Posted by: Patrick
George Steinbrenner and his advisors, aides and top people in the organization are expected to begin meetings on Tuesday in Tampa. To be a fly on the wall...
George King says that there are some who would like to invite Torre to the meetings, leading him to believe that he could be back. He also mentions that Torre may need to ponder a pay cut.
I don't know that I might him taking a pay cut. I mean, he was the highest paid manager, at $7.5 million, more than double the second place guy (Lou Piniella, $3.5 million). But, like Joel Sherman, I don't know if I like him taking a pay cut under these circumstances, as some sort of punishment. You know, either we want him or we don't. I want him. But, let's not play money games with him.
Roger Clemens has added his name to the list of Torre supporters. No surprise there. Clemens remains noncommittal about next season.
George King says that there are some who would like to invite Torre to the meetings, leading him to believe that he could be back. He also mentions that Torre may need to ponder a pay cut.
I don't know that I might him taking a pay cut. I mean, he was the highest paid manager, at $7.5 million, more than double the second place guy (Lou Piniella, $3.5 million). But, like Joel Sherman, I don't know if I like him taking a pay cut under these circumstances, as some sort of punishment. You know, either we want him or we don't. I want him. But, let's not play money games with him.
Roger Clemens has added his name to the list of Torre supporters. No surprise there. Clemens remains noncommittal about next season.
Posted by: Patrick
I'll be on WMAR Marist College Radio with Ryan Schneider and Dustin Aglietti tonight at 8:40 PM ET. We'll be talking Yankees baseball, of course. Due to my fragile mental state since we lost, they'll be plenty of tears, I'm sure. You can listen live from their site.
Posted by: Patrick
From Kevin T. Czerwinski:
Congrats to him.
... the California native was named MiLB.com's Pitcher of the Year, leaving Kevin Slowey in the unenviable position of bridesmaid for a second consecutive season. Kennedy finished the Minor League season with a 12-3 mark, posted a 1.91 ERA and dominated at three different levels before taking his act to New York.
Congrats to him.
Posted by: Patrick
As Yankees fans, do we want Joe Torre back? To find out, I polled the Yankees fan blogosphere in a very ESPN Experts style way with a simple question: "Do you want Joe Torre back?" As a fan. Not, do you think he'll be back? And no qualifiers, like "if wants to manage, then no." Just yes or no. No further elaboration. In all, I received responses from 15 different bloggers at 7 different blogs. Here's the breakdown:
Yes (10)
Jen Muller, NoSenseWorrying.com
Joseph Pawlikowski, River Ave. Blues
Eric Schultz, Pending Pinstripes
Mike Axisa, River Ave. Blues
Ben Kabak, River Ave. Blues
Alex Belth, Bronx Banter
Jim Johnson, The Bronx Block
Eric Haskell, The Bronx Block
Seamus, YanksBlog.com
Patrick, YanksBlog.com
No (5)
Mitchell Plitnick, The Bronx Block
EJ Fagan, The Bronx Block and Pending Pinstripes
Steve Lombardi, WasWatching.com
David, YanksBlog.com
James, YanksBlog.com
So, there you have it. Though it's far from unanimous, Yankees bloggers want Torre back as manager.
(Disclaimer: obviously, I didn't and couldn't have polled every Yankees fan blogger in the world. I e-mailed a bunch of people and made a blog post asking anyone interested in participating to e-mail me. I only included responses that I got - I didn't scour blogs for entries where bloggers either said they wanted or didn't want Torre. So... yeah. Disclaimed).
Yes (10)
Jen Muller, NoSenseWorrying.com
Joseph Pawlikowski, River Ave. Blues
Eric Schultz, Pending Pinstripes
Mike Axisa, River Ave. Blues
Ben Kabak, River Ave. Blues
Alex Belth, Bronx Banter
Jim Johnson, The Bronx Block
Eric Haskell, The Bronx Block
Seamus, YanksBlog.com
Patrick, YanksBlog.com
No (5)
Mitchell Plitnick, The Bronx Block
EJ Fagan, The Bronx Block and Pending Pinstripes
Steve Lombardi, WasWatching.com
David, YanksBlog.com
James, YanksBlog.com
So, there you have it. Though it's far from unanimous, Yankees bloggers want Torre back as manager.
(Disclaimer: obviously, I didn't and couldn't have polled every Yankees fan blogger in the world. I e-mailed a bunch of people and made a blog post asking anyone interested in participating to e-mail me. I only included responses that I got - I didn't scour blogs for entries where bloggers either said they wanted or didn't want Torre. So... yeah. Disclaimed).
10/10: Mo Talks with Reporters
Posted by: Patrick
Mo spoke with reporters today and Peter Abraham has a report and audio. He says that Torre coming back will definitely factor into his decision a good amount. He will listen to the Yankees offer before becoming a free agent (he didn't say he will absolutely test the market - it depends on how the Yankees approach him). He hopes it will be his last contract. He wants more than 1 year. He will pitch as long as he is able to compete at the level he knows how. So, without getting too excited, he said a lot of the right things and it sounds good as far as him returning to the Bronx.
