Joe Torre, you're a pathetic douchebag you are

The BBQ Pit
1

And a mental defective, and a hypocrite. Anyone with any dignity would have told the Yanks to stick their job up their ass, oh, the 10th time Stienbrenner pubically insulted/mocked/humiliated you, but no, you made it all too clear that your love for the Yankees was such that you’d probably service Sir George to keep your job. You were the highest paid fucking manager by *three and a half million dollars * last year asshole. After crashing and burning three years in a row, by the grace of god you get a job offer for *five mil * a year to manage your precious Yankees, which would still make you the highest paid manager, by far, but obviously you can’t live on that, or you think its an insult, whatever. Do you honestly fucking think you deserve to be paid double the next highest managers pay, 10 times more than most managers, after what you’ve done the last three years?

All that bullshit about how much you love your players, we see now for the bullshit it was- you’re a greedy pathetic bastard, now you can get a job in Tampa Bay and we’ll see how fucking brilliant a manager you are.

2

Where do you get the idea that the money wasn’t good enough?

Torre has always struck me as a calm, measured kind of guy. Personally, I would have told Steinbrenner to shove it after he said my job was on the line. But if Torre wants to wait until there are, you know, actual negotiations, more power to him.

3

Snerk!

I am happy he left and he won’t get $5 million plus another $1m per round of playoffs from any other team. I like your rant, lots of good vehemence.

BTW: Managers get paid a little more than you think.
From here:
Joe Torre, NYY $7.5 million
Lou Piniella, CHC $3.5 million
Bobby Cox, ATL $3 million
Tony La Russa, STL $2.8 million
Mike Scioscia, LAA $2 million
Jim Leyland, DET $2 million
Bruce Bochy, SF $1.75 million
Terry Francona, BOS $1.65 million
Phil Garner, HOU $1.5 million
Mike Hargrove, SEA $1.3 million
Ron Gardenhire, MIN $1.25 million
Ozzie Guillen, CHW $1.1 million
Eric Wedge, CLE $1.025 million
Jim Tracy, PIT $1 million
Bob Melvin, ARI $875,000
Buddy Bell, KC $825,000
Ned Yost, MIL $825,000
Clint Hurdle, COL $800,000
Charlie Manuel, PHI $800,000
Willie Randolph, NYM $700,000
Jerry Narron, CIN $600,000
Grady Little, LAD $600,000
Sammy Perlozzo, BAL $600,000
Ron Washington, TEX $600,000
Joe Maddon, TAM $550,000
John Gibbons, TOR $500,000
Manny Acta, WAS $500,000
Bob Geren, OAK $500,000

4

I have seen no indication at all that the money was what caused Torre’s decision. He knows it’s unlikely that any other team will pay him as much as the Yankees were offering.

As a Yankees fan, I have to say I have even more respect for Torre for telling the morons in the front office to shove it after not recognizing the job he did in just getting to the postseason this year. I don’t know whether he wants to manage anywhere else, or just play golf, but I’m sure he feels no amount of money is worth putting up with any more of Steinbrenner’s bullshit.

5

Isn’t far more likely that it’s the term, rather than the money, that cause Torre to reject the deal. If I were him I certainly wouldn’t want to go through the same circus a year from now.

6

I don’t see a good job for him this year, I would bet that he will take an announcing job for a year and do a lot of golfing. I could see him doing games or maybe ESPN studio which is base in NY anyway.

Still think he has been a terrible post season manager and a weak in game manager for years. I am apparently in a minority on this.

Jim

7

I can’t see it as being anything else but he thinks the pay is an insult, as it is less than last years, and he thinks he’ll be seen as a sap if he accepts less- he doesn’t understand he’s seen as a sap for taking George’s abuse for years. What else could it be- he has said he loves the Yankees, loves the players, wants to manage there, doesn’t want to be fired, etc- now he’s offered another chance, and he turns it down- what the only different factor, other than salary?

What an inflated ego to think that 40% more base pay than anyone in history is beneath him, not to mention the chance of 3 mil more in bonuses. I don’t care for George at all, but cannot fathom how Torre can view this offer as an insult. Does he think anyone else has the bucks or the desire to pay him 7 mil a year?

Also I think he under was under a one year deal last year, so I’m not sure the length was the issue.

8

I’m just peeved that they canceled Around the Horn today to have thirty minutes devoted to Torre talk.

Meh.

9

my understanding is that it wasn’t the money that was a problem but that it was only for one year and Torre wanted a multi-year deal.

