On the Yankees beat

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/firejoetorre/index.html

Its time for Joe to go no matter what Jeter said. If, Steinbrenner fired Billy Martin in 78' then he can do it with Torre and replace him with Girardi.

First a disclaimer - I do not believe Joe Torre's job is at risk - George has always maintained that his biggest mistake as owner of the Yankees was firing Yogi early on in the year.

Now on to Jeter's comments - he's right in that the way the players are playing is not something Joe can control, but Derek knows the reality of the situation and that is that in professional sports sometimes to shake a team up changes are made and it is easier to change the manager than the roster. Also something he knows is that just like the manager doesn't control the team when they stink, he also doesn't control how the team plays when they do well, yet he gets rewarded for it with a new contract - that sword cuts both ways.

It is a part of the game Derek has never had to contemplate (the closest he has come to seeing it first hand is watching the Boss needle Zim and Mel) but if he asks some of the other players on the team, guys who have been on good teams that have underperformed, he will hear them all say the same thing, "They can't fire us so they fire the coaches or manager."

Here's music Lyric from Grace Jones for Yankees Fans

The sun come out, tomorrow,
Bet your bottom dollar, that tomorrow,
Therell be sun,

Just thinkin about, tomorrow,
Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow, till theres none,

When Im stuck with a day, thats grey and lonely,
I just stick out my chin, and grin, and say,

Oh, the sunll come out tomorrow,
So you gotta hang on till tomorrow,
Come what may.

Tomorrow tomorrow, I love you tomorrow,
Youre only a day away,

The sunll come out, tomorrow,
Bet your bottom dollar, that tomorrow,
Therell be sun,

Just thinkin about, tomorrow,
Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow, till theres none,

When Im stuck with a day, thats grey and lonely,
I just stick out my chin, and grin, and say,

Oh, the sunll come out tomorrow,
So you gotta hang on till tomorrow,
Come what may.

Tomorrow tomorrow, I love you tomorrow,
Youre always a day away,

Tomorrow tomorrow, I love you tomorrow,
Youre only a day away,

The sunll come out, tomorrow,
Bet your bottom dollar, that tomorrow,
Therell be sun,

Just thinkin about, tomorrow,
Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow, till theres none,

When Im stuck with a day, thats grey and lonely,
I just stick out my chin, and grin, and say,

Oh, the sunll come out tomorrow,
So you gotta hang on till tomorrow,
Come what may.

Tomorrow tomorrow, I love you tomorrow,
Youre always a day away,

Tomorrow tomorrow, I love you tomorrow,
Youre only a day away, (x10)

We all know Jeter loves Torre and is always going to support him. And even if he didn't like him, he or any of the players will not say anything negative about him, at least not publically. That doesn't mean Torre should stay, though. Jeter is a great player with Torre as manager. He'll still be a great player with Mattingly/Girardi as manager.

Defending him or not Toore has to go. He does not trust his starters,he abuses the bullpen and I believe he is stuck in the championship years when it was easy to turn to the bullpen and have them get the job done. He became spoiled with the team and they play lifeless under him.

For Gil L-
In the last blog you mentioned "there are so many Red Sox fans it is like an away game". Speaking on being there today there were alot but the cheering you heard when the homers were hit were Yankees fans cheering the people who threw the balls back onto the field.But I say it was 60-40 Yankees fans.

CHIP-
"The Boss" wanted to fire Torre after being eliminated by Detroit last year, so I don't think the Yogi analogy fits the Torre situation. With tomorrow being an "off" day, and the Yanks on the road, the timing is perfect to "can" Torre.

Grace Jones? I thought that was from Little Orphan Annie?
In any event, thanks, Dg, we needed that.

