Cleaning up some of the Yankee mess........

A couple of things on the Yankees, and then a look ahead to this offseason with some completely uninformed suggestions that will never, ever pan out.

Say it aint Joe: I will still contend that Don Mattingly was a better candidate for this job than Joe Girardi. Why? Because the most overrated thing a manager in baseball does is manage the game. That's right, managing the actualy game is about as difficult as playing tic-tack-toe all by yourself. Think about the team the Yankees will put out there next year. The lineup will still feature Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Matsui, Posada (most likely), Cano, Melky, Giambi. The starters will be Petitte (hopefully), Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain, Mussina. The bullpen, well that is a different issue, but more than likely Mariano Rivera will be there once again. This is the point: on game day, what does the manager REALLY need to do? Hit and Run? Send a runner? Know when to pull a pitcher? You're telling me a man who has been around the game for almost 30 years in Mattingly could never figure that out? Sure, he would make some questionable decisions, but everyone does.

Mattingly simply would have been better handling the larger issues, like the media, the day to day problems in the clubhouse, the barbs that will eventually reign down from the front office. I don't Girardi is a bad manager, I think he could be quite good, but I still believe Mattingly would have been better. The idea that Mattingly wouldn't know how to fill out a proper lineup card because he has never managed before is just absurd. Why is it that guys like Guillen and Girardi and Randolph and Scoscia can have NO managerial experience and do exceptionally well, yet Mattingly was too unproven to trust? Come on now.

A-Rod: I already covered the A-Rod thing in my last post, but let me just say, again, that the Yanks CANNOT go back on their word. Now, every team is gonna be linked to this asshole because Boras is gonna WANT the Yanks back in this to try and drive the price up. We are gonna hear about how much the Mets want him. We are gonna hear about how much the Red Sox want him. We are gonna hear about him following Joe Torre out to LA. We are gonna hear every scenario possible that would lead the Yanks to believe that something very bad, for them, is going to happen. DON'T BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Boras is a master bullshit artist, and until anyone catches the man telling the truth, I aint buying a word he said. Remember Yankees, you just spent 4 years with A-Rod on the same team as Jeter, Mariano, Posada, and a whole HOST of other superstars and it didn't mean a thing in terms of championships. Even if he does sign with the Mets or the Red Sox, he won't mean anything to them, or to you. Look to build your team in a different way now. Look to build your own great players in time. Let douche bag MVP boy walk away, and don't look back.

What to do now: Okay, here are a few of my suggestions for the upcoming offseason. First, in case I forgot to mention this, DO NOT sign A-Rod. Let him walk. Then, take Ian Kennedy and dangle him for a bat. See if you can get either a young third baseman or a young first baseman. Whose on that list? To be honest, I have no idea. Miguel Cabrera's name has been thrown around but it would take a lot to get him, probably more than just Kennedy and even Melky, and there are serious questions about his work ethic and his possible relationship with Girardi (another interesting side note to Giradi, the fact that his relationships with other teams and other players might hinder the Yankee chance to get them. There was little concern about bringing in problem people with Joe Torre because of the way he handled all different types of personalities, while Girardi seems more controlling and combative). I still think the Yanks NEED to explore getting this kid because he is an amazing offensive player and he could always be moved to first base. So let's say, for now, you trade Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera, and another player or two for Miguel Cabrera and you stick him at first. Now, I would stick Betemit at third and give him a chance over there. He is a heck of a defensive player, has pop, is a switch hitter, and is murder on righty pitchers. Give him a chance to flourish.

With Melky gone in the trade I would do one of two things: I would go and sign Aaron Rowand, or I would give minor leaguer Bret Gardner a chance in the outfield, a geat fielder with a lot of intangibles at the plate. Or, you could take a chance on the Austin Jasckson kid everyone loves and promote him. But, at this point, the better chance is to have Rowand in center. He is an excellent defender, and he would cover a lot of ground.

For the bullpen, my number one priority would be to sign Kerry Woods. I cannot tell you how strongly I feel about this. Woods can be Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen for the Yanks. He can be the bridge to Mariano. He is only 3o. His arm seems to be taking to bullpen work far better than it ever did to being in the rotation, and he has the guts of a burgalar. Plus, Girardi knows Woods and evidently loves him, so it would be a perfect match. Then, I would start Russ Olendorf and his 95 MPH sinker in the bullpen, look to sign one more veteran guy, maybe a veteran lefty or maybe even a Mike Timlin (even though I never trust Boston throw aways anymore).

