Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="dennismenace, post: 3542685, member: 6158"] I don't consider the comment about Mariano Rivera to be crapping on Joe Torre as much as a comment that reflects the quality of the pitching (which included names like Clemens, Cone, Petit and others in addition to Rivera who was just the greatest reliever in history) defense and timely hitting of those teams. BTW, he did not bring them in; the front office (mainly Gene Michael and George) did. What Joe Torre was able to do (kind of a miracle) was get between Steinbrenner and the players and keep his mouth shut when George would blow up. Very low key in an explosive atmosphere. He had a quiet confidence. Similar to what Bob Lemon did when he took over the Yankees from Billy Martin and managed them to an improbable comeback from 14 games back after they got healthy to win it all. Joe Torre also learned from losing (ie: what doesn't work). His lifetime record as a manager with the Mets, Braves and Cardinals in 14 years was sub .500 (.471). His subsequent record with the Dodgers in 3 years was 259-227 (.533). Not very stunning. [U]He[/U] was the right chemistry to deal with George Steinbrenner and keep the players focus on the field. In that respect he did what probably no one else was or would be ever able to do. For that feat my hat is off to him. I found the comment about Rivera also funny because when Casey Stengel managed the Yankees to all those World Series the cynical remark around at the time was that "Shirley Temple could have managed those teams to those titles." Again, not accurate as Stengel was a good manager but the talent he had around him was phenomenal. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach