Average Joe
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by Tyduffy
Joe Torre is the consummate Yankee legend. He has won four World Series, six American League titles, and eleven AL East crowns. He has led the Yankees to the playoffs in all twelves of his seasons as manager. His comprehensive list of accomplishments would make a Hall of Fame voter drool.
However, baseball is a what have you done for me lately business. And what has Joe Torre done lately?
The Yankees last won the World Series in 2000. Bill Clinton was still president. There was a budget surplus. Britney Spears, NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, and Limp Bizkit were dropping hit new albums. The World Trade Center was still standing.
They haven't appeared in the World Series since Josh Beckett owned them in 2003.
Their last four appearances in the playoffs were extreme disappointments. They suffered the worst loss in the history of sports, after the rival Red Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit to win the ALCS in 2004. The last three seasons the Yankees have been eliminated in the ALDS 3-2 by the Angels, 3-1 by the Tigers, and 3-1 by the Indians.
The only thing more eerily similar than the results the past three seasons, has been the way that they were achieved. They had the same star-studded lineup with big contracts and big egos, the same shaky starting pitching and the same overworked bullpen with their arms about to fall off by October. There have also been the questionable managerial decisions, like leaving Joba Chamberlin to pitch two innings in an 8-3 game. They played the same lifeless and insipid brand of baseball.
There is also the future to consider. Is Torre the man to rebuild a new Yankee dynasty? Is the manager who had to have the Joba Rules enforced from on high to prevent him from abusing his young arm the one you want blooding a group of young pitchers? Is Torre the one to lead the franchise into the void without the safety net Mariano Rivera?
Most importantly, does anyone seriously see him leading this team to another World Series title?
The late 90's Yankees had fire, character, and leadership. This Yankees team needs it. Is Torre the man to provide that? Or would a more firey figure, who just happened to have played on those winning teams be more suited for the job?
It has been almost a decade since the Yankees have tasted glory. Sometime around Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS this team lost their swagger, and they have yet to regain it.
Steinbrenner will get blamed for pushing Torre out the door. Pundits will prattle on about how his expectations are unrealistic and how it is absurd to not be content with making the playoffs every season. But when you spend about $1.3 billion in payroll, luxury tax, and revenue sharing over 7 seasons, you expect more than a wild-card and an early exit in the ALDS.
Torre has been a great manager and a loyal servant for the Yankees. He may not be the problem, but he certainly hasn't been the solution either. Sometimes the same message rings hallow when you have heard it for twelve seasons. The emphasis for New York should be not on what Torre has done, but what he can do for them moving forward. From that perspective, a change would probably be for the best.