If that is done, right there, here is the team you start the season with next year: Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Cabrera, Cano, Posada, Matsui, Betemit, Rowand. Rotation: Pettite, Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain, Mussina. Bullpen: Mo, Woods, Timlin, Olendorff, Farnsworth, veteran lefty. You can't tell me you don't like that team. And folks, it is a pretty good mix of young and old.

Adios-Rod!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alex Rodriguez informed the New York Yankees last night - via text message by the way - that he is officially opting out of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent when the offseason begins in the next few weeks. It was a classless, lowlife act by a prima donna, whiny, pretty boy who still believes that being booed at Yankee Stadium is this generation's version of being fired on at Bastogne.



Now comes the hard part. The Yanks have said there is NO chance they will get back involved with the mega-talented anchor and they HAVE to stick to their guns. Why? Will the Yanks, on the field, be better off without him? Of course not, but the truth is that, eventually, someone has to yell ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the reason to bring A-Rod back: He is the lynchpin to this lineup. Without A-Rod, there is no sure fire fourth hitter in a lineup that no longer features the type of all around, clutch performers it once did so abundantly. In those days, with Tino and Paulie and Bernie, you could get away with having a fourth place hitter that only hit 25 homers because everyone, from 1-9, was just so damn good. Everyone had power, just not too much. Everyone could hit for average. The Yanks were the FIRST team to perfect the "wait him out" approach to tough starters, getting the likes of Pedro to wear down over the course of a game and then force the other team to turn to a lesser bullpen. Now? Without A-Rod, the fourth place hitter would probably be Jorge Posada. While Jorge is a terrific player, he is a catcher, meaning he won't play in a good percentage of games, and he is not likely to duplicate the type of season he had last year. After that, the only other candidates are Giambi, who could work but is no longer CLOSE to the type of player he once was, Matsui, who no know truly knows what to expect from going forward, or Cano, who is a third place hitter in the waiting, not a fourth place hitter.

That means the Yanks will have to FIND another bat somewhere, but with the current state being that A-Rod is gone, right now, there is no other bat to plug into the fourth hole. Don't kid yourselves Yankee fans, that is a HUGE hole to fill.

Okay, here are the reasons NOT to bring him back: He doesn't make the difference between a championship and going home empty handed. Remember, before the Yanks got A-Rod, the YEAR before, they went to the World Series. They didn't have Paulie. They didn't have Tino. Bernie was a shadow of himself. They had Aaron Boone at third. They had Giambi basically injured the entire year. They went to the WS.

As great as A-Rod is, he has never proven to be a difference maker. It is truly uncanny, when one thinks about it. When A-Rod was on a good team in Seattle, they got better AFTER he left. When he went to a horrid team in Texas, they actually got WORSE with him on the roster. And, going to a great team in the Yanks hasn't meant anything different for the team. It is as if, while A-Rod is compiling his numbers, his effect on the team is minimal (now, don't scream about this year. There is no question that the only reason the Yanks sniffed the playoffs is because of A-Rod. I am talking about overall. When A-Rod goes to a team, he leaves it in the the same shape, or the team gets better when he leaves. It might be the worst luck, the worst timing in the history of the game, or it may just be that, for whatever reason, A-Rod is not a difference maker).

For a team like the Giants or the Dodgers or even the Mets, or the Angels, teams that need to make big personnel changes, teams that need to have a huge star, teams that need that draw more than they need a "difference maker", A-Rod makes perfect sense, no matter what the cost. The Giants are seemingly scoffing at the notion of signing the Rod, but the truth is they would make the $30 mill they are gonna pay him back in about 6 weeks of his first season out there. He is a tremendous draw, and coming to New York has raised his star level. A-Rod was always viewed as perhaps the best player in baseball. Now, his name is one of the few that trancends the sport. That wasn't the case before the Yankees, but now he can sell on that for the rest of his career.

For the Yankees (and even the Red Sox), for which winning is the most important thing, A-Rod has already proven he guarantees nothing. Why pay him all that money? He won't be as worth it to the Yanks as he is to some other team. The only thing that matters in Yankeeland is winning, and since A-Rod has been here that hasn't happened.

Second reason: His act is really, really getting old. How could the Yanks bring him back now? Think about it: Yankee fans have always been luke warm to this guy (and downright hateful last year). Now, he opts out of his contract without even involving the Yankees in a negotiation. He won't even return phone calls made to him by the organization. Then, he states that the Yanks can only speak with him if they are willing to offer $350 mill contract. Anyone remember the first battle scene from Braveheart, where William Wallace "negotiates" with the British general in order to start a war? That's what that was essentially. The only thing else he could have done to get his point across was demand that Mickey Mantle's ashes be dug up somewhere so A-Rod could shit on them.

