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October 01, 2005
Joe Torre 2005, In Retrospect
After watching the Yankees players speak about Joe Torre during the post-game coverage today, and seeing Torre's reaction to what was said, I started to think more about his role on what has happened this season.
I've been working full-time for 20 years now. And, during those years, there were five times that I elected to switch firms. And, there were changes in management in just about every place where I've worked - some places had a lot of change. Because of this, I must have "worked" for at least 15 different "managers" in those 20 aforementioned years. And, many of these managers were different from each other.
Several of these managers were not the greatest "business" minds out there (compared to others that I worked for) and, in terms of making decisions, they probably didn't always make the best calls. However, many of these managers genuinely cared for me as a person, and were the type of people that made it easy to care for them.
Conversely, some other people that I worked for in the past were very savvy and/or experienced professionals. They did well for themselves in the work-world (and, often in their private life as well). Sadly, several of these managers were not nice people at all, when it came down to it (for sundry reasons). And, because of that, they were not very likable.
Now, I've always done my job - no matter who was my "boss" - because you have to do your job to get a paycheck. Still, when I worked for someone who cared for me, and where I cared for them in return, I would do anything for them without a second thought (even if they were not the best "business mind" in the world). I would do it because I wanted to do it for them.
On the flip side, when the time came for one of those managers who were smart, but not likable, to move on, I would never shed a tear over their leaving. In fact, once they were gone, in many cases it was a relief.
When I think of my own experience, and apply it to the Torre situation, it gives me a better appreciation to what's happening now in that Yankees clubhouse and dugout.
This Yankees team loves and respects Torre - and he feels the same way about them. Yes, Joe makes mistakes with line-ups, pitching choices, game calls, you name it. He's not the smartest manager in the world. But, because the players care about him, and vice versa, they will do what he asks from them without question. And, in this case, that means play like a pro, don't get distracted, play hard, and don't give up.
There were many times this season where I thought that Joe Torre should be fired. And, in retrospect, that was wrong. Because of his standing with the players, he was able to keep this team together and working hard.
Yes, that comes with living with his bad judgment on some matters. But, I'd rather have that than have the situation where the team couldn't care less if the guy was fired. This season, the Yankees needed "a little extra" to comeback from their bad start to this season. If they players cared nothing about Torre's fate, perhaps that something extra may have never happened?
Maybe I'm wrong here? But, in any event, for this moment, it feels right.
Posted by Steve Lombardi at October 1, 2005 10:35 PM
Comments
Steve, you're a fair man. Too many have done nothing but bash Joe and won't give it a second thought. Class post.
Posted by: Don at October 2, 2005 03:02 AM
Too many baseball fans get hung up on the in-game managerial strategies yet forget a big part of any manager's job is managing 25+ people living/working together for 8 months a year.
We fans tend to overreact to inning by inning or game by game events.
How many were on cloud nine after Mussina's first start off of the DL then wanted him released after his most recent?
Posted by: RICH at October 2, 2005 08:10 AM
Steve, great post. Let's not forget that Joe manages very much from his gut, and it helped the Yankees win 4 world championships. Sometimes the gut is also wrong as many who have played blackjack know when they stray from basic strategy. A lot of posters have bashed Joe this year, here's to the hope they have the class to admit they were wrong like you did, in the end the results speak for themselves. I think Joe did very well in spite of all the injuries and bad luck the Yankees had this year. I hope his gut serves him well during the post-season.
Posted by: Bozo at October 2, 2005 09:31 AM
I agree. Anyway, who is the smartest baseball manager in the world? And does it really matter in the grand scheme? Not really. Torre makes decisions you or I may or may not agree with on a daily basis. Everytime we disagree, someone else agrees, so our disagreement is meaningless. Sometimes when we disagree, his way works. Sometimes when we agree, his way doesn't work. It doesn't particularly matter. When all is said and done, Torre's great.
Posted by: Patrick at October 2, 2005 10:17 AM
I've always felt that Torre's strength is in managing the clubhouse, the NY media, and Steinbrenner. With the talent on the team, things like batting order are less important. It's sort of like a Broadway play, the actors should know how to act, dance, sing, do comedy. The director shouldn't have to teach them that.
Posted by: rbj at October 2, 2005 04:10 PM
"It's sort of like a Broadway play, the actors should know how to act, dance, sing, do comedy. The director shouldn't have to teach them that."
Wow, I think you've just revolutionized show business. Wait till the suits in Hollywood hear about this. Although I don't think the Director's Guild will be too happy about this.
Posted by: JohnnyC at October 2, 2005 05:16 PM