Report: Torre won't survive Yanks' collapse, to be fired (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2617224)

ESPN.com news services

Heads were likely to roll after the Yankees were eliminated from the postseason by the Tigers, but the opening odds were on Alex Rodriguez going first, not Joe Torre.

The Yankees have gone six Octobers without a World Series title, and Buster Olney doesn't think Yankees owner George Steinbrenner will be talked out of firing Joe Torre this time.

According to the New York Daily News, however, the popular Yankees manager will be fired unless he decides to resign first to save face. Sources told the newspaper that former Yankees player and manager Lou Piniella will be owner George Steinbrenner's choice to replace Torre.

Newsday reported Sunday that Steinbrenner would like to fire Torre, but that no decision has made just yet, according to several people familiar with the situation. The Long Island-based newspaper said Yankees officials were expected to meet to discuss Torre as early as Sunday, with Piniella the likely favorite to replace Torre.

In a public statement he issued Sunday, Steinbrenner made it clear that he was not happy with the playoff results, calling them a "sad failure."

"I am deeply disappointed at our being eliminated so early in the playoffs," Steinbrenner said in the statement, issued by spokesman Howard Rubenstein. "This result is absolutely not acceptable to me nor to our great and loyal Yankee fans. I want to congratulate the Detroit Tigers organization and wish them well. Rest assured, we will go back to work immediately and try to right this sad failure and provide a championship for the Yankees, as is our goal every year."

Rubenstein said he spoke with Steinbrenner on Sunday.

"Clearly he was upset," he said.

Rubenstein said Steinbrenner would not comment on the Daily News report.

Piniella, in San Francisco while preparing to call the AL Championship Series on FOX, told the network he hadn't talked to the Yankees and was "stunned" by the report.

"We have heard from absolutely no one from the Yankees' organization, so as far as we're concerned, it's all speculation," said Piniella's agent, Alan Nero. "Lou is seriously considering the four jobs that are open."

After winning the World Series in four of his first five seasons, Torre has weathered many storms since then, but Saturday's 8-3 loss left him emotional as he pondered his future in the Bronx.

"We felt pretty good about ourselves," Torre told the Daily News. "But again, that's something for [general manager Brian Cashman] and I and other people to talk about. But right now, it's just ..." and choking back tears, he concluded "... it's just tough."

Cashman and most of the front office employees are expected to keep their jobs, the Daily News reported.

Several Yankees players told MLB.com that they would be surprised to see Torre go.

"That's pretty drastic," outfielder Johnny Damon was quoted as saying by the Web site. "Joe has been awesome. You never know what's going to happen, but I think Joe should be safe. For all he's done and had to put up with, he's been incredible."

Cashman dismissed the idea of either Torre or Rodriguez leaving, telling MLB.com, "Why wouldn't they be coming back? That's not something that I'm even thinking about."

Piniella has been rumored to be in contention for the open positions with the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs. He last managed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a fifth-place finish in 2005. Piniella began his managerial career with the Yankees in 1986. That team finished second in the AL East, the best result of his three seasons in the Bronx.

Piniella went on to win the World Series as skipper of the Cincinnati Reds in 1988, however. After three years with the Reds, he managed the Seattle Mariners from 1993-2002 and the Devil Rays for the next three seasons.

Torre has won more than 1,000 games as manager of the Yankees, but after beating the Mets in the 2000 World Series, the Yankees have fallen short of always high expectations despite having the highest payroll in baseball.

Torre has one season and $7 million left on his contract.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

bound to happen. he's been on the chopping block for atleas 6 years now... and i think there was actually talk he could be fired the years he ended up winning a ring too.

im not sure this is overreaction. coaches are hired to be fired. torre's been there a long time. its just you'd think theyd try to do it classier than ousting him.

NY Post says this isn't the case.

Word has it that Cashman talked him out of it... for now.

Sounds like ARod will be the one to go.

With Texas still paying roughly 1/3 of his salary, word is the Yanks will only look for a #2 SP in return.

Too bad we don't need a third baseman. (Although ARod to SS and Guillen to 1B doesn't sound too bad.)

Somebody is going to get a bargain deal on ARod, methinks.

im on the fence with arod.

this is 2 series in a row that he has completely crapped the bed. i mean, not considering the contract, you simply wouldnt have wanted him on your team.

but it could be new york. so i guess i would make a trade, but i wouldnt give up anything spectacular.

Sounds like ARod will be the one to go.

