Verducci Says Torre Doesn’t Rip People

 
The book is not a first-person book by Joe Torre, it’s a third-person narrative based on 12 years of knowing the Yankees and it’s about the changes in the game in that period. Seems to me the New York Post assigned this third-person book entirely to Joe Torre and that’s not the case. In fact, if people saw that Post story they probably noticed there are no quotes from Joe Torre in it. Joe Torre does not rip anybody in the book. The book really needs to be read in context.
 

Anybody who knows Joe, especially during his time in New York, knows he’s a very honest man and he is very honest in the pages of this book. People also know Joe Torre doesn’t go around ripping people and he doesn’t do that in the pages of this book.

 

I can’t wait to read this one either way.  There’s definitely buzz and it’s looking it will be a spring training distraction in both the Dodgers and Yankees camps.

Joe Torre’s New Book: For the money?

(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?

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

Fun With "New Jets Stadium.com"

Oooh this should be fun, I just found out that http://www.newjetsstadium.com/stadium.php exists.

 From the ease of travel to the increased legroom of the seats, it was designed from the start with the fan in mind.


Ease of travel, hmmm.  I think I will click the transportation tab.


Improvements include:
• 40 traffic lanes into and out of the stadium, nearly triple what you have today
• A newly-engineered loop road system to streamline your entrance to and exit from the lots
• Dedicated parking lots and access roads for club seat PSL owners
• Reconfigured parking lots with over 28,000 spaces

Well that sounds nice.  Of course you bozos in the upper deck can sit in traffic while the factcats use the express lane.  


No car? No problem. Hop a train from New York’s Penn Station or New Jersey’s Hoboken to Secaucus Junction, and in less than 20 minutes you will arrive right at the southeast gate – just 100 feet from the new stadium. You will be in good company: this new 2.5-mile-long train line can accommodate over 7,000 people an hour.

It only took 35 years for someone to think to add a train to the Meadowlands.  Well done.  Let’s see what else we find.  Oh, the PSL payment calculator! 

It wants me to pick a section.  Let’s pick section 337.   Cool, no PSL.  Oh but it will cost me $125/game to sit on the 40 yard line in the uppers.  Let’s be cheap and sit in the end zone:  90 bucks.

These “lower prime” seats look nice.   The PSL is “only” $20,000 but the Jets are nice and will let you pay it off as part of a 15 year payment plan for just $1,869 a year.  I’m bad with math but 15 times $1,869 is $28,035 so I hope you have an extra 20 G’s sitting around to save yourself some interest.  Maybe one of you finance guys can tell me if the Jets are providing a good rate (apparently it’s 8% for this option).

The waiting list, if you’re interested, is free.  I seem to recall there once being a $50 charge to be on the list, but there isn’t today.

This interests me from the FAQ section:  

HOW LONG DOES A PSL LAST?

PSLs are good for as long as the Jets play in the new building in its
current configuration. 

So say you had paid for a PSL all those years ago, and it now had one season left on it.  Would you have kept the tickets this year or last, or would you have tried to pawn the PSL off on some loony Favre fan?

WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR THE SELLING PROCESS?

Seat selection is a rolling process over the next few months. It will happen in two phases, each ordered by seniority. In Phase 1, season ticket holders are being offered the opportunity to purchase PSLs for clubs in order of seniority. If club seats are
available after all current season ticket holders have had the chance to purchase them, club seats will be offered to waitlist members in order of when they joined the waitlist. In Phase 2,
season ticket holders who did not purchase a club seat PSL will be offered PSL and non-PSL seats in seniority order, followed by waitlist members in order of when they joined the waitlist.
Below is one of the great non-answers of all time.  It’s so lame you have to laugh.
WILL TICKET PRICES GO UP IN THE NEW BUILDING?

Ticket prices for the 2010 season can be viewed here.


Finally don’t forget, $20,000 will get you “upscale cusine offerings” mentioned below.  No more beer and a dog for you.  Enjoy your sushi as you sit out in the cold wondering why the hell the NFL didn’t insist they build a retractable dome.  
WHY SHOULD I PURCHASE PSL CLUB SEATING RATHER THAN NON-CLUB SEATING?

All club seats offer:
• The best seats in the house
• Access to VIP parking
• Climate-controlled lounges that let you come in from the elements
• Cushioned, spacious seating
• Upscale cuisine offerings
• The opportunity to purchase tickets to certain concerts and other stadium events (subject to availability)
• The right to transfer or sell your fully-paid club seat PSL after March 1, 2011 (see PSL Agreement for details)


Oh, one more thing:


ARE THE JETS NEW STADIUM POLICIES SUBJECT TO CHANGE?


All policies that relate to the new Jets stadium are subject to change. 









www.metspolice.com

Most Popular Stuff From The Week

People still like making fun of the patch, and uniform talk and pictures of Yankee Stadium and a dying Shea (also here) continue to be popular.

Those of you who vacation every weekend and don’t surf the internet may have missed hearing about Joe Torre’s book.  He must have done it for the money, right?   My guess is Joe will be a big topic on sports talk in the morning since the Super Bowl matchup is awful.

www.metspolice.com