This is a Yankee Blog, not Rolling Stone. Save that stuff for Julie Andrews.com

The stadium was 60-40 Yankees fans? That's way too many Red Sox fans. When the Yankees start winning again and the Red Sox fall into oblivion, the only red you'll see at the stadium will be on the faces of the few fans that show up for those games. After all, the Yankees and Red Sox have been seesawing their way through the seasons, with the Yankees sitting on top way, way, way, way more than the Red Sox. A shift in power is inevitable. It's only a matter of time.

Roy, you're too serious. I've got some extra chill pills. Want a few dozen? Nah, I'm just playing with you, Roy.

Yeah Lucy I agree. It sucks but they always come down in large groups. Luck for me there were very few in my section so I did not have to put up with it. Yesterday was much worse. There were way more Sox fans in general than today.

The logical extension of Jeter's comments is that Torre shouldn't receive any credit when they win as well.

Remember Yankee Stadium is soon to be demolished...even beantowners want to visit "the House that Ruth Built" one last time.

That will change with the tide, AJ. It always does.

I think more focus should be placed on the person who has been choosing our pitching "talent" over the past several years. We always seem to get stuck with the duds. When you look around the league, there are a great number of fantastic pitchers. Why don't we have any of them? Why are our pitchers always suffering from injuries and inadequate performances as a rule? This has been the trend in the last several years and I think the person responsible for making those decisions needs to be handed his walking papers pronto.

rest of season.

some have written that they are all but ready to throw in the towel for this season, which is quire understandable, however fixing the team doesn't require too many moves, though some may be very difficult to achieve.

1) acquire a prime inning eating pitcher.
the current staff is short a real dael guy. don't hold your breath for mussina, as he seems over the hill. this rotation will once again be great if wang is no.2, petitte 3, mussina 4 and hughes 5. that means that no.1 remains to acquired. that's probably the hardest part of the fix, but that should be the no.1 priority.

2) address the bench. upgrade back up catcher + someone who actually hit down there. should be much less difficult to do.

3) rest the bullpen. obviously based on succeeding in step 1. our pen, even rested, is no more than solid and lacks a true set up man and long reliever.

so, you can see that a few moves (2 easy, 1 challanging) can spring the team right back to the top, this season.

obviously all of this will not have the necessary effect unless torre is fired.

Ruse-

Are you doing the S.F Giants vs Yanks in the late June?

Anyone could have managed these last couple of games.
Let's see I'll bring Proctor in for an inning to spot the opposition yet another run.
If that goes well I'll bring in Henn to give up a couple of more runs because you see I wasted him earlier by making him throw nearly 60 pitches in relief on 2 consecutive days.
I let Bruney take a back seat to Proctor although it's become abundantly clear he's a better pitcher.
I'm looking forward to seeing Visciano go on the DL because of a sore arm.
Let's bring in Myers so we can see all the inherited runners score.
I can't use Farnsworth today because the little baby can't pitch 2 days in a row and when he does he'll for sure give up a run .
I'll keep Britton down at triple A even though he throws a mid-90s fastball and would be a better alternative than Farnsworth simply because he can pitch 2 days in a row.
See I told you it was easy to manage.

lucy,

great point re pitching talent. i think the yankees suffer from inadequate teachers in all levels, up to the majors. no one on this blog will claim that we have the best pitching coach in the majors, or even close. however, the bloggers of st. louis or the mets, or even the orioles could make that claim.
oakland has been raising one prospect after the other, hudson, mulder, zito, harden, haren, blanton, and they've got more coming. no one can convince me it's pure luck or just good drafting and trading. they seem to have some solid pitching gurus in different levels, from single A and up.

on the other hand, most of the yankee FA acquisitions failed - vazquez, weaver, contreras, johnson, brown, that's quite a list... the yankees don't maximize the potential of their pitchers which is a shame.

we should aspire to have the best coaches because in the long run they save a lot of money.

AJ

I thought about going.I'm not sure I'll be in town on those days.Why what's on your mind ? Should I work out a deal for Matt Cain & Noah Lowry ?

Yes we will trade you Mike and the Maddog for Matt Cain straight up.
I was thinking about going also and a couple of my buddys are but I am not sure if I want to go yet. It is alot of money and a long trip.

