Cold Cup o’ Joe

Another season. Another poor start. Another epic comeback. Another trip to the playoffs. Another first round exit. And, after another disappointing, depressing, and disgusting early exit from the playoffs, there are another set of questions floating around the Bronx that have to do with the future of Torre, A-Rod, Mo, Posada, Clemens, and Pettite. And this time, these questions will be answered by the wrath of the Boss himself. After the third straight ALDS exit for the Yankees, the Boss is impatient and mad. He wants results. And he isn’t getting them. Forget that he is older than Mother Teresa, and his health is failing as fast as the New Orleans Saints football season. The Boss will always be the Boss (well, at least until he isn’t the Boss) and he doesn’t accept first round exits. Therefore, he will make changes. Drastic changes. And it starts with the manager. Torre has compiled a .604 winning percentage during his 12 years with the Yankees. He has won almost 1200 games. He has guided his team to 4 World Championships. But it has been 8 years since the Yankees have delivered a title to their now impatient and upset fans. It has been four years since the Yankees have made it past the ALDS. They have a 7-20 record in there past 4 trips to the postseason. It is time for change. Joe Torre should be fired.

When the Yankees hired Torre in November of 1995, he was certainly not received with the hero’s welcome that may be bestowed upon him if he decides to continue his managerial life after he is let go by the Yankees. No, in fact at the time Torre’s hiring was regarded by the fans and media as idiotic, even though the Yankees had had only one playoff appearance in the past 14 seasons. But Torre didn’t pay attention to headlines such as “Clueless Joe”, and began building up the Yankees machine. He took his team to the 1996 World Series, where the Bombers, lead by Rookie of the Year Derek Jeter, shocked the Atlanta Braves, who lost the series after winning the first two games by a combined score of 16-1. The next season, the Yankees earned a trip to the ALDS, something that Yankees fans weren’t used to back in the 80s. But after a World Series title, fans expected more, and the loss to the Indians in the 1997 ALDS was devastating for the Yankees. But, again under the guidance of Joe, 1998 was a special season for the New York Yankees. From David Wells pitching a perfect game, to Shane Spencer’s magical September, to Bernie Williams’ batting title, to a 114 win season, and the second World Series title in three years. And thus, with Torre as their leader, the team of the decade was born. Under Torre, the Yankees won World Championships in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. They took additional trips to the Fall Classic in 2001 and 2003. They played in the ALCS 7 times, winning 6 out of the 7 (the lone exception being the choke of 2004). They won 10 division titles in 12 seasons. They have made the playoffs every single year Torre has been managing, which do this date is 12. During Torre’s twelve years, they have compiled a 1173-767 record, an average of almost 98 wins per season.

The numbers don’t lie; Torre has been one of the most successful managers in baseball history. Granted he has had the advantage of managing some of the best players to ever play the game, but a team without a manager is not a team. Torre success, though, has diminished over the past few seasons. Yes, the Yankees are making the playoffs. Yes, they are posting 95 win seasons and winning the division (save this season), but it seems that the team who wins all those games in the regular seasons, can’t get it done in the playoffs. The Yankees have not made it to the World Series since 2003, where the Florida Marlins beat them in 6 games. They haven’t won the World Series since 2000. In the past three seasons, the Yankees have been knocked out of the postseason in the ALDS. In 2005, the Angels ousted them in 5 games. The Angels went on to be spanked by the eventual World Champion White Sox in the ALCS. In 2006, the Tigers routed the Yankees in 4 games. In their Game 1 win, the Yankees scored 8 runs. In their next three losses, the Yankees scored a total of 6 runs. And, most recently, in 2007, the Yankees were felled by the Cleveland Indians in 4 games. Once again, the Yankees offense was anemic in their three losses, scoring a total of 8 runs (they scored 8 in their lone win). Even in 2004, when the Yankees actually made it past the ALDS, they were embarrassingly beaten by the Red Sox in the ALCS, after being up 3 games to none. But, oh, do those days of reaching the ALCS seem long ago? Granted the last time the Yankees were playing for a spot in the World Series was only 4 seasons ago, it seems like ages.

And while making the playoffs would be a miracle for teams like the Royals and Pirates, it has become commonplace under Torre. When the Yankees were back 14.5 games on the Red Sox during the season, and there was speculation that they wouldn’t make a 13th straight trip to the postseason (12th straight under Torre), Yankee nation and baseball nation, for that matter, were shocked. The Yankees not playing October baseball? It’s like Stephan A. Smith not yelling during his radio show or Fred Hickman producing a good SportsCenter. It just doesn’t happen. The Yankees are always in the playoffs. And while Torre has been able to build this reputation for his team, making the playoffs just isn’t good enough for the Yankees, their fans, and their Boss now a days. Results are not only expected during the season, but also during the postseason. Losing in the ALDS to inferior teams is not acceptable. And while many of the Yankees’ struggles in the playoffs have to do with the players, it all starts with the manager.

Torre is a passive and conservative manager who doesn’t have the fiery style that guys like Lou Piniella and Bobby Cox do. While there is nothing against being a passive manager, Joe’s style doesn’t fit the Yankees any more. The Yankees need a fiery, aggressive manager who won’t be afraid to get in A-Rod’s face when he is doing poorly or won’t be afraid to storm out of the dugout and argue a call, getting the crowd and players fired up. The Yankees need a manager who isn’t afraid to yell and scream in the locker room after a poorly played game, a manager who demands and expects results and gets hot and bothered when he doesn’t see the results he wants. The Yankees, after all, are the most talented team in baseball. They have the best lineup in baseball and have a solid pitching staff and bullpen. So, how is the best offensive team in baseball over the past three seasons only able score 42 runs in their past 13 postseason games (the past three seasons). That’s an average around 3 runs per game! For the best offensive team in baseball, that is unacceptable. Torre has lost his ability to combine the Yankees talent with a will to win. When you watch the Yankees in the playoffs, it seems like they don’t care. There is no fire, no desire, no heart. The reason they are getting beaten by teams who are less talented then they are is because the mental aspect of their game is no where to found during the playoffs now a days. And this lack of heart and desire is due in a large part to the manager. While we don’t know what goes on in the locker room behind closed doors, it seems as though the Yankees are not mentally prepared during playoff games. And even during the game, Torre is seen sitting in the dugout, bat in his hand, with a blank stare on his face. The Yankees need a manager who will walk around the dugout during games, yelling a players who aren’t performing and encouraging players who are producing (a small number for the Yankees during the playoffs). Torre is a great person and will be considered one the greatest men to ever manage a baseball team. But, his time in New York is up. Torre cannot get his boys prepared for the postseason and this is leading to unacceptable results. Torre will not manage the Yankees forever and now is the perfect to hand the reins to someone else. Sorry Joe, but you have run your course in New York. We love you, we’ll miss you, but all good things must come to end. Joe Torre should be fired.