Steinbrenner Takes Another Day to Decide on Torre
By
TYLER KEPNER
If
George Steinbrenner had acted on his impulse after the
Yankees? swift playoff exit Saturday,
Joe Torre would already be a former Yankees manager. But Steinbrenner took a second day to contemplate Torre?s fate, which could only be an encouraging sign for Torre.
It does not mean Torre will return for his 12th season as Yankees manager. But the feeling around the organization yesterday was that Steinbrenner alone would make the decision, and he said he was not sure what he would do.
?I have not made up my mind yet,? Steinbrenner told reporters after lunch at the restaurant of the Loews Regency Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Steinbrenner, the Yankees? principal owner, returned to Tampa, Fla., later in the day.
General Manager
Brian Cashman said he wanted to retain Torre, who is entering the final year of his contract but has not led the Yankees to a championship since 2000. Others in the organization, still reeling from the American League division series loss to the
Detroit Tigers, have doubts about whether Torre should stay.
Steinbrenner has long been enamored with
Lou Piniella, a former player, general manager and manager for the Yankees. But yesterday, Steinbrenner was still seeking answers from his executives about what went wrong in the playoffs.
That has been a pastime for Steinbrenner the last six seasons after a postseason loss. But Torre?s position has never been more vulnerable, and rarely have such obvious possible successors ? including Piniella and
Joe Girardi ? been available.
Torre has not appeared at Yankee Stadium since the loss, and Cashman has not returned phone calls. But various players and coaches have supported Torre, including Alex Rodriguez, the embattled third baseman.
Rodriguez and his wife, Cynthia, had lunch yesterday at the same time as Steinbrenner, on the same block, one building away. Rodriguez signed autographs for fans but declined to answer questions.
Later, Rodriguez?s agent, Scott Boras, said Rodriguez backed Torre.
?Alex is very supportive of Joe Torre and enjoys playing for him,? Boras said in a telephone interview. ?I think he views what happened this postseason as one where some great starting pitchers beat a very good offense. From his perspective, that had nothing to do with Joe Torre.?
Torre dropped Rodriguez to eighth in the batting order for the fourth and final game of the series against Detroit. Rodriguez, who finished the series 1 for 14, had not batted that far down in a lineup in more than 10 years.
Torre?s greatest strength may be communicating with his players, yet he did not consult Rodriguez or the team about the move.
Gary Sheffield, who was benched for Game 3, told USA Today that the lineup startled the team.
?I think that affected the morale and psyche of the entire team, not just A-Rod,? Sheffield said. ?I?m not making any excuses, but everyone was wondering what was going on. It made it a real weird day. You would like to be treated with a little respect, I don?t care who you play for. We were worrying about all of that stuff, and we still had a game to play.?
Steinbrenner has surely considered what impact changing managers would have on Rodriguez, who seems more likely to stay with the Yankees than not.
Although other teams would probably be interested in trading for Rodriguez, he has shown no willingness to waive his no-trade clause, and the Yankees said they had not explored any deals.
Rodriguez played seven seasons under Piniella in Seattle and said he had great respect for him. Yet replacing Torre with a manager well known to Rodriguez could disrupt the chemistry in the clubhouse, where Rodriguez already has an uneasy relationship with the team?s captain,
Derek Jeter.
Despite their different personalities, Rodriguez and Jeter have coexisted for three seasons and helped lead the Yankees to three division titles. Torre has won nine in a row, cultivating a professional and winning atmosphere.
?To deal with a lot of superstars is hard,? said the reserve infielder Miguel Cairo, who packed his belongings at Yankee Stadium yesterday. ?For him, it?s easy. It?s a plus when you have a manager like that, who knows how to do it.?
Starter Jaret Wright said he would be sad to see Torre leave, and reliever Ron Villone called Torre a class act and a great manager. When Steinbrenner considers changes to the team, Villone said, he should not start with Torre.
?You can look at the bullpen, you can look at the lineup, you can look at the bench,? Villone said. ?I?d rather look there first than look at who?s sitting on the bench.?
Piniella is a candidate for several manager openings. Because his name has been publicly connected to the Yankees, Steinbrenner may be hoping that Piniella waits for him to make up his mind about Torre before accepting another job.
Piniella is in
Oakland working as a broadcaster for the American League Championship Series. He told reporters there that he had not heard from Steinbrenner.
?We?ve always been friendly,? Piniella said. ?No, we haven?t talked at all about that. In fact, I haven?t seen Mr. Steinbrenner in 10 months. Talk to my agent about these things.?
He added: ?Look, I don?t want to get into that subject. It?s not right. I respect the situation too much for me to comment on anything else.?
Commissioner
Bud Selig forbids teams from announcing major moves while postseason series are going on, preferring to keep fans focused on the games.
But Steinbrenner has long enjoyed upstaging the Mets, as he did during the 1988 playoffs, when he fired Piniella as manager and hired Dallas Green. That was the last time the Mets played in the postseason while the Yankees did not. The last time, that is, until now.
INSIDE PITCH
Randy Johnson plans to see Dr. Robert Watkins, who performed his back surgery in 1996, to determine if he needs back surgery again, said Johnson?s agent, Barry Meister. Surgery would likely require three months of rehabilitation. ?He just wants to make sure he?s ready in spring training and has the best chance at not having his season interrupted next year,? Meister said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/10/s...=th&adxnnlx=1160492698-kheXC33b1ExfMf7BhIe0Pw
