When Joe Torre walked away from the embarrassing situation that was his contract negotiation, I was happy for him. No man who had taken a team to the playoffs 12 straight seasons deserved to be left on the hook for a week while the team decided whether they wanted him or not.
While I have a problem with how it was handled, I have no problem with Torre not coming back next season. The team needs a new voice; someone that will kick their butts a little more then Torre; someone who can stay awake for an entire nine-inning game; someone with a little less nose hair.
Twelve years is a long time to stay in one spot in professional sports. The only head coach in MLB who has been with his team longer is Bobby Cox for the Atlanta Braves.
It is reported that the Yankees will announce the Steinbrenners' next whipping boy on Oct. 29. Whoever walks into this role will be lucking into one of the best and youngest pitching staffs in baseball.
Four of the Yankees five projected starters will be in their early to mid-20s with Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain leading the way. Add to that Phil Hughes, who had a great postseason, and Ian Kennedy who the Yankees could have really used in the postseason before he went out with what Al Michaels would describe as "a back," and you have four 20-somethings who have experienced winning in the major leagues. The Devil Rays can say, "We have five starting pitchers in their 20s," but I said the Yankee pitchers have experience with winning. Who cares if you have experience losing games 10-2?
The reason I mention this is because Torre's Achilles heel was always that he would overuse his pitching staff in June and July. With the exception of Rivera, who has to be some kind of alien, by the time October came around, most of the bullpen and starting pitchers were not performing as well as they did in the regular season.
The biggest example occurred in 2004 when Paul Quantril, Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera all finished with at least 74 appearances from the bullpen. Torre worked these three to the grave, and it hurt them in the postseason.
Quantril became useless after his disastrous September in which he had an ERA over 10 in 12 outings. Tom Gordon, on the other hand, held on until the playoffs before breaking down. Gordon had an ERA just under seven in 10 innings of work that postseason.
Why am I pointing these stats out to you? Well, Torre never really grasped how to handle a pitching staff. This season it was Luis Vizcaiano who broke down right in front of my eyes in game two of the ALDS against Cleveland. I was at that game, and as soon as he came out of the bullpen I knew the game was over. Sure enough, the Indians loaded the bases and Travis Hafner delivered the game winning RBI.
With three starting pitchers who have never played a full season in the big leagues, the team will need someone who can nurture them, not send them onto the field until their arms fall off. This is why Joe Girardi should be the next manager to don the pinstripes.
Girardi played 14 years in the big leagues as a catcher, four of which were with the Yankees. His job was to handle a pitching staff, keep them calm on the mound and tell the manager when he doesn't feel like the 'kid' has it anymore. If anybody will know exactly how to handle the triumvirate of Chamberlain, Hughes and Kennedy, it's Girardi.
Girardi was known in his one season in Florida as being a fiery manager, unafraid to get in your face. A lot of that is because he was the manager of the 2006 Florida Marlins, one of the youngest teams in the history of MLB. Yet six Marlins finished in the Top 12 for Rookie of the Year, and the team was in contention for the playoffs until the very end of the season.
Girardi would have to tone down his act a little bit. I don't think the way to get to Derek Jeter is to yell at him, and I'm pretty sure Girardi could make A-Rod cry quicker than he runs away from the paparazzi - but the Yankees do need a change of pace.
The Yankees need someone who is lively in the dugout. They need someone who is unafraid to make a bold decision, which Torre never did. He stayed with Mussina during the regular season, though everyone knew he had nothing left. Shelley Duncan's play screamed for more playing time, yet he had to battle for playing time with Jason Giambi, Doug "How the hell does this spell" Mientkiewicz, and Wilson Betemit.
If the Yankees were to hire the other strong candidate, Don Mattingly, there would be no change. Mattingly is a Torre disciple, and much like Torre, he is a cerebral, lead-by-example type of manager. If this is what the Yankees wanted, there was no need to get rid of Torre, which is what they did by fumbling the whole contract situation. They made it so that Torre could not keep his self-respect and dignity if he were to accept the contract.
Despite all of the facts in Girardi's corner, I can't help but think that the Yankees will hire Mattingly. He is more of a splashy hire, and he is definitely someone the city of New York will rally around. After all, he is "Donny Baseball." But if the Yankees essentially fired Torre because they wanted a change of pace and they wanted a new voice for the team, then the only option is Joseph Elliot Girardi.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
