Yankees start meeting tomorrow
-
- October
- 15
The Yankees will start their vaunted organizational meetings tomorrow at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Hal and Hank Steinbrenner will preside over a crew that will include Randy Levine, Lonn Trost and Brian Cashman along with the top people in the baseball operations department.
“It’s to set our offseason priorities, certainly, and what we need to try and do,†Hank Steinbrenner told the Associated Press tonight. “This year, we definitely are all pretty much on the same page. We know what we have to do, and it’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of effort. Hopefully we can get as much done as we hope.
“Our goal is to win the World Series. This year was a little strange because the American League East was so powerful. We finished third because of the division we’re in. But, is it acceptable for us to be with what we ended up with? No, it’s not. So we’re going to do what we can to correct that.â€
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Peter Abraham
Yeah Yankee news
To do list…
CC and AJ focus on them.
And get more athletic in OF.
Think Votto, Loney, LaPorta at 1B FORGET TEIX, Don’t even think about Manny you know damn well he’s a clown and doesn’t want to be here.
Scout the other teams young prospects it’s something you haven’t done in some time.
Go get CC and Perez
Rotation
CC
Wang
Joba
Mussina/Pettitte
Perez
Dominant.
Great…Hank and Randy Levine, steering the ship towards the iceberg.
Well we know they will go after CC 5-150 should get it done and I dont know why people dont want Tex, gold glove, switch hitter high obp, he is a perfect fit then go get one other pitcher. They can afford to have melky or gardner in CF if they have the pitching and other guys hit. With arod,Posada,Nady,Jeter,Cano they should have enough offense. Look at TB, dont we get it, pitching and D wins. I would look at AJ if we get CC but the second tier is ok also as long as we get CC.
I wanna go to the meetings.
Time for a Lohud Yankees Blog Field Trip?
Brandon, how are the Yankees going to trade for Votto, La Porta or Loney.
BTW you don’t want Teix because he’s a fraud, but, AJ Burnett is somebody you want the Yankees to give money to?
Tom our young Philip Hughes duh
SA -
I’m aboard for that trip. lol
AJ’s wanted to come here for 2 yrs. already if he’s at a good price you get him.
sa I agree. After the week I’ve had at work (and there are still two more), I need a break!
Good thing I am going to a vineyard this weekend.
Brandon (TEIX IS NOT WORTH IT, GET CC !)…”Don’t trade Robi !”
October 15th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
“AJ’s wanted to come here for 2 yrs. already if he’s at a good price you get him.”
Brandon, what do you consider a good price? Don’t you think there will be a number of teams seriously interested in Burnett?
well said Stephen m. I cringe to think of those two at the meetings.
Jesus com’on Cole your so close
Ray it depends on his price tag. IDK what his tag will be set at.
Well, lets see how the meetings are going to go….
Hal actually holds, the meeting discusses players, direction of the team, and coaching. With some insight from the real boss, George M Steinbrenner III. Hank Steinbrenner just sits there and looks good, and gets all the love from the media.
No doubt about it…that Blake DeWitt is some kind of player. Sign me up for wanting him on my team.
LOL
Seriously, we should all just show up. We have great ideas.
I can present to Hal my “Hank, Randy Levine, Felix Lopez and a Jorge Posada bobble head for Evan Longoria” trade idea.
ray (sox fan)
October 15th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Brandon (TEIX IS NOT WORTH IT, GET CC !)…â€Don’t trade Robi !â€
October 15th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
“AJ’s wanted to come here for 2 yrs. already if he’s at a good price you get him.â€
Brandon, what do you consider a good price? Don’t you think there will be a number of teams seriously interested in Burnett?
______________________________________________________
Burnett will get nothing less than 3 years with a player option and 16 mil a year.
Burnett will get nothing less than 3 years with a player option and 16 mil a year.
i’m aboard for that idea.
Ed, I’m guessing he’ll ask for more…like 4 years/option and 17-18 mil a year. If Meche, Lilly and Lowe got 4 years at 12-13 mil a year at the same age, Burnett will ask for better, and as far a is s I’m concerned, the money is right, but might only go 3/option. He might go for that to get one more contract after that. I’ve heard nothing…just my guess/opinion.
IMO we’ll get to see how much of this nonsense about AJ wanting to come help the Yankees like Beckett did for the Sox is just so much nonsense or if it holds any water. Let’s see him take less to come play in the house that George built. or did A-Rod build it? I love Burnett for 3 years but much more than that tends to scare me with his much discussed injury history.
Hank’s the man. He tells it like it is. YOU GO HANK!
Meanwhile, the Phils are eating up the Dodgers (yes there’s a game going on! We probably could have waited for the news on the meeting tomorrow…)
GO PHILS!
Signing a 32 year old pitcher with a history of arm problems to a 4 year deal at 15-18mil per? I’ll pass.
Sonofa….
Com’on Cole get it together.
I hope Coles gets a chance to throw over the head of Martin, since he found it so amusing when he did it to Shane.
Well I guess we’ll see if Martin got himself thrown out of the game, Coles might not have a chance.
Too bad Martin
Well he didn’t get tossed. I guess the ump felt bad for the Dodgers didn’t want to toss their catcher.
CC
Wang
Moose
Andy
Joba/Hughes
No need for A.J Burnett.
Good eye Ryan !
‘Hank’s the man. He tells it like it is. YOU GO HANK!’
Hank is not the man
He doesn’t tell it like it is – if he did we would have Johan and not have Hughes or Kennedy or Melky.
But yes – I agree w/ you that HANK should GO!!!!
I heart Hank.
Best owner in sports besides Jerry Jones.
Get me one or both of CC/Burnett.
Forget Tex, use the trade market to get a legit young 1B. Whether those are corner-stone guys like Votto, Gonzalez, Loney etc. or solid guys like Garko, Kotchman etc.
What could Levine possibly be doing at the meeting? He got Torre out, the new stadium is ready to go… is there anything else he contributes to the organization?
jen, and SA come back to the other thread. We’re still doing game analysis!
Lets get nasty here Hamels.
That McDonalds kid is nasty. He should have been pitching the innings that Torre gave to Park/Kershaw.
I too find it puzzling Levine is going to be there.
VICTORINO !!!!!
Well he has to figure out a way for us to pay for it.
Ouch, Shane smacked into that wall. Can we trade Bobby for him?
Shane ain’t scared of no walls
Shane is on my Yankees team. (ps3) lol
I’m trading him right now on my game.
come on Cole
argh
Ok Cole suck it up, just soak it all in, you want this next out more than anybody.
Brandon –
which game you play? i’m playing mlb 08: the show.
Yes! atta boy Cole!
F…. YEH !@@$@@!!!!! COLE !!!!!
Cole Freakin Hamels!!!
HARDEE HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR!
Charlie Manuel is a genius.
cc scares the crap outta me.
he’s HUGE.
he’s pitched a TON of innings.
he wants 6-7 years.
no pitcher should be signed for 6-7 years, especially not a guy that out of shape with that many innings on his arm.
every pitcher looks great in the NL b/c the NL is doo doo. the AL hitters know him already…
Nice Cole.
Just 2 more innings.
from BA regarding the yankees international signings
“Six-figure signings: SS Gian Carlos Arias, Dominican Republic, 16; OF Ramon Flores, Venezuela, 16; 3B Jackson Valera, Venezuela, 16; OF Yeicok Calderon, Dominican Republic, 16; SS Anderson Felix, Dominican Republic, 16; CF Ericson Leonora, Venezuela, 16;
Top Bonus: Arias, $950,000
Summary: This year was a turbulent one for the Yankees international scouting department. After losing out on the Michel Inoa sweepstakes, the Yankees fired Latin American scouting director Carlos Rios and Dominican scouting director Ramon Valdivia amid allegations of bonus skimming. Rios was held in high regard by some in the industry for his scouting acumen, having signed Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera, as well as promising Venezuelan catching prospect Jesus Montero.
Despite losing out on Inoa, the Yankees invested $3.975 million on six July 2 prospects from Latin America. Arias received the highest bonus, but scouts seemed more impressed with Flores. Though Flores received less money than fellow Venezuelans Yorman Rodriguez (Reds) and Luis Domoromo (Padres), one scout called Flores the best hitter he saw in Venezuela this year. Flores has a short, compact swing and good feel for the game, including good instincts on the basepaths.
With first-round pick Gerrit Cole opting to attend UCLA instead of signing with the Yankees, New York spent more money on Arias than on any other amateur player in 2008. Arias is a stocky 5-foot-11, and his thick lower half and below-average speed have scouts projecting a move to third base or possibly second. His hands work well and his arm is plus, and he has some ability with the bat. Calderon is a corner outfielder with good power from the left side and below-average speed.
Leonora is an athletic outfielder with a good body at around 5-foot-10 and runs the 60-yard dash in 6.7 seconds. His swing gets choppy at times, but professional instruction could iron that out, as he generally handles the bat well with good bat speed. He profiles as a center fielder, though his arm strength and accuracy are below-average.
Kelvin Duran, a lefthanded-hitting outfielder from the Dominican Republic, signed with the Yankees in April for $300,000 at 17, and power-hitting Dominican first baseman Reymond Nunez got $300,000 in November. Nunez, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound righthanded batter, hit .230/.294/.301 in 256 DSL at-bats with 19 walks and 73 strikeouts at age 17.”
I hope this is our rotation
1 Sabathia
2 Wang
3 Chamberlain
4 Mussina
5 Pettitte
If an injury crops up Phil Hughes can fill that spot.
The no 1 reason why Tampa is winning is that they drastically improved their defense and have some great athletes. Yankees need to try and get better defensively. Ideally I would like Tex and trade for a young outfielder like Matt Kemp.
