With the the Dodgers in town, Joe Torre was asked for his take on the new Yankee Stadium and what he thought of it. He says he hasn’t thought about it, and has no desire to do so. Here’s the story:
When asked before Wednesday night’s game against the Mets if he had any interest in seeing the Yanks’ luxurious new park, the Dodgers manager said, “Nope. None. I’ve heard good things about (the new stadium). That’s about it.”
Catacombs video It’s Alive divx Having grown up in Brooklyn, played Mayor’s Cup games in high school at the old Stadium and won four World Series rings while Yankee manager, Torre said he’d like to remember the place the way it was.
“I left there, and I knew it was gonna be my last time. I would have been very surprised if it wasn’t my last time, so I took everything in,” said Torre, who managed the Yanks from 1996-2007. “I have so many great memories there.”
I’ve always been amazed at Torre’s attitude over his departure. For a guy who always made it clear he knew the ever-present risk of dismissal working for George Steinbrenner in the Bronx, he acts like he was somehow betrayed. One can only assume that he felt entitled to keep the job for as long as he wanted to. But that, of course, is not how things work here in New York. Its also important to remember that it was he who turned the Yankees down, they did offer to bring him back for one more year.
Torre can say he’s not bitter all he wants, he certainly acts like someone who is. Between these comments, his press conference after leaving the Yanks and “The Torre Years”, it’s abundantly clear that he holds a grudge against the Yankee brass that let him go. They certainly would have reason to have hard feelings towards him as well. He painted Hal’s father as a buffoon and a bully and Brian Cashman as a nerd who knows nothing about Baseball in his tome. As long as Cashman is the GM and Hal owns the team, its hard to imagine these two sides coming together to retire his number 6 someday. Given the way this has all gone down, that doesn’t bother me one bit.
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I’m currently reading the Yankees Years, I’m about 75% of the way through and so far the #1 thing I’ve come away with from the book is less respect for Torre. To continually pat yourself on the back while throwing so many of the players he says he respected under the bus just seems so unnecessary and classless. Clearly he had an axe to grind. He really threw Bernie Williams under the bus in a section that was supposedly pointing out how Torre fought for Bernie and Cashman discarded him. He shared stories like where Bernie forgot his child at the stadium and went home and talked about how it was part of Bernie’s “charm”, being so naive. Instead, it paints him as an indiot and something of a bad parent/husband (he also shared a story about Bernie leaving his wife behind after a game too). Ultimately, it just leaves me feeling sad for Torre going out that way. I expected more from him. Makes it easier for me to forget about him though.
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Torre always received way too much credit for the dynasty years. Overall, I liked him, but he had an unreal collection of talent. Yes, he made players calmer and helped insulate them from the NY pressure to a degree, but he was no great shakes as a game manager.
Torre went through bullpen arms like no other. And surprise, he just got Belisario hurt this year because he was pitching his arm off.
Ever since he left, he has increasingly acted like a whiny brat.
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Girardi is manhandling Torre in terms of game preparation and player management.
torre sucks. look at how he’s using the two stud RP they have there. didn’t he learn anything for scott proctor?
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