Then, A-Rod upstages the world series. Then, he comes out and tries to blame all of this on Mariano Rivera, who was sooooo ungracious as to actually not get three outs in game 4 of the 04 ALCS, which would have allowed A-Rod to continue on to the world series, which is the only thing I was concerned about at that moment, I'll tell yah that. And now he says he would still like to be a Yankee?

Yankee fans would treat this guy like their sister's rapist coming back to work for the family business. Seriously, this whole thing has been so distasteful, has painted A-Rod in such a bad light, it would actually end up being a BAD PR move if the Yanks brought him back. His obsession with all things A-Rod, his love affair with himself, his twisted devotion to his agent, and their dogmatic devotion to money, makes him such an unlikeable character Yankee fans would feel compelled to boo him if he didn't have as good a year last year. It is bad business all around.

Third reason: The future is pitching. The Yanks are still gonna field a competitive team next year, I hate to tell yah. I know a lot of people want that not to be the case, but before all is said and done, the Yanks will certainly trade for another bat, and may make yet another trade for a pitcher. Either way, starting next year, with NO changes, the Yanks will have a rotation of Pettite, Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain, Mussina. If each one of those guys lives up to billing, it is argueably the best in baseball. That is where games in the playoffs are won.

Look at the Sox this year. Their offense came alive in a HUGE way, but that was made possible mostly because their pitchers kept them in the game. The Red Sox did a lot of scoring late in games, busting what had been tough fought contests into blow outs. The Yanks, on the other hand, were always cleaning up after terrible starts, with their pitchers routinely only going a few innings and their bullpen being horribly overtaxed (and pretty much under talented). Next year, with young, talented fireballers in the rotation, and the mainstays of Pettite and Wang, the rotation has the chance to be amazing, truly amazing. THAT is what wins championships, not all star players hitting home runs in 10-9 games. The Yanks will find a bat. Pitching has been what they were missing.

Final point: There needs to be a final cutting of the chord between the team and the 04 season. Now, there are still gonna be some guys on that team, but A-Rod was, with Sheffield, one of the newcomers that infected that 04 team. I know the Yanks have 26 championships to heal all possible wounds, but the sting of 04 was real and it hasn't gone away. A-Rod leaving, for many people, will end thaat unfortunate chapter and turn the reigns of the team over to a younger generation of players, who can learn how to win from players like Jeter and Mo and Posada and Pettite, rather than being infected with the loser karma of one Alex Rodriguez.

Look, I understand what a great player A-Rod is, and I understand how difficult his departure is about to make the Yankee offseason. I'm not a fool. Any team that nabs him will be getting a GREAT, GREAT player. But his act wasn't right for New York and it never will be. A-Rod is a fake. He's a phony. Now, some players have gotten away with being fakes in this town, but the list is pretty small, and the truth is A-Rod's name was never gonna be listed on it. A-Rod became bigger, more important than the team a lot of times, which was a hideous turn of events for a team, and a franchise, that had really become famous for being a non-descript, single-body entity that moved in one motion, always. It made for boring headlines, but it created amazing baseball.

A-Rod's act will be appreciated somewhere else. Where? I have no idea, but somewhere, probably somewhere on the West Coast, where days seem to end a little quicker out there and sports isn't taken all that seriously. For me, I don't care where A-Rod goes, as long as it isn't back to this team, at this time. I just want A-Rod to go away.

Yankees Poised to Continue Their October of Missteps

It started with the Yankees lack luster performance against the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS. Argueably the best team in the AL, again, the Yankees watched as their team imploded on itself, failing to do the things it had become accustomed to doing during the regular season. Chien Mien Wang put himself on the "hey, why don't we try and get something for this asshole while we can" list for most Yankee fans by going out there and almost single handedly losing the series. The "ACE" of the staff ended up with an ERA over 12. Roger Clemens? Amazing that no one has mentioned what a waste of money he turned out to be. Clemens, whose pro-rated contract averaged out to about $28 million over the course of the year, didn't pitch one meaningful game down the stretch of the season, and lasted a whopping 2 2/3 innings in Game 3 against the Indians.

There was no timely hitting, Jorge Posada played defense like a blind ferret with polio, Derek Jeter drank A-Rod juice before the series, killing rally after rally, and the two man bullpen just wasn't deep enough to keep a good Indians lineup down. It was a nightmare.

