offer from the Baltimore Orioles to remain around the Yankees.
My only concern with Girardi is that his only previous managerial experience stems from his one year with the Florida Marlins. He managed a young, inexperienced team to a fantastic record. But he didn't really have to deal with egos that he would face in New York, whether they be current stars or incoming ones.
Plus, there weren't any expectations from the Marlins. All he had to do was make sure they showed up to play the games. Making them a legitimate Wild Card contender in the National League was just gravy. With the Yankees, it's World Series or nothing. Does he have what it takes to get the team to push further into the postseason than what Torre has done recently?
I'm going with no. At least if the Yankees went with La Russo, you have a veteran who has actually won the World Series – and has done it recently.
The Yankees must worry about particular players that are eligible for free agency having too much of a loyalty to Torre. There are several players who can walk this offseason, and many of them might make that decision to leave New York if Steinbrenner does not bring Torre back.
The two obvious potential losses are soon-to-be-free agents catcher Jorge Posada and closer Mariano Rivera. Both players have been through a lot with Torre, including four World Series championships.
Rivera is on the last legs of his career. And part of his luster in New York has faded in recent years as he's just not the same ‘ol reliable Mo that he once was. Given the extra incentive of Torre being let go, Rivera might choose to spend the last few years of his career elsewhere – out of the hectic arena that is New York baseball. Considering there has already been tension between Rivera and the Yankees when it comes to a new contract, the loss of Torre might just be his final straw.
Posada is already going to test the waters. I have always believed that despite this, he would come home to New York regardless. But he might just want a new start elsewhere if he can't play for Torre in the Bronx. I seems foolish and illogical, but it could be a factor.
Now personally, I don't think losing either player would be that big of a deal. Joba Chamberlain proved that he is the best reliever New York has to offer. So if the Yankees would just scrap that silly idea of moving him into the starting rotation next season, Rivera can be easily replaced, something the Yankees would need to do in a few years anyway.
Posada is not so easy to replace, but I'm sure they can lock up somebody else over the offseason. Or, they could just play Jose Molina and deal with the loss of offense Posada takes with him.
Andy Pettitte could choose to decline his player option for 2008. But since he just came back to New York this season, I doubt Torre's removal would make that much of a difference. I would think that if Pettitte chooses to leave, he would do so for other reasons than the loss of Torre.
Álex Rodríguez is likely going to opt out of his contract, with three years and $81 million still on the table. But his motivation is going to have more to do with money than anything else. And I think A-Rod will end up back in pinstripes with more unearned salary coming his way as a result of Scott Boras being his agent.
Naturally, no matter the impact, Steinbrenner cannot let his mind be completely made up by personal attachments of players. Loyalty is a commendable trait. But baseball is a business, and those business decisions can be cutthroat at times without any personal sentiment involved.
Torre is certainly owed a little bit more than a pink slip, though. And I can understand why the Yankees are taking some time with this decision. He didn't get the immediate axe. If he's let go, I'm sure it will be an amicable split on both ends.
However it's done, though, this might just be the right time for the Yankees to let Torre walk. He has no contract, no real strategy for making the Yankees more than a one-round wonder and no possible way to bring a fresh atmosphere into the Yankees' clubhouse like some of the other managerial options out there can.
Feedback
All right, I'm not even going to throw it in the blog. I'm two weeks late on responding to this e-mail, so it's getting some face time in the column itself. Here we go:
Hey man, it's "The Outcast Legend" The Wolf, back to ridicule you a little more. Congrats on the 100+ columns, who knew that Yankee bias would have such a long shelf life??
Sorry that I haven't been sending you in weekly e-mails about how much worse the Yanks are than the Red Sox, but that's life for ya, always ready to kick ya in the ass! I just wanted to comment on a few things.
First up, it looks like The ‘Sox are going to pull out the East. Now rather than tell you that I had that pegged all along, I'll be honest with you: I WAS SCARED Jeterless (think about what word is replaced!) I sat there watching a 14-game lead dwindle down and eventually go away like Mike Mussina's role in the Yank's starting five. It was sickening to see The Ole Town team do what it's done year after year (minus one glorious summer in 2004 that seems so far away!) and although I was two years away from being born during the ‘78 fall apart, with the relentless comparisons to the ‘78 team, even I was having flashbacks! But with five games left, it's The Red Sox' pennant to lose (why did I have to word it that way??) although my hopes of Detroit taking the Wild card seems to be nothing but a dream at this point. Oh well, when The Los Angeles Angles of Sacramento sweep the Yankees, I'll just have to take solace in that! (because we all know that the team with The Best record doesn't face the wild card if it's from the same division! GO RED SOX!!)
Second, I read your latest column about #756, and felt the need to comment. I agree with you (aw crap, not again!) that the ball should be given rightfully to the Hall of Fame. Sure Ecko spent an A-Rod-Load of money to set up his Web site and let the people decide, but in the end history should be taken into consideration. And besides, the Hall would just place the ball in such a way that the asterisk will not be seen or at the very least hardly seen. Do you really think that they wouldn't at least ATTEMPT to cover up the mark? But I am also one who wants to see Rose, Jackson and Wood in the Hall (if I need to explain any of those, you are no true baseball historian!!) so to me the legacy of the game is more important than "cheating" or gambling. And as for Bonds being a DH in the AL, I kinda expected that to happen at or around the trade deadline, but with the Giants wanting him to break the record in their Uni's that wasn't to be (and besides, what would they get in return for him? It's not like he plays everyday or is a ray of sunshine in the dugout!) The way I see it, an AL team will pick him up to use as DH (maybe the A's will be smart and sign him ala Frank Thomas and Mike PIazza. I say smart because the Bay area would be perfect, they'd grab a bunch of Giant fans because of it!) and he'll flounder around with a lack of focus because he's not playing in the field (as Thomas once explained when asked about how "easy" being a DH must be). But my money's on Detroit or The Yankees (hell Selig let Giambi off with a slap on the wrists, why not do the same for Bonds if he were in the Pinstripes? And if you think that if Giambi were Papi or for that matter had Giambi signed with Boston as he originally planned before signing with the Evil Empire, and things wouldn't be different you're a liar!) Steinbrenner would have no issues signing Bonds as long as he thought it would put asses in the seats and get more rappers to buy their hats.
And here's a question for you. Between the two main possibilities for the AL Rookie Of The Year, who do you think has the best shot? (I am NOT including Dice-K or Okie because they are FAR from rookies in the truest sense of the term!!) Delmon Young has the better power numbers (although 13 or so homers is far from a lot of power! Though the high RBI total keeps things interesting) and more stolen bases, Dustin Pedroia's AVG is almost 20 points higher, his slugging percentage is higher, he's scored more runs than Young, and his high double's total should also be considered. And lets not neglect Pedroia's gold glove caliber defense (If he and Kevin Youkillis don't get gold gloves, I'll be surprised, or see Cano and "The Yankees First Baseman by Committee") Young's great in the field as well, but the outfield isn't as demanding as second base. I think that the fact of Pedroia missed a lot more games than Young is going to be taken into consideration, maybe unrightfully so. I mean yes, Young's been in all of TB's games (i think) and that is tough to do in this day and age, but Tampa doesn't have as much to fall back on. It's not like the 4th or 5th outfielder in Tampa is really pushing Young out. If I had a vote, I'd go with Pedroia, not just because he plays for the best team in baseball (although he does lol) but also because he gets on base more and is more likely to score than Young. What do you think?
Also, we all know that A-Scrod is on his way to stealing yet another undeserved (Al)Most Valuable Player award, but what do you think of Mike Lowell's chances of any votes? With Papi having a power outage this year (yeah 33 homers is a power outage!) and Manny being Manny (and not in a good way this time!) Lowell's been a HUGE part of the Sox success. And while we're at it, I hope that Wang doesn't get the NY vote on his way to an undeserved Cy Young award. This may be some Yankee Hating going down, but his #s aren't even close to Beckett's when you look at the big picture. Better record, lower era, kicks ass on the road, more K's, me being correct in saying at the beginning of the year that this would be his breakout season (look back in the records if you don't believe me, I KNOW I put it into an e-mail somewhere directed at you!) I just hope that the writers don't claim that Wang is better just because of the "pressure of wearing Pinstripes" as if there's no media pressure in Beantown. Don't believe me? Come to Boston long enough to listen to any sports radio show or watch a sports show on NESN and you'll see what I mean! (Either that or talk to JD "Earning about $5 million for every homer" Drew! Man I wish we still had Trot, at least he'd LOOK like he cares!).
Well, I guess I've spread enough Red Sox knowledge for one day, I'll let you ponder all of that while I go enjoy the three game cushion that the Red Sox own.
GO RED SOX!!
"The Outcast Legend" The Wolf
Damn, do you write a lot Outcast Legend! It is great hearing from you, though. By now, we know the Red Sox not only won the division, but are still in the playoffs. So we'll move right past that stuff. I'll just move onto my thoughts about the awards you talked about.
As far as the Rookie of the Year Award is concerned in the AL, I'd have to go with Pedroia. Aside from his defensive, the only stat he doesn't really compare well to Young with is RBIs. And sure, the two are vastly different (Young has 43 more), but Pedroia is on a playoff team and is far better than Young in all categories not considered power stats. Young has a good case, but I think the award has to go to Pedroia.
The AL MVP is A-Rod's, and that's really all there is to it. Mike Lowell might get some votes, but if you think Rodríguez doesn't deserve the award, you're insane. He put up the numbers and came up big during the season when the Yankees needed him. He's far ahead of everybody else in the AL for the award – end of story.
And yes, Josh Beckett should be the AL Cy Young winner. Don't knock Wang, he had a hell of a year for a guy that doesn't seem like a prototypical New York ace. He didn't put up quite the season Beckett did, but I'm not surprised Wang is in consideration. Like A-Rod on offense, Wang had a lot to do with the Yankees getting back into the playoff picture. But yes, Beckett should be the Cy Young winner.
Thanks a lot for the feedback, Outcast Legend, and everybody keep it coming!
Send all comments, questions, and suggestions to br7qbsteelers@yahoo.com.
