The book is not a first-person tell-all, but rather, a third-person narrative by Verducci, who interviewed dozens of players and team personnel while researching for the book, the source said.UPDATE 3:30 p.m.: Here's some more details from the NY Post:
Scorned skipper Joe Torre is blasting the Yankees - calling many of his former players prima donnas, confessing he stopped trusting the powers that be years before he left the team and charging that general manager Brian Cashman betrayed him.Torre also called A-Rod's obsession with Jeter a 'Single White Female'-like obsession"... and said that A-Rod would asked "for a personal clubhouse assistant to run errands for him."
Well this won't make many Yankees fans very happy...
From Bill Madden:
According to a new book by Sports Illustrated baseball writer Tom Verducci, Torre was a bitter man by the time he left the Yankees in October of 2007, and he takes a few rips at the team that he led for 12 seasons.
In "The Yankee Years," due to be released on Feb. 3, Torre describes general manager Brian Cashman as a less than supportive ally who betrayed him on several fronts, and says that his star player, Alex Rodriguez, was often referred to by his teammates as "A-Fraud" and was obsessed with his perceived rival, shortstop Derek Jeter.
I know I'm supposed to sit here and bash Torre for bashing A-Rod and Cashman, but I'm not going to. Torre was always a class act and I don't believe for one minute that anything in this book is a lie. Also, all we're getting in little snippets from the book, and probably the most controversial ones too. I'm sure most of the book is about his good times in New York.His departure after a magnificent reign in which he led the Yankees to four world championships and restored the franchise to its glory days was well-chronicled as it unfolded, but Torre does shed light in the book on several issues that also defined his legacy, perhaps one of the most poignant being when he discovered that Steinbrenner already knew of his prostate cancer diagnosis when Torre went to inform him of it. Torre doesn't say who told Steinbrenner of the diagnosis or if it came from the Yankees' medical staff, but it is clear that he was stunned by the revelation.
According to a source familiar with the book, Torre does not step out of character. He simply recites the facts as he saw them and does not unfairly disparage the Yankees. As has been reported, he reiterates the claim that Cashman did not stand up for him at the crucial meeting with the Steinbrenners in Tampa as the 2007 season wound down and the Yankee brass discussed whether to bring him back or not, even though publicly Cashman had let it be known that he wanted Torre back as manager.
According to the source familiar with the book, Torre confronted Cashman about his role in the meeting and the Yankee GM confirmed to him that he had offered no opinions to the Steinbrenners on whether they should upgrade their offer from the one-year deal to the two-year deal Torre wanted.
And seriously, does it surprise any of you that members of the Yankees call A-Rod A-Fraud? It doesn't surprise me. And it doesn't surprise me that Cashman didn't stand up for Torre during that meeting. It's well known that Cashman wanted Girardi to be manager, maybe this was his way of helping that happen.
Many can pretend that this angers them, and say "how dare Torre do something like this?", but as I said before, I'm not going to. Not only does this not bother me at all, but I can't wait to buy the book on February 3rd.
29 Comments:
hey JoJo - don't cry over spilled milk.
number one, Torre might have been right on the A-Rod front. The guy just seems to have alot of emotional issues but you can't deny he works hard. He wants to be the "man" and can't step out of the Jeter shadow unless he has a monster October and carries the Yanks to a world series title. then and only then will his image change.
number two, Torre might be dissapointed in Cashman and might feel that Cashman didn't back him up but what is Cashman supposed to do? Steinbrenner probably gave him an ultimatum, its either Cashman or Torre gone. i'm sure he wanted to back up Torre but we can't sit here and pretend that the melt downs since 2004 where not on Torre's watch. something had to give and I'm sure Cashman had his hands tied. People forget, its not Cashman that decides Torre's faith entirely, its George Steinbrenner. To me, Torre is a little bitter about how it went down. no parties can't be blamed. it needed to happen and there is no pretty way that it would have happened. heck, Casey Stengel who was a better manager got fired. Torre is not God.
Frankly, to me Torre should have been fired after the 2004 embarrassment. Not sure what possessed Steinbrenner to give him another shot. Let me guess....all of those years where he won it all? BINGO. So he used his life line after the 2004 disgrace. Then meltdowns kept on happening and it was just time to go. bottom line. Torre shouldn't be bitter or dissapointed, sometimes things work out in a sour way.
