Ding dong, the witch is dead, the empire has fallen, the Yankees are out of the playoffs. The Tigers took the Bronx Bombers down in four games, culminating in an 8-3 victory Saturday afternoon.
But, as baseball fans well know, this isn't anything new. The Yankees haven't won a World Series since 2000 and have been knocked out in the first round three out of the last five years. Even in their defeat, they dominate the press more than any of the four teams that emerged victorious in the Division Series round.
The most prevalent story to emerge from the Yankee's collapse: Whether Joe Torre will return for his 12th season as Yankee manager. Before we go any further, let's look at Torre's resume:
- A record of 1,079-699 for a winning percentage of .607
- Led the Yankees to four championships and six pennants
- Collected two Manager of the Year awards in the process
- Hasn't missed a post-season since he became manager of the Yankees.
Think of it this way, SAT/""Big Lebowski"" style. October is to the Dude's room as the Yankees are to his rug. They really tied the postseason together. Without Torre leading the Evil Empire to the playoffs, baseball would be lost, like Donny stepping out of his element.
So, why are we discussing this guy's dismissal? Should a man who has piloted his club to victory 60 percent of the time, to the post season 100 percent of the time and to the World Series 55 percent of the time really be given the pink slip?
If George Steinbrenner fires Torre or forces him to resign, he essentially is saying what many a Yankee-hater has said to Yankee fans over the years. ""Dude, I could manage that team to 95 wins and make the playoffs.""
Now, though I've been tempted to say the same thing (OK, I'll admit I've said it), not even a die-hard fan could easily do the job of a Major League manager. In an 11-year span, you can count on one hand, possibly one finger, the number of managers that have had more success than Torre. So could a replacement like, say Lou Piniella, really do any better?
The problem with Torre is the team's attitude. Now, I'm not in the locker room, so I don't mean their swagger, or the dissonance or their negative take on authority. I don't know any of that. What I do know is the following.
In 2000, during the glory years of the Yankees, if you said to a Yankee fan, ""What makes Joe Torre so great? He has a pitching staff of Roger Clemens, David Cone, Andy Pettite, El Duque and Mariano Rivera, and he has a lineup with David Justice, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez and Clay Bellinger on the bench!"" Well, you might not mention Bellinger, but you get the point. The Yankee fan would probably argue that what made Torre great is his ability to manage a locker room filled with high-priced egos and attitudes. ""You just don't understand,"" they would say. And maybe Yankee-haters just didn't.
But as the years went by, the Yankees would acquire more high-priced egos. There was Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright, just to name a few. So, with the addition of not just high-price egos, but All-Stars—and in some cases Hall of Famers—Torre would become even more successful, right?
No. Torre would fail to win a World Series since defeating the Mets in 2000.
I'm not saying Torre should be fired. Blaming a head coach or a manager in sports is always interesting, because how much is really his fault? Torre won his World Series' in 1996 and from 1998-2000 mainly because of his core players like Jeter, Williams, Rivera, Pettite and Posada, all who came up through the Yankee system. So, is it really Torre's fault they traded guys like Alfonso Soriano and Nick Johnson? And even after trading away Johnson, is it Torre's fault they dealt Javier Vazquez and Jose Contreras? Is it really Torre's fault that the Yankees take on aging veterans like Randy Johnson, with backup plans being one-year-wonders turned duds like Pavano and Wright?
No. But if Torre's fortAc was to connect with his players and manage a locker room full of big names, then he failed, because that lineup wasn't built to get dominated by a 40-year-old Kenny Rogers in a must-win game.
Torre has made some horrid decisions in his career. Benching Soriano for Enrique Wilson and Giambi for Johnson in Game 5 against the Marlins in the 2003 World Series, even hitting last year's American League MVP, Rodriguez, eighth is inexcusable. But a firable offense after all he's done? Probably not.
If Torre is fired, it's being done to light a fire under the New York Yankees' rear. And that's understandable, because it's something that the team sorely lacks.
To rejoice with Sam over the other New York team advancing in the playoffs, e-mail him at sepepper@wisc.edu.