Posted by: Patrick
Yesterday, with photographers staking out Joe Torre's home in Westchester, the Yankees threatened to kick out any journalistics from papers that kept photographers at the Torre residence. Today, they are following up on that threat, according to Peter Abraham. I like it.
Posted by: Patrick
Congrats to Edwar on being named the MiLB.com Relief Pitcher of the Year.
10/10: Here We Go
Posted by: Patrick
Scott Boras didn't wait very long (actually, he didn't wait at all - this interview was done before we lost the ALDS).
After the presentation that Boras put together for Johnny Damon, you've got to wonder what the A-Rod one will be like. This is what he was made for. Boras failed to secure a 7 year deal for Damon, of course. Could he similarly fail to secure a 10 year deal for A-Rod? You're gut reaction would be no, it's A-Rod, for petesake!
But, how many teams are going to be willing to pay him $30 million plus when he's in his early to mid 40s? For 18 teams, that would be more than 1/3 of their opening day payroll this season. For 28 teams, it would be more than 1/4. His best chance to get $30 million may be with the Yankees. We're the biggest market, we're the biggest spender, we're the team that makes the most sense with all of the financial ramifications that Boras is throwing out there. We want him. And, if we're not bidding if he opts out, he may just lose his best shot at that magical number. If we're not there, who else is going to throw it out there?
"The right of free agency has probably never been more valuable to a single player than it would be to someone like Alex Rodriguez," Boras said during a phone interview with 1050 ESPN New York conducted prior to the Yankees ALDS loss to the Indians. "The reason being is that he is a stature player, a durable player, an iconic player and he has had a historic season. Again, these are decisions that Alex has to make. He is certainly happy in New York and has enjoyed playing there." ...
"One of the other things that Alex has that some of the other things that Alex has that few players have is he has network value," Boras said. "That means for a regional sports network he has an impact on in that may allow that regional sports network to increase by a half-a-billion to a billion dollars over a 10-year period because of the ratings increase that he will bring. His fan base will subscribe to that network to watch him play and they will sell more advertising. This has certainly been evidenced in New York." ...
"The thing about Alex is he has a chance to play 12 more years and break the all-time hit record," Boras said. "It is a record that he could break. You only have to go and map out that if Alex Rodriguez were to play until he is 45 and he averaged 35 home runs he would have over 1,000 homers. It is a unique platform where he is at at such a young age. The projections are rather mind-boggling when you consider the fact even if he performed at a level that is 15 percent below what he is performing at now, he still would lift many of these records just by the mere fact that he has played this long."
"One of the other things that Alex has that some of the other things that Alex has that few players have is he has network value," Boras said. "That means for a regional sports network he has an impact on in that may allow that regional sports network to increase by a half-a-billion to a billion dollars over a 10-year period because of the ratings increase that he will bring. His fan base will subscribe to that network to watch him play and they will sell more advertising. This has certainly been evidenced in New York." ...
"The thing about Alex is he has a chance to play 12 more years and break the all-time hit record," Boras said. "It is a record that he could break. You only have to go and map out that if Alex Rodriguez were to play until he is 45 and he averaged 35 home runs he would have over 1,000 homers. It is a unique platform where he is at at such a young age. The projections are rather mind-boggling when you consider the fact even if he performed at a level that is 15 percent below what he is performing at now, he still would lift many of these records just by the mere fact that he has played this long."
After the presentation that Boras put together for Johnny Damon, you've got to wonder what the A-Rod one will be like. This is what he was made for. Boras failed to secure a 7 year deal for Damon, of course. Could he similarly fail to secure a 10 year deal for A-Rod? You're gut reaction would be no, it's A-Rod, for petesake!
But, how many teams are going to be willing to pay him $30 million plus when he's in his early to mid 40s? For 18 teams, that would be more than 1/3 of their opening day payroll this season. For 28 teams, it would be more than 1/4. His best chance to get $30 million may be with the Yankees. We're the biggest market, we're the biggest spender, we're the team that makes the most sense with all of the financial ramifications that Boras is throwing out there. We want him. And, if we're not bidding if he opts out, he may just lose his best shot at that magical number. If we're not there, who else is going to throw it out there?
Posted by: Patrick
I'm doing a quick survey of Yankees fan bloggers with a simple yes or no question. If you are one, please feel free to drop me a note, if you'd like to participate.
10/09: Bring Joe Back
Posted by: Patrick
That's all. Bring him back. I know that some people don't want him back and, hey, we all have our opinion. But, like Joseph says, be careful what you wish for. Don't take the success that we've had for granted. There is not a person in this world that I would prefer to have as the Yankees manager at this moment. Bring him back, bring Jorge back, bring Mo back, bring A-Rod back, convince Andy to pick up his player option. It's our last year in Yankee Stadium. Let's get the band back together (with a few new guys) and let's give this another go.
