Mike Lupica, Daily News:
This is just as bad for the Yankees, losing these last three to the Tigers this way, not even competing in the last two, as losing four in a row to the Red Sox two years ago. These Yankees have now become the biggest postseason flops in the history of the team, maybe any team. ...SoSH cackles with glee.
This is now three times in five years, with a payroll three times the size of most playoff teams, that Joe Torre can't make it to the second round. Tell me another manager, no matter how well-respected, no matter how classy, who survives that?
And in Detroit ...
For the last two months, I've been so glad not to be in NYC. Today, however, it would be fun. :-)
ReplyDeleteSweep and weep!
Hey Allan, any word from Gutch?
Great last paragraph, Jack. It's ironic that MLB has the moronic Tommy Lasorda making commercials to exhort real baseball fans to continue watching the post-season even though their teams aren't in. Your final paragraph outlines exactly what turns real fans off from watching--nothing to do with how their own teams did.
ReplyDeleteGuuuuuuuuuuuutch?
ReplyDeleteWhere are youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?
Am I the only person here who thinks Torre's been overrated the last ten years or so? Not that he's a BAD manager, per se, but I also wouldn't call him one of the beset. He had his success with teams that were cohesive, had terrific pitching and probably would have won under any average manager. He's done poorly with less talented/less cohesive teams. How does that make him a fantastic manager?
ReplyDeleteI also wonder how much Jeter loves having A-Rod around to take the blame for all the Yankees failures. Of course they all "take responsibility" in the interviews, but you know nobody ever blames CI for not hitting better or whatever (he was 3-for-11 in the last three games) - or anyone else for that matter. Yet when they win, A-Rod never gets credit. Which is not to say that I like him or feel sorry for him, but... must be kind of nice to have an automatic team scapegoat.
Am I the only person here who thinks Torre's been overrated the last ten years or so?
ReplyDeleteNot by a long shot.
I will always appreciate the fact that my Yankee fan friends (yes, I had some once)allowed me to mourn in silence when the Sox lost the play-off in 1978
ReplyDeleteSure. And if Gutch was one of those, he wouldn't have been here crowing a few days ago, asking for predictions and telling us he "respects" our wishful thinking.
The only reason we're calling his name is because he came around preening and gloating.
Some people here know a thing or two about allowing the other to mourn in silence, beginning with 1986, straight through to 2001.
The least fun part of being a knowledgable baseball fan is that you have to listen to and read so many unbelievably stupid statements from reporters and announcers, and then have to listen to your casual fan friends parrot them back to you as if they were rare nuggets of insight.
ReplyDeleteOMG is that ever true. The trick is to not have any friends who are into baseball. Or to not have any friends.
Being deaf might help, too.
The least fun part of being a knowledgable baseball fan is that you have to listen to and read so many unbelievably stupid statements from reporters and announcers
ReplyDeleteThis was the main reason why I said I wasn't sure how much of the playoffs I would watch.
Haven't seen more than a batter or two so far. We'll watch the WS, but who knows about the two CS?
How can Lip say this is "as bad" as 2004? Not quite.
ReplyDeleteJack - I'm definitely not saying that Torre's worse than Tito! Just that he's not the demigod that so many people are making him out to be.
ReplyDelete(Full disclosure: I'm not overly fond of Francona; I don't think we should have fallen apart anywhere near as dramatically as we did in August, injuries or no, and I feel that if we had a better manager we might have had a better record.)
For the most part, I don't think a manager can take too much credit or blame for his team's performance, except in some extraordinary cases. Either the players get it done or they don't, and this year's failure (for the Red Sox and the Yankees) is 99% the players not getting it done.
But I have to say Torre's management of the ALDS was baffling at best, and the contrast with Leyland made him look worse. Constantly shuffling the lineup etc... hate to agree with Gary Sheffield (vomit) but I think he made a few good points earlier today.
I was in New York over the weekend and was glad to have it all over with so a Game 5 did not mar our night out Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThis morning, before the announcement that Torre would be back, I picked up the NYPost. No less than 10 pages of rehashing the same Torre issues. Incredible.
I have become a little too sympathetic, with more and more Yankee fan associates and friends all the time. But it was still sweet.
One Yankee fan told me the other day that it was "proven" that there are more Red Sox fans than Yankee fans nationwide now. Edging toward some kind of underdog status for the MFY. I have not researched this claim yet.