CC is one of the few free agent pitchers that has proven durable in his career. The best thing for the Yankees to do if they sign CC is closely watching his pitch counts and not go nuts like Milwaukee did with him.
The Phils are definitely a team to be reckoned with. They really made the Dodgers look silly and ineffective – which they might be despite making it into the postseason. Without Manny they’re probably in 2nd or 3rd place in the worst division in baseball. But it goes to show that one player isn’t going to get you to that rarefied air.
every pitcher looks great in the NL b/c the NL is doo doo. the AL hitters know him already…
Before the trade he was playing swing and a miss w/ the AL too. He had a streak since 2007 going.
Anyway ..w/ our pitching coach + CC can you imagine the attention to detail improvements w/ him on his secondary and third pitches. You do that deal. GET ME CC.
Send Mariano, Melancon, Bruney, Sanchez, Marte, Coke, Veras, Edwar, all to San Francisco to lure CC here. Show him in person our power bullpen and the wonders it can do for his arm/career.
BTW Tex was top 12 in OPS. He is exactly the type of hitter the Yankees need. He fits the Yankee model hitter to a T, High OBP who plays excellent defense. As far as I am concerned he is the least risk free agent out there.
BTW Tex was top 12 in OPS. He is exactly the type of hitter the Yankees need. He fits the Yankee model hitter to a T, High OBP who plays excellent defense. As far as I am concerned he is the least risk free agent out there.
abcd October 15th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
cc scares the crap outta me.
Don’t be scared. Learn to love CC
Nice Utley
Such a gorgeous catch by Utley
Ralphie thanks for the write up I didn’t know that much of Flores.
if he’s wearing yankee pinstripes, i’ll love him.
but i’m very weary of him 2-3 years from now…
Stay away from AJ Burnett. Guy is such a tease. Has the stuff to dominate but not the head and definitely not the durability. I am sure some sucker team will give him 5 years. Its just better not be the Yankees.
Derek Lowe is an NL pitcher. Bet if he comes to the AL his era will balloon. Stay away.
PONCHALO !
I’ve really grown fond of these Phils! What a great and gritty team.
Awwww. Poor Manny. His season is quickly coming to an end. He’ll probably want to spit on the Dodgers now that he’s gotten what he wanted.
They are booing their own player for stepping out of the box. okay lala fans.
Rollins probably should have had that.
damn you Jimmy that’s an error !
Manny! Manny! Manny!
Obituary for the Late Tommy Tresh. Hell of a ball player.
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries/browse_thread/thread/ce46f89b4f1280e0
They called it a hit.
Manny’s an idiot but he’s no dope, if you get my drift. He’s playing for a fat contract at this point so of course he’s going to give it his all. Until he gets the contract. Then it will be back to Manny being Manny…
No harm no foul. 3 outs away!
Here’s what the Yankees shouldn’t do…
Don’t trade Hughes and a package of prospects for Peavy. That would be awful.
Peavy pitches in a cavernous park and his home road splits were ridiculous this year. He also doesn’t seem to pitch well in big games. Hughes could be every bit as good, if not better, than Peavy.
I hope Peavy wants to stay in the NL. Better for all involved.
Maddy ! Maddy ! Maddy !
Nice. 3 more outs and then champagne will flow!
GO PHILS!
We know that, lets hope Hank is smart enough to know that.
Yeah I agree. I want to hold on to Hughes. You never want to trade young pitchers who project as a top starter. You want to deal Kennedy, McCallister, fine. Joba and Hughes should be pretty much untouchable.
jen, more importantly, I’m thinking that Cashman knows that.
Manny has done everything humanly possible for the Dodgers and yet it hasn’t been enough to put them over the top. If that doesn’t drive home that point that it’s all about pitching in the postseason, what does?
Trade for Peavy or Oswalt!!!!!!!!
If Joey Votto or James Loney or MAtt LaPorta are on the other side of “for” then I’m packing Hughes in bubble wrap.
Russell Martin sure talked a big game and acted tough, but never backed up his words. Advocated throwing at Shane’s head like a punk.
2/17 in the series including tonight, hasn’t gotten a hit since game 2.
I’d trade Oswalt for Peavy if we missed out on CC.
Votto, Loney, LaPorta are not worth Hughes. A healthy Phil Hughes is much more valuable then those players you mentioned.
trisha I was just joking when I said Hank (well maybe not)
Hank likes to let everyone think he is running the operation. It kinda scares me that he is like papa and would want to get Manny to stick it to the soxs. Now Manny probably would play all out for a while, but eventually he would get bored and return to Manny being Manny.
Than again it probably would take some of the spot light off of Alex.
Brandon, no doubt. If Loney/Votto etc. are available, then as Michael Kay would say “SEEE YAAA!!” Hughes.
Man I hope Cash investigates that. Those are the type of cornerstone 2-way players we need for the old lineup.
Hughes for LaPorta?
Where do I sing?
Manny has done everything humanly possible for the Dodgers and yet it hasn’t been enough to put them over the top. If that doesn’t drive home that point that it’s all about pitching in the postseason, what does?
It has to sink in, think about that Teix, Vlady, Tori, Manny, Thome, Lee,Sori,Aramis…etc they’re all gone the MVP for the Dodgers in this series it looks like Manny but it isn’t, it’s James Loney and he was under used. The MVP position player for Philly, pick between Utley, Pat the bat and Victorino.
Even w/ all that Cole Hamels is the guy that put a knife in the heart.
jen, I hear ya. But I think that as much as Hank is like papa, he can also be influenced by cooler heads. I don’t think for a minute that Cash or Hal would consider having Manny the cancer come to the Bronx.
Could Igawa be our version of Hong-Chi Kuo if we move him to the bullpen and tell him to only throw his FB/slider?
“Where do I sing?”
Please don’t.
bottom 9, I guess Brad is in?!
They gotta go to Brad. It wouldn’t be right if they didn’t!
no idea why people would want to trade one of the yankees most valuable assets for a first baseman when you can sign tex and not surrender any talent, not to mention tex is better then those said players. quite mind boggling.
If her singing brins him please do
3 MORE OUTS BABY, AND WFAN/DAILYNEWS CAN STFU !
I guess he had someone else up just in case they scored more runs?
Too bad Howard was such a turtle, he would have been on second.
Why can’t we have Manny AND CC? Why do we have to choose one? We are not the Mets.
Scott because that $$$ can be used for future FAs or draft picks or Latin prospects.
LETS GO BRAD NO PUJOLS HERE !
Manny wants a 6 year contract. Do you really want to have Manny on the Yankees into his 40’s? I sure don’t.
Lidge is one of those guys who make it look so easy.
I just realized we didn’t see Scott Proctor at all did we?
LOL look at Manny and Proctor standing next to eachother chatting
Not really, he does get in trouble some times. Now Mo makes it look easy.
Scott – I don’t want Manny on the Yankees in his 30s!
Was that Manny and Proctor side by side? lol never thought I’d see the day.
LOL look at Manny and Proctor standing next to eachother chatting
Oddly disturbing isn’t it
The Yankees have Damon and Matsui coming off their payroll after next season which will free up money. Signing Tex and CC won’t break the bank. If the choice is to trade Hughes and other prospects for Votto or Loney or keep Hughes and sign Tex I do the latter every single time. Yankees have plenty of money and some are acting like they are the
Marlins.
I mean he doesn’t have a herky-jerky motion or falls off the plate like KRod or walks around the plate like a shark like Papelsmear. He has an easy motion.
Com’on Lidge send your team to the World Series, 3 outs com’on do it for Charlie !
Good for the LA fans staying into this game.
ahhh- okay! You are correct about that.
come on Brad
and Shane, he has to fly home to Hawaii. His grandmother passed away.
Oh damn I was nervous on that one.
It is an elimination game and maybe the last time they see Manny, otherwise the LA fans would be long gone.
Your not on my team but I love ya you little Hawaian !
Scott whether or not it happens we’ll see but Cashman has already said he wants both Sui and Damon back. I don’t think they’re going to spend now for what may come off next year. Who knows if they will want to give either player additional years? You don’t know how they will perform next season.
YES !!!! 1 MORE !
Lidge is like K-Rod, he will allow baserunners, go to a lot of 3-ball counts, and throw a lot of pitches, but gets out of it.
Actually, him and K-Rod are the pitching version of Dice-K.
Wow Brad, you are making this way too interesting. Dude, lets get the last out easily.
Wow, I’m so nervous. lol
1 more
Amazing.
Boy does Victorino cover ground!
Wow look at Victorino.
Thats what a young, athletic CF can do for you
trisha – RAYS IN 3! (yes I know it’s a 7 game series…)
October 15th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
I mean he doesn’t have a herky-jerky motion or falls off the plate like KRod or walks around the plate like a shark like Papelsmear. He has an easy motion.
______________________________________________________
Not sure who you’re watching, but, Lidge does not have an easy motion. He’s a wrapper and he does fall of dramatically to the first base side.
why is Loney included in all these posts? why would they trade him?
GOD HIT THE GLOVE HERE !
Victorino has been a beast this postseason, at the plate and in the field.
The Phillie are going to the World Series!!!!!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUH BYE JOE.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Phillies are going to the World Series!!!
good for the Phillies.
CONGRATS PHILLIES!!!!
WELL DESERVED!
NICE!!! Yeah Phillies. Happy for Brad, all the issues he had with the Astros and he comes back to have this season.
Phillies in 6 over the Rays.
trisha the yankees have 60 mill plus coming off their payroll. They have plenty of money to spend this off season. I am willing to bet Damon and Matsui won’t be back after next season.
Congratulations to Charlie Manuel. Now THAT is an NL champion team!
The Phils earned this every step of the way. One hell of a team.
Brad Lidge is a great closer – easy motion and winning way!