With Texas still paying roughly 1/3 of his salary, word is the Yanks will only look for a #2 SP in return.

Too bad we don't need a third baseman. (Although ARod to SS and Guillen to 1B doesn't sound too bad.)

Somebody is going to get a bargain deal on ARod, methinks.

I would take A-Rod in a heartbeat, he could easily move back to SS and move Guillen to first. I mean the Tigers are supposedly looking to add a power hitter so it would be perfect to land A-Rod. I guess the question then becomes for who? The most obvious name would be Bonderman, but after the game 4 performance he had, maybe he finally turned the corner and that may be too big of a price.


I think 75% of A-Rod's issue are being in NY and 25% come from being at 3b. With Inge and Polanco, not too mention a better pitching staff his defense will go back to gold glove levels.

Oh god, Trading bondy for a guy widely considered the greatest baseball player alive (ever?) is a no brainer IMO. Just a salary issue.

Humberto Sanchez and Wil Ledezma for Arod?

I would also trade Bonderman for A-Rod only hesitating to put the phone on mute and laugh my ass off at Cashman. At least I would if I were a baseball fan and not a Detroit Sports fan bandwagoning the Tigers success.

Oh god, Trading bondy for a guy widely considered the greatest baseball player alive (ever?) is a no brainer IMO. Just a salary issue.


I agree my only hesitation is giving the Yankees what they need young power pitchers, but I would rather make that deal than have A-Rod go elsewhere.

These guys's schtick is to take a sportswriter's article and intersperse their own commentary. Bold parts are the original article, non-bold their take.

http://firejoemorgan.blogspot.com/


Sportswriters, If You're Going to Blog ...


You've got to do better than this (http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2006/10/arod_to_the_ast.html). SportsJustice, as the subtitle helpfully tells us, is "a sports blog with Richard Justice." It would have been weird if that were the name of Jason Whitlock's blog or something. Here are Richard's latest JusticeThoughts:

A-Rod to the Astros? Absolutely not.

Please, elaborate. You seem emotionally invested in this.

I'm getting e-mails about bringing Alex Rodriguez to the Astros.

Sure you are. The Astros were sixth-worst in baseball in runs scored, worse than the Royals and the Nationals. Your starting shortstop, Adam Everett, played in 150 games and posted a line of .239/.290/.352 for an OPS of .642. He hit six home runs in 514 at bats. This is no fluke. Last year his OPS was .654. Of all of the men who played American major league baseball this year and recorded 500 or more at bats, exactly one man had a lower OPS than Adam Everett. Ronny Cedeno.

(His EqA was .225. .2 2 5.)

To those of you who have written, let me ask you a simple question: Are you nuts?

No. They are probably interested in replacing one of the very worst offensive players in baseball with one of the very best. That is, at least in my opinion, not nuts at all.

Why in the world would you want to take another team's problem?

Because that problem, in a down year, went .290/.392/.523 with an EqA of .315. That problem hit 29 more home runs than a man you presumably deem not to be a problem, Adam Everett. Last year, that problem was the goddamn freakin' AL MVP. That is why.

If the Yankees want to trade Derek Jeter or Hideki Matsui, let's do business.

Really? Hideki Matsui is coming off a wrist injury that leaves his future at least somewhat uncertain, and in his very very best year as an MLB player, he basically did what Problem-Rod did this year. Also, the Yankees are paying Derek Jeter way more than they're paying Alex Rodriguez, when he's really never been as valuable a player until this season. Weird, huh?

A-Rod? Absolutely not.

Okay, right. That was your title again, pretty much.

First of all, the guy is walking, talking distraction. If the Astros get A-Rod, they ought to go get Terrell Owens, too.

Of course. A-Rod is T.O. How could we not have seen this? Who could forget the time A-Rod pulled out a Sharpie and signed home plate as he crossed it after a home run? Or the time he showed up the Red Sox by kneeling on their logo? How about that interview with Playboy where he insinuated Jay Buhner was gay? The shirtless pushups in his driveway? The suicide attempt? The time he raped Nicolette Sheridan?

By all means, I do actually think the Astros should sign Terrell Owens.

Players like that don't win. They split locker rooms. They have their own agendas. They're all about themselves.

Alex Rodriguez has been on five 90-win teams. I know he's never won a World Series and we're supposed to think that he's some sort of jinx or bad luck charm, but I don't really believe in jinxes. I also think that a 162-game sample is a more valid indicator of whether a team is good, or if you insist, a "winner," than going 1-3 against the Tigers over the course of a few days.