Jeter seems to speak up only when he wants to, where was he last year for Arod?

Jeter feels strongly about Torre being fired, but A-Rod wasn't going anywhere, his job wasn't on the line. These situations are very different.

Trying to land a number 1 type starter during the regular season is living in a fantasy world.Look around maybe 6-8 exist to begin with.NO contending team is suddenly going to turn around and trade their major asset.
The only way for the Yanks to do so is through Free Agency.
If a team folds in August maybe just maybe the Yanks can make a deal.
I'm sure names like Ian Kennedy,Tabata,Clippard will come up.
I was thinking the only available commodity on the Yanks would be one of their corner outfielders.
Let's wait for things to settle down a little before we sell off the farm.
Freddie Garcia is maybe the only available pitcher who could be traded for ,an innings eater and a good solid #3 type.
Barajas and Garcia for 2 relievers and a prospect or some such nonsense.

Well, it's time to leave. I'd go cry in my beer now, but I don't drink. I had two cups of tea, the second of which to calm me in the latter innings of the game and it helped a bit. Maybe I'll just go find a comedy on TV to help cheer me up. At least the NY Rangers are in the playoffs and they won in style. Takers, anyone? I know, they don't compare to our Yankees.

Oh, well, have a good night, Everyone.

I persoanlly like torre and don'k think he should be fired this early. However, I think the best points made on this board about him (particularly in the post by Gil), are the fact that he is comatose on the bench. This was brought up last year in the tiger series when he neglected to argue a couple calls that went against the yankees that were questionable. This has always been my biggest gripe with him, in that he never, ever shows any emotion. You can even go back to last sunday night agaisnt the red sox when matsuzaka hits a-rod and jeter and not one of the pansy yankee pitchers throws inside on manny or ortiz. This also goes back to torre, as this has been an ongoing trend over the last 4 years with yankees getting hit by red sox with nothing being done about it. Then of course last year agaisnt the tigers, this team showed no fight in them whatsoever when they were going down (with the exception of jorge posada), and its happening again with the ship sinking. In my opinion this all goes back to torre, and I don't know if a managerial change is the answer, but this team needs someone to light a fire under them, and I dont know if torre can. Now it is still only april and there is plenty of time left, as the cliche goes, but this team is not only losing, but getting embarassed and its time someone stepped up.

Although if he were to get fired...why not larry bowa? He would get in these players faces and hold them accountable at least.

If it's up to the players to win, and you can't blame Torre, then why is he making 7.5 million dollars this year just to turn in a lineup card?

A missive from Mr. Steinbrenner:

“I would like to start off by saying that Joe Torre has had a tremendous run as manager of the New York Yankees. During his tenure here, Joe has led us to 4 World Championships, 6 American League pennants, and we have made the playoffs in 11 consecutive seasons. Joe will certainly go down as one of the most successful managers in our team’s glorious history. Unfortunately, though, we have decided that we’re going to make a change and that the team needs a shake-up. We are hoping that this move will give the team a spark and Don Mattingly gets us going in the right direction again. Joe has been a class act from the first moment I met him. I am very much looking forward to being there for his Hall of Fame induction as he goes in as a Yankee. No one, coach or player, will be able to wear Joe’s number again. I wish Joe and his family nothing but the best and hope he stays a part of the Yankees’ family forever.”

- General George M. Steinbrennner III

"Quote from Mr John Henry"

" It's great feeling We beat out archrival NewYork Yankees once again. Terry has done tremendous job managing this team all together. As a Owner of Redsox, I pleads to allegiance to Lucifer. I'm enjoying so far and Redsox are wicked team.

It's not the fault of Joe Torre, but of the imbecile pitching coaches (yes, it's plural) who should be changed as soon as possible.

I see we have another person here who just posted that lengthy comment above also named Eric.