Love Ya you little Hawaian, gutsy pitching Cole !, Charlie you deserve it !
NOW METS FANS CAN CRY TONIGHT !
The Dodgers PA announcer sounds like something you hear at Universal Studios.
Bye Bye Torre!
Phillies in 6 over the Rays.
I agree.
Well the lohud blog team Phils did it!
Now we’ll watch the Rays get the job done too!!!
Good job jen, Brandon, et al.!
“The Dodgers PA announcer sounds like something you hear at Universal Studios.”
Probably is!
I said it would be over in 5, Did I lie ?
If you are a real baseball fan, then Phillies-Rays is a hell of a series. Two fun teams to watch who are evenly matched and play great team ball, speed, power etc.
Very excited for the series
1\2 way there to destroying the Dodgers/Red Sox media dream!!!
ESPN.com reporting Andy wants to come back.
Brandon, I called the Rays in 3…
LOL
Love how TBS markets Ortiz as if he is anything now without Manny.
NITRO – absolutely about the two teams going to the world series.
Don – yep!
just saw that as well…Andy wants to come back!! NICE
Steve,
Nice. Kind of figured he would want to come back, but nice to hear it officially.
Rays in 5!!!
Will Pete make a congratulatory post to the Phillies, even though he knocked out Torre?
I figured he’d be back as well, but it is nice to hear that sources are confirming it. Andy is consistent and has the right attitude to win that is really lacking with some of these guys. Plus I think he will thrive in the new stadium excitment.
bye joe torre! ahhahaa
YEP STEVE I SAW IT TO ESPN SAYS ANDY WANTS TO COME BACK
Torre tipping his cap to the fans.
Awww
since Andy wants to come back, then that should take care of one spot if Cashman does resign him.
I got a cousin that lives in Philly and he just hit me up on my cell they are partying out there toilet papers in the streets.
Brandon… wonder if its like Times Square after the Giants SB win.
Well thats one spot filled. Glad Andy committed early this time.
Ah, bummer to see Torre bow out, with class as usual.
If you want to read a great tribute to him, I read this during the game and highly recommend it. I’ve recommended his stuff many times before, always well-written.
“Searching for Joe Torre” at The Yankees Republic.
It’s a little long but well worth the time.
I doubt it nothing was like that night
Chris Myers called them the Marlins?
great night for us phillies fans
Wonder how close the MVP voting was I would have gone flyin hawaiin
How come torre never came out and tipped his hat to me sitting in the stands when we lost
How great to see Dallas green on the field celebrating brings back good memories
I can honestly say I am happy for the Phillies.
Between the upstart Rays, the defending champion Red Sox and the Torre/Manny love..they were like the forgotten team in the league Championship series.
I hope they win it all
Pat Gillick… one heck of a GM.. every year since he became the GM the team has improved.. With a pitching staff of just one dominant starter they are in the world series.. A classy guy to who didnt want to take all the credit and said most of the credit goes to Ed Wade.. Not many ppl would have done that..
“Will Pete make a congratulatory post to the Phillies, even though he knocked out Torre?
”
Doubtful since he saw fit to add a rather meaningless thread in the middle of the Phils win!
“Torre tipping his cap to the fans.
Awww
”
All part of his act. Don’t get taken too in by it. He’s a schmoozer.
“How come torre never came out and tipped his hat to me sitting in the stands when we lost”
Because he needs to play up to the LA fans since he didn’t get the job done?
Well usually, the MVP of the championship series goes to the pitcher if he is dominant in 2 starts. Beckett did last year, Hamels this year. Unless a hitter has an amazing series. Like Longoria will probably win ALCS MVP
I am truly loving the Phils but my heart has to be with the Rays when it comes down to it. It’s gonna be tough though because the Phils are very easy to root for.
All part of his act. Don’t get taken too in by it. He’s a schmoozer.
Part of me and I love Torre too but part of me was like oh boy here come the water works, I’m proud of this team followed by the kiss to the camera. Man Charlie MAnuel deserved this every bit of it.
Torre’s management in game 4 changed the series. LA papers, which are not critical of anything, tore him to shreds. Worse than NY papers ever did.
He lost them the series. Teams don’t lose after momentum changing wins lie the Philly had on Monday.
BTW funniest scene of the night Lasorda waving his towel
I’m going to enjoy the WS.. I really like both teams. Don’t care who wins, I’ll be happy for them.
I’ll be sad for the loser though because both teams had amazing years and played their hearts out.
“Torre’s management in game 4 changed the series.”
He really isn’t a great manager when it comes to the pitching end of things.
Francesa might be fun tomorrow-
That is, if he’s not still talking about breaking up the Mets “core”
LOL did anyone see that Philly guy jump into the crowd with Champagne? lol I think it was a coach, or maybe it was Dobbs.
Francesa might be fun tomorrow-
That is, if he’s not still talking about breaking up the Mets “coreâ€
I CAN’T WAIT EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…..
Girardi will be a great postseason manager when we get there. His advanced understanding of the BP/pitching in general will really serve him well. As we are seeing, that part of the game is crucial. When Torre didn’t have Stanton-Nelson-Mendoza anymore, he was lost.
Yeah, I believe Torre did kill any shot they had at coming back by his poor decision making & mismanagement of the bullpen.
Congrats to the Phils. Yankee fans are hoping for the Rays, but I bet the Phils would rather have the Sox.
You could tell how ticked off Francessa was when he found out that the LA media was tearing him apart. Kind of like a condescending “how dare they” tone. In his eyes, Saint Joe is infallible.
Varitek, Drew, and Ortiz facing Hamels’ changeup?
Rollins, Burrell, Victorino, Utley, Howard facing a banged up Beckett, Wakefield, and the Sox pen?
How come torre never came out and tipped his hat to me sitting in the stands when we lost
In NEW YORK, we wanna see a chip, not a bald spot consolation prize.
LA is in a love hangover, and Torre can get away with that over there.
If the Dodgers make it again, they’ll play better.
Look at the Phillies, they got wiped last season. Hamels said he learned from his mistakes and that helped him this season.
But, yeah, the concensus is that Torre panicked by pulling Lowe too early.
Ramon… while I agree, if the Sox do rally to beat TB, they will have so much momentum from that, they will steamroll the Phillies.
Not that many people care that’s just for those who wanted Torre in the WS to spite us.
mel,
Only if they re-sign Manny. Thats why it is imperative they do so. Before he got there, they were under .500 and sputtering behind Arizona. He changed that franchise.
Would LA be interested in Ethier for Matsui ?
Phillies have so much heart, they are a very fun team to watch. Congrats to them!
Congrats to Manual too, he deserves it more than anyone.
Worth a try, Brandon.
I’d also love to re-kindle the Jonathan Sanchez-Matsui trade if it is available this year (soubt it though). Cash missed the boat on that.
The mood at the organizational meetings will be peachy tomorrow.
NITRO,
Totally agree. They could do worse than signing Manny. He just eats up NL pitchers.
One benefit of the economic crisis this winter is that the Yankees have the deepest pockets. Up until a month ago, teams were spending like a bunch of drunk sailors.
Supposedly Lowe doesn’t want to come to either NY team and prefers the west. Why doesn’t he resign with the Dodgers.
We’ll see what happens.
Right now we’ve got:
Wang
Joba
Andy
You can even pencil in Hughes. Those FA pitchers better not get too picky. Slots could fill up fast. The pie will get disappear pretty quickly.
If we get a 2 more pitchers and 2 more position players, this team could be nasty.
My guess is cigars and beer before the meeting
I’d also love to re-kindle the Jonathan Sanchez-Matsui trade if it is available this year (soubt it though). Cash missed the boat on that.
I’d soil my pants if we could do that.
Pete needs to have a baseball SAT type test for entrance to this blog site next season….It is overwhelming to me at times the childlike posting that we must endure…..Tricia, Brandon you are comical at best….
*The pie will disappear pretty quickly.
*If we get 2 more…
Brandon (TEIX IS NOT WORTH IT, GET CC !)…”Don’t trade Robi !”
October 16th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Not that many people care that’s just for those who wanted Torre in the WS to spite us.
_______________________________________________________
I seriously doubt that there were any more people that wanted Torre to win to spite the Yankees than there were people who wanted the Dodgers to lose just to spite Torre and his fans.
Can we issue a mora-Torre-um? Please!
As a Phillies fan I am really hoping that the Rays do win and close it out tomorrow I want them to have as many days off as we do. If the series goes longer and the red sox either get back into it or god forbid win it they will have not only momentum but only a few days off
If the Rays win, which I hope only to keep the Red Sox out, this will be horrible for baseball’s World Series.
Personally, while I wasn’t for any team that made it this far, the Dodgers were at least a team I had some interest in watching.
Don’t give me the crap that “real” baseball fans are looking forward to seeing the Rays and Phillies. Many baseball fans are already tuning out the series we’ve had so far, moreso will drop out now.
Congrats to the Phillies, but I share no joy in it. This doesn’t validate getting rid of Torre, as quite a number of you allude to.
Its sad to see supposed Yankee fans turn on the former manager as if they were Red Sox fans turning on every player that leaves the Red Sox.
Many Yankee fans that I know in my area were rooting for the Dodgers, mainly because the appreciated what Mattingly and Torre and Bowa had meant to the Yankees over the years. It was nothing to do with rubbing it in the Yankee FO face.
Actively rooting against Torre as many here have just comes off classless. From the comments it wasn’t against the Dodgers as much as it was to salve some wierd strange view that this validates them as Yankee fans.
I’d also love to re-kindle the Jonathan Sanchez-Matsui trade if it is available this year (soubt it though). Cash missed the boat on that.
I think the boat has shipped.
Andy is coming back!!!!!!
I remember that Sanchez-Matsui talk.
