Thoughts On Mattingly

This kind of hurts me to say but I'm a little irritated by the fact that Mattingly is going to be donning a Dodgers uniform in 2008. Let me stress the word "little" as I'm not totally devastated.
Mattingly is and will probably always be my all-time favorite Yankee. I grew up watching Donnie Baseball and like most Yankee fans that were around in the 80s, Mattingly was your guy. I wanted to name my first born son Mattingly, and at one time the wife was on board, but she later vetoed that suggestion. (Cute story: My father-in law used to own a baseball card store back in the hey-day of baseball cards, circa the mid-to-late 80s. Whenever my wife, who was probably 8 at the time, would get mad at her dad, she'd threaten to draw mustaches on all the Mattingly cards.) Where was I? Oh yeah, Mattingly is now a Dodger. And I'm a little ticked. Not a lot, just a little.
I can understand why Mattingly didn't want to stay with the Yankees after they turned him down for the position vacated by Torre's departure. Personally, I thought he was headed back to Indiana to chill with the family. But then Torre gets the LA gig, and Mattingly follows him out west. Here's my beef. The Yankees offered him a position on Girardi's coaching staff and he turned it down. And now he's going to LA to take on the role of hitting coach or bench coach. He could have done that in NY. My childhood hero is leaving the Yankees to become a Dodger. I can't picture him wearing any other uniform other. it's just weird. I can't decide if this makes him any less of a Yankee. Am I the only one that feels this way.? If he wanted to coach, stay on in NY. I kind of feel, again just a little bit, that he's turning his back on the Yankees to be part of another organization. Again, it's all strange.
Now, I understand him feeling a little slighted, but he said, "I don't feel any ill will. I'm not sitting here -- vengeance is not running through me at all. Trust me, I'm not all of a sudden going to start rooting for the Red Sox." This quote, makes me laugh. I love the part about "not rooting for the Sox," but it just makes it more difficult for me to accept. If you didn't feel any "ill will," why not stick around?
There is an answer tot hat question and I can respect it. It's the main reason why this only bothers me a little bit. The article also mentions that he said New York's decision "freed me up" to explore opportunities elsewhere. Adding, "I'm sure it's going to be something different for me. The easiest thing is to stay in the comfort zone. ... At some point you have to get to know new people. That point is exciting for me." I can respect that. It makes a lot of sense. But joining a coaching staff that is going to be made up of people you've previously coached with isn't really meeting "new people." He would have met more "new" people had he joined Girardi's coaching staff as it's looking like a total overhaul except for Long and Pena. You may meet a new mix of players, but in the course of the next few seasons we're going to see a totally different Yankees. We're already seeing it. I would've thought had he wanted to stay in coaching, in a non-manager position, it would have made the most sense to stay with the Pinstripes, especially if there truly is no "ill will." I just can't picture him in another uniform. It seems unnatural. Am I the only one feeling this way?
Regardless, I wish him (as well as Joe and Larry) all the best with the Dodgers. And who am I kidding? I love the guy. That's not going to change. It's just going to be really really really really really really really really really weird seeing him with an interlocking LA on his cap and not the interlocking NY that we all love so much.
Peace, love and forever Pinstripes

Not So Random Stuff

As I blogged a few days ago, I was pulling for the Yankees to hire Joe Girardi as Torre's replacement. I'm glad they saw it my way and went with Joe over Yankee fan favorite Don Mattingly. I really didn't hear or see much support out there for Mattingly. People referred to him as the favorite and I always found that to be an odd belief. Girardi was always the best candidate in my opinion. I think he'll serve the Yankees well.
It's being reported that the Dodgers have canned Grady Little and are replacing him with Joe Torre. Not a big surprise in my opinion. It also reports that Mattingly is being brought in to again serve under Torre as the bench coach. Again, I'm not surprised. It's a good move for both. Torre stays in the game and gets far away from the guys in Tampa. Mattingly gets more experience and is now part of the organization that drafted his son Preston. I get the impression too that Tommy Lasorda is a big Mattingly guy. He's always spoken highly of him when his name comes up in interviews. I think I speak for Yankees fans everywhere when I wish them both the best. I was listening to the 24-7 MLB channel on XM tonight and a guy called in and asked if anyone thought that Torre to LA would mean that the Yankees would lose guys, specifically Posada, Mo, and Pettitte, to the Dodgers. The hots of the show had a great answer, and one I agree with. The Dodgers have no interest in Posada with Russell Martin behind the dish. I can't see them approaching Rivera with Saito at the back of the Dodger bullpen. Pettitte, I can see leaving, but I don't see it happening. I'm real curious to see if Joe to LA will have any bearing on their desire to bring in A-Rod. Honestly, I don't see Torre wanting to put up with him if he doesn't have to. Maybe the list of potential suitors for A-Rod just got smaller. I hope so.
Speaking of A-Rod, I love the quotes I've read pertaining to this whole situation and how it went down. I'll start with Bob DuPuy, COO of MLB:
"We were very disappointed that Scott Boras would try to upstage our premier baseball event of the season with his announcement. There was no reason to make an announcement last night other than to try to put his selfish interests and that of one individual player above the overall good of the game. Last night and today belong to the Boston Red Sox, who should be celebrated for their achievement, and to the Colorado Rockies, who made such an unbelievable run to the World Series."
Well said. I especially love the part that mentions "selfish interests." Classic and it sums up A-Rod and Boras quite nicely. And Boras can be all apologetic and try to take the heat for this, but he works for A-Rod. He does nothing without client approval. Selfish doosh.
The next quote comes from Big Bank Hank. And this is probably the only thing he's said that I agree with:
"It's clear he didn't want to be a Yankee. He doesn't understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field. I don't want anybody on my team that doesn't want to be a Yankee."
Wow, Big Bank Hank. I'm honestly surprised you came up with this. My only critique is that you didn't use the word "painfully" in the first sentence. It was obvious that Alex didn't want to stay. If there was even a remote chance, he would have met with the Yankees brass and at least listened to what they had to say. He didn't even extend them the opportunity. That speaks volumes.
"We're not going to back down. It's goodbye." - Hank Steinbrenner
I only hope that the Yankees stay true to their word and don't even bother with him. He thinks he's bigger than the Yankees. He thinks he's bigger than MLB. We don't need that. Let him be a cancer somewhere else.
Despite all of that, and my current feeling of A-Rod, I do want to thank him for the last 4 years. He's truly a marvel and fun to watch. He did some amazing things and it was nice to watch him do that while he played for "my team." But in the end, he showed his true colors as a selfish man, who is only out for his own personal glory. Whatever. It's business. I hope he doesn't mind being the first player inducted into the HOF who will have the MLB logo on his cap, or maybe even no hat at all? He'd probably love it. Man, what a selfish doosh.
Stay true to your word Hank. Stay true to your word.
J

