Torre Out Pinella In?

[doublee]

It is being widely reported that Torre is done in NY and Pinella is going to be brought in:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2617224

While it may time for a change I don't know Pinella is the right guy for the job and ultimately a new manager is probably not going to fix the issues at large. Steinbrenner still has not figured out that pluigging in all stars at every position is not the answer in building a championship caliber team. The so-called "greatest lineup in history" was more or less shut down for the last three games and the Yanks lost for the most part because their pitching was, at best, mediocre. Not to mention they probably have to move A-Rod come hell or high water this winter. If they don't this will continue to fester next year in NY and probably become more of a clubhouse distraction than it already has been.

[coachJ]

Joe Girardi used to play for the Yankees for a few years too and won a ring there, and he is probably going to be pretty popular among teams looking for a new manager, and King George might do anything and everything to bring in Girardi if he wants.

[doublee]

You know now that I think about it I wonder why they would go with Pinella when, now that I think about it, Girardi was dubbed as the guy they to take Torre's place when there was talk of him retiring a couple of years ago. Unless, of course, Girardi has already told them he is not interested and has his heart set on managing the Cubs.

[Marc]

I've never been crazy about plugging in a recycled old coach, but Pinella seems to be somewhat of an antithesis of Torre in that he can fire up a team and bring more emotion. Torre is so lackadaisical that the team just seemed complacent. Whether it's justified or not (I think it is — change can be good), I think Steinbrenner's made up his mind. He wanted to fire Torre last season and their struggles this year have only compounded that.

[doublee]

But, the thing of it is, poor managing is not the downfall of this team. Mediocre pitching and defense and lack of team chemistry is. To be honest Torre will get canned because the Yankees are going be somewhat limited in what they can do in terms of major roster changes. Firing Torre may be the only major move they can make this offseason.

I'll be the first to say Torre is a bit overrated as a manager and is more like Phil Jackson in the sense that he wins games but his acumen as a strategist is very mediocre. That is one of the reasons he could never win in the NL as it takes more strategical acumen to manage in the NL due to not having a DH. But, one can't really point any serious blunders made by Torre that led to the Yankees not winning against the Tigers. They just not have adequate enough pitching to win big games when the sticks weren't working.

They'll bring Pinella in because George likes him and he is good copy and will bring a different presence, but given how prone Lou is to meltdowns I wonder why he would even want the job given all the stress involved. He was lucky to have managed in Tampa, Cincy, and Seattle where the press is not known for being too terribly harsh on its sports teams as it is in NY, Boston, Philly, etc.

[trayhezy]

OK guys, come off it. The Yankees had the best record in the AL which was by far the tougher league. They won their division by 10 games. This team did NOT "struggle". That is just the NY media hype of guys expecting them to go 161-1 and sweep every playoff series. No one gives the Tigers credit for out pitching and out playing the Yankees, it's always what is wrong with the Yankees. It is not Torre's fault, the guy has four rings. It is not A-rod, the guys was last years MVP and the guy hit .290 with 35 homers and 120 RBI's. That is a season that most would take needles for. The Tigers and their young arms just out pitched them and made the most plays

[boston_aloha]

OK guys, come off it.
No one blames Torre? Not sure who you are telling to "come off it" to? Look what he did when they were injured - no Matsui / Sheffeild, etc. A lot of people were banged up in that lineup and like you said, Yankees won by 10 games.

[Ellis]

The reports today are saying that Torre is staying in NY.

I can see why Steinbrenner is frustrated, but Torre isn't the problem. The problem is that they have a roster of old and unambitious players. I blame the front office for signing so many players that just don't have any fire in their eyes. The Yankees could win in the regular season because their talent would win over other teams talent. But come playoff time you need players who are hungry.

I think that Jeter and A-ROD are a great foundation, despite A-ROD's problems this year. What they need are younger players and players who have shown that they will do anything to win. They can spend the big bucks to sign all-stars, but they need to go after the young and hungry ones.

[boston_aloha]

They need pitching. I think they can afford to lose some of the bats (but not like that matters - they can just buy Zito, Schmidt, and who ever else)

I wonder if the outcries by some of the players (in Torre's favor) had anything to do with him staying?

[NY Jay 05]

I'm very happy to hear that Torre is staying. He did an excellent job with the Yankees this season even with all of the injuries they sustained. It just seemed like the team overall had no championship swagger to them like the Tigers did, and the Yankees just got outplayed.

[doublee]

They need pitching. I think they can afford to lose some of the bats (but not like that matters - they can just buy Zito, Schmidt, and who ever else)

Well, first of all, you are assuming that the Yankees are going to have the funds available to sign a frontline starter. Contrary to popular belief the Yankees are not made of money and due to the luxury tax are actually starting to lose some money. They can afford to 'lose some bats' as you say, but the problem is that unlike the NFL they can't just cut guys lose just because they have no use for them or don't want to pay them.

Giambi is slated to have wrist surgery and makes too much for what he produces so they won't be able to move him.

Sheffield is hanging on by a thread so I don't know that anyone else will be willing to take him for th $13 mil he is owed next year.

They won't be able to move Randy Johnson at $16 mil for next year since he will likely be coming off of back surgery.

They also still have the albatrosses of Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano contracts to pay off as well.

Secondly, you are assuming that Schmidt and Zito even want to play in NY in the first place. Zito is a SoCal guy and the last I read on him a couple of months back said he prefers to stay on the West coast which means the Dodgers or Angels are likely destinations for him next year.

But, knowing the Yankees they will blow their wad on Schmidt and give him and overpay him with a 4/5 year deal for 48-60 million and watch him muddle his way through winning 10-15 games a year with a 3.50-4.00 ERA in the process. I don't know that I would give him a substantial deal given how sketchy his health has been the past two years. He really has not been the same since he flamed out at the end of the '04 season.

I wonder if the outcries by some of the players (in Torre's favor) had anything to do with him staying?

I don't know I suspect it probably had as much to do with Steinbrenner not wanting to deal with the PR hit of firing a guy like Torre. Not to mention that I think he realizes that Pinella is not going to improve much if anything and a guy like Girardi may not be ready for a big time job such as this where there will be pressure to win right away.

[bama4256]

Lou Pinella is going to the Cubs.