Cashman tried to get greedy and get Cain/Lincecum LOL.
Pulled a Bill Smith and held out for too much. Sanchez was more than adequate for a 34 yr old Matsui with banged up knees.
GB there were people going on WFAN saying how they wanted Torre not only to win but in Tampa, in George’s backyard no offense I love Joe, but he had enough of NY, he was not resigned, and my loyalty is w/ this team not him. People wanted him to win another I’m sorry I’m not one of those people, I thought he won enough because if he wins it does nothing for me.
I’m glad for the Phillies, Manuel and Victorino especially.
TurnTables
October 16th, 2008 at 12:31 am
I remember that Sanchez-Matsui talk.
Cashman tried to get greedy and get Cain/Lincecum LOL.
Pulled a Bill Smith and held out for too much. Sanchez was more than adequate for a 34 yr old Matsui with banged up knees.
_______________________________________________________
Cashman didn’t ask for Cain or Lincecum. He just didn’t want Noah Lowery.
they are not real yankee fans from what i can see….almost as if they were traitors…….sad behavior,,,,
What Rosenthal said about Lowe contradicted what Heyman said entirely. Heyman has said for months that Lowe hates the laid back lifestyle out West and is dying to come back East, to Boston or NY specifically.
“I seriously doubt that there were any more people that wanted Torre to win to spite the Yankees than there were people who wanted the Dodgers to lose just to spite Torre and his fans.”
Seems like the spite Torre crowd is in the lead or at least a very vocal minority here tonight.
especially Manuel and Victorino.* (hey it’s midnight)
Listen to WFAN when Francessa had his open forum to fans to call in and state whether they are pro or anti-Torre.
Most of them were Pro-Torre and said things like “I hope its Dodgers-Red Sox to make the Yankees management squirm” or “I hope its Dodgers-Tampa so Torre wins in Hank’s backyard”.
Most of the fans rooting for Torre are doing it in a vindictive fashion to prove Hank wrong.
“loyalty is w/ this team not him.”
And if the Yankees were playing the Torres, then that would make sense.
“if he wins it does nothing for me.”
And what did his losing do to help you?
Brandon (TEIX IS NOT WORTH IT, GET CC !)…”Don’t trade Robi !”
October 16th, 2008 at 12:32 am
GB there were people going on WFAN saying how they wanted Torre not only to win but in Tampa, in George’s backyard no offense I love Joe, but he had enough of NY, he was not resigned, and my loyalty is w/ this team not him. People wanted him to win another I’m sorry I’m not one of those people, I thought he won enough because if he wins it does nothing for me.
I’m glad for the Phillies, Manuel and Victorino especially.
_______________________________________________
There were 6 teams involved and no way would the boards not be infested with fans of either Chicago team. And, the two Tampa fans are jerks anyway. The only way that I root for the Phillies is when they are playing Boston or the Mets. That leaves the Dodgers.
I think what drove most people to the Anti-Torre side was the media. They used Torre’s success as a way to knock the Yankees and Girardi. Every columnist did it, every media member did. They used it as an instigative link to the Yankee fan. If you read some of the articles from September until now, most of it was just unfair and incorrect.
So, most people then got fed up with how they propped Torre up only to make us look bad, and rooted against him as a result.
And what did his losing do to help you?
It shuts the damn media up, and I don’t both fatboys from WFAN slurp, slurp. DailyNews can now STFU, Mark Malusis can STFU, Tony Paige can STFU, NY Post can STFU because IT’S OVER.
Most of them were Pro-Torre and said things like “I hope its Dodgers-Red Sox to make the Yankees management squirm†or “I hope its Dodgers-Tampa so Torre wins in Hank’s backyardâ€.
Most of the fans rooting for Torre are doing it in a vindictive fashion to prove Hank wrong.
Yup. There was a lot of chatter like that and not only on WFAN. It was starting to annoy me greatly.
Anyway, I have nothing against the Phillies. Easy for me to sorta root for them. I have to admit they are a fun bunch to watch, at least I think so.
It’s clear what the demographics are.
The older fan is rooting for Torre
The younger fan is impartial or rooting against him.
And then there is (a fairly large contingent) who are not limited by age, doing it just to spite Hank and make him look bad because they don’t like him. Read some message boards or listen to talk radio, there are a large number of idiots who say things like “I want Torre to win in Tampa in Hank’s backgard” or “I want Torre to win to stick it to that blowhard Hank”.
Mac Nut,
What you say is true, but Yankee fans are bitter. Bitter that Torre had the spolight shining brightly on him.
I cheered more Philly to win than the Dodgers to lose.
But I will say a couple of things, in retrospect.
1. It was time for Torre to go. He sat on the bench and did nothing. Didn’t fight for our guys when we got screwed on balls & strikes or when they were obviously safe on the basepaths. Didn’t fight for our Jeter and Alex got plunked year after year after year. Didn’t fight for his poor rookie setup guy dealing with a swarm that was so massive it was almost biblical?
2. So he goes to LA and wakes up? Now he’s standing by the rails? Now he’s yelling when they get called for a check swing? Now there’s retaliation? Trying to get a guy who might be emotional because his grandmother died to fight and get suspended? Standing in between Manny and the Phillies? If that’s what wheatgrass does for you, then pass some my way.
3. He takes the high road, but still gets the message out loud and clear through his minions. Kind of coincidental that Bowa, Frank, and Donnie, a beloved YANKEE, all piped up around the same time. All after they made it out of the first round.
4. He quoted tonight that the Phillies live and die by the homerun. Well Torre lives and dies by his instinct. And now he’s headed home. Maybe he can get some golf in with his brother Hank.
I will always love and respect Torre, but he ain’t no saint.
Brandon -
basically the whole media in NY can STFU. lol
If the media has so much control over how you think, sad for you.
Agree with those who said the constant media slurping and their attempt to turn Torre’s success into an Anti-Yankee crusade is what turned most fans against Torre.
Torre got exposed big time in this series. For the same things he was criticized for in NY.
You know its bad when the laid back California fan/media is enraged.
mel-
Well said or written.
Oddssey-
Totally agree on the older crowd rooting for Torre, at least most of the older crowd.
Exactly Ed.
Mel
Well said. Now he’s not taking naps. Who is this stranger?
I’m going to copy and save what mel wrote that is so spot on.
Bleich pitching tonight, Romine/Sublett in the lineup.
Oddessy
October 16th, 2008 at 12:43 am
It’s clear what the demographics are.
The older fan is rooting for Torre
The younger fan is impartial or rooting against him.
And then there is (a fairly large contingent) who are not limited by age, doing it just to spite Hank and make him look bad because they don’t like him. Read some message boards or listen to talk radio, there are a large number of idiots who say things like “I want Torre to win in Tampa in Hank’s backgard†or “I want Torre to win to stick it to that blowhard Hankâ€.
____________________________________________________
Hank Steinbrenner doesn’t need help to look bad. I just have more reason to root for LA than the other teams. Torre is only a small part of that.
Whew. I guess that was kind of bottled up.
Now, we can all move on. 2009 is right around the corner.
Those FA pitchers better not take too long. Moose might grab the 4th spot.
mel- great post
“Girardi will be a great postseason manager when we get there. His advanced understanding of the BP/pitching in general will really serve him well. ”
Well I hope those pitchers can hit because he was pretty bad when it came to putting together lineups and in game situations like small ball. Not to mention, resting players when they didn’t need it like Damon in the last 30 games of the season when he was hottest hitter on the team.
Brandon -
ESPN needs to STFU too tomorrow with their a$$ kissing after Boston looses.
mel
“Maybe he can get some golf in with his brother Hank.”
I’m guessing Hank would be the last person Joe would play golf with in the off season.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26/sac1129/JoeTorre.jpg
Here’s an awesome picture of Joe Torre waving to the crowd as he realizes his season is over.
For all you Sigmund Frauds.
I have working internet. Ths is a miracle. Thus I had to announce it.
wisedom comes with age….
Mel -
if I didn’t know better, I seriously thought you were a news journalist in disguise. lol
Torre having Frank, Donnie, and Bowa dissing the Yankees after we were eliminated already was low. Frank especially.
Torre put up such an act in LA, it was so transparent.
Jeff
October 16th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Torre got exposed big time in this series. For the same things he was criticized for in NY.
You know its bad when the laid back California fan/media is enraged.
_____________________________________________________
Exposed for what? A three man rotation, 2 man bullpen and hitters that didn’t hit?
“I will always love and respect Torre, ”
sure don’t sound like it.
The Russell Martin/Victorino thing was just classless.
And Martin went hitless in LA, 2-17 for the series, including leaving 8 on base in game 4.
sure don’t sound like it.
She just told you she did.
Hey guys, just broke on ESPN News that Andy told the Yankees that he wants to pitch next season. So at least Wang and Pettitte are set in the rotation.
Celerino Sanchez…You had the most amazing arm from 3rd…Shame Gabe Paul brought in Graig Nettles….We alnost pulled it off in 72…Damn Tigers got hot in Sept, as we faded…..
Steve Phillips said he expects the Dodgers to try and re-sign Manny AND sign Sabathia
So now that Bowa is available to talk, contact him.
He is a Torre groupie, so he’ll probably decline, but it’s worth a try.
“I will always love and respect Torre, â€
why dont you try reading the whole thing?
Yes that means CC is coming to NY !
Exposed for what? A three man rotation, 2 man bullpen and hitters that didn’t hit?
Hmmmmmm…
Wonder if all you “fans” will be rooting this hard against Giradi when he is managing the Royals in 2010 or 2011.
Celerino,
Are they in the world series or not?
Just kidding.
Hank has to be one of the least physically fit individuals I have ever seen in my life. He should just shut up, lock himself in an upstairs bedroom and eat take-out food all day.
