Honeymoon phases with established sports entities are different than many actual honeymoons, for there is a victim. By praising a new manager's good vibe, you are, in some form, denigrating the work of his predecessor.
So with all of the positivity surrounding Joe Girardi comes some gentle media jabs at Joe Torre, who wears his own honeymoon gear with the Dodgers while Grady Little takes hits. Specifically, the talk of Yankees camp has been Girardi's emphasis on conditioning, a noticeable contrast to Torre's camps.
With this has come criticism in myriad circles _ from here to here (near the bottom) to here (a Feb. 29 entry) _ that the media should have ripped Torre last year and previously for instituting poor conditioning, if that were the case.
I see a few different factors at play here. Is wimpiness one of them? Probably, yes. Let's face it, as a whole, we're not a very impressive species, and the media is no different. Perhaps there were times in the past when people, myself very much included, cut Torre some slack because of his likeability.
But Torre also earned much of that slack, for making the playoffs every single year (yes, with the highest payroll in baseball his final eight years). No matter how out of shape Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon and Mike Mussina were, the Yankees made the playoffs, anyway. Would they have won the American League East and homefield advantage in October if they had conditioned better in February and March? Perhaps. It's rather impossible to say.
The other reality is that it's far easier to notice something that already happened as oppose to something that is occurring in the present. It's not like Abreu and Damon were chain-smoking and gorging themselves on Ho Hos during the rundown drills last year. Maybe I'm dumber than the pack, but I never once did I think, "The Yankees will get off to an awful start due to their poor conditioning." But now, with Girardi working the team hard _ and it should be noted that Brian Cashman was going to shake things up even if Torre had accepted that lame, one-year offer to come back _ the contrast between now and then strikes you more clearly.
We'll see if this has any tangible impact. I do think the Yankees will get off to a better start than they have the past few years, in part because of Girardi's enthusiasm and this extra conditioning. Looking back, more years than not, Torre's teams got out of the gate slowly and then surged toward the finish line. The key will be how well Girardi and his players can sustain that energy. And, far more important than any of this, how well the pitching holds up.
Comments (12)
"Classless way they treated Joe Torre"???? In the spring of 2007 Torre talked to Steve Swindal saying he wanted a one year $4.5 million deal to close out Yankee Stadium. Six months later the Yankees offered Torre a better deal than what he sought but Torre said no, I have a better deal waiting from the Dodgers who just imploded with Grady Little. Only a 67 year old man who has spent their life in the lunatic world of inflated sports salary could see this as "insulting" and "classless". Besides the toadying sports media.
First off, I have to laugh at the mention of "gorging on Ho Hos" given the events of the day.
Now, for some reason, when I think about baseball and conditioning, I also picture Jason Giambi waddling around the basepaths. These guys get paid millions to mostly fly around the country, swing a bat and field hard grounders. They were all born with super-human hand-eye coordination and above-average size and/or strength. And they know they are great by their mid-teens. So, outside of a few speed merchants, they are simply not incented to work harder to slice a few tenths off their 40-yard dash. And not doing so doesn't make them any less great -- at baseball. But conditioning may prevent injury, and baseball, with its sudden bursts and stops, can clearly halt a great player in his path. So to the extent that Girardi's program keeps everyone healthy, while impossible to prove, then he's getting an edge and deserves some kudos.
Torre's legacy may be somewhat out of his control, since it may vary inversely with the Yanks' success over the next few years.
Billy will be fine. Might even wear a Dodgers cap here and there.
Teamns always change from a respected but laid back type to a more hard driving type, believing that the extra pressure or focus on fundamnetals will gain them a few victories.
It usually doesn't work in the long run, as the tougher manager overplays his starters and the team crashes from using a football style mentality for 162 games - it just can't be done! (Think Zimmer 78 and the Sox)
I think Torre was vastly overrated - his good press came from managing the press and acting as a shield from the Boss (no mean feat, but it has nothing to do with field strategy and conduct of a game).
Girardi is not the manager you want for a veteran team
As a generic statement I agree with "Girardi is not the manager you want for a veteran team." But I like the fit for this team's vets, and Cashman is focused on infusing rookie talent this season and beyond. Giambi, Abreu, Damon and Mussina all need the threat and intensity he brings as they play out their contracts. We'll see if it works.
Jim C., congrats for falling into the Yankees' spin zone. If you ask me for $100 today, and I say, "No," and then six months from now, I say, "Here's $105, so that makes up for six months ago," would you consider that a "better deal"?
If Torre had gotten that 2009 extension a year ago, then he would've avoided many of the job-security questions he faced during last year's bad start. Instead, the Yankees wanted him to face two straight years of such questions. I'm pretty sure Tommy Lasorda, in the '80s, was the last manager to sign a one-year contract.
It's painfully obvious the Yankees wanted Joe Torre out as manager. Preferably immediately, but definitely by the time the new stadium opens. All professional athletes and coaches are greedy, but Torre is near the top of the pack. However, I have come around to Ken's way of thinking on this one: Yes, it was time for Torre to go, but the Yankees went about it the wrong way. They should have sucked it up and said simply, "Joe we appreciate everything you have done for us but it's time for a change. We want to move in a different direction." No twisting in the wind. No letting the move spin out of control with fans and the media. Joe deserved a more dignified exit. But, he definitely needed to exit.
Can we get a Pirates version of Eliot Johnson to welcome Billy Crystal to major league baseball?
It's a honor to wear a major league uniform, and comes from 20 years of hard work, dedication and results. The Yankees, in deciding to allow Crystal to sign a minor league contract and play, have made a mockery of their "tradition" as a special organization. What's next - Nathan's hot dog races?
I wouldn't get a role in "When Harry Met Sally" - why should this wannabee dweeb get to put on a supposedly sacred logo?
If the Yanks go through with this, I am done with them, as they are no different than any other team that whores around for money and attention. Starting with Buck Showalter, they tried to play thr game right - in the past few years, they have seriously lost their way.
I am with RMT on the Billy Crystal signing. It's sickening. How can anyone take what they are doing seriously when an actor signs a contract and plays in a game? I won't be through with the team, but won't soon forget this nonsense. If Cashman had the guts to stand up to this stupidity, good for him. Maybe it's time he sought employment elsewhere, although I personally would like to see him try to win without a $200 million payroll.
Crystal hasn't been intentionally funny since the Yankees last won a World Series.
LOVE the Crystal-bashing, guys, and Jim, very pleased that you have come around to my way of thinking re: Torre.
One point, however, on the Crystal matter: This really is not even in Cashman's domain. He can't be expending bullets on whether Billy Crystal gets an AB in a Grapefruit League game; that decision undoubtedly came from above him. He's got to focus on not trading Hughes.
Is it true Crystal has a 2001 WS ring with the Diamondbacks?
It's a joke the team signed him, sprin training game or not.
yes - Crystal invested a small amount of money in the D'backs and has a 2001 WS ring from them.
I hated him enough for "Analyze That" - now the damn ring!