10/20: O'Brien: Bowa Undecided
Posted by: Patrick
Updating a previous story, while noting that Brian Cashman has told the coaching staff that they can look into other jobs since he can't guarantee them one, Kat O'Brien spoke with Larry Bowa and he told her that he has not yet made up his mind.
Posted by: Patrick
Peter Abraham reports that Cashman has contacted Donnie, Girardi and Pena. Mattingly's agent confirmed his client's interest and said that he will meet with Yankee ownership mid week.
10/20: Bowa Leaves for Seattle
Posted by: Patrick
Update: Bowa is undecided.
The Olympian reports that Larry Bowa is expected to be announced as the Mariners new third base coach, ending his stint in New York. I had read, a number of times, where a blogger or blog commenter had said that Donnie would benefit from having him as his bench coach, assuming he was named manager. I guess that's not going to happen.
Via Peter Abraham.
The Olympian reports that Larry Bowa is expected to be announced as the Mariners new third base coach, ending his stint in New York. I had read, a number of times, where a blogger or blog commenter had said that Donnie would benefit from having him as his bench coach, assuming he was named manager. I guess that's not going to happen.
Via Peter Abraham.
Posted by: Patrick
From MLB.com:
"I love Joe Torre to death," Pettitte told Houston's KRIV-TV on Friday. "He meant the world to me. I hate that he's not going to be the manager. I have a big decision to make if I want to play again next year. I figured I would give myself a month to make the decision."
Posted by: Patrick
After watching the full press conference, I'm kind of embarrassed to be a Yankees fan, right now. Not because we let Torre go, but because of how we handled it. After 12 consecutive postseason seasons, after handling himself with incredibly grace and class and succeeding in extremely pressure packed situations, we gave Joe Torre a 1 year, take it or leave it offer. Unbelievable. And when he counters, it's quickly dismissed. Wow. Incredible.
They treated him badly. And this is disgraceful and tasteless. What a load of backhanded nonsense. This is the first big organization decision that the Steinbrenner sons have really been involved in. Is this how we are going to be doing business? If we didn't want him back, then just tell him that a day or two after the season ends. Don't make him a joke offer (yes, $5 million is a lot to you and me, but here... it's not that big a deal, it's just a figure) like he's some first year manager (money aside, that's really what it was... a vesting option if you make the World Series... that's hilarious... are you telling me that most teams who win the pennant don't bring their manager back?!). Where did Randy Levine even come from?
Money talks, no doubt. But, don't be surprised if one or more of Jorge, Mo and Pettitte walks. We've dealt a blow to our efforts to retain them. Not just in the dumping of Joe, but in the how. Bringing in a compatible manager will help, but the way this was handled will still sting.
This is a sad day in Yankeeland. A sad day.
They treated him badly. And this is disgraceful and tasteless. What a load of backhanded nonsense. This is the first big organization decision that the Steinbrenner sons have really been involved in. Is this how we are going to be doing business? If we didn't want him back, then just tell him that a day or two after the season ends. Don't make him a joke offer (yes, $5 million is a lot to you and me, but here... it's not that big a deal, it's just a figure) like he's some first year manager (money aside, that's really what it was... a vesting option if you make the World Series... that's hilarious... are you telling me that most teams who win the pennant don't bring their manager back?!). Where did Randy Levine even come from?
Money talks, no doubt. But, don't be surprised if one or more of Jorge, Mo and Pettitte walks. We've dealt a blow to our efforts to retain them. Not just in the dumping of Joe, but in the how. Bringing in a compatible manager will help, but the way this was handled will still sting.
This is a sad day in Yankeeland. A sad day.
Posted by: Patrick
I liveblogged the Joe Torre press conference earlier today, trying to keep up with the press conference as best as I could. Some of this is verbatim - some of it isn't - but, when it isn't, it's basically paraphrasing what was said.
Torre began with a joke about his bald spot and then made his statement, thanking everyone. He started by thanking George Steinbrenner for giving him the opportunity and "trusting me with his team for 12 years". He then thanked everyone else, from coaches, to players, to trainers, to clubhouse staff, etc.
On the meeting, he said Cash called him on Wednesday explaining that the Yankees made an offer for $5 million with incentives. He confirmed what we knew about them. He decided to go down and talk to all of the participants face to face so that he could get his side out and say everything he needed to say. The meeting probably lasted 20 minutes, the offer did not change and he felt the contract offer - the terms of the contract - were the things he had the toughest time with. The one year for one thing, the incentives for another. He had been there for 12 years and didn't feel that motivation was needed. He felt pretty renewed after each season and didn't think it was the right thing for him or his players. He didn't want to create pressure for his players by making it look like they needed to save his job.
He said that the Yankees organization has been used as a measuring stick and he's been very proud for the past 12 years to be a part of an organization that he feels did very special things and has done very special things in the past. He then thanked Cashman for his support last year during the criticism that he had to deal with (and rightly so, he said).
Torre began with a joke about his bald spot and then made his statement, thanking everyone. He started by thanking George Steinbrenner for giving him the opportunity and "trusting me with his team for 12 years". He then thanked everyone else, from coaches, to players, to trainers, to clubhouse staff, etc.