In the middle of that was the ill timed, ill fated George Steinbrenner quote that the Yanks would not bring Joe Torre back if they didn't beat the Indians and move on to the ALCS. No one knows for sure what that quote was designed to do. Was it simply an ageing, old man raging at the thought of another first round loss? Was it some sort of strange, football vodoo motivational tool the Steinbrenners cling to as if they invented the Knute Rockne School For Getting The Most Out Of Your Players? Was it an orchestrated attempt by Randy "Rosemary's Baby" Levine to begin the process of getting rid of Torre, a man who, for some reason, he has disliked since becoming team president in 2000? No one knows, but whatever the quote, the interview was meant to accomplish, it failed to miserably.

Then came the Joe Torre offer/non-offer. There wasn't any aspect of Torre situation that was handled correctly. I have already written on this, and more columns have been written about it than on the Watergate scandal in the last three weeks, so there is no need to rehash it. The fact is the Yanks bungled the Torre scenario about as badly as one could have. It was a disgrace. It was embarrasing, and it was the first parlay onto the national scene for the SteinBoys. Not a good first impression at all. The only way they could have made things worse for themselves is if they had simultaneously announced that they were also raising ticket prices and selling only Odouls at the concession stands from now on.

Now come the reports that the Yanks are poised to offer Joe Girardi the managerial job on Monday or Tuesday of this week. Don't get me wrong, I like Girardi, and I think he is a good manager, but this will be yet another blunder in a fall of half assed, idiotic moves that just don't seem to make sense.

First, let's look at this from a PR standpoint, and that should not be discounted in the least. Don Mattingly is the most beloved New York Yankee there is. He is Donnie Baseball. He was the only reason to watch the Yankees for 12 years. Every fan between the age of 27 and 35 has a love affair with the man that isn't about to go away. Hiring Mattingly would begin the process of healing the wounds left over from Joe Torre's ouster (and it was an ouster.........as Mike Francesa has said time and again on his show, if the Yanks wanted to keep Torre, they would have KEPT him. They wanted him to walk away). Mattingly would get the benefit of the doubt from both the team and the fans. There would be an excitement surrounding him becoming the manager. I have even heard fans calling up wondering how many titles Donnie would have to win as a manager to finally have a chance to enter the Hall of Fame, an honor most Yankee fans have desperately wanted for Mattingly since he retired.

Granted, I have been shocked how many fans have called up saying they don't want Mattingly to manage, but I still believe most fans would be comfortable, and excited to see Donnie Baseball as the clubhouse leader.

Girardi offers none of that. He was a Yankee but he isn't viewed AS a Yankee. He was a part-time player, a part-time catcher, the last spoke in the wheel of a championship team that would have, and did, sail on without him. There is no love affair with Joe Girardi. There is no magic between he and the fans. If Girardi begins the season badly, there will be no grace period. The comparisons with Torre will begin immediately. The bench mark for success with him will be ALCS or bust. The fans will turn on him at the sign of trouble, and the Yanks will be put in the awkward position of trying to convince the fanbase to "stick" with their new manager.

Couple that with the fact that Mattingly will more than likely walk away if he is passed over, and the Yankees will have essentially alienated Joe Torre, Don Mattingly, and fired Ron Guidry for Joe Girardi. In what UNIVERSE other than one designed by the brothers Fredo, does that make sense?

Let's also look at this from a man to man perspective. I understand that decisions are made everyday that screw someone else over. I get that. But here is the truth. Don Mattingly has said, from day one, that he would not have come back to coach if it were not made abundantly clear to him that he would have a legit shot to manage the team after Joe Torre left. Now, I don't think anyone guaranteed him the job, but I think he was made aware of the fact that he was viewed as the successor to the job if things went well.

Mattingly served as hitting coach from three years and then as a bench coach this year. He has received wide spread praise from the players. Torre has gone out of his way to compliment Mattingly, stating that he would, one day, make a GREAT manager. It is widely known that he is the players choice to take over for Torre. By all accounts, he has done a terrific job in his role with the team. Now, after proving himself as the coach, after basically being promised the job, after having what has been described as a "very good" interview, he is going to be passed over? It is yet another example of how the Yankees are going to run their business. Word and honor and promises don't matter. Showing someone respect doesn't matter. If someone has to be thrown under the bus, so what. The bottom line is the bottom line.

Everyone could understand the Yankees passing over Mattingly, breaking their word to him, if they had the opportunity to bring in a proven, Hall of Fame caliber manager. If Lou Pinella were being hired over Donnie, everyone would understand. If, oh, I don't know, JOE TORRE were being hired over Mattingly, one could understand. But Joe Girardi? I mean, seriously? Could you blame Mattingly for being pissed off?