To quote Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life, “Why don’t you stop annoying people?”
Wonder if all you “fans†will be rooting this hard against Giradi when he is managing the Royals in 2010 or 2011.
Ofcourse we would ! but he’s staying here so live w/ it.
Of course Andy wants to come back with the Yankees.
Whether or not it’s a good idea, however, is another story.
you fans rooting against torre are pathetic.
he is 1000x the manager girardi ever will be
while girardi is taking candy away in the clubhouse, running a military camp, and allienating his players… torre is out in sunny la win the nlcs, further than we have gotten in 4 years. his team rallies around him, teams rally against girardi.
torre has nothing to be ashamed of, he is loving life in la with a 1st place team while we are 3rd place with girardi
Pettitte, Wang, Joba, ??, ??
2 more spots needs to be filled…wonder who will it be? hm..
Mike Francessa, the biggest Torre groupe in the media, will NOT be a happy camper tomorrow. I feel bad for whoever his partner is tomorrow, he is about be used as a punching bag for 6 hours.
PAT M
October 16th, 2008 at 1:00 am
Celerino Sanchez…You had the most amazing arm from 3rd…Shame Gabe Paul brought in Graig Nettles….We alnost pulled it off in 72…Damn Tigers got hot in Sept, as we faded…..
_________________________________________________________
It’s too bad that his bat didn’t match the arm. I would have settled for power or average. He had neither.
I don’t know why but seeing Sanchez’ name brings to mind is Horace Clarke. He has always gotten hammered for not being able to hit or field, and both are totally false. He could also run and steal bases. People don’t remember that he broke up at least 3 no hitters and his first to Major League homers were grand slams.
ok night all. gotta wake up in 7 hours. later.
I’m a Yankee fan.
I cheer for the laundry.
I root for the manager of the New York Yankees.
“Pettitte, Wang, Joba, ??, ??
2 more spots needs to be filled…wonder who will it be? hm..”
Its certainly good that Andy is coming back he still has some baseball in that left arm. However the Yankees need to be very careful with Joba his IP count will be 150 tops next season. So he obviously needs to be the #5 to keep his innings down.
Francessa has said from the beginning that he was rooting for the Dodgers but he thought the Phillies would win. I think it’s going to be less of a melt down than you expect.
I believe that Torre’s time in NY was done, but the Yankees handled the whole thing poorly.
Girardi hasn’t done much to endear him to many Yankee fans, and a large number of us never wanted to see him as the manager. Of all the names that were floated out there, Girardi was always my dead last choice.
The media might have driven some of the Torre hate from easily lead individuals. It actually pretty sad to see so many people being swayed in their feelings because a windbag on Radio or TV says something.
I never liked the Phillies as a team. To me they are childish, baseball teams should not need anything as stupid as the Phillie Phanatic, or Mr. Met.
Torre had his faults, but I sincerely doubt that he had his “minions” making comments. Most of those comments were generated because the media asked, they asked because there was hurt on Torre’s side on how he perceived the way he was being treated the last few years in NY. If I were his friend I would certainly speak up on his behalf without being prompted especially if I felt he had a legitimate gripe about it. His getting to the playoffs generated a lot of chatter. Its a good story, it was made even better by him getting to the second round against the favored Cubs.
No matter who came in as manager, unless they brought the team to a WS, they were going to be compared to Torre in unflatering light. There is no helping it. Torre was every bit a face of the franchise as Jeter and Mo. Mattingly would have been treated slightly better because he viewed as a true Yankee.
Mel, I agree that the midges game was poorly handled, but lets not get out of control with the description of it being “biblical”.
Remember that Torre also suffered from poor knees for years, which could account for him looking more involved in these games. Add to that the pressures he was getting from the FO, and it doesn’t exactly surprise me.
A scout sang the praises of Hank Blalock’s second-half hitting (.281/.324/.532 after the break). Blalock may be on the trading block.
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
Hank’s off-season priorities revealed-
1) Buy carton of Marlboro Reds
2) Stop by Popeye’s Chicken for a 12 piece family meal and a side of red beans and rice.
3) Pick up a copy of Larry FLynt’s “Nailin’ Palin” when it is released.
4) Invent new drink- gravy + beer = greer.
How many innings can Joba throw next year? His previous high is 109 right?
Celerino Sanchez – you had a great week or 2 in 1972. Bobby Cox, Jerry Kenney, Celerino Sanchez – the horrible Yankee 3B of my childhood. this made me remember how exciting it was when the Yanks nabbed Graig Nettles
Hank needs to get us CC or Burnett.
“Mike Francessa, the biggest Torre groupe in the media, will NOT be a happy camper tomorrow. I feel bad for whoever his partner is tomorrow, he is about be used as a punching bag for 6 hours.”
Mike disregards how Torre has acted towards the Yanks since he left. He has basically been saying “I told ya so” since August when the Yanks were 10 games back. He has basically been telling the media that he WAS the Yankees dynasty which is horrifically egotistical. Bernie, O’neill, Jeter, Posada, Wells, Cone, Pettitte, Tino, Brosius those guys made those teams not the manager just keep pattin’ yourself on the back Joe out there with those “passionate” LA fans. You can tell how much they care about the team they show up in the 3rd inning and leave during the 7th inning stretch.
Torre is gone from the playoffs– mission accomplished. Let’s close the book on him here, nothing else to talk about.
Now lets root focus on the Rays-Sox series and the off-season.
“A scout sang the praises of Hank Blalock’s second-half hitting (.281/.324/.532 after the break). Blalock may be on the trading block.”
Eh, pass. Blalock whiffs a ton and he is a natural third baseman.
Al, thats exactly true. He was using Frank, Mattingly, Bowa as his link to tell the Yankees how he felt about us and rubbed it in after we were eliminated. So people need to spare us the ‘class’ argument. Makes it that much sweeter that Torre is out of the playoffs.
Mac Nut,
I admit I was a little melodramatic there, but he’s a different person. And the fact of the matter is that he protected Manny, but didn’t protect Alex and Jeter. And let’s not confuse ourselves and say that Joba retaliated last season. That was all Roger.
I’m just the bitter child that hates seeing Torre happy with his new family.
Just kidding. As usual.
But I give Girardi the benefit of the doubt. A clean slate. He doesn’t have to fill any shoes or wear any old sweaters. I can separate the two men, the two managers, the two eras. For others? They’re not quite there yet.
george
October 16th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Celerino Sanchez – you had a great week or 2 in 1972. Bobby Cox, Jerry Kenney, Celerino Sanchez – the horrible Yankee 3B of my childhood. this made me remember how exciting it was when the Yanks nabbed Graig Nettles
______________________________________________________
Had Sanchez been able to hit more, the Yankees would never have traded Stan Bahnsen for Rich McKinney…one of the worst trades NYY ever made along with trading Bill Skowren for Stan Williams .
Here’s all we have to know about Torre.
If Manny stays in Boston, it is an Arizona-Philly NLCS. The Dodgers are not in the equation. I’ve watched them all season, they were a stalemate franchise that was mirroed in mediocrity. Manny changed the complexion of the franchise.
He put up historic numbers. People are going to be talking about what Manny did this year for the next 50 years. Thats how unprecedented it was. He couldn’t be gotten out at all. Look at what he did in the playoffs.
Players want Burnett, Burnett wants to come here, and mel wants Burnett.
Lets get him
“Al, thats exactly true. He was using Frank, Mattingly, Bowa as his link to tell the Yankees how he felt about us and rubbed it in after we were eliminated. So people need to spare us the ‘class’ argument. Makes it that much sweeter that Torre is out of the playoffs.”
I agree Mo. Torre got mad because the Yanks had the nerve to hand the great Joe Torre an incentive laden contract. After that horrific 04 series, followed by 3 consecutive 1st round ousters Torre expected business as usual and that is a bit entitled IMO. ANY other manager would have been drawn and quartered after losing to a team after having a 3-0 series lead. The Yankees hardly mentioned it and never blamed it solely on Torre and the first sign of disapproval Torre runs for a passionless baseball town like LA. Congrats Joe I hope you’re happy, however when he left I felt personally insulted the people who really matter the fans and players both wanted him back and he turned and ran because he wanted to stick it to the Steinbrenners.
What’s the guest list for the “organizational meetings?” Hank, Hal, Cash, and Felix the Gardener. Who makes the decisions in this room? Who’s the Boss? Will there be any random Tampa-based “gurus” and “advisors” around?
E-Rod,
More importantly, Brandon signed off on it!
No lights, no game in Waipahu.
mel,
That’s true. We’re still working on him signing off on Teix though. Hopefully he comes around.
So Brandon is Hal? He has to sign off on the deals even if Hank (the rest of this blog) want him?
No lights? Is that like a rain delay in Hawaii?
Art,
Felix the Gardner will be doing yard work around the complex until about noon, then he will join the meeting already in progress and then make the final decisions on how the off-season will unfold.
Basically, the rest of the guys will brainstorm and have a plan ready to present to Felix the Gardner and he will sign off on it or not.
lol. Tank. The wind keeps blowing out the tiki torches.
There’s a stretch of the island that’s had a power outage.
Think Felix will sign off on Gardner in CF?
So cute… Victorino with his (what I’m assuming is) his wife and kid
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/phi/photos;_ylt=AhDnUc9k2hoaqD.Sphuqa6Ik0bYF#photoViewer=urn%3Anewsml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cgetty%3A20050301%3Amlb%2Cphoto%2Cda233c6d4cf600ccbb673e65c1c06613-getty-83112964ps067_philadelphia_%3A1
if pettitte comes back then moose has to go
I’m still baffled how George gave a landscaper/gardner such a prominent role in the organization. Does he have ANY baseball credentials?