Eenie Meenie Mynie Joe

By all accounts, the Yankees are done with the interview process and we could have a successor to Joe Torre by the weekend. Joe Girardi, Don Mattingly, and Tony Pena. Not that my opinion counts for much, but I'm hoping that Joe Girardi gets the nod.
If you've ever watched Girardi on a YES broadcast, you know that he knows his stuff. I remember listening to him during the 2004 postseason and I remember saying to myself then that I hoped he would succeed Torre as the next skipper of the Yankees. He came across an extremely intelligent guy. A guy that definitely knows the game of baseball. I remember him saying that the first thing he would do if he were managing game 6 of the 2004 ALCS was to bunt on Curt Schilling and his surgically repaired ankle. Make him field the ground and disrupt his comfort level right from the get go. I think every Yankee fan at the time was calling for Torre to do that. I don't know if he thought he and the Yankees were above that, but that's part of the game. Girardi strikes me as an old school guy and I don't think he'd shy away from calling for a few brushbacks on David Ortiz if the situation called for it. Torre became too passive and I think part of his fall from grace had a lot to do with his lack of "feather ruffling." Don't get me wrong, I love Torre to death and I still think he was the best call for a few more years at the helm of the ship, but since that is out of the question, I've moved on. Girardi has also successfully managed at the big league level. 2006 NL Manager of the Year in his first and only season as manager. He took a young team, one that was pegged to lose 100 plus games, and had them in contention for a playoff spot deep into the season. He's shown he can get the job done. The only negative I can think of is that he didn't really get along with Marlins management. If you can't get along with the peeps if Florida, how do you expect to make nice with the guys in Tampa? That'll be interesting.
I think Mattingly would be too much like Torre in terms of a managerial style. And quite frankly, I don't see him as a manager. I can't really articulate why. He just doesn't strike me as the type. And I've heard a lot of people say that about him. Now I have no real basis to make that judgment on. I've never really heard him give an interview. I've never really seen him "in action" as a skipper. I haven't really heard him talk baseball and strategy and what to do in situations. I'm also not sure a "fresh-faced" manager is what this team needs right now. If they go with Mattingly, a positive would be that he would be the smoothest transition away from Torre. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Can't really decide. It's difficult for me not to back Mattingly as he is my all-time favorite Yankee. Any kid that grew up on the Yankees in the '80s loves Donnie Baseball. Sorry Donnie. I can't give you that love this time. I've also blogged before that the Yankees haven't won squat with Mattingly in Pinstripes. Never made the Series while he played. Haven't been to the series since he's been coaching. Let me break it down. The Yankees went to the World Series in 1981. Mattingly joined the Yankees in 1982, retired in 1995 and they never played in late October during that stretch. From 1996-2003, without Mattingly in the organization, the Yankees win the World Series 4 times, and reach it 6 out of the 8 years. Mattinlgy comes back as coach in 2004 and they haven't been back to the World Series since. It's been one horrendous playoff loss after another. Maybe he's just not a winner? Or maybe he's cursed?
Mattingly has to be the favorite. But if Hank and Hal didn't like Torre as much as it seems, I can't see them being a fan of Mattingly for manager. It wouldn't make sense. Another thing that doesn't make sense is this quote from Hank Steinbrenner (thanks to Bryan Hoch's Bomber Beat for the quote):
"I think the most important thing is whoever we hire, give 'em a chance because he's not getting the '96 Yankees. He's getting an even younger team or for the most part a team in transition. Give him a little while. We want to win the World Series every year. We're not stupid enough to think we can do it. Of course, we'd love to win the World Series next year."
If that's truly how you feel, why the heck did you guys run Torre out of town? Where was his "chance?" Where was the "little while?" Who better to manage a team in transition that Joe Torre? Why rock the boat? And you're not stupid enough to think they can win the World Series every year? Sorry Hank, but you are that stupid. You ran Torre out of town for not winning the World Series. We're not blind. We're not dumb. Your entire comment basically screams that Joe Torre should be the manager. If Napolean Dynamite was ever needed to say the phase "Idiot," it's now.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our new leaders. We're in trouble.
J-Boogie