MLB » AL East » 
New York Yankees
Why the Yankees Don't Regret Letting Joe Torre Go
Today's Must Reads
About the Author Jordan Schwartz (senior writer)
- 112 articles written
- 314 comments posted
- 35 fans
FREE SPORTS TEXT ALERTS
- Get team scores and news sent to your cell phone during and after each game.
- We do not charge for these services, but standard messaging rates or other charges apply.
- Cancel anytime by replying STOP to any message.
Step 2: Enter your phone number
( ) -
Standard Messaging Rates or other charges apply. To Opt-out text STOP to 4INFO (44636). For more information text HELP to 4INFO (44636). Contact your carrier for more details.
Want to write for Bleacher Report
We are a community of fans who write about sports. And we're growing.
comments (10) write a comment »
write a new comment
about 1 month ago
I am still torn over Torre, not over substance but by the way he was let go. It was almost as if they wanted to keep him but werent willing to do so and made the offer they did. They totally left the ball in his court and he picked it up and dribbled off with it. Im happy for Torre, I miss him as a manager, but that is sentimental, not statistical or practical. Im still not sold on Joe G yet. I heard all the talk of how this was gonna be a different ball club, the game would be played different. If Im not mistaken you too are a fan of some small ball from time to time and that was supposed to change this year. It really never happened. G toyed with it a bit towards the end and it really paid dividends the last couple weeks of the season.....when it really didnt matter anymore. How many times did we have a man on third with less than two outs and a guy wasnt told to put down a bunt? When your runs scored were as low as ours this year, every one counts. Anyway, I tend to rant. One thing that has nothing to do with managers this year was this. The Rays. As far as the term wild card goes, they were it this year. Had they not played to the level they did this year, the Yanks would have gone in as a Wild Card. Thats not sour grapes though I promise. It really is great to have even more quality competition within the league. It means if and when we win again, it will be against the best there is, and that is quite a compliment. It is also refreshing as a silver lining that the two teams that beat us down and beat us out, are the two last teams standing in the AL right now. That in itself is a compliment. We were just not good enough, and with the right moves, we may just surprise a few folks next year.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for the comment. I agree that they probably should not have low-balled Torre like they did. They should've just told him we're not resigning you. I love small ball and I was hugely disappointed in the way it was under-utilized by Girardi. I agree, it was strange to see him finally bunt and hit and run during the final two weeks of the season when they were pretty much out of the race. The Rays definitely kept the Yanks out of the playoffs but New York probably would have lost in the first round again because they weren't that good this year. The Yanks need to get some pitching, get Giambi out of the lineup and start playing some small ball.
about 1 month ago
This was a very well written article and I enjoyed reading it. BUT haha... I guarantee you that if the Dodger's had any other manager during that 8-game losing streal they would not have followed it with an 8-game winning streak. When you did your research on those stats you should have researched the father figure that the Dodgers players said Torre is. The Dodgers also had their starting shortstop (former all star) and lead off hitter the catalyst Rafael Furcal hurt for 142 games this season. Second, the ace f the staff Brad Penny made less than 20 starts all year and won't pitch in the playoffs. Their closer Takashi Saito missed over half of the year,he is a former all star closer. How about Andruw Jones (starting center fielder), injured for over half the season and when he did play he was hitting in the mid .100's range with two homers. He had no third basemen fto start the year and brought up a double A player in Blake Dewitt and helped his confidence early.
So how would the yankees do if their ace Mike Mussina was gone all year. Derek Jeter was gone for 142 games. Mariano Rivera was gone for over half the year. Their big bat threat like was gone all year... seriously Torre had a ton of help from Manny but give the guy some credit too. You sound bitter in this article.
Isn't it ironic that the two classiest players on the Yankees and one of the two classiest players in the MLB began playing under Jpe Torre and learned from him. Isn't it ironic that they were deeply saddened when he left. Isn't it ironic that they still talk to Torre all of the time and have never or will never criticize him. And how ironic is it that Torre will never bash the Yanks or rub it in their face; yet Steinbrenner will say anything to discredit Toore's relevance as a manager.
The NL West may have been weaker but I am pretty sure two NL West teams played in the NL championship last year. The NL West was the most injured division in baseball this year...that doesn't help. The reason why the Yankees are so hated by other MLB fans is because of the ownership. Hank Steinbrenner is the biggest prick in the MLB and it is well documented. He is a whiner and an excuse maker... and the horrible Dodgers team that would have the 5th best record in the AL East just beat the team with the best record in the NL... go figure
about 1 month ago
I think the Yankees needed a coaching change to change up the atmosphere and to spark a fire, I don't disagree with that... but they treated Joe Torre like sh*t and you know, I know it and everyone knows it. Torre is a class act and has dealt with a ton of crap in NY and the Yankees threw it all in his face. Steinbrenners offered him another one year deal....worth half the amount he made the year before....that = classlessness, period
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for the comment, Jonny. I like when people disagree with me but do it in a respectful, well thought out way. The Yankees did lose their ace this year (Chien Ming-Wang) and while they didn't lose their starting shortstop like the Dodgers, they did lose their catcher (Jorge Posada) and LF/DH (Hideki Matsui) for a significant part of the year, so Girardi had to deal with injuries just like Torre did.