Oh yeah, I'm all over this book. I really don't care whether Torre pisses all over Cashman or not. It's a business and everyone is looking out for their own ass. I'm just glad we'll get a chance to read some of the dirt from an insider who doesn't feel the need to be discreet.
This is disgusting and a classless act by Joe Dirt. Had he received a multi-year contract, he would have kept his mouth shut. Let someone disrepect me by giving me 6 million dollars plus incentives to stay. Torre inherited that team built by Stick Michael. He showed his true Clueless Joe ability by in the biggest choke in 04, using Weaver who hadn't pitched in 3 months against the Marlins instead of Rivera, dropping Arod to 8th in the lineup for the first time all year in the playoffs, etc etc etc. It's too bad that Manny saved Torre last year by taking him to the playoffs. That was a sub .500 team before he signed.
I can't beleive some of you guys are bashing on Torre. It's like you don't even remember all the great things he brought to the franchise. 4 World Series wins, 6 AL Pennants, and 10 division titles.
Yeah, the Yankees may have fell in '04 and it may have been Joe's fault, but don't just stand here and say he was a bad manager.
This is "classy" when he runs to a publisher to air shit out like a bitch? No. You know what's classy? When you take the highroad. When you choose to be the bigger person. When you can say something and choose not to. Jeter is classy. But Joe Torre gets the benefit of the doubt because he's JOE TORRE. So whatever he says must be true.
Please, he's Madonna's brother.
He's Jay McGwire.
He will sell you down the river in a book deal because he loves being rich and famous more than being classy and honorable.
He really is a perfect fit for L.A.
Joe Torre is soulless.
THAAAAAAAAAAAAANKS FOR THE MEMORIEEEEEEEEEEEEES... they ended in 2000.
It's not about what he did in the past. I am thankful that the Yankees returned to glory, notice I said the Yankees, not Torre. But since his dismissal, Torre has come off as bitter, unapprecciative and spiteful. A gentlemen would just keep his mouth shut, not tell all just to make a buck. This is the state of the world I guess. A truly classless act.
It's hard to be a bad manager on a team that practically managed itself. I'm not saying he had absolutely nothing to do with the 4 rings, but I think people give him much more credit than he deserves. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and that is mine. At the end of the day we are all still Yankees fans.
LOL All last year I heard about how classy Joe Torre is and will never say anything bad about the Yankees. Please he just waited to get paid by a book company. He is ungrateful he got all his fame and fortune from being the yankee manager. The media was laughing at Steinbrenner for hiring Joe Torre, that just shows you were Joe was before he was the yankee manager.
of mice and egos.
does anyone really care about the hurt feelings of someone who made millions?
the importance of team managers in baseball is highly overrated. pitching rules, managers drool.
Joe a bit of advice - suck it up and get over yourself - be happy you get millions to keep playing fantasy baseball for the second greatest franchise.
Does it surprise anyone to hear that our team has been filled with prima donnas? We got away from signing character guys along time ago, and that worked against Torre. I have no ills toward Joe over writing this, he's just telling it like it is. Come on, the Yankees front office has been running this team into the ground for a long time. Sheffield over Vlad? Kevin Brown? Arod? Kenny Lofton? I mean Terrell Owens would have fit perfectly on those teams. They were all baseball celebrities and not good ballplayers dedicated to winning (sound familiar Dallas fans?). And while I don't approve of the long term contracts issued this offseason, especially Burnett, at least we're getting better character guys in Sabathia and Teixeira.
You are not bothered by two people who exaggerate crap to sell books? hmm its sad really that anyone would actually defend either verducci or torre on this. Lets be real not only are they trying to make money selling books but torre and verducci are also betraying a organization that has paid them in the past. Verducci use to be on yes hotstove. This two asswholes are simply trying to kill two birds with one stone , make money selling books and create a firestorm around the yankees that sabotages their season and destroys any sort of team unity they once had. Shame on torre for taking out his frustration on the team like this. It is truly disgusting of him, mark my words he will never be honored by the yankees and he will loose those so called close ties with the yankee players , no one is going to be his friend anymore after they discover he is willing to write a book about in house private stuff among players. His respect is now gone thats for sure. This sort of thing is to be expected from scum like verducci, making money off crap writing is what they do best. Obviously dont expect him to be employeed by YES network again ever. In fact dont expect him to be allowed near the yankee clubhouse again ever. As for torre he just threw away his yankee legacy. Have fun winning nothin with the dodgers cause , after this you prob will never get honored by the one organization you did anything with. classless guy now will prob go into the hall of game as a dodger, hmm pathetic. And you were suppossed to be so loyal and good with clubhouse issues hmmm again you make me sick torre thank God we forced you out. I can see now that you were hanging on by a thin thin strand. Assuming you resign manny, you two belong together have a nice life.
