All I have to say is it’s about damn time.
While I am a Red Sox fan, I respect Joe Torre as a manager. He has been able to withstand the wrath of George and the New York media since 1996. He is the longest tenured manager under Steinbrenner’s reigns.
“He’s (Cashman) on a big hook,” Steinbrenner told the AP. “He wanted sole authority. He got it. Now he’s got to deliver.”
First off, what is surprising to me is that Big Stein actually made the quote to a reporter. Usually anything Steinbrenner has to say comes through his puppet Howard Rubenstein. Secondly, I am glad Steinbrenner finally came out and said something on this.
How can anyone blame Torre for the injuries the Yankees have suffered, Jason Giambi’s off the field troubles now, or the fact that Brian Cashman did nothing to get any pitching help in the offseason. This is a team that wasn’t expecting to have to use top pitching prospect, Phillip Hughes til next season. While he pitched well enough, he got injured, which could have happened at anytime but he is now losing time to further develop his skills.
Steinbrenner also gave Torre a vote of confidence, which in most sports, usually is a kiss of death for a manager or coach. In this case, I think Torre will probably be manager for at least the rest of the season with Indiana’s native son, Don Mattingly, waiting in the wings to take over. He also spoke out on the Virginia Tech massacre as the Yanks honored the victims before Wednesday night’s game with the Sox. He also spoke out on Giambi’s comments.
“He should have kept his mouth shut,” Steinbrenner said. “The matter is in the hands of the baseball Commissioner.”
I guess Giambi never watched Seinfeld. He would have known not to get on Big Stein’s bad side.
