(This is a re-post from yesterday. The sense I’m getting is that people are just hearing about the book for the first time this morning).
Joe Torre, I’m not here to bury you. I’m not here to claim that I’m better than you (I’m even posting a link to your book, I too am a capitalist.). I’m here to ask why did you do it Joe?
Joe you somehow swam in shark infested waters for a decade and emerged as Saint Joe. You even left town looking classy while turning down a job that would have paid you millions. You gave one of the greatest exiting press conferences of all time. Joe Girardi & Brian Cashman helped to make you look even smarter in 2008.
Now you write a book. Why?
It can’t be the money can it? The Daily News says you make two million a year in speaking engagements. The Dodgers are paying you around four million dollars a year. It can’t be the money. Can it?
Did the Steinbrenners hurt you that much? Did making the playoffs yet again last year (while the Yankees missed) not make you feel like a million bucks?
Are you that hurt? Are you that mad at Brian Cashman for not sticking his neck out for you?
Was “A-Fraud” that horrible to you?
Why would you release the book on February 3rd and create a media stir right at the start of spring training? You were always so good at diffusing such things. Now you go and create one. It can’t be for the money can it?
Why not just continue to hold your head high, say little, ride out your days with the Dodgers and then show up at the new Stadium on the wrong side of 161st street some sunny Sunday afternoon and let them hang a #6 on the fence? Were you that hurt that they ignored you at the final game at the old new Stadium? Are you looking for a hug?
The synopsis for the book doesn’t sound like you. Are you really going to call out a grown man for crying? That’s not the Joe Torre I knew.
The high-priced ace who broke down in tears and refused to go back to the mound in the middle of a game. Constant meddling from Yankee executives, many of whom were jealous of Torre’s popularity. The tension that developed between the old guard and the free agents brought in by management. The impact of revenue-sharing and new scouting techniques, which allowed other teams to challenge the Yankees’ dominance. The players who couldn’t resist the after-hours temptations of the Big Apple. The joys of managing Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, and the challenges of managing Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. Torre’s last year, when constant ultimatums from the front office, devastating injuries, and a freak cloud of bugs on a warm September night in Cleveland forced him from a job he loved.
The book is out on February 3rd from Doubleday Publishing, and Tom Verducci is credited as co-author. It can’t be for the money, can it?
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Author’s note: I don’t claim to be better than Joe Torre. Yes I am selling the book on my blog. Yes I am doing it for the money. I never claimed to be anything more than a loudmouth with a keyboard. I just thought Joe was a better man than I am. We’ll wait until the book comes out, maybe he is.
www.metspolice.com
I was always a big Joe fan, like Verducci too, so yeah I agree it is a shame. Every man has his price. Even if he is 100% right there was no need to do this.