For the last couple of days, we have been hearing a lot of things about "The Yankee Years," Joe Torre's new book which covers his 12 successful years as manager of the New York Yankees. I have been reading and hearing many things that have said that Torre's legacy has been destroyed by his new book because of the insults that he shot at players that are, and were, on the Yankees. Personally, I don't believe a word of it. It's the New York Post people! They are trying to make money, so they put the things that people will be most interested in the paper. I have quite a few reasons why this book shouldn't be made too big a deal of.
It has been reported that in Torre's book, he says that A-Rod was called A-Fraud by teammates. It has been reported that David Wells went out of his way to make people frustrated with him, and Kevin Brown was just naturally good at making people frustrated. It was reported that Brian Cashman betrayed him on several occasions, particularly the final meeting last year when he was essentially fired. He killed Carl Pavano, and had a number of insults toward Randy Johnson, Kenny Lofton, Gary Sheffield, and more, as it was reported. See a pattern here? Nobody has read the book yet! It has all been reported by New York Post. Am I saying that none of it is true? No. Am I saying that the newspaper blew it out of proportion? Absolutely.
Lets go through the reported insults for a little bit. He said that A-Rod was called A-Fraud during his tenure with the Yankees. Well, we know it wasn't in the last 2 years, because Andy Pettitte said he has never heard it once. Mike Mussina reported that it is possible that he heard it, but that it didn't necessarily mean that he heard it in a bad way, as it might have been a joke. We haven't even seen it in context yet. I don't think this one is a big deal.
He said Brian Cashman never "betrayed" him, and that they had disagreed, but that is normal for 2 different people. This one isn't anything.
He killed Pavano. This one doesn't surprise anyone. Everybody killed Pavano. It's not like he didn't deserve it.
He had insults for Kenny Lofton, Gary Sheffield, David Wells, and Randy Johnson. Well, Sheffield and Lofton insulted him for "treating white players better," which we all know isn't true. He said Kevin Brown just was naturally frustrating, and had insults for Randy Johnson too. Maybe these weren't called for, but what do they expect. They didn't live up to what they were expected to do. He also insulted Cashman for becoming increaingly obsessed with numbers, and didn't like "the feel" of players. I think he is right here, because none of his signings since 2004 have worked out.
Well, I think the Post makes it a lot worse than it really is. If we wait until we get the book, and see it in context, and listen to what Torre has to say about it when he addresses the media, I think that our opinion of him won't change. Maybe some of the stuff in the book is a little harsh, but once we read it, we will still look at him as a legend, and one of the best managers the Yankees have ever had.
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