JOE Torre earned those four World Series championships, those can never be taken away. And Torre has every right to criticize anyone he wants, because “The Yankee Years” is his book, but there are people in the Yankees organization who now feel they were dealing with a two-faced Torre.
Among Yankees management, the sense of disillusionment toward Torre is strong, and, from those I’ve talked to, there also is a sense of hurt as a result of this book.
One Yankees official said of Torre, “His true character is coming out here.
“It doesn’t make him a good guy, a bad guy, we all have strengths and weaknesses, but he’s not St. Joe.”
That’s what makes this book so interesting and a little sad at the same time.
Torre has shown himself to be as human as the rest of us, going out of the way to criticize Alex Rodriguez, a player who won two MVPs for Torre and the Yankees. A player who had the audacity to have his own home-field valet – a clubhouse attendant who also worked the visiting clubhouse and knew A-Rod from his days with Rangers.
Torre, meanwhile, had his own traveling valet, and took him to Los Angeles when he went to the Dodgers. There is nothing wrong with that. Torre’s schedule is busy so he needs the extra help, and a lot of people in baseball have their “guy” in the clubhouse. That has been the baseball way for decades, noted several former clubhouse attendants.
In the book A-Rod is ripped for not understanding how to be one of the guys, for example, not getting his own cup of coffee.
Torre certainly has first-hand knowledge about that as well. Many of his pregame press conferences in the dugout began with a clubhouse attendant bringing Joe his favorite cup of green tea. It was as much a ritual as anything else, the same way Rodriguez would go through his routine.
Maybe I’m missing something here? If Rodriguez gets his own coffee, is he going to knock in more runs in the postseason? If that were the case, A-Rod would be getting coffee for everyone in the clubhouse, even the writers.
All of Torre’s somewhat bitter critiques of players and Brian Cashman go against much of what he stood for as manager of the Yankees.
Not everyone in the Yankees organization is laughing this off as supposedly Rodriguez is doing. And I really don’t think A-Rod is taking this so easy, either. Rodriguez always is seeking the approval of those in positions that he respects.
Those close to A-Rod tell me that he saw “the real” Torre early in the game. Still, when your manager tells stories behind your back, that has to be difficult. In some ways this has turned Rodriguez into a sympathetic figure with his teammates.
You can be sure that Cashman is stung by Torre’s criticism because the general manager always thought he was working in the best interest of the club and Torre. Yes, mistakes sometimes happen, that’s part of the business, but where are the accolades for acquisitions that helped the Yankees get to the postseason all those years?
“Cash was a big ally to him,” one Yankees insider said, “I’m kind of shocked the way he went after Cash.”
The irony is that Torre, who always preached teamwork, wasn’t about that here.
Spoiled by the incredible success of four World Serieschampionships and having the perfect player in Derek Jeter, Torre wasn’t able to assimilate new pieces into the puzzle, and that was supposed to be one of the manager’s great strengths.
The book is clear evidence that the Yankees needed to separate themselves from Torre. The 2009 Yankees, with so many new pieces, are better off now that Torre is managing the Dodgers and perhaps taking notes for “The Dodger Years.”
Joe Girardi and Cashman are on the same page, now they just have to win. That’s what’s needed in these Yankee Years.