To two the the anons,
I'm not saying this was classy, but he has always been classy in the past. That's what I said. As far as this goes, I really don't care or mind anything he said. It's really not a big deal to me at all.
"You are not bothered by two people who exaggerate crap to sell books? hmm its sad really that anyone would actually defend either verducci or torre on this."
How do you know they're exaggerating anything? Were you in the locker room?
And I'm not defending anyone, I'm just not bothered by this at all.
People always exaggerate to sell books , you know that. But even if it is entirely true and not exaggerated it doesnt matter. that is not the point. the point is that this man has betrayed a trust between himself and his players. His entire career as a manager has been built on loyalty and trust in the clubhouse, everyone knows that. Everyone also realizes that this is what has made him a good manager, because lets face it he is basically a horrible in game decision maker, the way he has mismanaged bullpens in the past, is especially clear after a season of joe girardi who actually knew how to spread out these relivers properly instead of overworking a few like paul quantrill that you trust. and obviously there are other examples of bad decisions on the field but the bullpen managment has always been one of the biggest ones. Bottom line is his greatest strength has been his managment of players and issues in the clubhouse. All that is now gone for him. He has completly destroyed that sense of trust and loyalty that he built up over 12 years with the yankees. Classy in the past does not matter if you are suddenly talking trash to sell books and settle grudges.
You do realize that we basically got three snippets of a 477 page book? Most of the book is probably good stuff. But fine, let's all get angry about three of those pages.
Also, the book isn't a first-person tell-all. It's "a third-person narrative by Verducci, who interviewed dozens of players and team personnel while researching for the book." So how about actually reading the book before passing judgment.
doesnt matter if it was a third person narrative written by mother theresa, he is endoursing it putting his name on it and benefiting financially from it. O and by the way most of it could very well be nice commments about the Yankees, but thats not why anyone will buy it. Him and verducci are obviously putting controversy in it to sell books and stick it to the yanks. The fact that you are not offended by this is truly mind boggling. I guess you must truly admire these men or maybe you are just fine with people making money off of private matters that should be none of our business. Listen bottom line is you can be fine with it but most people will not be. Most yankee fans will be enraged by this and as a result torre has lost most of the respect he once had. And i dont think i need to tell you that the yankees will prob never show him any respect after this. You thought now mention in the all star game was bad, how about ten years from now when he does not get a monument or retired number and he is going into the hall as a dodger because it would be a joke for him to wear the interlocking ny ever again. Torre really has done a nice job of ruining the one meaningful legacy he had. Now at best he can hope for a yogi berra situation where about 20 years from now he will be forgiven and invited back and honored by the organization, if he is still alive that is. Now im not saying that the yankees do everything right and that arod isnt an asswhole because he pretty much is but that doesnt give torre the right to bad mouth an organiztion that provided him with the resources to win 4 championships, not to mention boat loads of money over 12 years. So please dont give me the sob story and sympathy for torre, he got his many times over, his problem was that he and many of the yankees over the last 13 years have built up a bogus sense of entitlement. Entitlement has a habit of erasing hunger and that is something that has plagued this team and organization for the past 8 years. The yanks tried to combat that comfortable sense of entitlement when they offered torre that contract, if they could offer all there high priced players a lower incentive based contracts they would, but unfortuntly that is not possible with these players and the leverage that they have, they will simply sign with some other team unless you give them w/e they want money wise, thus eliminating any incentive to go the extra mile for the team. It is a special player who goes against this trend such as paul oneil. How the yankees restore that hunger is anyones guess. Simple answer is to bring up young players and bring in players who are talented and have never won a ring which is what they are trying now. Hopefully that is a successful plan. As for torre, and verducci i hope they enjoy counting their money because that is all this book is really about anyway, more money making off the yankee name.