Now, let's look at it from the standpoint of team continuity. Mattingly is, as I said before, widely known to be the players choice for the job. He has been a coach with the team now for 4 years. He has been with these guys, through thick and thin, every step of the way. He knows the players and he knows the team. He immediately has the respect of the room. Not only was he a former player, he was a former star. he is a borderline Hall of Famer. He has instant credibility with everyone in that room, from the rookies to Derek Jeter. He watched as Joe Torre handled different players in different fashions, understanding how their personalities worked and how they should and should not be motivated. He isn't on any kind of learning curve.

Girardi? He walks back into the locker room as the former back up catcher. There are already reports that Jorge Posada would rethink signing with the Yankees because Girardi was manager. There are similar reports that A-Rod would be hesitant to sign because of Girardi's reputation for being like Buck Showalter, who he did not get along with in Texas. Would Girardi command respect from the players in the room? Perhaps, but it certainly isn't a given as it is with Mattingly. Joe Torre would, from time to time, call his best players out, in team meetings, to prove a point. He would call a Jeter out, or a Clemens out, to prove that EVERYONE was accountable. Those types of veterans understood that and were fine with it because of who Joe Torre was. You can imagine they would have a similar reaction with Mattingly. With Girardi? Probably not. How about guys like Cano, or Melky? Who is going to have a better chance of reaching them, Girardi or Mattingly? Come on, that isn't even a debate.

So, by hiring Girardi over Mattingly, you could potentially lose your starting catcher, your starting third baseman, and tick off the rest of your players. Again, it is Fredo logic at work here.

Now, let's look at it from simply a baseball standpoint since, if the Yanks announce Girardi tomorrow, that will be the crutch they use to stand on. Girardi has managed one more year than Don Mattingly. ONE. He isn't a veteran manager. He isn't a man who has had significant success with a team. In fact, all Girardi's team in Florida did was NOT lose 100 games. Now, don't get me wrong, he did a fine job just by accomplishing that, but Girardi's resume is, shall we say, pretty damn thin. In actuality, Girardi has less time on the bench of a major league club than Mattingly does. Girardi was a bench coach with the Yanks for one year and then the manager of the Marlins for one year. Mattingly has been a coach for four years.

Most of the people who have championed Girardi probably saw a total of five Marlins games in 2006. How did he handle the players, the team, the pitching staff? I don't really know. I believe he did a terrific job, but doing a terrific job with a bunch of kids in baseball wasteland (Florida) is hardly a guarantee for success in New York. Girardi has never had to deal with the media. He has never had to deal with expectations. He has never been in the spotlight. He managed a team of youngsters in a town that couldn't care less what the organization does. How does that translate into success in New York?

Mattingly has no managerial experience, true. That is, and should be a factor. But can anyone honestly look at Joe Girardi and convince themselves that he will be such a significantly BETTER manager than Don Mattingly that it's worth everything discussed above? No freakin way. In fact, I would argue thata Mattingly, for this team, for this town, because of who he is and because of the managers he has played for in the past, would be the far better candidate than Girardi. The only area that Girardi beats Mattingly in is the one year of managerial experience. Does that REALLY trump everything else? Again, this isn't Lou Pinella. This isn't Jim Leyland. This isn't Earl Weaver or Sparky Anderson. This is a man who managed ONE YEAR for the Florida Marlins, and didn't sniff .500 in the process.

Here is the truth: I love Don Mattingly and always will. Does that influence my mindset, my belief that he would make the best choice? Of course. But I still believe the arguements I have made above. The truth is, if the Yanks were considering an experienced, eminantely qualified manager right now over Mattingly, I couldn't argue with it. I might WANT Mattingly to be manager, but I would understand if he wasn't chosen. But Joe Girardi is perhaps the most overrated one year manager I have ever seen. His resume is, again, relatively thin. His ability to handle a veteran team is suspect. People are acting as if Mattingly is somehow the question mark candidate while Girardi is the guarantee.

I think Girardi is a good manager, and if Mattingly were not in the mix I would have no problem with the Yanks turning to him. But, to me, Mattingly is the better candidate for this team. And I have more selfish reasons for this. If the Yanks turn to Don Mattingly and tell him that they are passing him by for a man with one year of managerial experience, after basically promising him the job years before, there is a good chance Donnie will not only walk, but will walk for a while. I would be pretty upset by that scenario and, I would bet, so would you. So that would mean that, next year, when the Yanks are closing down old Yankee Stadium, Don Mattingly and Joe Torre will be absent. That means that, when the Yankees open the new Yankee Stadium, Don Mattingly and Joe Torre will be absent. I'm sorry, but that DOES mean something to me. It doesn't mean you give someone a job just to avoid that type of scenario, I believe it SHOULD enter into the equation.

Girardi would make a good coach, but Mattingly is the RIGHT coach for this team.

