Say It Ain't So Joe

Thursday was a sad day for Yankees fans everywhere. As someone who sat through the miserable late 80's and early 90's, looking back it really makes me appreciate what joe Torre did for the Yankees as a whole. He transformed mediocre players like Scott Broscious, Charlie Hayes and Chuck Knoblach and transformed them into world champions. He molded young players like Jeter, Rivera and Posada and turned them into perennial All Stars and future hall of famers. So it was upsetting and angered me to see the Yankees set Joe out like yesterdays trash. They didn't have the balls to fire him, so they offer him a bogus contract then knew he would turn down. Doesn't get much more cowardly than that.

I'm not ready to say changing managers was the wrong move. That is yet to be seen. When the Yankees fired Buck Showalter and brought in Joe Torre as his replacement I was so pissed. I thought Buck was the future of the Yankees. Maybe the Yankees would have won 4 World Series rings with Buck as well. Or maybe they would have only won 1 or 2, or maybe they would have won 6, who knows.

I think if the Yankees stick with a Torre trained manager such as Joe Gerardi or Don Mattingly, I think the Yankees will be fine. I think what makes Joe stand out from other managers is his relationship with coaches. Anyone can be loud and obnoxious (see Lou Piniella), but I don't know remember hearing anyone who played under Lou say they respected him. Other than Gary Sheffield and Ruben Sierra, I haven't heard many others have a bad word to say about Joe Torre. He was more like a father to his players than a coach. I think that's important. Noone wants to let their parents down, and I think thats how a lot of the Yankees players stayed motivated.

Many felt like the Yankees dynasty of the of later 90's came to an end this year. So perhaps bringing in a new manager is the right move. I just think it could have been done with a little more class. The self part of me wants Joe to retire and never manage again. But it would be a nice slap in the face to the Steinbrenners if he turned another team around and won a world series elsewhere.

Hopefully the Yankees can convince A-Rod to stay in the Bronx as well as Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. With the young arms the Yankees have, and the right pitching coach, I think the Yankees can be good next year. Very good. If Chen Ming Wan pitches the way he did in July and August all season long, if Phil Hughes pitches like he's capable and if Joba Chamberlain turns out to be a quality starter, the Yankees can continue to win a lot of games. They still have a veteran showing as well with Pettitte and Mussina. But there are a lot of ifs and uncertainties.

One thing is for sure, it will be strange seeing the Yankees dugout next spring without Joe Torre in it.