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October 16, 2007
Donnie: I'm Uncomfortable & Not Ready
From Ed Price -
Yankees bench coach Don Mattingly has told a member of the Steinbrenner family he does not feel ready for the manager's job and is uncomfortable with replacing Joe Torre, according to a friend of Mattingly.
The friend, who requested anonymity because the situation is unresolved, said he spoke directly with the former Yankees great in recent days. Mattingly's stance could open the door for the Yankees to bring back Torre for a 13th season because he was the leading candidate for the job.
The development comes as George Steinbrenner and his sons, Hank and Hal, convene an annual top-to-bottom review of the organization Tuesday. A Yankees official, who speaks often with top management, said Torre is a candidate for the job. The official, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak for the owners, said the discussion was expected to center on who is the best man for the job as opposed to a referendum on Torre, whose contract is expiring.
To me, this is why Mattingly as a field manager is concerning.
Managers need to have an ego and some drive - towards wanting to be "the man." Whether you're a Whitey Herzog type and it's out there for all to see, or, if you're a Tom Kelly type and you have that quiet, to yourself, confidence that says you're in charge and the best man for the job.
Donnie's just too nice of a guy - and, in my opinion, is too much of an "Aw, shucks" kind of guy to have the ego that's needed to survive as manager of the New York Yankees.
It may sound cutthroat, and unpleasant, and perhaps disloyal, but, when there's an opportunity to become a manager of a team with talent and with great payroll possibilities, you don't come out and say that you're uncomfortable and not ready - if you have that ego and drive that all good big league managers need to thrive.
Big league managers have that Carpe Diem mindset - or, at least, they should - and, here, Donnie is showing us that he doesn't have it.
Posted by Steve Lombardi at October 16, 2007 08:39 AM
Comments
Ummm, HE didn't say anything. Some unnamed "friend" said something. You know who unnamed friends often turn out to be? The writer's imagination.
Every year sports writers trot out unnamed sources who say this guy really wants to play here or that guy doesn't want to play there, and it all turns out to be bullshit.
I doubt Donnie would confide in a person who would turn around and tell the media. Plus if something really was said it's now been reinterpreted by the friend and the writer.
People think Donnie's too nice? What kind of rep does Torre have? He's the guy people want to check to see if he's breathing.
People seem to forget that Torre came here with a ton of baggage. As Clueless Joe. The Yankees gave him a good team and he won a few rings and now suddenly he's irreplaceable. As a true baseball guy, Torre is weak. If you want to laud his people skills, fine. But if people were looking at this honestly, with this roster and considering what Joe brought to the table, replacing him is really not that big of a deal. It's only dramatic because it's the Yankees and he's been here a while. No other team would go through so much hand-wringing.
Posted by: baileywalk ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.waswatching.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at October 16, 2007 09:52 AM
Not a good move on Mattingly's part (if he actually said this to his friend and if he intended it to leak). Essentially, he's giving the Yankees cover to hire Joe Girardi.
I'm the only one here who likes Bobby Valentine, but, more than any one else, he has the qualities you described here. Someone described Bobby Valentine as Billy Martin without the alcohol and meant that as a knock on Valentine. Valentine comparison aside, Billy Martin without the alcoho, strikes me as the almost perfect manager.
Posted by: jonm at October 16, 2007 10:23 AM
~~~People seem to forget that Torre came here with a ton of baggage. As Clueless Joe. The Yankees gave him a good team and he won a few rings and now suddenly he's irreplaceable. As a true baseball guy, Torre is weak. If you want to laud his people skills, fine. But if people were looking at this honestly, with this roster and considering what Joe brought to the table, replacing him is really not that big of a deal. It's only dramatic because it's the Yankees and he's been here a while. ~~~
Well said.
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at October 16, 2007 10:51 AM
FWIW, Pete Abe is now saying the Donnie story is not true:
http://yankees.lohudblogs.com/2007/10/16/mattingly-would-serve-if-called/
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at October 16, 2007 12:57 PM
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071016&content_id=2268693&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy&partnered=rss_nyy
Posted by: j at October 16, 2007 01:22 PM
I still think they should keep Torre. But I'd take Mattingly just because he's not LaRussa
Posted by: mickleib at October 16, 2007 01:52 PM