Mattingly obvious successor

Don Mattingly is the obvious choice to succeed Joe Torre as the next manager of the New York Yankees. Even a one eyed, one legged farret, or a member of the Yankee front office, should be able to see that. It is the natural progression of things, the natural order of what should happen, and despite the controversy that still swarms around this current managerial change, it was destined to happen eventually.

Don Mattingly has made no bones about the fact that he wants to manage. He made that clear four plus years ago when he took the hitting coach job with the Yankees. He WANTED to be in a corner office one day. George Steinbrenner and the Yankee brass knew this. There was no way on Randy Levine's earth that they were ever gonna let him to cut his teeth for another organization, taking the chance he would find a home somewhere and be off their radar when the time came to replace Joe Torre.

Well, that time has come.

Mattingly is the answer to every question the Yankees could have in hiring a new head man. The team DESPERATELY needs a PR fix, a way to get the fans and the media talking about something other than how they disrespected one of the all time great Yankees this week. NO ONE on their list, not the energetic, eminately talented Joe Girardi nor the experienced, respected Tony Pena accomplishes that. A candidate from outside the organization would be even more of a disaster as the comparisons with Torre would begin from day one.

Mattingly, however, is the most beloved Yankee, still, on the face of the planet. An entire generation - my generation - now entering their 30's remember Mattingly as an icon. I had the Don Mattingly record (not CD, not MP3, but RECORD) of how to hit when I was younger. I have a signed baseball from him. I was there, in game 2 of the ALDS in 1995 when he hit his last home run at Yankee Stadium and I have never felt 56,000 people move, and yell, in unison like that before. I love Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neill, Mo Rivera, Andy Pettite, Bernie Williams, and the rest of those great, dynasty teams. I love Joe Torre. And I can see myself wearing a Joba jersey, and asking if someone has Melky, for many years to come. But NO ONE will ever eclipse Mattingly for me, and that is probably true for most fans my age. That means that fans will be excited by the prospect of Mattingly taking on a more direct role. They will be excited by the notion that Mattingly will take the reigns, and while the sting of watching beloved Joe Torre essentially being insulted out the door for no other reason than the fact that the Yankee brass didn't have the balls to fire him stright up will be ever present, there will be an excitement for next year with Mattingly at the reigns, even if it comes with some quiet anxiety.

The Yankees also need a manager the players can get behind. While this team is certainly becoming younger, and the old guard is beginning to dwindle, it is still made up of accomplised athletes who have made their bones in New York. Any new manager would have to command the respect of clubhouse leader and team captain Derek Jeter. They would have to be able to handle the talented yet enigmatic Robbie Cano, the future star of the team and a player that NEEDS to become the middle of the order player he is talented enough to be right now. They need to be able to handle any new, accomplished, free agents or veterans who come in via a trade. They would have to be able to command enough respect in that clubhouse where they could sit a Jason Giambi or a Johnny Damon without those veteran players becoming disenfranchised and turning their benching into a media circus.

While Girardi or Pena seem to have the make up to be able to handle multiple types of personalities, Mattingly is the only one you KNOW would command respect as soon as he walks into the clubhouse. Jeter, who is 33, has the same feeling towards Mattingly as I do at 29. He grew up watching him. He grew up idolizing him. When Jeter was called up briefly in 1995, struggling at the plater and looking lost in the field, it was Mattingly, then team captain, that offered the future Yankee great encouragement and support. Mattingly automatically has Jeter as a loyal and true ally. Giambi credits Mattingly with supporting him and working with him in 2005, after the steroid scandal broke and it appeared the slugger's career might be over. Mattingly was one of the few in the Yankee organization who continued to insist that Melky Cabrera could still be a solid player in the big leagues even after his disasterous call up in 2005. And he has been Torre's right hand man now for four years, even before he was named bench coach, to the point where Torre has continuously talked about Mattingly being a future GREAT manager. No other managerial candidate comes in with that resume.

The Yankees needs a manager that understands New York. All of the candidates discussed, from Girardi to Pena to Mattingly, understand what New York is all about. They understand the media attention, the talk radio and sports columnist dynamic, and what kind of pressure is placed on the Yankees year in and year out. However, neither Joe Girardi nor Tony Pena have ever experienced New York when the crosshairs were squarely on them. Girardi was a solid, veteran player for the Yanks, loved by the fans for his gutty play and his superb defense behind the plate. Yet, he was never close to being a star. That was reserved for the Paul O'Neills and David Cones. Tony Pena has been a first base coach, never once in the spotlight for this team.