Second of all, A-Rod would see Houston as a trip back to Double-A ball. He'd separate himself from the other players. He'd let everyone know he was different. He'd care nothing about his teammates.

Wow. You know a lot about this guy.

Third of all, his salary means he's the type player you build a team around. Problem is, he's not capable of doing that. He's a great player. He puts up great numbers. But when the game is on the line, when it really counts, he's the last guy on earth you want on the plate.

As opposed to the first guy on Earth you want at the plate, Adam Everett.

I can't imagine he'd agree to a trade even though he's clearly miserable in New York, and the Yankees have to be miserable with him. Next time they trade for a guy, they ought to do their homework.

We're talking about whether the Astros should maybe call the Yankees and see if they're interested in an A-Rod trade. If they say, "No, we're not interested" or "No, Alex doesn't want to be traded," fine. You hang up the phone. Why would you pre-emptively speculate that A-Rod has no interest and convince yourself never to call at all? I don't get it. Maybe I just don't understand sportsjustice.

Baseball is a game of numbers to a large extent,

Huh?

but the pieces still have to fit.

Oh. Pieces ... fitting. I get it. Like, for instance, the Adam Everett piece fitting into the .225 EqA hitter slot. And hey, let's just keep pencilling Brad Ausmus into the lineup. He's OPS-ing .593 and EqA-ing .215, but dammit he is a fitting piece.

There still has to be a feeling of oneness, a feeling that we're all in this together.

A feeling that we can, as a team, finish second to last in major league baseball in slugging percentage. We'll suck, but we'll suck as a team, and we'll feel warm and fuzzy and one-y while we're doing it.

(Have I even mentioned that Minute Maid is a hitters' park and we're still seeing these kinds of numbers?)

(Some of you friendly posters have compared A-Rod to Jeff Kent and Carlos Beltran. Don't go there. Kent was an ornery guy who didn't say much. He also did wonderul work with young players, and when he messed up, he'd come back to the dugout and apologize to everyone around.

You read it right here. Richard Justice thinks Jeff Kent is a better guy than Alex Rodriguez. Because when he messes up, he apologizes, and he's "wonderul" with the kids.

A-Rod comes off as a phony. He supposedly once asked Cal Ripken the best way to shake hands.

And there you have it. Because A-Rod asked Cal Ripken how to shake hands once, your professional baseball team should absolutely never trade for him, ever. Basically, because he's a sort of lame guy who's "phony."

Listen, if Derek Jeter doesn't like you--and Derek Jeter has embraced a lot of different guys over the years--there's a problem.)

Or you're Ken Huckaby.

Joe Sheehan wrote a piece in Baseball Prospectus today that I liked a lot. I'm going to copy and paste a portion of it right here. I hope no one minds.

At just about any point along the way, one of the two most visible Yankees—Joe Torre or Derek Jeter—could have come forward and said what should be obvious: Alex Rodriguez is a great, great player, and in the worst season of his career he’s a star. Defining his season by his lowest points is doing him a disservice, and the constant focus on his play is an insult to the other members of the team. Whatever Rodriguez’s performance issues, such as they were, his overall contributions were valuable. Beyond that, he’s one of the game’s model citizens, with barely a controversy to his name in a time when so many others have been tainted.

That statement, completely true, would have done more to alleviate the pressure on Rodriguez than anything else. They didn’t do so, instead allowing petty nonsense like his desire to please people (heaven forfend) and his performance is varied subsets (in Boston, in the playoffs, against a small handful of pitchers, in 20 at-bats in July) to substitute for real information. They didn’t defend their teammate, and by allowing, even stoking, the situation, they absolved themselves and every other Yankee of blame for their fortunes. If they lost, it would be Rodriguez’s fault, no matter how the rest of them played.

Thank you, Joe Sheehan. Better than I could've ever put it. Back to SportsJustice:

He's not worth it, either in terms of salary (the team that acquires him will owe him $64 million over the next four years) or chemistry. A-Rod may be the kind of guy Tim Purpura would want, but I'm guessing the best GMs--Billy Beane, Gerry Hunsicker, Pat Gillick, etc.--wouldn't touch him.

First of all, you'd probably try to get the Yankees to kick in some of his salary. Second, in a world where A.J. Burnett gets $55 million for five years (and people are now saying that guys like Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee could be asking for $70-80 million deals), four and sixty-four isn't that bad for someone who could have been (and still could be) the greatest shortstop of all time. I mean, honestly, he was headed there. His accomplishments on the field have been staggering, no matter how many Post back pages he's been on.