On the meeting, he said Cash called him on Wednesday explaining that the Yankees made an offer for $5 million with incentives. He confirmed what we knew about them. He decided to go down and talk to all of the participants face to face so that he could get his side out and say everything he needed to say. The meeting probably lasted 20 minutes, the offer did not change and he felt the contract offer - the terms of the contract - were the things he had the toughest time with. The one year for one thing, the incentives for another. He had been there for 12 years and didn't feel that motivation was needed. He felt pretty renewed after each season and didn't think it was the right thing for him or his players. He didn't want to create pressure for his players by making it look like they needed to save his job.
He said that the Yankees organization has been used as a measuring stick and he's been very proud for the past 12 years to be a part of an organization that he feels did very special things and has done very special things in the past. He then thanked Cashman for his support last year during the criticism that he had to deal with (and rightly so, he said).
10/19: More on How it Went Down
Posted by: Patrick
In addition to Buster Olney's article, Ed Price and Bill Madden have a little more.
Via Yahoo!
Torre objected to the pay cut and the one-year deal based on his record, which includes 1,173 regular-season wins as a Yankee, second only to Joe McCarthy among managers in the club's history. But this wasn't a negotiation. After that was made clear, Torre thanked Steinbrenner and the rest of the men in the room for the opportunity to manage the team.
Everybody in the room stood up and exchanged handshakes, and Torre and Cashman shared a hug.
It all took less than an hour.
Everybody in the room stood up and exchanged handshakes, and Torre and Cashman shared a hug.
It all took less than an hour.
"We all want you back," Hal Steinbrenner added, "and we hope you'll accept this offer." ...
Once they got over their initial shock, everyone in the office got up and shook Torre's hand. Upon extending his hand to The Boss, Torre said: "I want to thank you for these 12 years. It's been great."
"We appreciate everything you've done for us," George Steinbrenner said. "You'll always be a Yankee."
Once they got over their initial shock, everyone in the office got up and shook Torre's hand. Upon extending his hand to The Boss, Torre said: "I want to thank you for these 12 years. It's been great."
"We appreciate everything you've done for us," George Steinbrenner said. "You'll always be a Yankee."
Via Yahoo!
10/18: Torre Tidbits
Posted by: Patrick
Buster Olney has how the face to face Torre and Steinbrenner meeting went down. He also has a nice piece on what Torre meant to the Yankees. Like Ben said, we should be worried. I think that some Yankee fans that wanted Torre gone or were ambivalent about the whole thing may soon have second thoughts.
And Randy Levine's comments are... troubling. Like I said when I was on Marist Radio this evening, that's not a bad idea, generally speaking. But, we aren't generally speaking here. We're talking about Joe Torre. This is a unique situation. 12 seasons. 12 postseason births. 10 division titles. 5 pennants. 4 titles. You need to motivate Joe Torre? Wow.
Torre will hold a press conference tomorrow at 2 PM ET. Should be interesting.
Edit: Also, check out Tom Verducci's take. Via Peter Abraham.
And Randy Levine's comments are... troubling. Like I said when I was on Marist Radio this evening, that's not a bad idea, generally speaking. But, we aren't generally speaking here. We're talking about Joe Torre. This is a unique situation. 12 seasons. 12 postseason births. 10 division titles. 5 pennants. 4 titles. You need to motivate Joe Torre? Wow.
Torre will hold a press conference tomorrow at 2 PM ET. Should be interesting.
Edit: Also, check out Tom Verducci's take. Via Peter Abraham.
Posted by: Patrick
Just past 8:30 PM ET tonight, I'll be on 1630 AM Marist Radio, the radio station of Marist College, to discuss today's news of Joe Torre leaving the Yankees. You can listen live online.
10/18: Thank You, Mr. Torre
Posted by: Patrick
I'm sure that we'll talk more about what Joe Torre accomplished in his time in New York, but I thought that I would throw a post up to say thank you for the wonderful job that he did. If you think that making the playoffs 12 straight years is easy - if you think that any manager could have done it - there is no way. Joe Torre had a historic run as manager of our beloved Yankees. Regardless of what happens from this point forward, nothing can change that.
In a way, I'm happy for him to be leaving on his own terms. He really didn't deserve a lot of the stuff that was said by people within the organization, including those at the top. The Yankees made him an offer they had to guess he might reject, which would save some public face, but he didn't take it. Better yet, he flew down there to tell them no to their faces. Mr. Steinbrenner was at Legends Field when Torre was, according to Tyler Kepner. What a moment that must have been. Maybe we'll see an ESPN made for TV drama about it in 30 years.
Torre led with class and I'm sure he'll leave with class. Managers with this sort of record don't come around everyday. We can only hope, as Yankees fans, that we'll find a manager that'll have half the success that he's had. Good luck to him.
In a way, I'm happy for him to be leaving on his own terms. He really didn't deserve a lot of the stuff that was said by people within the organization, including those at the top. The Yankees made him an offer they had to guess he might reject, which would save some public face, but he didn't take it. Better yet, he flew down there to tell them no to their faces. Mr. Steinbrenner was at Legends Field when Torre was, according to Tyler Kepner. What a moment that must have been. Maybe we'll see an ESPN made for TV drama about it in 30 years.
Torre led with class and I'm sure he'll leave with class. Managers with this sort of record don't come around everyday. We can only hope, as Yankees fans, that we'll find a manager that'll have half the success that he's had. Good luck to him.