Whoever you maybe, please use a different moniker as that name is already taken by me and to avoid any confusion/mistaken identity.

Thank you.

OK. Sorry.

yankee stadium = fenway park south during these games. its a disgrace

yankees fans should be ashamed. you never see fenway like that. there mustve been 20,000 sox fans there today. a few more thousand and it wouldve been a neutral site. if i closed my eyes i wouldve thought i was in fenway today. plus they did a better job cheering then these yankees fans. i mean im not the type to be loud at the game so i can understand not everybody wanting to cheer loudly but there are usually a few in every group of fans that gets the crowd up and nobody was doing that on the yankees side. yankees fans have to do a better job. i hate to say it but i cant picture shea being overun by fans of a rival team.

At this rate, JulieAndrews.com will start to look good ... compared to watching Boston walk all over us. Scott Prctor fleeing the stadium in terror ... that's funny ... The Yanks have to turn it around! I mean, 200 million ... dollars ... can't be wrong, right?

Jeter will always speak up for Torre because one Torre is gone the fingers will start pointing squarely at the so-called "Captain" for being the most overrated, overexposed, over-everything player in the history of North American professional sports.

The "Captain" hasn't "Captained" a single Worold Champion. Since the true leaders of those 96-00 teams, O'Neill and Martinez, split town the "Captain" has presided over one un-inspired ealry playoff exit after another. Any team that routinely spends 4x as much on payroll as half their 'competition' do will make the playoffs...it takes something more to win, something that's been missing since 2001. And it's missing from your sacred #2.

Moronic post.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6756838

[b]
"Cashman, trying to develop a similar young core, might only be a year or two behind the Red Sox. But Phil Hughes, Chase Wright and Co. are not yet ready to compete in the AL East. Clearly, Cashman's biggest mistake last off-season was failing to obtain a sufficient late-20s complement to Wang — Matsuzaka, free-agent left-hander Barry Zito, someone."[/b]

I Blame Cashman for this mess and should get fired immediately.

Jeter is correct. A careful look at the situation indicates 3/5's of the starting rotation was hurt. Now, its down to 2/5's. The injuries demanded a call to the bullpen way too often thus depleting the bullpen of quality releiefs. Mariano did not get much work with games out of hand. The offense realistically cannot score 8 runs a game . Most teams have 2 quality starters to content against our offense. playing .600 basball in the pros is excellent. So for us to have an excellent start the situations presented by the injuries were against this occuring.

I'm not in favor of Joe's managing but his calmness toward leadership is what this team needs. No manager under the circumstances with injuries galore at this time of the year should be fired. The only two guys who I believe would fit the mold are Pena and Girardi if GS does the firing. Bowa and Mattingly, are not right for this team presently because Bowa a little too firey for this group of professionals and Mattingly just doesn't have the experience with the pitchers.

Joe just goes to the well way too often for my liking when he's pressed. If, the team were playing better than Joe would not have to make as many decisions which as you know the more you make the more that can go bad.

I almost didn't want to read anything on this blog today as I know I would quickly tire of the "Joe must go" nonsense but I'm hoping people are not as emotional this morning as they would have been yesterday (or the past 10 days).
Let's face it, Joe Torre is not a pitcher on this team, he is not the slumping RF, he is not the slumping part-time 1B, he is not the slumping bullpen etc.
As Wally Matthews puts it in today's paper, the only move Torre made that was a bad decision was to take Pettitte out in game one at Fenway. Other than that all he's had to do this season so far is try to piece together a rotation out of a scrap heap. For God's sake, Carl Pavano was the team's opening day starter!! If that wasn't desperation, show me what is?
I still believe this team will get it together. Rumors of Abreu's demise as a player have been exaggerated, the starters will become serviceable at least, enough so to at least be in the mix at the end of the year and the bullpen will improve, if not now, then by July.

