Well, first here on my thoughts on the actual game and series: Yes, I know... we Yankees are so spoiled with our "expectations", right? Like we just sit there waiting to win.
Well, yeah, to a certain degree. Yes, I do feel like we can comeback against any deficit. Down 2-0 in a best of five? Yeah, we did that before - remember Jeter´s flip against Oakland? Down 6-1 yesterday? Jim Leyritz´s three-run homer against the Braves came to mind... who would be this year´s Leyritz?
Expectations are the product of experience. Yankees fans have experience comebacks from all types of situations, gotten clutch hitting and pitching so many times over the dynasty period (1996-2001) that we sometimes still come to expect it, six seasons removed from the end of that era.
And you know what? Even if we do, that doesn´t take away any of our enjoyment of it.
We´ve all riden roller coasters, right? Even knowing what is waiting after the slow climb up doesn´t take away from the experience, does it? It enhances it. You get excited, even as your slowly ascend, knowing the sharp drop is coming... then it comes, and you throw your arms up and scream, right? Anticipation doesn´t take away from the excitement... if anything, it enhances it a bit.
Being a Yankee fan over the last 11 years is a bit like that, only backwards. The slow descend - those slow starts to seasons past and present - just build up the anticipation for when we storm back and take the division (or the wildcard, as was the case this season). The slow start in the playoffs, or in a game, is only suppose to be the build up for the upcoming comeback. And when it happens, the crowd is as pumped as any crowd in any sport anywhere. You can try and minimize Yankee fans as much as you want... call us spoiled, whatever... but even yesterday, when A-Rod hit his homer, when Abreu hit his, and Posada just missed one of his own... the stadium was rocking even while being tense as you can be.
Because having high expectations only makes it that much sweeter when you hit those marks.
*******
Now, on to the Torre story. Yeah, he´s career as Yankee skipper is done. If I had more time, I would put it in historical context - how many managers have won as many games as him, how many managers fit in any 11-year streak under Steinbrenner (my guess - typical about 5 in an 11 year stretch prior to Torre), etc. But let´s leave that to everyone else.
Here is my feelings on Torre, which haven´t changed any since the start of the season, or since Lou Piniella was in the running for the job last offseason.
One, The Boss is making move because he´s tired of losing out on potential replacements - first Joe Girardi, then Willie Randolph and Piniella, and now Don Mattingly is rumored to be a potential manager somewhere, if the Yankees´ job doesn´t open up. So from his perspective he secures his ideal replacement for Torre, and yeah its a risk, but the payoff is worth it. If Mattingly succeeds, then not only does big George look like a genius, but it´ll also diminish Torre´s reputiation and accomplishments a bit. It´ll make it seem... a tad bit more like¨"see, anyone could do it, the team is just that talented". Of course, the flip side is Mattingly fails, and the Yankees don´t even make the playoffs - then Torre gets the last laugh, as his remarkable accomplishments seem even better.
As for my personal opinion of Torre? He´s been Bobby Cox-ing it for a while. He´s a terrific regular season manager... he doesn´t get nearly enough credit for that. Sure his teams are talented, but lots of talented teams have fallen prey to the rigid of the regular season. Major injuries to Sheffield and Matsui didn´t undermine the Yankees season last year, their slow start this season didn´t stop them from making it to the playoffs. Torre certainly knows it is a long season, and knows to stay patient and not panic. That works wonders for any team with talent - it inspires confidence, and calm. For the importance of that in a manager, look at all the teams with talent that have failed over the past 10 seasons - the Mariners team in 2000, the Mets this season, the Red Sox in 2006, etc.
Now, the postseason is a different story. Urgency is needed here. Joe Torre never managed with that urgency after the dynasty ended, choosing instead to patiently wait for the stellar pitching game from his ace that never came, or for the big clutch blast that never came. In fact, he became like us Yankee fans... expecting the comeback. Only as the manager, sometimes you need to be a little more proactive about it. A hit and run, and surprise steal, a bunt... you need to go get it sometimes.
I could get into a side ramble about the baseball playoffs, and how unlike other sports it really is a crapshoot - case in point: if it´s not crawling with locusts in game two, is this series totally different? What if the pressure was on the Indians yesterday, down 2-1? Baseball playoff series often come down to one play, one fluke bounce, one pitch that just got a way, or even one fan interfering with a play. One call by an ump. So many little things that can go in either direction. But this is a discussion for another day.
The next manager might have that urgency in the playoffs, knowing that winning the title = job security. Of course he´ll have to make it to the playoffs first, and right now that´s not a given. Right now I have zero expecations for the Yankees next season - even if I knew the fate of A-Rod, Posada, RIvera, and Abreu, I would have no idea what to expect. Will the next manager keep the team rolling during the regular season, focused without being too tight? Will he fall victim to whatever ate the Mets this season, the same thing that seems to eat at least one or two projected playoff teams every seasons? I don´t know. Under Torre, at least we knew that making the postseason was a certainty....
