Consider the Yankees dynasty officially over
For Yankees’ Class Act, the Curtain Will Close
Give Joe Torre this much on what was likely his last night as the manager of the Yankees: he wasn’t stubborn about admitting he made the wrong call. And with all due respect to this classy man from Brooklyn, who has earned at least four championships’ worth, it has to be noted that it happened for the second straight night…. And soon the Yankees were losing, 4-0, on the way to being out. Finally, the Yankees were in a hole they couldn’t climb out of. A season of comebacks and reinvention ended with a 6-4 defeat and a third straight flameout in the American League division series. What next? Unless George Steinbrenner was having a senior moment over the weekend, he has already prepared New York for the Yankees’ first managerial change since Torre replaced Buck Showalter in 1996…. “The 12 years felt like they were 10 minutes long, to be honest with you,” Torre said, his voice breaking and his eyes glistening in front of the cameras.
I’m not one who normally puts a lot of stock in the (too-often absence of) redeeming personal characteristics of professional athletes or coaches. The reality is that a goodly number of them are reflections of the society that produced them- dishonest, immoral, and just generally intensely self-absorbed. In short, they’re a lot like you and me- only with a LOT more money and time on their hands. Every now and again, though, I run across someone whom, though I may know them only through the media, inspires a sense of admiration in me. Joe Torre is one of those people, a man so centered and balanced he seems almost inhuman. Here’s a man who knows his place in this world and is very comfortable in his own skin. Would that I could emulate those characteristics.
Torre has managed the Yankees for what seems like a lifetime now. Given the vicissitudes and mercurial nature of his boss, George Steinbrenner, the New York media, and New Yorkers themselves, it’s a wonder that Torre has lasted the 12 years he has. Every time a camera focuses on the Yankees’ dugout, Torre always displays the same implacable, unperturbed demeanor. All hell may be breaking loose, but Joe Torre always seems to have his wits about him.
Stenibrenner made it clear before Sunday’s ALDS Game Three against Cleveland that Torre’s job was on the line. New York won that game, but they proceeded to lose Game Four and were ousted from the playoffs. Now the death watch on Torre’s career as the Yankees’ manager has officially begun…and frankly, the man deserves better. This is New York we’re talking about, though, where class is all too often merely an afterthought lost in the “What have you done lately?” mindset that thoroughly infects all five boroughs. That Torre has managed the Yankees since 1996 in and of itself says much about them man’s equanimity and calm demeanor. His detachment and his ability to make decisions not based on emotion or self-interest have made him the perfect leader for this franchise, and while George Steinbrener is free to hire and fire as he chooses- he is, after all, The Boss- I think cutting Torre loose would be a huge mistake.
Torre has been a fixture for 12 years, never missing the postseason, never embarrassing himself or an organization that he always went out of his way to say treated him well, even when Steinbrenner and his cronies did not. Torre always seemed to be the right man for the job across the long, hot Steinbrenner summer. But the owner does have a right to wonder if he is the best man for the crapshoot of a short series that invariably will turn on a pivotal decision or two.
Joe Torre’s track record speaks for itself. If ever a manager deserved to immediately go to the Hall of Fame, Torre would, in my mind at least, be the obvious choice. Given the collection of spoiled, pampered athletes (never mind the owner) that he was charged with melding together into a winning ballclub, the massive payroll (and the attendant outsized expectations), and the overheated hypersensitivity and intolerance of the New York fans and media, I can’ t think of another personality better suited to pilot the Yankees ship through a long season. Yes, the past couple of years have been train wrecks playoff-wise. Even so, a manager doesn’t swing the bats or take the mound. At some point, you have to look at the players and assess responsibility on them. After all, they’re the ones who actually play the game. Then again, it IS easier to fire one manager than 25 players.
Joe Torre did everything in his considerable power to ensure that his team was ready to be successful each and every day. That they didn’t have what they’ve needed to defeat a talented Cleveland team was not Torre’s fault. Hey, at least the Yankees made the playoffs, unlike the New York Mets, who coughed up a seven-game lead with two weeks to go in the season and missed out altogether.
Honestly, Yankees’ fans have NO idea just how good they have it.