The Yanks came into this season with a rotation that lacked a true number one starter, really through no fault of their own. There just was not any good pitching available without overpaying for another mediocre starter so the Yankees figured they'd have to slug it out this year. That puts a lot of pressure on the hitters. All it will take is to string two or three quality starts in a row and this team will get on a roll.

My hand is a little closer to the panic button than it has been in the past (because of the pitching) but I'm not pushing it just yet.

Cashman should be fired, not Torre. He did not build deep pitching. Look at Epstein. He always focused on pitching! This is the result. No miracles.

With all the howling for JT's blood I see no very good alternatives mentioned, at least none that offer the quick fix that people seem to expect.

Someone brought up Piniella's name with regret, but though Lou was expected to work miracles in Chicago there has been no sign of rapid recovery there, and some in Chicago are already expressing disappointment. Of course he could make some of us happy just by cursing and kicking some dirt around.

Mattingly, completely inexperienced and a laid-back personality, would be unlikely to benefit from being thrown into the deep and shark-filled waters now.

Girardi, great with a team of rookies who looked up to him as an experienced winner, would face seasoned all-stars, an owner at least as intransigent as the one who fired him in Florida, a cabal of power-hungry George-cronies meddling from Tampa, and a coaching staff riddled with old managers with more experience than he. He'd be the kid, not the oldest and most successful guy in the uniform as he was in Florida. A recipe for forty miles of bad road, unless he gets a more favorable start-off with the organization and players behind him.

The old managers on the coaching staff don't seem likely to get more out of the injured and the worn-out, and likely to get less out of the remnants left standing. Again, there's the possibility of more screaming and dirt-kicking, so some fans would be happier -- the ones who like losing better if it comes with an Academy Award in the drama category.

Long intro to my big question: really, if Joe goes, what new manager do you see having a better chance of making an immediate difference in the win-loss ratio?

Because that's the bottom line -- not the pleasure of kicking managerial ass because we're disappointed and upset.

IMHO.

injuries have hurt the yanks, not joe torre or brian cashman. its early, the team will get healthy and make a run. plus a trade should help too, down the road. no need to panic.

Leave It to Jim to show some sanity to the masses.

Boy Ive missed you guys!

I enjoyed a day at the Stadium Saturday with all those Red Sox and Yankee fans. I didnt see any suicide attempts or crazy rantings. Yanks won too. I must bring them luck. Maybe you can all chip in and buy me some more tickets for future games. You never know what might help.

Diane,

Pure quality analysis. You and Jim are quickly becoming the Rising Stars on this site. I am really stunned by the sober tone of the commentary here today. Where are all the crazies?

Hey, NYY fans, the Simon-wannabe is back with us again.

But we're not competing against each other.

With Jeter willing to come out so vocally and unequivocally in support of Torre, it really underscores the fact that he would not do so last year for A-rod.
I mean, some people choose not to comment strongly on any such situation, but with these comments it's obvious that Jeter is simply selective.
Not breaking news, I suppose- but interesting nonetheless.

Diane,

Now dont throw away the cred capital you have earned. Impressing the SMALL minds on here at the expense of the BIG thoughts will only leave you in that ranting crowd of reactionaries talking about crazy trades of garbage for gold and excuses about team performance that mask the real problems. Stay on message!

Yes Providence. It has always been my opinion that Jeter relished letting A-Rod twist in the wind when he sais things. Now he may have his personal reasons for doing so but it is something I considered a character flaw especially for a guy who is supposed to be the leader on the team.

Why is Abreu still batting third? He killed every rally this past week. Torre didn't hesitate to move Arod to 8th in an elimination game- so please move this guy to 6th or 7th until he gets hot again.

And Flaherty and Leiter's lack of criticism is amazing. Abreu is bunting three times and they say he's "doing it on his own" and it's "not coming from the bench"? The broadcast showed Torre giving signs- the #3 hitter is up with no one out- what do they think the sign is "hit a homer Bobby?" And if Abreu did it on his own why wasn't he confronted int he dugout? What a fiasco.