Why is that guy looking at Victorino w/ his tongue out ?
“if pettitte comes back then moose has to go”
I think we have already seen Moose for the last time. He has alwasy wanted to go out on top and 20 wins harder to go out better than that.
The main thing they need to discuss in tomorrow’s meetings is what kind of recruitment tour they are going to give CC.
Send Jeter, Arod, Mo, Andy, Jorge, Yogi, Reggie, Tino, O’Neil, etc. all out to Cali to recruit him. Wine him and dine him. Show him Westchester county and the new stadium. An all out tour.
“The main thing they need to discuss in tomorrow’s meetings is what kind of recruitment tour they are going to give CC.
Send Jeter, Arod, Mo, Andy, Jorge, Yogi, Reggie, Tino, O’Neil, etc. all out to Cali to recruit him. Wine him and dine him. Show him Westchester county and the new stadium. An all out tour.”
You’re absolutely right Jeff. The Yanks need to go all out or its not happening.
Don’t disregard the idea that both Mussina and Pettite won’t be back. That’s a very good 3-4-5 in the rotation along with Wang. Either Sabathia or Burnett or maybe both could be signed. Hughes to Scranton to hone his craft and Chamberlain to mix in with Mussina and Pettitte to get spot starts and long relief. If NYY goes with only one FA pitcher, they’ll sign a bat. Of course they could sign a bat and both Sabathia and Burnette plus the bat and send either Chamberlain or Hughes to Scranton.
Jeff
October 16th, 2008 at 2:05 am
The main thing they need to discuss in tomorrow’s meetings is what kind of recruitment tour they are going to give CC.
Send Jeter, Arod, Mo, Andy, Jorge, Yogi, Reggie, Tino, O’Neil, etc. all out to Cali to recruit him. Wine him and dine him. Show him Westchester county and the new stadium. An all out tour.
_____________________________________________________
If Sabathia says no to the Yanks, have the entourage show Sabathia the Meadowlands in New Jersey….the end zone may be of interest.
Yankees have created a monster in Rays -Wallace Matthews
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spwally1016,0,6027056.column
That monster, of course, is the Tampa Bay Rays, who not long ago were baseball’s gift to the Yankees, 18 gimmes a year, but now have developed into the Yankees’ worst nightmare.
As far as the Yankees are concerned, they should never have removed the word “Devil” from their name, because from the looks of things, they will demonize the AL East for the next five years or so, or until their roster full of affordable homegrown talent outgrows their modest franchise, at which point they will victimize the Yankees again, as high-priced and probably over-the-hill free agents.
pat,
LOL. That’s supposed to be “his brother Frank”.
Yes, that’ll be the dya.
*day
Okay. This question should be discussed before the commencement of Game 5.
Maddon’s going with Kaz over Shields in Game 5. Good move, bad, or doesn’t matter?
I think it’s a rather bold move. Shields has been horrible at Fenway. Daryl Cousins is scheduled to be the home plate umpire in game 6. And the rest day gives Maddon full use of his bullpen for Kazmir who the lasting power of a spritz of perfume.
The only negative is that Kazmir’s been very hittable, not very confident on the mound, and the Red Sox will attack with a vengeance.
By the end of the day we’ll see if it was a good move or not.
Mel, given the numbers that Kazmir puts up against Boston in Fenway Psrk are immensely better than Shields numbers against Boston. I think it’s a good move. Kazmir will have a full five days off.
They did not finish third becuz of the division they finished third b/c they sucked. seven teams had a better record than them. They didnt deserve to make the playoffs no matter what division they were in. and if they got a free pass they clearly would have lost in the first round with jeter hurt and petite having the worst season of his career. They do have alot of work to do to make the world series next yr – we need two quality pitchers to have a decent shot at the very least.
Congratulations to the NL Champion Phillies. I hope they win the World Series.
Going back to last night, GB7 and Pat M, just for the record, I wasn’t rooting against Joe Torre. I would have been fine if the Dodgers won, but I didn’t really care who won; decided to pick a side and I picked the Phillies. However, I would be lying if I said it didn’t bother me how much the media used the Dodgers and Torre’s success as a hammer against the Yankees. To me, one had nothing to do with the other once Torre moved on.
Mel, great post last night on Torre then vs. Torre now. It’s been interesting to watch. Sometimes, it’s just time to turn the page, and it was time for him to say goodbye to New York. It is clearly obvious now that he was not happy here for the last couple of years, or at least not energized – he got new life thanks to the LA wheatgrass!
I think it’s a good but risky move by Maddon to pitch Kazmir tonight. I’m sure knowing he has a well-rested bullpen makes the move a little less risky for him. I hope it works out for them. I’d like to see the Rays be able to do something against Dice-K. And therein lies the twist; it may not really matter who is pitching for Tampa if Matsuzaka can do what he did in Game 1.
“Mel, given the numbers that Kazmir puts up against Boston in Fenway Psrk are immensely better than Shields numbers against Boston. I think it’s a good move. Kazmir will have a full five days off.”
Fair enough point, but career numbers don’t mean much when you’ve crapped the bed for the last month plus the way Kazmir has. Also worth noting Kazmir was nothing special in Fenway this year.
To me it comes down to this: Does anyone think for a minute Shields isn’t starting this game if the series is at 2-2??? As I see it, if you’re going to start a guy at 2-2, you start him at 3-1.
R.I.P Tom Tresh SS, New York Yankees. Lost in the excitement of the Phillie’s win was the notice that tom Tresh passed away aged 71 heart attack.
Another piece of childhood gone.
Manny Ramirez should sign with the mets for 6 years and lots of
Wilpons. If she dogs it Jerry Manuel will cut him
dave, according to ESPN the final AL standings were:
2008 American League – Standings
AMERICAN W L PCT
LA Angels 100 62 0.617
Tampa Bay 97 65 0.599
Boston 95 67 0.586
NY Yankees 89 73 0.549
That would be closer to 3 teams (2 of which were in the same division as the Yankees) than to 7 teams.
No CC! He will turn into Fat Sid Fernandez before the ink is dry. Also, go take a look at his career post season and all-star game stats. There is obviously a problem with big ticket games.
“Also, go take a look at his career post season and all-star game stats.”
I agree. The fact that CC has pitched poorly in the All-Star game proves he should not be signed.
If he can’t pitch well in a meaningless exhibition game I don’t think he’s cut-out for the Yankees.
CC is the best player out there this offseason. The Yankees need to sign him. He hasn’t had any arm trouble. To say that his arm is going to blow out is nothing more than a guess.
He has pitched poorly in the post season, but, that doesn’t discount how good he is. Heck, Johan Santana has a loosing record in October (1-3 with a 3.97 ERA), and has had some real stinkers there too.
gayle- A little late, but I was thinking the same thing when they showed Torre coming out and blowing kisses to the LALA fans that were left. He never did that for us.
Also mels post was dead on. Watching this series and seeing Joe constantly on the top step, into every pitch, every swing, it made me angry. I don’t recall if we ever saw that Joe! All he did was sit on the bench. Like mel said he sad by and watched his young pitcher get eaten alive by bugs and DID NOTHING!!!
After watching this series, anyone who doesn’t think it was time for Joe to go, I don’t know what to say.
Joe checked out on the Yankees years ago.
Randy Levine and Lonn Trost are sitting at the big conference table as strictly figureheads with little or no input into hard baseball decisions.
Cashman makes it known who he wants and if it’s feasible with the approval of Hal Steinbrenner for funds.
As always, “Stick” Michael will have valued input along with the farm system thoughts of Mark Newman as to what prospects can be parted with at trading time.
jennifer -
It really is sad, isn’t it? I always supported Torre. And, you know, I never blamed Torre for any of the early exits because in baseball, well, “things happen.” I did, however, blame him for the bugs fiasco last season. And to hear Joe Torre himself say he regretted doing nothing about it infuriated me.
It’s apparent Joe has found new life in LA, and that’s good for him. It is too bad that he was on autopilot for the last 3 seasons in NY and he should actually thank the Yankees front office for giving him the opportunity to rejuvenate himself! Now, that’s a different take on the situation!
The thing is, I personally didn’t realize how much on autopilot he was until I got to see him in action during this series.
1. I wonder how much input Gene Michael has these days.
2. Sad to hear about Tom Tresh (see above post). He was one of the first Yankees I rooted for when I was small, and just learning what baseball was about. “Another piece of childhood gone” – so true.
Lonn Trost & Randy Levine can stay at home, really. What is Levine’s input anyhow? Oh if you sign Sabathia & Texiera my statistics show that fans will pack the new stdium even if the Yankees don’t make the post season? Those guys are money men, they should have nothing to do with personnel decisions. The meeting should be Cashman, the Steinbrenners, Oppenheimer, Gene Michael, and any scouting people that Cashman counsels with. Levine has had way too much influence on this teams decisions over the past decade, and needs to keep his fat trap behind his desk counting numbers.
why isn’t Girardi included in the mix?
So am I the ONLY Yankee fan that was rooting for the Dodgers simply because Joe Torre was a great part of the Yankees for a long time? NOT because I felt spite or bitterness towards the Yankees/Hank Steinbrenner.
I’m a Torre fan and despite his faults he was a great manager for many years. At the same time, I am glad we turned the page on his tenure and went with Girardi.
I just don’t understand these fans that hate Torre just because he isn’t a Yankee anymore. Mattingly, Bowa and Torre might have said some disparaging things about the Yankees and the Yankees might have treated Torre badly on the way out but that’s between them. I’m still a Torre fan and I’m still a Yankee fan.
Who cares what dopey Mike Francessa or the rest of the media says about Torre/the Yanks?! I don’t even pay attention to that nonsense.
Congrats to the Phillies, they clearly are the better team and it should be a fun world series between the Rays and Phils.