Don Mattingly was a star. When the games were over, it was Mattingly's locker that people crowded around. When the team wasn't playing well, it was Mattingly the press turned to and looked at. And Mattingly was a star, was the center of attention, when the Yankees were at their lowest. He was there in the Mel Hall years and the Danny Tartabull years. He was there when Stump Merril told him he needed a haircut, which was directed from the front office, as if that was the cause of the Yankee demise in those years. Mattingly was booed on field after giving his heart and soul, and body, to the organization. And he has sat next to Joe Torre for four years, witnessing what kind of attention the manager gets on a day in, day out basis. Mattingly, more than any other candidate, understands the nature of the New York beast, and that can't be understated.

The Yankees need someone who could convince their high-profile free agents to come back. While I believe that Giaradi and Pena would be accepted, and respected by the team as a whole, I don't know if any of them would be seen as the calming influence that Mattingly would be seen as. Plus, Girardi has, for whatever reason, a reputation of being a manager in the vein of Buck Showalter, who A-Rod, for one, hated, so that would more than likely hinder the Yankee's chances of signing him to an extension.

Mattingly? He's been there over the last four years. He's been the hitting coach for these guys. For Posada and Mariano, he was the team captain as they were coming up through the Yankee ranks. It would be far more difficult for any of those guys to turn their back on Mattingly than it would for them to do it t anyone else, out of a show of support for Torre. Mattingly instantly gives the Yanks a better chance of resigning any of those guys, even though money will eventually talk.

The Yankees need a calming influence. Usually, a team looks for a manager that is different from the old one. Fire Joe Torre? Usually you get Lou Pinella. But the Yanks have never operated particularly well under the thumb of a dictatorial, high mantainence manager, no matter how talented they are. Now, none of us know how Mattingly will be when he is sitting in that corner office. He may very well be more firey, more prone to get in umps faces, more prone to be excited in the clubhouse and show his emotions on his sleeve, but you can also see that he has a natural, calm personality that has never waivered. Mattingly is, much like Joe Torre before him, confident in who he is. He doesn't need to prove anything. If his managerial career doesn't end well, it will not tarnish what he meant to this organization and to the fan base. He will always be beloved.

Also, Mattingly showed a unique understand of how to deal with people, and personalities when he was captain of the team in the 90's. Bernie Williams always credits Mattingly with showing him support during his darker first days, where the likes of Mel Hall would cruelly rag on the introverted Williams. Mattingly helped protect him from that. O'Neill credits Mattingly for helping sculpt the professional demeanor of the team that went on to dominate the sport from 1996 through 2001. It was his leadership that helped O'Neill understand what it took to be a winner, something he passed on to those who came through the door after him. Mattingly has already shown an ability to deal with different personalities, and deal with them well. He won't be rattled by anything that comes down the pike.

The only thing going against Mattingly is his inexperience. He has never managed before. To be honest, I can't predict how much of a role that would play in his success or failure next year. Maybe it turns out to be a huge deal, maybe it turns out to be nothing. All I know is this: Willie Randolph never managed a day in his life before taking over the Mets, and even though the team collapsed at the end of this season, Randolph has seemingly done a very good job. Mike Scocia never managed a day in his life before becoming the head man for the Angels, and that team, a team that is routinely overmatched, does nothing but win. And one of the candidates for the job, Joe Girardi, never managed before heading down to Florida and he ended up being Manager of the Year in 2006. Does it mean Mattingly will easily make the transition? Nope, but it means that having no managerial experience isn't a death sentence for someone's future talents. Ozzie Guillen has a championship ring, the confidence of his front office, and a strangle hold over the White Sox organization after never having managed before in his life. That's how it works.

Mattingly isn't just the best choice, he is the only choice. He will have a grace period, both with the fans and the ownership. He will be given the benefit of the doubt, even if his team didn't perform the way Torre's team have in the past. Any failures for next year will be laid at the doorstep of Randy Levine, who the fans are looking to blame for anything right now anyway.

But a word of caution to the Yankee brass. There seems to have been a tremendous amount of jealousy attached to the success Joe Torre had and the admiration he received. Many, including Randy "Motivational Speaker" Levine, seemed to believe he received too much credit. It is what made Yankee front office people resent Torre and, at the same time, made him so hard to get rid of.

If Mattingly comes in and is successful, you better be ready for an even worse love affair with a manager. If Mattingly wins a title, leads a team to the promise land, Yankee brass better be ready. If you thought getting rid of Torre was an difficult mission, getting rid of Mattingly after some success would be down right impossible.

Class act gets a classless exit

The New York Yankees had every right to fire Joe Torre. Let's make that clear from the start.

