I think by now you have all heard that Joe Torre declined a one-year offer possibly worth $8 million last Friday. For a great part of my life I have hated Joe Torre and his Yankees, but after hearing his press conference on Friday, I now have an undying respect for the man. If you haven’t seen or heard it yet, check it out.
How the Yankees can blame this man for their postseason trouble is beyond me. Only one player, Robinson Cano, hit over .300 during the series. Mr. October, Derek Jeter, chipped in with a stunning .176 batting average. On top of all that, the Yankees hired-gun Roger Clemens pitched a whole of 2.1 innings, allowing 3 runs.
But go ahead, George Steinbrenner, blame your coach for the struggles of your players. He coaches in the American League where all you have to do is set your lineup, and watch your multi-million dollar players hit homeruns. You can’t point to anything in that series and say, “That was Joe’s fault.”
Above all, here is the part that gets to me the most. The leading candidate to take Joe’s job is hitting coach Don Mattingly. If you’re going to blame a coach for the offensive struggles in the postseason, Mattingly would be the one! But for some reason beyond my comprehension that is the guy they see fit to manage their team.
Joe Torre was disrespected by the Yankees organization, so he walked away. He leaves with his dignity, and man, do I respect him for it.
I know you’ll miss me. But I will see you all on Friday!
Your boy,
Ed Cahill
Sports Blogger