Game 4 of the series is an example of why Joe Torre is no longer managing the Yankees.
He had a great run with the Yankees. However, as many Yankee fans saw the last few years, the Dodgers got a great introduction into Torre’s game management skills in the way he blew Game 4 the other night.
I know those who think Torre could do no wrong will disagree but, he went the professor emertius route the last 4 years in NY.
Game 4 was the turning point of the series and, truth be told, Joe gave that game away with his decisionmaking.
Every manager has weaknesses. Joe has his, Girardi has his, Charlie Manuel has his, etc.
That said, game management is important, especially in the post-season because momentum can turn around a series quickly. So are people skills, which is Torre’s strong suit.
However, when you mismanage bullpens as badly as Torre does, its tough to win in the post-season unless you have a guy like Mariano Rivera saving your behind.
There is no question that Joe Girardi has things he has to work on if he is to achieve the success he has the potential to have as a manager.
We have to remember though that he is in his second year managing, while Torre just concluded Year 27.
If Girardi manages for 27 years, I doubt we would see the kind of in game screwups we saw in Game 4 the other night.
Agreed re: the Torre Hate. Its unnecessary and it makes Yankee fans look very small.
The guy had a great run in NY but, its over. It was time for both sides to move on. It happens in life just as it happens in sports.
Frankly, it should have happened sooner. If it did, perhaps both sides wouldn’t be so bitter about the parting.
I had no rooting interest in the Phils series. Wouldn’t have bothered me if the Dodgers went to the World Series because it doesn’t affect the Yankees.
The Dodgers made the playoffs for ONE reason and it was Manny Ramirez.
Without Manny, they wouldn’t have made the playoffs.
Once they got in, Joe’s in game flaws came to the forefront.
When a soft media market like LA can spot how weak Joe was on the bench in Game 4, even Torre’s biggest fans would have to acknowledge it was those kind of gaffes that ticked off some Yankee fans to no end in his last 4 years in NY.
I hope things work out for Torre in LA. Clearly, he is happy being in a softer market, where getting to the NLCS once every 10 years is considered an accomplishment.
That’s ok with me. I’m more concerned with what the Yankees do than I am with Joe Torre’s success or failure in his new home.
SJ44,
No doubt about it. I’ve been following the Dodgers all season and he is still a poor in-game manager (especially bullpen). A ton of Yankee fans complained about the lineups Girardi put out there. I guarantee they would have screamed louder at some of the ridiculous lineups Torre used.
I’m still a Torre fan but I’m glad he’s not the manager in NY.
“I’m still a Torre fan but I’m glad he’s not the manager in NY.”
I’m alright with Torre gone, but would be happier if we were secure in the knowledge that the right guy is on the job right now.
” Hal and Hank Steinbrenner will preside over a crew that will include Randy Levine, Lonn Trost and Brian Cashman ”
abbot and costello meet the three stooges.
this should be really good. if i was still eight years old this dog and pony show probably would be really funny.
when we watch this group we are basically watching the architects of the failed policies of the cashman administration try to put patches on their sinking ship. over the next 3 years, the rays will likely have a better catcher, first baseman,third baseman,left fielder,center fielder, starting pitching, and better team defense. the rays would not trade david price for joba chamberlain even up.
if the yankees can’t spend 250 million a year on salaries, i don’t think they can beat tampa bay. since they aren’t going to do that, they should go the other way, pull a marlins fire sale, have attendance drop dramatically ,and pull the financial rug out from under the rays since yankee money is much of the money pool that is financing the rays.
if this meeting were a movie, it would be called ” abbott and costello meet the three stooges as the hindenberg hits the titantic”.
as far as the rays go, it’s refreshing as a baseball fan to see players like longoria and upton emerge.
a side observation is that there should not be a luxury tax plus revenue sharing. one or the other. the yankees should threaten to pull a marlins fire sale to force a change to baseball’s basic structure and do it if they don’t force a change.
“a side observation is that there should not be a luxury tax plus revenue sharing. one or the other.”
Luxury Tax is to deck chairs as Revenue Sharing is to the Titanic.
Revenue sharing will never go away. Not sure on the luxury tax.
“I’m alright with Torre gone, but would be happier if we were secure in the knowledge that the right guy is on the job right now.”
Well its tough to say after one year. Obviously Girardi didn’t get the job done. When Girardi was hired I liked the choice. Lets see how he does next year.
“over the next 3 years, the rays will likely have a better catcher, first baseman,third baseman,left fielder,center fielder, starting pitching, and better team defense.”
So were saying Longoria is better than Rodriguez already??? Might be a tad premature, though he is probably a better fielder right now. Similarly at catcher, Navarro is never going to match Posada offensively, but is definitely a superior defensive player.
So randy your strategy would be to make the Yankees go bankrupt so that the Rays lose some percentage of their income? I believe thats called cutting your nose off to spite your face.
To save time, here are some ready-made explanations for why the Dodgers lost the NLCS despite having Torre at the helm:
1. The Dodgers did not give Torre the tools he needed to succeed.
2. This was a transition year for Torre, who had to adjust to a different team and league.
3. The umpires hated the Dodgers.
4. Manny, while seemingly helping the team, secretly poisoned all his teammates so he could hog the spotlight.
5. Derek Lowe sucks.
It seems like commenters on this blog have had the same exchange a thousand times. The followers of St. Joe say the Yankees should have given Torre whatever it would have taken to keep him because he was so instrumental in the Yankees’ winning championships in the dynasty years and making the playoffs since. Torre’s detractors note that, since 2001, Yankee teams have underachieved in the playoffs, and Torre has contributed to the Yankees’ playoff losses on a nearly annual basis by making incomprehensible strategic decisions.
This year puts the Torre argument to rest. The worshiper crowd praised Torre to the skies because he led his team to a two-game improvement over Grady Little’s 2007 Dodgers in the weakest division in baseball (no thanks, of course, to an otherworldly stretch performance by Manny), and swept a Cubs team that gave away games like Halloween candy. But Game 4 reminded Yankee fans of the Torre they could do without.
For any manager in the playoffs, let alone the game’s highest-paid manager, costing your team a game due to inexplicably bad decisions is unacceptable.
“When Girardi was hired I liked the choice. Lets see how he does next year.”
I wasn’t a fan myself. Didn’t think he brought enough in the way of managerial accomplishment/experience to the job and felt his style wasn’t what this veteran laden team needed. Still don’t think so.
Dumb dumb dumb, Randy you have the Rays being a dynasty now? SMH
“Didn’t think he brought enough in the way of managerial accomplishment/experience to the job and felt his style wasn’t what this veteran laden team needed.”
And yet every veteran player who stayed healthy had a good season. (Except Molina, Pudge, and Pettitte, but I sincerely doubt their problems had anything to do with Girardi’s managing style.) Mussina had one of the better seasons of his career. Giambi and Damon pleasantly surprised everyone.
The team didn’t score runs because Melky and Cano were terrible, the whole team struggled with RISP, and Posada and Matsui were hurt. None of those issues had anything to do with Girardi’s managing style.
I actually think the reason the Yankees struggled this year was because the team put the wrong flavors of Gatorade in the dugout. My theory is just as disprovable as the Girardi managing style theory, and might have more support.
“jennifer
October 16th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Also mels post was dead on. Watching this series and seeing Joe constantly on the top step, into every pitch, every swing, it made me angry. I don’t recall if we ever saw that Joe! All he did was sit on the bench. Like mel said he sad by and watched his young pitcher get eaten alive by bugs and DID NOTHING!!!
After watching this series, anyone who doesn’t think it was time for Joe to go, I don’t know what to say.
Joe checked out on the Yankees years ago”
yup.
Jeremy:
This group of veterans who all had good years, were a middle of the road offensive team and a putrid defensive team that played with zero sense of urgency for about 140 games. Not buying that Girardi’s not to blame for same for that.
*sOme of that
ANDY’S COMING BACK!!!!
NY Post
More people that I know felt that while it was time for Torre and the Yankees to part ways, the manner in which it happened was done poorly. At least the Yankees weren’t as bad as the Mets with Willie, but while both moves were the correct ones, the way things are done should matter.
I think the bashing that Torre gets from a lot of posters here is uncalled for and petty. Then again, this site seems to attract some pretty strange characters.
Mel
But I will say a couple of things, in retrospect.
1. It was time for Torre to go. He sat on the bench and did nothing. Didn’t fight for our guys when we got screwed on balls & strikes or when they were obviously safe on the basepaths. Didn’t fight for our Jeter and Alex got plunked year after year after year. Didn’t fight for his poor rookie setup guy dealing with a swarm that was so massive it was almost biblical?
2. So he goes to LA and wakes up? Now he’s standing by the rails? Now he’s yelling when they get called for a check swing? Now there’s retaliation? Trying to get a guy who might be emotional because his grandmother died to fight and get suspended? Standing in between Manny and the Phillies? If that’s what wheatgrass does for you, then pass some my way.
3. He takes the high road, but still gets the message out loud and clear through his minions. Kind of coincidental that Bowa, Frank, and Donnie, a beloved YANKEE, all piped up around the same time. All after they made it out of the first round.
4. He quoted tonight that the Phillies live and die by the homerun. Well Torre lives and dies by his instinct. And now he’s headed home. Maybe he can get some golf in with his brother Hank.
I will always love and respect Torre, but he ain’t no saint.
All of this is valid. Joe really became too concerned with being seen as “classy” to the point of having no competitive edge. He should have backed ARod on the “Mine” thing – many oldtime players said “it happens all the time, part of the game w/in the game” and meanwhile, Joe upholds the condemnation of ARod by a nothing player who got caught napping.