Torre had managed the team for 12 years, by far the longest tenure of any manager to serve under George Steinbrenner. He was incredibly successfully, earning an amazing amount of money (alot more than just what the Yanks paid him) and gaining a tremendous amount of fame. He went from a doormat of a manager, a nice guy and a good man who never won a thing, to the epitome of the consistent champion, and he did that on the Yankees' dime.

After four straight years of being rather embarassingly exited from the playoffs, despite having argueably the best team each of those years, and with the landscape of the team changing (youth will have to be the focus now), the Yanks had every right in the world to turn to Joe Torre at the end of this year, two or three days after their loss to Cleveland in the ALDS, and say "Thank you Joe, we will always love you, but we are going in the different direction."

Would they have taken a hit? Of course. You don't fire a hall of fame manager who just led his team to the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year, and not have some fans, media personalities, or players think it was the wrong idea. But, as Joe Torre said yesterday, at least it would have been honest. Everyone, in every walk of life, gets fired. Coaches do, even players do, and to believe that it can happen to everyone except Joe Torre is naive to the upteenth degree. The Yanks could have moved on in a dignified fashion.

Instead, Yankee Team President Randy Levine, who seems to be taking more and more control over the baseball aspect of the team, crafted a "save face" contract that amounted to a public relations nightmare and an obvious slap in the face to one of the great Yankees of all time. Essentially what the Yankees did was tarnish their team and their future because they didn't have the balls to fire a man.

Joe Torre, yesterday, when asked whether or not he would return to Yankee Stadium, said it was too soon to say how long it would take him to step foot back into the Bronx again. The ramifications of that haven't truly been discussed as of yet, but for the Yankees, and for Yankee land, they are immense.

The Yankees will finish their last year at Yankee Stadium next year, the last time the House That Ruth Built will stand. It is going to be an impressive year, as each game will serve as a reminder of the history and tradition of the greastest sports franchise in history. All the greats will be back; Yogi and Whitey will be throwing out first pitches; the great teams of the 70's and then the 90's will be asked back, the highlights will be shown, the tears will flow, and the Yankee magic will be celebrated.

If you're not a Yankee fan, that doesn't mean all that much to you. You might have even gaged a little thinking about it. But for Yankee fans, this is going to mean a lot. Had the Yanks simply fired Torre, there's a good chance the Yankee great would have put any personal feelings aside and come back for the ceremonies. Maybe he throws out a first pitch at one of the last games, or maybe he is on hand for the All Star Game to be played there in July. Either way, Joe Torre, one of the all time greatest Yankees ever, would probably have been a part of the festivities no matter what.

Now? No way. Old Yankee Stadium will close without Joe Torre ever setting foot in it again. It will tranish what will otherwise be a very special time in New York. Questions will be asked, constantly, about his absence, his relationship with the team will be dissected every step of the way, and the fans who watched as Torre helped guide his team to some of the greatest moments in team history will never see that manager in the old stadium again.

And how about this: there are reports now that Andy Pettite, who has never been a man guided simply by money or an absolute, deep desire to play the game of baseball, might be more inclined now to reject his player option for next year and retire. That means that Andy Pettite won't be a part of the team in its final year in the stadium. What about Mariano Rivera? Rivera was already rip shit about how the Yanks treated him in the spring, refusing to negotiate with him. Now that Torre is gone, Rivera was quoted as saying that the Yanks are just one of 30 teams. The consensus is that Rivera will come back once the Yanks throw the most money at him, but that is no longer a guarantee. Can you imagine the Stadium closing down and NOT hearing Enter Sandman during the final days of its existence? Couple that with the fact that Jorge Posada, another Torre stallworth, may also be more inclined to leave now that his manager has been fired, and the Yanks may see this year, their final year in the old stadium, be a year where they FORCED four of the greatest Yankees EVER out the door.

All of the focus, now, will be on who replaces Joe, how the Yankee higherarchy works from here on out - it is obvious George Steinbrenner is no longer in full control, meaning there is a power vaccuum in the front office that is yet to be fully filled - and how the players react.

For me, however, I will just simply be in awe of the fact that the Yanks have been able to alienate a man so beloved, so respected in this town, simply because they didn't have the balls to do something they wanted to do. Joe Torre may come to the new Yankee Stadium at some point, he may not. He may heal old wounds with the organization down the line, he may not. All I know is that, for 12 years Joe Torre helped orchestrate one of the greatest runs in baseball history, and we, as fans, will be denied the pleasure of honoring that man and his accomplishments next year because of a gutless front office that turned something so simple into something so sour. It will be the last year of the old stadium, and there will be something missing throughout. A great Yankee will be absent at a time when his presence will be missed the most. Sad, very sad.