If you can get A-Rod for a reasonable price -- catch Steinbrenner in an emotional moment, perhaps -- I think you look into it. What you don't do is say "absolutely not" because his negative clubhouse chemistry quotient somehow overrides his baseball-playing ability.

What third basemen are on the FA market next year? I could see the Yanks wanting Guillen in a package and stick him at third if they think he has enough of an arm.

Regardless, even if the Tigs win the World Series, I could see him vetoing a trade to Detroit.

ARod to the Cubs for Aramis Ramirez and Mark Prior makes some sense.

ARod to the Cubs for Aramis Ramirez and Mark Prior makes some sense.

Chicagoans have been drooling over that idea since the All Star break.

i wouldnt trade bonderman for arod... bondo is 23, arod is 33. wont be makingarod money (14) for years and years.

id give up inge and any of miner/ledezma/sanchez, but not bondo.

A-Rod just turned 31, bonderman turns 24 in a couple weeks. I'd do it in a a second. Bondo's one of my favorite players and a very special talent.

A-Rod's a once a generation talent.

i wouldnt trade bonderman for arod...

What if Jason Whitlock liked the idea?

well then of course i'd make the trade.

but look at bondo's year. most considered it a down year. but he still got 200+ strikeouts. and in june and july, when he got his changeup going, he was damn near unhittable.

also keep in mind, most pitchers bondo's age havent even reached the majors yet.

i think bonderman has the makings of being the most dominant pitcher in the league. right now, if i were trading him for a position player, that position player would have to have an unbelievable amount going for him. as it stands, arod is damaged goods. so i dont give up bonderman for him.

Just when you thought there couldn't be more drama surrounding the Yankees.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2621860


Lidle dies as plane crashes into Manhattan high-rise
ESPN.com news services

NEW YORK -- A small plane piloted by New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle crashed into a 50-story condominium tower Wednesday on Manhattan's Upper East Side, raining flaming debris onto the sidewalks below and rattling New Yorkers' nerves five years after the Sept. 11 attack.

Lidle died in the crash.

The twin-engine plane came through a hazy, cloudy sky and hit the 20th floor of The Belaire -- a red-brick tower overlooking the East River, about five miles from the World Trade Center -- with a loud bang, touching off a raging fire that cast a pillar of black smoke over the city and sent flames shooting from four windows on two adjoining floors.

Report: Yanks have Sheffield trade in place

New York Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman has a potential trade in place for slugger Gary Sheffield, according to a Newsday report.

The Long Island, N.Y. newspaper reported the news citing an unnamed official from another American League team.

But it appears that Cashman is not ready to pull the trigger on a trade. In fact, a person familiar with the Yankees' plans reportedly told the newspaper that "there is no urgency to the process." The team apparently wants to wait to see if Sheffield's trade market value improves.

The Cubs and Phillies seem to be the teams most interested in acquiring Sheffield, whom Newsday called "an attractive, more affordable alternative to free-agent sluggers Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee."

Those sluggers are likely to land long-term deals this winter. Sheffield, meanwhile, will cost a team $13 million for next season with $4.5 million deferred.

The Yankees, according to Newsday have until Sunday to pick up Sheffield's contract option, and are expected to do so shortly after agreeing to a trade, which now seems inevitable.

Sheffield, meanwhile, made his feelings public in a USA Today story last week that he is not happy about the Yankees' plans to pick up his option and then trade him.

Why?

He would rather try to get a three-year deal on the free-agent market. What's more, the veteran slugger has publicly warned teams interested in dealing for him that he is going to want a contract extension.

An American League team official told Newsday that the Yankees are open to all kinds of (trade) packages. And Cashman reportedly could accept a deal that would include prospects, bullpen help or a starting pitcher.

The Rangers and Indians are thought to be among the AL teams interested in a possible Sheffield trade. But the Yankees might avoid trading him to an AL team simply to avoid facing him too often next season.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6124630

I wouldn't mind bringing Sheffield on board here, but not at that price tag...

i wouldnt trade bonderman for arod... bondo is 23, arod is 33. wont be makingarod money (14) for years and years.

id give up inge and any of miner/ledezma/sanchez, but not bondo.

me either. A rod is a special talent, but I'm betting the Yankees would take Omar, Robertson and Sanchez for him. or something like that. Good starting pitchers are just too hard to come by, and there is no way to tell if A-rod is going to be a .280 hitter or a MVP type hitter.