Upon Opinions on Torre

When word emerged that Joe Torre would not be returning as the manager of the New York Yankees, the resulting furor had every Tom, Dick, and Sally offering their opinions on the unsuccessful contract negotiations.

The story began when reporter Ian O'Connor obtained a quote from Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, where the Boss said: "His job is on the line," the Yankees' owner said in a phone interview. "I think we're paying him a lot of money. He's the highest-paid manager in baseball, so I don't think we'd take him back if we don't win this series." Both fans and reporters wondered if this was a motivational technique, or signs of Steinbrenner returning to his "what have you done for me lately"/Billy Martin ways.

When the Yankees lost to the Indians 3-1 in the ALDS, speculation regarding Torre's future continued. It ended late last week, when both Torre and the Yankees announced that he had turned down their contract offer, and would not be returning to the team. While the proposed contract would still have had Torre as by far baseball's highest paid manager, it included performance incentives which would have paid him approximately $1 million per playoff round reached. The contract would also have automatically renewed for the 2009 season if the Yankees had reached the World Series.

During a news conference held on Friday Torre was, for the most part, gracious in his exit. However, he did reveal that he felt insulted by the lower base salary, with the inclusion of performance incentives as what he said the Yankees termed "motivation".

So, where do I stand on the subject? For now, I only have bulleted thoughts.

• I have been a fan of the Yankees since 1991-1992, and remember Buck Showalter and the esteemed Stump Merril as managers.
• I was a big fan of Torre during his tenure, and thought he did a great job as manager of the team most years.
• I think that Torre was a fantastic regular season manager (as shown by his record with the Yankees). He knows how to guide a team, first of champions and later of superstars, to optimal regular season performance. He always got his team to the playoffs, and almost always won the AL East.
• I think that Torre was faced with a unique job among all other managers in baseball. He won a title in his first year as skipper, and 4 in his first 5. Expectations were that this would continue, and the payroll for the team and pressure adjusted accordingly. The New York media is relentless, and Torre never had any scrapes.
• Persevering through his own poor health, and that of his family was admirable.
• Torre never became a good bullpen manager. Ramiro Mendoza, Jeff Nelson, and Mike Stanton were luxuries which he got used to, and never adequately replaced. A more than solid long man, and a lefty-righty combo who threw hard from unique angles often served games to the untouchable Mariano on a platter.
• Tanyon Sturtze, Tom Gordon, Paul Quantrill, Scott Proctor...etc. All these guys have had their arms nearly fall off due to the constant use that Torre put them to. HOWEVER (italics for emphasis)- Joe Torre had to win his division each year, and make the playoffs. He could not afford not to do so. Therefore, he used his best guys to win games in September vs Boston, but in my opinion, he also felt compelled to use them in 5-4 games at Tampa or Seattle in May. Being a Yankee during the must-win times we live in now meant that the relievers who performed best were used, because losing a game b/c Torre ran one of the average guys out there was not an option.
• While he has received an increasingly potent lineup, Torre's pitchers never matched the level that he had with Cone, Pettite, Wells, Clemens the younger, Jimmy Key, El Duque the somewhat younger...etc. the recent Yankee bomb squads can ravage a 3-4-5 starter, and get an ace in trouble. In the playoffs, you get as many aces as a team has, and your own pitchers have to match that.
• The 4 titles the Yankees won were littered with heroic moments. You need these breaks to win it all. However, Torre often showed signs of being outmanaged tactically. The Yankee lineups of recent years may have lulled him into some managerial complacency, which can't happen in the playoffs.

I've got more thoughts rattling, but I'd like to hear what other people think too. Anyone? Bueller?