Happy Trails
This will likely be a most unpopular posting, given the loyalties of the individual members of this site, and I will no doubt be accused of knee-jerk Yankee sycophantry (is that a word?), but the plain truth of the matter is that despite what you may think of his owner or his players, Joe Torre is a fine baseball manager and probably did not deserve to be shown the door. He has presided over the most successful team since the advent of free agency, a team that has been to twelve consecutive postseasons, and I always admired his tendency to not outthink himself when managing a game. He trusts his players and bench coaches and gets the fuck out of the way. None of that Lou Pinella blustery bullshit or Bobby Valentine getting thrown out of a game and then reappearing in the dugout disguised as Groucho Marx. Say whatever you will about his team, but Torre inspires loyalty, and his accomplishments speak for themselves. And if you still think I'm full of crap, note that no less an authority than the Sports Guy agrees with me:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=1265172
Let the nasty comments fly.
posted by Omar at 5:35 PM
5 Comments:
I think I mostly agree with you, actually. Postseason the last 12 years sounds like a pretty good resume to me, and, for my money, the regular season is probably more where the manager effects the game anyway with injury management, pitching rotations, lineup changes, etc so on that count he has done well. He's no Dusty Baker, in other words.
6:08 PM
God fucking damn it. Effect as a verb with an e? Really Steve?
6:09 PM
Actually, there is a form of "effect" that starts with an E and is a verb, but not in this context.
On topic -- I like Torre overall, though I also think that managerial effects are exaggerated in baseball. He looks worse in retrospect with respect to his bullpen management, however. The Yankees' best years came at the expense of an early grave for Rivera and chewing up the careers of Mike Stanton, Paul Quantrill, etc. Of course, it was a good trade-off for their organization, but I don't think that you can make the argument that Torre is an all-time great strategist.
8:34 PM
Who was talking shit about Torre?
8:35 PM
No one was specifically attacking Torre. I was referring to was the general negative attitude (based on previous discussions) concerning the Yankees. Keeping in mind that this was a hated team around these parts, I qualified my initial post. There was never any hating on Joe Torre.
That being said, I suppose there is something to the assertion that the requisite skills necessary in managing a baseball game might not be as intensive as coaching a pro football game. Moreover, I would not disagree that he has been handed great teams to begin with, so his job may not have been as difficult as others. I guess I just admire how well he trusts his players and his instincts and doesn't try to do too much, like the La Russas of the world, who despite their tactical prowess, oftentimes end up overthinking things and blowing games as a result.
11:06 AM
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