Jeter and others were saddened by Torre's departure because he was a good guy, but that doesn't mean he was a good manager. I agree that Steinbrenner should not have made him a low-ball offer after last season, but that doesn't change the fact that the Yankees needed a change.
about 1 month ago
127 comments, 0 articles.
about 1 month ago
As belligerent as the comment may have been, Patti has a point, Torre is clearly the better manager than Girardi, and the fact that Patti hasn't written an article makes no difference in the context of this debate. I don't think that Girardi is a bad manager or that Torre is the greatest ever but Torre is far more accomplished than Girardi. I would also say that it isn't Torre's fault that the Dodgers are clearly less talented than the Yankees, he did the best he could've with what he had. The Yankees on the other hand appeared to be dysfunctional at times during the season and were wildly inconsistent, and some of the blame for that inconsistency can be placed on Girardi.
Granted, Torre's Yankee teams had a tendency to start slow as well but they snapped out of it in time to make the playoffs, and did not wilt as the season went on, like Girardi's team did. Although I suppose a lack of depth in the pitching staff is more to blame for that than Girardi was. I don't think Steinbrenner regrets letting Torre go, but that is only because he is a stubborn jerk. Say what you want about how the Yankess would've ran away with the NL West (and they would've) but such speculation is fruitless since they are not in the NL West. They are the Yankees, and they failed to live up to the expectations that were put on them this season.
from about 1 month ago
The point isn't who is the better manager right now. The point is that it is erroneous for people to say the Yankees regret letting Torre go simply because the Dodgers are in the NLCS (for a little while longer). Torre took the Yanks as far as he could and it was time to move on and take a chance on someone else. How Torre does in the NL with a new team has nothing to do with that.
about 1 month ago
I was really sad to see Joe Torre go last year, but at the same time I was starting to think the Yankees needed a change. I think the manner in which they low-balled Torre was horrible. For what he did for that team he deserved more respect than that. I don't necessarily think that the Dodgers are in the post-season solely because of Torre although I do think he has a way with players that enables them to succeed. I completely agree that the NL west is much weaker than the AL east and the level of competition in the AL east is much higher. I also think that Torre is dealing with a different breed of players out in LA than he had in NY. When he first got here there were a few well-known guys like Cone, O'Neill, and Williams. Other than that there was potential talent but a lot of unknown young guys who still were unproven like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera. Torre was able to mold those guys and at the same time work well with his veterans and that's partially why the Yankees were so successful in the late 90's. By the time he was at the end of his time in NY he had mostly veterans who are making ridiculous salaries and are already superstars with the minority being young guys.
In LA most of the players haven't accomplished much and were in need of someone to show them the way to the Big Show. The addition of Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake definitely has a lot to do with the success of the Dodgers. Let's be honest, Joe Torre isn't hitting the bombs over the fence--Manny is. Teams make the playoffs for a lot of reasons and I don't think you can lay it all on one reason or one person for that matter. I think a lot of Yankee fans do miss Torre for his ability to always sound confident without being cocky, for his way with his players and the relentless NY media, and just for being the guy he is. Girardi didn't do a terrible job, but there is most definitely room for improvement. As a Yankee fan I don't feel like we're not playing October baseball because Joe Torre is on the west coast and sometimes in order to right the ship change is necessary.
about 1 month ago
I gotta disagree with ya here. What Torre did better than any manager in Yankees history was defuse tension and get guys to not only buy in to what he was selling, but to get them to play well in New York. Girardi let tension fester in the locker room. He didn't know how to handle veterans well. He didn't know how to handle the pressure-cooker that is the New York Yankees. Is it any coincidence that Cano had the worst year of his career playing for Girardi? Maybe, maybe not. The Yankees just didn't seem loose at all until they were eliminated.
Torre also was best at serving as a buffer between the press, the owner and the players. Imagine how well he could have handled that 8 game losing streak in the middle of a playoff run.
Also, Torre was the epitome of a class. If the Yankees didn't want to sign him back, that's their right, but to offer him the contract they did was terrible. It was petty (a Steinbrenner trait.) I know he had the highest payroll and he got manager's wishlists every year for his roster. But, the Yankees were old and bloated in 2005 and 2007 and never would have made the playoffs without Torre.
write a new comment