An Open Letter
to Joe Torre
Someone get the smelling salts and wake this guy up!
By Phil Allard
NYYFans.com Staff Writer
Dear Joe:
We all remember the “Clueless Joe” headline
in the Daily News that welcomed you to the Yankees in 1996.
When you were first hired, I was in shock.
What was Steinbrenner thinking? Why would he push Showalter out
and hire you—a National
League retread with little managerial success? It had been 18 years
since the last Yankee championship. And this move would only serve
to prolong the drought—not to mention that you had been an
incredibly unsuccessful manager for the cross-town Mets. No points
there for “Clueless Joe.”
When an office pool sprang up, I gave you
until July to get fired. My buddy Tom had June. Paul said May.
We both envied Paul, figured
he’d be buying the next set of rounds.
I was never so happy to be wrong! Joe, when
you took the reigns in ‘96, you brought an aggressive “National League” style
of play to the Bronx. You made things happen with the hit and run,
took chances, kept everyone on his toes, and, perhaps best of all,
became the most successful Steinbrenner filter of any Yankee manager.
You were, and still are, superb at shielding
your players from the Boss’ tirades so they can concentrate
on playing. And play they did.
Joe, you always seemed one step ahead of the
other managers. I could fill dozens of pages with examples, and
Yankee fans know most of
them by heart, but the one that—for me—illustrates this
point best is Game #5 of the Arizona World Series. Top of the 11th
inning. D-Backs have bases loaded, 1 out.
Most managers would have the infield in at
that point. McCarver second-guessed you, but said that you at least
had the courage of
your convictions. You decide to defy conventional logic, play the
infield back, and then Soriano snags a Reggie Sanders live drive
headed for center field. If the infield is in, that’s a 2-run
single. Brilliant!
In days gone by, you were a master manipulator of your bench. Rewind
to the 4th game of the 1996 World Series and I swear, it seemed like
you had 35 players to use. The final player off the bench, Wade Boggs,
puts the game away with a bases loaded walk. Joe, you saved exactly
the right guy for exactly the right moment.
That was then.
This is now.
You were once the greatest Torre ever told.
Now you more resemble Comatose Joe from Hannibal, Mo.
Yes, I know, the Torre defenders will chime in to tell me that the
rosters have a lot to do with this. And that is certainly true, to
an extent. The Yankee rosters of the late 90s were built for the
post season. This 2004 roster was built for a fantasy league, and
the bench was futile.
But that’s all the more reason for a “take charge” manager
to actually do some managing. Yes, the roster has changed. But aren’t
you the same Joe Torre who once made a useful player out of Clay
Bellinger—now you can’t figure out how to use Lofton,
Crosby or Wilson? Or even take a chance and pinch-hit Flaherty in
a tight spot?
In the ALCS against Boston, Joe, you were embarrassed by Francona.
To say you were out-managed is an understatement. The Joe Torre of
the late 90s, the Joe Torre I used to know, would have found a way
to win Game #4 or Game #5. Where to begin?
When asked why you didn’t have your baseruners steal when
Wakefield was pitching to Varitek in extra innings, you said that “They
could have gone if they wanted to. They had the green light.”
Joe, you see that there have been three passed balls in the inning.
Three passed balls!
You see that Varitek is concentrating so much on just trying to
catch the knuckler that there is no way he could throw anyone out.
COMMAND THEM TO RUN. MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Show some initiative and then I wouldn’t
be dealing with 15-20 emails a day from Red Sox fans.
Joe, you know that Schilling’s ankle is being held together
by threads. You don’t bunt on him, even once? Hell, Jeter has
been bunting all year in silly situations; you don‘t tell him
to lay one down now?
You play Sierra that night instead of Lofton
who hits .324 vs. Schilling with an OBP of .386. With the wet grass
that night, Lofton could
have had 2 bunt hits. And maybe Curt doesn’t spend the next
two weeks on every talk show in America.
