By the end of the week, the Yankees may have shrunk the Red Sox' lead to single digits and ripped off six wins in a row--though I doubt it. In the meantime . . .
I remember last October, beginning my day the way I begin all autumn Saturdays, with ESPN's "College GameDay." This was when ESPN reported the Joe Torre had been fired and then replaced by Lou Pinellia.
My first reaction was, "Hmmm . . . that kind of makes sense."
I never pretend to go on inside players' heads. But once Mike Mussina gave up the lead in game two of the ALDS to the Tigers, the Yankees eventual defeat in that series seemed so . . . inevitable. The dreariness of the Yankees' postseasons since the titanic World Series of 2001 has been one first-round defeat after another, interrupted for two years by the grand Yankee-Red Sox Passion PLay of 2003-2004.
For all their star power, for all their first-ballot Hall of Famers (and I counted four on last year's team: A-Rod, Jeter, Unit, Mo, with Moose getting in eventually), the Yankees, post-2004 meltdown, have seemed . . . . I don't know. Boring. Lethargic. With a certain Oh-no-here-we-go-again about them.
I wasn't the only one who noticed. Jeff Pearlman, writing in espn.com, echoes the thoughts I've had for over a year.
A portion:
When George Steinbrenner first hired Torre to replace Buck Showalter back in 1996, I was among the legions of people befuddled by the move. In his 14 years of guiding the Mets, Braves and Cardinals, Torre captured just one division title (with Atlanta in 1982) and never won 90 or more games. Surely there were more qualified candidates -- Gene Michael … Clyde King … Billy Martin's ghost … Alf … me.
Yet, in one of the great managerial achievements in Yankees history, Torre took a team of castaways (Mike Aldrete, Matt Howard, Charlie Hayes), youngsters (Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera) and big-name vets on the downside of their careers (Dwight Gooden, Cecil Fielder, Tim Raines) and molded the franchise's first world champion in 18 seasons.
Torre's touch was subtle, yet undeniable -- he knew when a button needed to be pressed, and when a player was best left alone. He allowed pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre to handle the arms, and hitting coach Chris Chambliss to deal with the intricacies of bat control. And he rarely overmanaged, opting for trust in his players over trust in his own brilliance.
Over the ensuing five years, Torre and the Yankees were an ideal match. The front office always managed to find the right piece -- be it Scott Brosius, Luis Sojo or Chili Davis -- to fit Torre's world. These were mostly mature, self-motivated men in their early-to-mid 30s who didn't need to be pumped up by their manager before a big game. Torre's greatest strength was not his handling of the bullpen or sticking with a steady lineup (in both areas he was only fair), but his innate ability to relate. Black players loved Torre, white players loved Torre, veterans loved Torre and rookies loved Torre. When the 32-year-old Jeter refers to his manager as "Mr. Torre," it is done not for effect, but out of respect.
Unfortunately for Torre, times have changed. With the departures of coaches like Stottlemyre, Willie Randolph and Don Zimmer, he is left with a cast of failed managers (Tony Pena, Larry Bowa) and future failed managers (Don Mattingly) as his assistants. Whereas once the Yankees built a team primarily through player development and small- and medium-scale trades, now it seems like the team (with rare exception) is built on other franchises' blocks. When you nurture and develop the Jeters and Riveras and Jorge Posadas of the world, those men will live and die for those pinstripes. On the other hand, when you shell out fat wads of cash for Alex Rodriguez and Carl Pavano and Jason Giambi, are you buying skill and passion, or just skill?
The solution, Pearlman continues, was to bring in some passion, some fire--someone who could make everyone care the way Jeter and Damon care. Pearlman's solution?
Bobby Valentine.
Hmmm.
I thought last October that if you change managers in order to light a fire under this team, the replacement had better 1) have the requisite personality, and 2) have the requisite resume. To me, the only person that had both qualities was Piniella. It is the case that Steinbrenner and Lou have always had a good relationship, that Lou desperately wants in the Hall of Fame, and that Pinella's CV (two rings as a player, an connection to the bad-ass Yankees of the seventies, another ring as a manager, numerous division titles, a 116-win season with Seattle) is sufficient to command respect.
But Bobby Valentine.
I suppose what colors my perspective was the one time I saw Valentine manage up close, in the 2000 World Series. What struck me was the Mets'insufferable laziness on the basepaths, which cost them at least Game One. There is also, with Valentine, a certain strain of weirdness (anyone remember his Uncle Louie moment, the fake mustache and glasses after being run)? The last unbalanced Yankee manager was Billy Martin, but his unbalance was alcohol (coach Stick Michael used to say the best time to talk to Billy was "between drinks four and seven"), and he had played with Dimaggio, was best friends with the Mick.
So I don't know what to think.
Tonight was vintage recent Yankee: Strong start by Wang, power by A-Rod and Giambi, good fielding, strong bullpen.
Need about 75 more of those.
So who would get them there?
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