Abreu very well may have done it on his own. Managers flash signs on every pitch, decoy or not. Only Joe and Abreu know. I dont doubt he took it on himself since thats the type of player he is. He is passive and does not relish the heat or battle situations. He prefers to defer the big hit to the guy behind him. That was the main reason Philly moved him. Game on the line the #3 hitter shouldnt be looking to get back to the dugout.

I really know nothing about baseball, just here to show my ignorance.

Time for the crazies again. Still a one trick pony though!

I can see it now...wait..I have an idea...I'll post stupid comments under his Moniker and people will think its him. Why didn't anyone think about this before??

cs07, every time Leiter is on the program I miss Jim Kaat more.

This was an especially bad year to be his first in retirement, with so many new pitchers to observe.

A terrific analyst, gone just when we needed him most!

My point about the signs is that I assume it was a bunt sign- because when the heart of your order is up, there should be no signs. Do you think Arod, Ramirez, Bonds, et al even know what the bunt sign is? The fact that Torre was given any signs there shows that either he has lost something or he has no faith in Abreu. And after the first attempt, if Abreu was doing it onw his own and the bench was opposed, I am sure Bowa would have called time out and ran down to Abreu to go over the sign.

Abreu has one home run I think he hit three last year from when they acquired him. Not enough production for #3. I would go with the hot hand- Giambi 3, followed by Arod, matsui, Posada and then Abreu.

I am surprised that no one asked Torre or Abreu on the bunt deal. Im not saying that Torre didnt and those in the crowd around me were split 50-50 on the blame. It become a running joke everytime after when he got up.

Yanks should definitely move him out of that spot in the order. He is not a #3 quality guy. Think O'Neil.

Abreu is in a "slump".He will come out of his "slump".
Abreu at times and I've seen this before w/ good hitters,they start umpiring their ABs,become way to selective instead of hitting marginal pitches ,they keep looking back at the umpire.
Abreu was and is a good clutch hitter a career .321 RISP w/2 outs RISP .308.
If Abreu' slump continues the manager might sit him for a game.

The last "slump" he was in got him a ticket out of town not just a day off.

"As Wally Matthews puts it in today's paper, the only move Torre made that was a bad decision was to take Pettitte out in game one at Fenway."

So ya think batting Mientkeiwicz second was a good idea?

"Pure quality analysis. You and Jim are quickly becoming the Rising Stars on this site. I am really stunned by the sober tone of the commentary here today. Where are all the crazies?"

Spare me. Thinking Joe Torre is still a good MGR is crazy, if ya ask me.

again with the sugar coating, LUCY you was WRONG when you said situations was different with TOrre supprt vs Arod Support given by Jeter.

JETER IS THE CAPTAIN in reality he is SUPPOSED to stand up for his TEAMMATES that is the reason he was labled captain. and in REALITY under his more independant years as CAPTAIN (no paul or Tino) the team has went under.

Yesturday was prime reason why Torre skills is suspect.

80 pitches by wang and he removes him in the 6t h inning to put in his TIRED PEN?????????

Even Lieter was questioning that move

Wang was bitten by the injury bug yesterday too,,,,a split middle fingernail that rolled over....sounds fairly painful, and if he was left in, likely would have hampered his next start(s).

After 23 games, 5 rookie pitchers have been used. In 10 of the losses the Yanks had the lead. Joe can't give heart to Farnsworth or make the #3 hitter Abreu get a meaningful hit. Making change for change makes no sense given the history. It was a mistake to keep one-and-done Pavano and depend on him to pitch meaningful minutes. We've been here before early in the season and after 10 years of coming out in first in the AL East in the end you would think the early season histeria would stop. I know keep dreamin.. I luv NY.

Anonymous, please show me exactly where in the Yankees Policy & Procedure Guide it states that the Captain must respond to every comment, criticism & question posed to him by the media concerning every person in the organization? If that were the case, Derek would be a fixture in the press box as opposed to a player on the field. I would venture to say a response from him is not a RULE, but a discretionary decision on his part.

With that in mind, I will remind you that Derek did, in fact, respond to media inquiry about his feelings concerning Yankees fans booing Alex, and his RESPONSE was that he could not tell the fans what to do, that Alex already spoke in his own defense and he had nothing more to add. There's a difference between Derek telling the fans how they should react and his making a statement in defense of a manager who is faced with a possible firing. Now if the issue dealt with a situation where management was threatening to trade Alex because of his poor performance, then I would expect Derek to come to his defense IF he felt it were justified (and that's within his discretion).

While you may perceive Derek's role to be one of media correspondent, I see him first and foremost as a player who should only open his mouth to the media concerning other players and organizational members under very special and unique circumstances. In my eyes, there's a huge difference between the two circumstances and I believe wholeheartedly that Derek did the right thing. HOWEVER, I am NOT WRONG, YOU merely DISAGREE, and that's LIFE.

IN 23 games 5 rookie pitchers have started including 4 times against the Sux.# 3 hitter is hitting .250. as is Damon. Any other city winning 4 WS series and 10 AL EAst pennants means something(the Red Sox have faded EVERY year in the past 11 except one). NY fans have either short memories or no clue on how things can change when there is 140 games left. From the comments here, I see that it's NO CLUE.'ohhh Jeter won't give defend Arod in the press he's a baad captain'. I guess Thurman Munson was also bad since he never defended Reggie or Billy Martin in 1978. It's obvious that the 'best informed sport fans' no longer reside in NY

Anonymous, I also want to add to my last statement that Derek is the consummate professional, the ultimate diplomat, and the epitome of class. If you believe for a second that Derek did not weigh his options and words before responding to the media concerning A-Rod's situation, you're the one who needs to wipe that sugar coating you speak about from your eyes, ears and head because its affecting your ability to judge Derek in a logical light, while falling prey to media hype.

No lucy that is illogical , Jeter is captain. And to have a back page support for a manager . a back page support for a "DRUG RELATED " player but NO support for a teammate going through issues shows that he is BIASED in his support. HE IS CAPTAIN!! meaning that he does BEST for the TEAM. especially if a % of the Arod bashing was due to FANS who ARE PRO JETER. As CAPTAIN it his JOB to squash such feelings and let the people know that Jeter/ AROD and OTHERS is on the SAME TEAM and should be regarded as such. Thurmon HATED reggie but NEVER alienated himself as CAPTAIN.

There is no policy to say such tha tis why if you DO NOT speak in support of ONE don't speak at ALL. simple as that . He wanna support his manager?? Then PUBLICLY BLAST THE TEAM ANNOUNCE A CLOSED door meeting to the press. be on that field busting ya ass and letting others know about their poor play. when you select your responses it clouds your judgement espeically if it;s support responces. jeter has to realize Joe Torre is not going to be Yankee manager his whole career. Meaning do not maje yourself a TARGET for the new manager.

The yankees are a team and telling the media that the fans can do what they want is not merits for a captain like repsonse. As a FORMER team captain here is the proper response.

"We understand the frustrations with our slumping players when one slumps we all slump we are a unit of one and will strive together to lift one up from such and bring success back to this lovely city"

or

We ask for motivation from the fans regarding ALL PLAYERS wearing the YANKEE Uniform.

have a nice day

Reggie was not booed as loud as AROD was.
If you want example lets take Mattingly who was reserved but when it came to his mates he DEFENDED all of them INCLUDING Steve Howe

“It’s unfair,” Jeter said. “It shouldn’t be questioned. His job should never be questioned. Like I said, he is in no way responsible for us not playing well. He puts the best players out on the field for every game, and then it’s up to us.”

now could'nt he have said the same about ALEX??

"It's unfair he is just ONE player he is not playing all positions, it's unfair to judge him for our failures etc."

