Tattletale Torre
Far be it for me to criticize the man who brought the Yankees four World Series titles in five years. Far be it for me to criticize Joe Torre, who I consider to be the best manager I’ve seen. For other people, other sports writers, not so much. Especially if you supposedly write what everyone is saying you’ve written: A-Rod is A-Fraud, Brian Cashman betrayed him, David “Boomer” Wells drove you nuts, etc. etc.
I don’t know if I even want to read the book, but despite what other people are writing about him, despite that they are saying he violated the clubhouse á la Fight Club - by talking about it - and that he cost himself the trust of his current Dodgers players, I have to wonder about what the Yankee brass are thinking right now that this book is out there. You just knew that a Joe Torre day where they finally retire No. 6 and hang a plaque on the wall wasn’t going to be for a while. This book pushes that date so far into the future you might need the DeLorean just to get there. So here it is - no plaque, no monument, no retired number. (Editor’s note: players only get a monument after they die, so you get the plaque first.) Does Joe deserve that? No, but the Steinbrenners have a way of holding a grudge - remember what happened to Yogi?
Here’s just a little dream scenario I thought of just now: Jeter’s going to the Hall of Fame, going to have his number retired, going to get a plaque and a monument after he goes to that great big ballpark in the sky. What if when they decide to finally hold Derek Jeter day, he says no, not until you do the same for Mr. Torre and have both of their plaques put on the wall, both numbers retired, and both of them there for the day? Then Jeter and Torre ride off into the sunset like it should have been in the first place.
Sports Cartoons
Monday, January 26, 2009
