The Yankees need to do more than fire Torre
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by user Leslie Monteiro
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner wanted to fire Yankees manager Joe Torre hours after his team was eliminated in 4 games against the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series last year.
His son-in-law, Steve Swindal talked him out of it by convincing him to keep Torre for one more year instead of hiring his personal favorite, Lou Piniella, who decided to take the Cubs job rather than wait to see what happens during the season.
This time, Torre does not have Swindal to save him because Swindal is out of the Yankees family due to his divorce with Steinbrenner’s daughter, Jennifer. Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who also should be in the hot seat, will likely have his plea ignored by Steinbrenner.
The truth of the matter is that Torre should have been fired last year and the team should have started rebuilding by dumping all those overpaid players, who have done nothing over the years. They should have hired Buck Showalter to oversee the rebuilding process.
The window of winning a championship is over.
They had their chances in the last few years, but now with other teams having better pitching and young, talented athletes that can execute the smallball well by getting on base and stealing, those teams are much better than the Yankees.
Yankees biggest problem is their pitching. They just do not have it from the starting rotation to the bullpen.
Their starting rotation just reeks period. Outside of Chien-Mien Wang, who is very good in that rotation.
Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte have had their better days in the past, but as they get older, it is hard for them to pitch at a high level.
Kei Igawa is a lost cause and a waste of money.
Guys like Darrell Rasner, Jeff Karstens, and Phillip Hughes can be good, but they are going to have their ups and downs like any young pitchers.
Their bullpen is hideous. The only reliable guy out there is their closer, Mariano Rivera. The rest leave a lot to be desired.
It said something when Torre used Rivera in the eighth inning against the Red Sox in the first game of the season series because he had zero faith in the rest of his relievers.
Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth, Luis Vizcaino, Sean Henn, Mike Myers, and Brian Bruney are nothing to be excited about. They are hits or misses. Most of the time, they are misses.
Does any Yankees fan feel any confident with any of those guys when they are out on the mound? There is a good reason for why they are not.
Those guys do not throw strikes. They take their time throwing out there. They do not do a better job of gripping the ball to the catcher. They just do not provide fear to the hitters at the plate which is a horrible indictment on them.
Their so-called great offense is fraudaulent at best. They have proven that they can not get the big hits in the postseason especially their superstar, Alex Rodriguez.
They just can not hit against great pitching especially pitchers, who throw at high speed like 95 to 100 miles per hour. They can be very frustrated easily by swinging at pitches that are not even close to strikes.
There are too many pieces that just do not add up when a baseball observer watch the Yankees play.
Guys do not play for one another. There is no emotion from anyone out of that roster. There is not that never-say-die spirit that comes from a winning team as Yankees fans can attest from watching the Yankees in the mid-to-late nineties.
This brings to Torre. Torre has done a darn good job in his time at the Bronx. His accomplishments speak for itself. With that said, all great coaches lose that magic after awhile.
It is pretty obvious that the players have stopped playing for him. It showed in the ALDS last year.
The Yankees manager has had a tendency of favoring veterans and not working well with young players over the years. Now, this practice has caught up to him, which is why it is time for fire him so that the team can have hire Showalter, who knows how to build a team from his time in New York and in Arizona.
It was a great run, but there is saying in life, good things come to an end.
It is never pleasant, but for the future of this franchise, it is time to blow the whole thing up.