Reggie was 'not booed as LOUD'??? So now decible level is the criteria? PLEASE!!!
I was there. After the confrontation in the dugout with Martin and the comment made about 'stirring the drink' instead of Munson Reggie was indeed hated as much if not more. Of course all was forgiven after Reggie hit the 4HR's in the WS. BTW the point was that Thurman did not speak about Reggie OR the alcoholic Martin. 20 years later Jeter is bad captain because he doesn't play to the clueless fans and Media on regular basis. I guess Jeter assumed that NY would recognize his hard work and performance in the clutch. THATS's how you set an example for your team. Not conducting regular interviews on the QuiteFranklyBooyah network and PTI

I realize there are fans who will go through any distortions of logic to somehow blame DJ for AR's problems, but to compare his remarks about Torre with his not saying what you wanted him to say about AR last year is completely pointless. There are no meaningful similarities between the two situations.

First of all, the complaint about DJ was that he didn't tell the fans not to boo AR. In his remarks about Torre, Jeter was NOT addressing the fans or their behavior at all, but the press and their indecent excitement about the possibility of getting JT fired.

Secondly, it wouldn't have made much sense for DJ to say something about AR 'not playing all positions,' etc., since AR wasn't being blamed for anyone else's failures, just his own.

Thirdly, this time Jeter as Captain certainly expressed the will of the team, since none of the relentless questions of the tabloid press got any of the core members of the team to even hint that it might be okay to take JT down. [And not for lack of trying. Sherman alone questioned the 8 or 10 main guys and all were in agreement in wanting JT to stay; they might not have said so bluntly even if they did, but there are plenty of lukewarm replies and half-defenses they could have made and gotten the point across, but no one did.] In the case of AR, I don't think JT could have honestly represented team opinion on AR's getting booed, since it seemed there was a fairly significant split in opinion among them on their teammate AR at the time.

But I suppose we'll have to go on hearing for the rest of DJ's career, anytime he says anything positive about anyone in MLB, that he shouldn't have said it because in the past he didn't say something you wanted him to say about AR.

Enough already. AR seems to be finally over it. Is it too much to expect his fans to be, too?

Please forgive the typo in my 1:02 post, it should have said "I don't think DJ cold have honestly represented team opinion on AR's getting booed", not JT.

Anonymous, Derek didn't create "back page support" for anybody, the media did. Derek doesn't decide what's printed in the newspapers. You appear to be a victim of media hype.

What you're failing to understand is that there was nothing to defend Alex against. His "issue" that you allude to is that he was failing to produce in the clutch and the fans became emotional, like fans often do. It's not Derek's job to tell the fans to stop being emotional. And do you really believe Derek should call for press conferences every time a player falls into a slump and the fans become upset?

Also, how and why would Derek even come to the conclusion that the fans were blaming A-Rod solely for the team's losses, as you suggest? Maybe the media felt that way with their oft-distorted way of thinking, but there was no proof that the fans felt that way. One can only assume they were booing A-Rod for his individual plays, period, because the very next day when A-Rod would hit a home run, the same fans would cheer him.

You earlier suggested that, since Derek became captain, the Yankees have been losing. You're obviously seeking a scapegoat and it appears you found what you're looking for in Derek Jeter.

Folks, there is a trade rumor circulating that has the Yankees and Giants discussing a swap of Farnsworth for Matt Morris.

Morris is a local guy (went to Seton Hall) makes an awful lot of money and has an injury history. The Giants are looking to move him to open up a spot for Tim Linecum

SUPPORT.

when you look the word up the meaning says it all.

Torre is the MANAGER you MANAGE victories if you are LOSING you are the MANAGER so the heat falls on YOU.

if your captain of your team speaks up for you yes great.

Now if you do not want your captain speaking then you shut him down and say AS MANAGER Let me deal with this you all just try to win.

When you have a STAR playing struggling and to add fuel to the fire most of the Booing is DOne by your (the captain) bias supporters. AS the captain and the squash the dividing behavi