There were also many opportunities to pinch
run for the more lumbering baserunners—like Posada, Sierra, and Clark—in
the late innings, just to make something happen. (By the way, Dave
Roberts
says hello.)
Formerly adept at handling pitchers, you proceeded
this year to burn out Quantrill and then Gordan—rendering
them ineffective when you needed them most.
I won’t even get into your affection for Felix Heredia, other
than to say that is was truly baffling, at best. (I know you’ll
miss him next year. I hope you are working on the grieving process
now, so your head is in the game come April.)
Some say that the loss of old pal Don Zimmer is a factor here. Asking
me to handle the Red Sox winning the World Series AND Don Zimmer
being a genius, all within a few weeks, is too much for me to process
right now. Tell me that England is in South America; that I can handle.
But Joe, there is something that I find more offensive than your
poor in-game decisions. Worse of all was the lack of intensity exhibited
by the Yankee players throughout the ALCS.
Even when the Red Sox were down 3 games to none, they were all perched
on their dugout fence, cheering on their team, showing spirit. Talking
smack. Keeping hope alive.
When the Yanks were up, most of the players
were in the clubhouse. Jeter seemed to be the only one cheering
his team. Occasionally Giambi
would lumber up to the Gatorade dispenser, take a sip from a cup,
throw it on the floor, and then sit back down and stare into space.
That’s was the extent of the Yankee spirit.
Why these players even need motivation is
beyond me. But you’re
the manager, Joe. It’s your job to recognize and deal with
the mojo. It’s your job to kick some butt when you need to.
But, actually, you didn’t look up to the job. You looked to
be asleep most of the time. Your gaze was fixed on the ground, as
you slowly twirled Jeter's bat.
I noticed during your post game interview—right after the
colossal choke that has your signature on it—that you were
wearing your Hawaii hat. How fitting.
Perhaps you were in your own Private Hawaii during the ALCS, thinking
about your post-season vacation.
It sure didn’t seem like you were engaged
in the games.
And it sure seemed to me that the loss in the ALCS meant more to
me than it did to you.
That's shameful, Joe.
You might even call it clueless.
~
To read some of my other recent articles that appeared
on NYYFANS.COM, follow the links below:
And when you’re done, spend the rest of your day on NYYFANS.COM,
named by ESPN as the premier site for Yankee aficionados.
Mercenary Sox Spend their Way to the Top
World’s most expensive championship team propelled by
money and good luck
http://www.nyyfans.com/article/8298
A look back at the incredible 1967 Cardinal/Red Sox World Series
From the point-of-view of an 8-year-old Yankee fan who saw it
http://www.nyyfans.com/article/8291
The Fall of the House of Yankee
Edgar Allan Poe chimes in on historic collapse
http://www.nyyfans.com/article/8287
Obsessed Yankee fan fears spontaneous combustion
… after two excruciating losses
http://www.nyyfans.com/article/8283
Intrepid Yankee Fan goes behind enemy lines...
to enjoy a day of listening to Boston Sports Radio
http://www.nyyfans.com/article/8278
Curt Schilling’s ankle meets Bill Buckner’s
knee
Yanks take Game #1
(OK. So I was wrong on this one!)
http://www.nyyfans.com/article/8270
Miguel Cairo silences critics
Journeyman solidifies 2nd base for Yanks
http://www.nyyfans.com/article/8265
It’s time to give Jon Lieber
some respect
Burly Iowan helps get Yanks even
http://www.nyyfans.com/article/8264
The Yankee/Red Sox Rivalry is alive and well...
...in a used CD Shop in Connecticut
http://www.nyyfans.com/article/8258
~
Other Links You Should Visit
Every Friggin’ Day:
The Baseball Cube
http://www.sports-wired.com/
The Hardball Times
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main
Baseball Reference
http://www.baseball-reference.com/
Baseball Think Factory
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/
Take Him Down Town
http://www.takehimdowntown.com/
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