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.