Memo to Yankees Fans: Get Over Joe Torre

There's been a lot of talk about Joe Torre's being undeservedly let go by the New York Yankees.

But was he really that great as Yankees manager?

You hear a lot of people saying, "It's not Torre's fault the Yanks had no pitching." The logic, obviously, is that the Yankees' lack of postseason success since 2001 can be attributed to shortcomings on the roster—not to Torre's managerial skills.

But if that's case, why is it that Torre got all the glory when the Yankees were winning?

When Torre was hired by New York before the 1996 season, he'd been a mediocre big league manager, having failed with the Mets and the Cardinals.

Torre led the '96 Yanks to a World Series—but was he really the catalyst?

Here are the facts:



1. The Yankees picked up high-priced stars for the stretch drive.

When Ruben Sierra slumped and feuded with Torre, GM Bob Watson traded him for Cecil Fielder. The Yanks also landed Dave Weathers, Charlie Hayes, and Graeme Lloyd—all of whom contributed to the team's success.

When your team can go out and acquire just about anyone, is it really the manager's skills that make the difference? Isn't it the general manager(s) who should applauded?

 

2. The Yankees hit well in the playoffs in '96.

Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, and Fielder all delivered clutch hits in key situations. Did that really have anything to do with Torre?

 

3. Jeffery Maier saved the day.

When the superfan reached over the wall and grabbed Jeter's flyball away from an Orioles outfielder in Game One of the ALCS, the umpires incorrectly ruled it a game-tying home run.

Without that miscall, the Yanks might not have won the game or the series.



4. The bullpen was light-out.

The relievers came through—especially John Wetteland, who was dreadful in the '95 ALDS against Seattle. Wetteland, Lloyd, Weathers, Mariano Rivera, and Jeff Nelson all pitched spectacularly in the playoffs.

 

5. The AL East was weak.

The Yanks made it to the playoffs in the first place because Boston and Baltimore had poor pitching. The Blue Jays and Tigers were non-factors in the race.



6. The Indians collapsed.

Cleveland was the AL's best team in 1996, but choked in the first round of the playoffs. Thus, the Yanks avoided facing them.



7. 1996 was a down-year for pitching around the league.

The Rangers, Braves, and Orioles, all had subpar bullpens—and in the cases of Texas and Baltimore, weak starting rotations too.

In the Yankees-Rangers and Yankees-O's series, that made all the difference.



8. Bob Watson refused to trade Mariano Rivera to Detroit.

The Tigers asked for Rivera in exchange for David Wells in 1995, but Watson wouldn't bite. Detroit shipped Boomer to Baltimore instead, and the rest is history.

 

The bottom line is that, had the Yanks not won the World Series in 1996, Torre might well have been fired that year—and we wouldn't be having this silly debate about why the Yankees let him go in 2007.

Again, if Torre isn't to be blamed for New York's not winning any championships since 2000, he shouldn't get the credit for their success before that.

Forget the "team chemistry" argument—the idea that Torre somehow held the team together. Teams with poor chemistry have won before (see the Yanks of the late 70s). Even the '96 Orioles, who won the AL wild card and competed with New York for the AL Championship, were a dysfunctional bunch.

The Torre Era is done—so let's stop talking about him. His supporters are illogical at best and hypocritical at worst. You just can't have it both ways—either he gets the credit and blame, or he was never relevant at all.

Watch him go lose 80 or 90 games with the Dodgers.