Anon,
You're really this bothered by him saying that people called A-Rod A-Fraud, that he was upset with Cashman over the way he handled that situation after '07, and that he said that Steinbrenner knew about his prostate cancer. Really? That enrages you?
Come on dude, relax a bit. None of this is earth-shattered stuff.
We all knew that some of A-Rod's teammates didn't like him, and that Torre was bothered by not only Cashman, but the entire organziation with the way they handled that.
Understand this, i love this organization and everything and everyone apart of it. I take it personally when anyone attacks it. I know that the yankees have their problems, and that arod is unlikeable but this is our team and he is apart of it. This is called loyalty, something that fair weather, bandwagon fans know nothing about (not calling you one). Again, torre, verducci and whoever else is trying to make money out of private yankee in house issues. YES i take offense to that, do you not see how scummy and sleezy this is. guess not , but again i will tell you this most yankee fans will not agree with you , most fans and the organization will not be warming up to torre again anytime soon. So regardless i hope torre understood the effect that this book will have before he signed off on it. Prob did and prob doesnt care why? $$$ and revenge.
You guys are up at both my spots now, tested and working - see you guys Opening Day! SWB vs LV
I have all the loyalty in the world to the uniform. But that doesn't mean I'm going to get enraged when I find out things that I already knew. None of this stuff is as bad as many people - not just you - are making it out to be.
And I'm used to people trying to make money, this is America, this is captialism, it's not going to change.
And you may be right about most Yankees fans and people within the organization, but I'm going to wait until I actually read the book to pass judgment. I suggest everyone does the same.
By the way, how do you fell about Spakey Lyle?
Thats fine, but let me ask you this arent you tired of people bad mouthing the team you love? from free agent signings to "buying championships" to "stealing for the taxpayers" i mean enough is enough, by reading the headlines this winter you would think the yankees were a communist regime or something. Bottom line because of the way the media portrays this organization people around the country absolutely hate this team with all their heart. And you know what i say to that? fine i hate you right back. I have had more than enough of people disrespecting an organization that has won 26 championships and spends vast amounts of their own money to make the team better and make the viewing experience better with a new facility. So again to a bitter torre, a money hungry verducci and every other yankee hater - dont worry i hate you right back, more than you can imagine.
Typically Joe Torre now he is going to say these are not his words it was Verducci writing. This is how Joe Torre truley feels.
Don't all players get errands run for them...
Anon,
I've become numb to the haters, they are meaningless. Let them think what they want.
I also don't equate anything Torre said to those haters. Mainly because I haven't read the book or know the context of the comments.
Dane,
Yes but I think he wanted the team hire an extra clubhouse guy just for him.
forget arod's antics, he is one of those guys who was brought up in baseball as a bluechip cant miss prospect and has had everything handed to him since including alot of money. Obviously that money has gotten to his head, but nothing to be done about that, just ask him to hit and play hard , and respect his teammates thats all. As for the haters , all their talking has not made me numb like you, instead it has made me extremely angry, mabey ill get to your phase eventually. O and as long as i am venting , can you people please wake up and realize that joba will not be in the bullpen, get over it , he wants to be a starter and the yankees want him to be a starter so give it up already. only way he is a starter is if he gets hurt and if you wish that or predict that for him, then you should remove your yankee apparel immediately because you are no true fan. BTW are you hearing the rays talk about leaving david price in the bullpen? hell no. Were you talking about joba in the bullpen when he was outpitching josh beckett in fenway last summer? didnt think so. So please shut up, the kid is going to be a front line starter and the bullpen was one of the better in the league last year and that was largely without him. Do your homework and realize that veras, marte, bruney, ramierz, coke, robertson, are only the beginng or foundation for this pen. Mark Melancon will be in the pen prob out of camp and he has what it takes to be the closer for this team. Not to mention a bevy of other power arms in the system including Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whalen, Andrew Brackman, Alan Horne etc. All of which could add to the bullpen so please wake up and actually read about your own team.
Who said anything about Joba?
Anyway, yes he should be, and will be a starter.
no one did in here but i felt the need to vent that after reading and hearing people continue to talk like he is a a reliver or a total failure
Oh OK, fair enough.
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