I will never root for a Philadelphia team – unless forced to by a Boston-Philly showdown or Mets-Philly. The fans down there have to be experienced to make people understand why. But I also hate the Dodgers; many people around here are too young to understand that this an historic, hated rival. I despise Lasorda to this day, and although we’ve won more than we’ve lost against them (like Boston), I was out there in the bleachers in ‘81 and watched the infield crumble. We blew a 2-games-to-1 series lead. That is still painful to me. I’m not rooting for the Dodgers – I don’t care who’s connected with the current edition.
…that’s meant to read “we blew a 2-games-to-NONE series lead”!!!!!
“This group of veterans who all had good years, were a middle of the road offensive team and a putrid defensive team that played with zero sense of urgency for about 140 games. Not buying that Girardi’s not to blame for same for that.”
Again, they were a middle of the road offensive team beause Cano and Melky (not veterans) were terrible, and Posada and Matsui were injured (ARod also missed games). Also, Jeter struggled for months, probably because of his hand injury.
The team had big problems hitting with RISP. You know what other team had problems with RISP this season? The Rays. Their manager must have done a crappy job too.
If Torre can make a team hit better with RISP, then he really is a saint of some kind because it would take magical powers. Likewise he does not project a mystical energy field that keeps his players healthy.
Nor could Torre have transformed fundamentally bad defenders like Giambi or Abreu into good ones. Jeter’s defense actually improved this season.
Torre is the last manager I can envision instilling a “sense of urgency,” whatever that is, in a team. I thought he was legendary for his calming effect on the players? In any case, most of the time we saw him in the dugout during Yankee games, he looked zombified.
I question two things about Girardi’s management style: did it contribute to Cano’s terrible season somehow, and did he promote a less patient approach to at bats that led to fewer walks and quicker outs. The problem is there’s no way to know the answers. All the evidence we can see indicates that the team’s problems had nothing to do with how Girardi interacted with his veteran players.
Did the meetings start yet?
I would love to have Bowa back, but I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.
Got to agree on both points.
1. Torre accomplished great things in NY and as fans we should be greatful, not bitter.
2. Torre was never a good “in game” manager. Especially when it came to pitching and that really showed in Game 4. His greatest skill was managing personalities.
“I was out there in the bleachers in ‘81 and watched the infield crumble. We blew a 2-games-to-1 series lead.”
‘81 was tough. Yankees had leads in Games 3-6 too. Damn you George Frazier!!!
One thing I forgot to mention last night it was a VERY VERY clasy move by Pat Gillick last night saying how much Ed Wade deserves credit for that the Phillies have done this year.
As much as I am NOT an Ed Wade fan one thing he was always good at was evaluating young players and talent. He did draft really well and when it came to locking in younger players in he did it right.
Shows me what kind of man Gillick really is to throw him a bone in the spotlight like that.
Also in the Post article they mentioned another candidate called Mike who was a former Ynkees second baseman and had been fired by the Rockies. Who are they referring to??
“More people that I know felt that while it was time for Torre and the Yankees to part ways, the manner in which it happened was done poorly.”
The problem is there was no way to handle the Torre situation well. Torre had enjoyed too much success and failure as manager for the team to come up with a solution that was best for everyone.
The Yankees could not simply decline Torre’s contract. If Torre described his $5+ million offer as an insult, imagine how he would have spun no offer at all.
If it were time for Torre to go, the Yankees could not offer him a high-paying, multi-year deal like the Dodgers did.
So the Yankees had to make a less-generous offer. The one-year offer was a compromise. If Torre took it, he would still be the highest-paid manager. If he didn’t make the playoffs (which would have happened) or led the team to an early exit, not re-signing him in 2009 would be easier. If he led the team to another championship, everyone would win, including Torre, who would receive a ridiculous $8 million and a multi-year offer to return.
The problem with compromises is the good ones leave everyone unsatisfied. Torre didn’t want a one-year offer no matter how much it paid, so he turned it down.
I think it was the best the Yankees could have done in difficult circumstances. I’m open to hearing a better idea.
“I question two things about Girardi’s management style: did it contribute to Cano’s terrible season somehow, and did he promote a less patient approach to at bats that led to fewer walks and quicker outs. The problem is there’s no way to know the answers. All the evidence we can see indicates that the team’s problems had nothing to do with how Girardi interacted with his veteran players.”
With Cano, yes. Girardi waited far too long to bench him for lax play, and allowed him to keep his far too open stance till the season was tanking.
As to hitting, didn’t you notice that the Yankee lineup was more productive when it settled down instead of the musical chair bit from earlier in the season?
It isn’t all on the manager, but there is a good portion of it that is. Hopefully Girardi will make adjustments as some of the things he brought were clearly better than Torre.
Its too bad a mix of the good of each manager couldn’t be found. The personnel managing abilities of Torre along with the bullpen management of Girardi would go a long way toward making the manager less of a problem than before.
For those who are complaining about Torre sticking up for his players, OK, that is valid, but Girardi hasn’t done any real sticking up for them either. He had one phony tirade that was as transparent as Clinton’s finger wagging.
“All the evidence we can see indicates that the team’s problems had nothing to do with how Girardi interacted with his veteran players.
And I’m not blaming him enitrely for how the year went, but he didn’t do a good job. He’s culpable to a degree, whatever the reason.
FWIW, there was some noise about him not being favorably received by some vets in the clubhouse. Could be B.S. promulagated by the media, but with Joe’s slightly abrasive, smartest guy in the room, personality, it wouldn’t surprise me. I’m not advocating firing him or anything, just saying I didn’t think he had the resume for the job in the 1st place.
gayle-
Mike Gallego AKA “Gags”.
Why would Bowa want to come back to a team that released him last year and work for a manager that marginalized the coaches that he didn’t hand select?
IMO, if you really want Bowa back in the Yankee fold, it might require offering him the bench coach job unless he has an east coast preference.
“Why would Bowa want to come back to a team that released him last year and work for a manager that marginalized the coaches that he didn’t hand select?”
He may not. As it’s noted fiction writer George King who is the source on this, I wouldn’t bank on it happening.
“The problem is there was no way to handle the Torre situation well. Torre had enjoyed too much success and failure as manager for the team to come up with a solution that was best for everyone.”
I disagree. Torre was almost fired mid-season in his last season with the Yankees. Playing the long waiting game and then coming up with the deal that they knew he would not take was wrong.
If after the season ended they offered him a FO job, or said that they were going a different direction it would have been accepted. Throughout that whole week the talk on the various media outlets were on Torre being let go.
How was what they did the best they could have done? The end result was the one they really wanted, Torre gone. Managers get changed, fans accept that. Eras come to a close.
The Yankees could have told him within a day that they decided to go in a different direction with the team and honored him.
They failed to honor him in the closing of the stadium. That was wrong, just as it was wrong to leave him dangling.
Any means of Torre being let go would have had criticism, but this manner was without dignity. Torre might have been hurt by not getting another contract offer, but assuaged those feeling by giving him an honor – a plaque in memorial park for instance, or a Joe Torre day.
Mike Gallego is an interesting option. He was a good infielder and if I remember correctly won a WS with the A’s back in the day.
He could definitely cover the infield coach job. What was he doing for the Rockies?
Bowa wasn’t “released”. His contract ran out and the Yankees didn’t contact him to re-sign.
pat-
I believe Gallego was the 3b coach.
“His contract ran out and the Yankees didn’t contact him to re-sign.”
Same as Bobby Meacham. Not much distance between not having your contract renewed and being fired.
But not having your contract renewed doesn’t sound quite as bad as being fired. One is a passive decision, one is more aggressive. Plus, in my mind for a person to be “fired” they need to be in the middle of their contract. Semantics, I know. And the bottom line is the same – the person is no longer employed.
Neither Meacham or Bowa were fired. Theres a reason why most coaches have a 1 year deal. Coaching jobs have really high turnover…
Patrick -
That’s right. I would have to think that a coach who is signed to a multi-year deal considers himself quite lucky.
“That’s right. I would have to think that a coach who is signed to a multi-year deal considers himself quite lucky.”
Bowa is in one now, I believe.
Which is why I don’t think he’s headed back to NY just yet.
“We could go within or outside. We are putting together a list of candidates.†– Cashman -
Within could mean Tino or the minor league coaches.
Outside could mean Larry Bowa, Don Baylor, Willie Randolph, or a surprise.
‘Which is why I don’t think he’s headed back to NY just yet.”
Yup. I’d assume his loyalty to Torre far exceeds his loyalty to the Yankees organization. I’d also guess Girardi would want no part of him.
Go John Galt,
Your comments are persuasive. I agree that the Yankees could have done a much better job handling Torre’s departure from a PR perspective. We saw the team make the same mistakes with Bernie. It’s as if the team thinks the only way to show respect is with a contract.
I also think, though, that the Yankees’ image would take a hit no matter how they handled Torre’s departure. I don’t think they could have made a clean break by saying “Sorry Joe, we won’t even offer you another contract, but we will let you throw out the first pitch on Joe Torre Day some time next year.” The backlash would have been even worse than what we actually saw. Torre would still say he was insulted, Bowa and Mattingly would say that the team spit in Torre’s face by denying him even an offer. I can’t believe this wouldn’t happen considering how good the Yankees’ offer actually was. Most managers would kill to get $5 million guaranteed, with the possibility of up to $8 million.
Yes, the Yankees should have honored Torre somehow at the final game. No argument there. But the team’s failure to play a clip of Torre just reopened old wounds. It didn’t create new ones.
Brandon, so you’d rather have Votto, Loney, or LaPorta than Teixeira AND Phil Hughes?
That’s insane. Hughes has dominated the minor leagues and is only 22 years old. He’s shown flashes of dominance in the Major Leagues. Teixeira is a better hitter and fielder than any of the guys you listed and is will be in his prime for most of the contract.