I think he’s overrated, though. It doesn’t take a lot of ability to manage a team with the kind of payroll and willingness to buy players that the Yankees have.

10

Fuck yeah! I got off early and decided to watch it and somehow ESPN got mixed up with the Yankees Network.

11

Talk about your nonsense. Torre did maybe his best managing job this year, he took a team that was in last place after two months and got it to the playoffs. He’s made the playoffs 12 years in a row and they’ve reached the World Series in half of those years. And for that he should take a paycut? He doesn’t need $7 million, he doesn’t need $5 million. They made him an offer that they probably knew he’d turn down so everybody could walk away looking reasonably good. The money was fine, the playoff incentives were a slap in the face. He’s won hundreds of games and four World Series for this team in the last dozen years - he very sensibly told the team to take their pay cut and shove it. A one-year offer is a way to tell a coach “we don’t really want you, but we can’t find anything better this year. Want to try to run a team with no support from your bosses?” They could have paid him the same amount they paid him last year. $2 million more is nothing; they were making a point by offering him less money. I wanted him to manage the team, but he’d have been a sap to take it.

12

Ditto.
And what, he wants a multi year deal so next year when they suck and they fire him for good, he can collect two more years pay while sitting at home on his ass? :slight_smile:

13

No, it was the last year of a multi-year extension. Having only one year and incentives, does mean it would be a lot easier for the Yanks to fire him in mid-season. I won’t condemn him for turning down the deal, it had to be tough as he is extremely unlikely to ever see another potential $8 million (+ World Series share) check again and this will degrade his ability to earn advertising fees.

He doesn’t really need the money and I can see him not coming back on a one year deal for less money. I am just glad pride rose up and he chose to go.

Jim

14

So, ya got nothing.

Where has he said all those things in reference to coming back next year? What if one of his demands was “George has to shut the fuck up?” Just because you can’t imagine a reason doesn’t mean that one does not exist.

So his base pay last year was $3.6M? And again, do you have anything other than your opinion to show that money was the issue?

15

I mean, I’m not in love with the show, but that and PTI are sort of part of my “morning routine” (I work nights). So it’s the equivalent for a morning person who routinely watches the Today Show, or some other morning show in the background of their mornings, to have it cut in half by thirty minutes of talking about Rachel Ray’s breaking divorce news.

16

Well, if he comes out and says he turned it down becasue he has ass cancer, then yeah I’m wrong and I’ll apologize. But when a week ago he says he wants to manage the team, wants to come back, loves his players, loves the job, understands George is and asshole that comes with the job and he has dealt with it for 12 years, the only thing different now is salary and length of contract, what else is there for one of sound mind to think?

And Marley23, its not like he took over a last place team this year, he was in command when they reached last place.

17

Personally, I think it’s hilarious Torre told the Yankees to go fuck themselves. They made a stupid, insulting offer and acted like total assholes, and he waited until exactly the right minute, the absolutely PERFECT moment, to stick it in Steinbrenner’s face. It’s hilarious, it’s fitting, and it’s just the perfect way for the best manager of our time to go out. I could not have written the script better myself. The only way this could get better is if they were to give the job to Mr. Leadership, Don Mattingly, and the team crashes and burns right away instead of over a three-year period like they did in the late 80s.

Boy, are Yankee fans gonna be surprised how much they’ll miss Torre. If you think the job’s easy, just wait and have a look at the standings on September 1, 2008. I’m going to like it very much.

18

Also length of contract is nothing more than a money quibble, as contracts as we know are not guranteed. If he got a 10 year deal, that wouldn’t stop him from being fired if they crashed and burned next year, it would only insure him lots more money to get rid of him, so length in this case is a still a money issue.

But yes, him turning them them down at this specific time is a funny way for him to go, and finally shows him to maybe not be as big a bootlick as I thought.

19

They got to last place mostly because of a ridiculous string of pitching injuries - and poor choices by management, like relying on Kei Igawa - and I don’t blame Torre for that. I do think he helped keep the team steady when the New York and national press were going apeshit over the fact that they were playing so poorly. The players eventually got themselves together and played their way out of last place, but I think Torre’s ability to keep them from saying “ah, fuck it, it’s not our year and we’re getting paid anyway” is important and will be hard to replace.

20

RickJay, don’t base the reaction on me and Wee Bairn. We are the exceptions. Yankee fans are overwhelming supportive of Torre.

I think you are dead wrong in this case. Torre is overrated. The thing he is best at, handling George is becoming much less important these days. Joe Girardi would be a great replacement for him. His in game skills already exceed Torre.

Jim