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Great article, SML. Yankee fans are so used to being in the playoffs they forget what a fantastic comback this team had in the second half. EVERYONE counted them out, yet they finish the season on a team as the highest scoring team in the league with a .290 batting average to boot. Quite impressive. When you've been a Phillies fan as long as I can, you can appreciate when your team just makes it to the playoffs.
You make a great point about Mattingly being considered for other jobs as well. When the Mutts first collapse, I had a nightmare that Randolph would be fired and Mattingly would become their manager. I have always liked Don Mattingly, just as I always liked Willie Randolph. It's hard to continue the admiration when they are Mutts managers.
Jack makes a great point about the Yankees pitching.. I couldn't think of a legit ace in the last ten years from their farm system before Wang. But now they have Wang, Hughes and possibly Kennedy. They have Joba. Their farm system is stocked (although there isn't a legit lefty ace in the wings... one knock).
Overall, the future looks bright. The old dead wood with big contracts will eventually be gone. This team will only get younger and stronger.
Excellent point, Jack. The lack of an ace, a home grown ace, has been the Yankees Achille's Heel for a long time.
Andy Pettite (who showed why he's loved here in NY with another great performance in game two of this series) is the last pitcher they brought up, before Wang, that was any good.
And sadly, Wang is the biggest goat in this series, failing twice to get the job done.
Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, Pavano, Weaver, Wright, Javy Vazquez, Irabu, Conteras... all those trades/free agents pitcher signings that have failed are plentiful.
Of course, Mussina hasn't been bad. And free agent signings have worked for other teams (Schilling for Arizona, Boston). Maybe Johan Santana is on the horizon... when you are the Yankees, nothing is really out of the realm of possibility.
And I agree that the young pitching - Hughes pitched well, Joba and Kennedy are coming to join Wang - all bode well for the future of the Yankees, as JJ stated. Still, the playoffs are really a crapshoot. Teams with great pitching get beat. The Indians have the top two pitchers in the AL - let's see if they get past Boston.
I don't think you'll see Mattingly...the NYY brass will opt for a name coach such as LaRussa.
The good news here is that he would bring in his pitching coach, Dave Duncan. Duncan is 1) the best pitching coach in MLB and 2) the father of Shelly.
This keeps the "family" atmosphere that Torre seemed to create...
I personally dislike LaRussa. He's brought trouble to every clubhouse he's managed - particularly steroids. Here's the list of known steroid abusers he's coached: Canseco, McGwire, Giambi, and Ankiel. And that doesn't include often-suspected players, such as Pujols and Rolen. He's a bad figure to bring around.
But I definitely think they'll consider him.
Still, this firing, in my opinion, is more about the Yankees not losing another replacement. I think you'll see Don Mattingly coaching, and maybe a very strong bench coach, one who might also be a tweak at a rival team... perhaps Bobby Valentine?
I haven't seen the news all day... did the Yanks pull the trigger on Joe?
Don Mattingly has been patiently waiting for a few years now. He deserves the job, and I don't think LaRussa would be the right fit. I can't think of anyone who deserves the job more than Don.
Bowa can't be an option... while passionate, he can burn players out with his intensity. The only other fit for the Yankees I could possibly see is Joe Girardi. But even then, I think Mattingly is a better fit. I also agree that Bobby Valentine would be a great bench coach for Mattingly as well.
SML, the difference here is that the last few years Torre has had that many chance to "out-manage" his opponent in games given the awful pitching. It used to be that there were at least 3 games per series for a manager to swing a game. But that simply has not been the case the last few first round exits (maybe one close game per series).
And i see absolutely NO QUALITIES in Don Mattingly besides a big name that would make him a great manager. I defeinitely saw it in Randoplh and Girardi instantly, but not Mattingly...
The problem here is that the Yankees haven't had the pitching staff to win the World Series in a long time. Whether that's Cashman's fault or 'The Boss's" fault....I don't know. The Yanks would get off to a slow start during the season and then Torre would be forced to blow out his bullpen by June without any reinforcements coming up from the minors in any fashion.
Think back, before Wang...did any of the pitching prospects the Yankees had pan out? I don't believe so. That's just poor drafting. I know that the Yanks gave away some young players in trades, but how many of those young players have turned out to even be mediocre big league players?
In this day and age, you can't rely on the free agent market to build your team. You have to have a mix of home grown talent and free agents, kind of like what Cashman is doing now. If Torre would have stayed, or if he does stay, the Yanks would win the Series in '10..the first year of the new stadium. They are building up to that right now. what the new manager will do and how that will change the philosophy of the front office (again) will be interesting to see.
As for Torre....I like the guy because he's loyal. He knew what players got him to where he is and he would always go back to them when times got rough. First guy out of the pen last night...Mussina. Two guys used to baby a 4-5 run lead in Game 3....Joba and Rivera. Sometimes though, he did that to a fault.