2008 Woodie Awards
All Business: Yanks Look to Turn Page
Mike McMaster
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Sports
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Jorge Posada swung and missed on a curveball in the dirt, and just like that the season was over. Posada, who won four World Championships with the Yankees between 1996 and 2000, walked slowly back to the dugout. And when he peered inside, he saw Derek Jeter and Joe Torre, both still standing on the dugout steps and taking in the sights and sounds of yet another playoff failure. Then the three men turned and left for the Yankee clubhouse. Twelve years after the Yankees celebrated their World Series victory against the Atlanta Braves, only four members of that team remained. The four men, remnants of one of the greatest baseball teams of the twentieth century, knew that changes were going to be made.
Some members of the Yankees were not ready for change. The Yankee captain walked back to his locker, hung up the pintstripes, quickly pulled on a jacket and tie, briefly answered a few questions from reporters and drove home. Jeter's bats, gloves, practice jerseys and cleats were all still in his locker when he left. Other players had taken time to clean their lockers out. Most of them would probably trade in the baseball bats for golf clubs and board planes for home the next morning. Jeter didn't. His locker looked like he was ready to play game five.
Just across the hall from Jeter's locker is a small office whose chief resident has been the same for the past 12 years. Of those 12 years, the Yankee's skipper Joe Torre said, "these 12 years just felt like they were ten minutes long." Tears welled up in the 67-year old man's eyes as he told reporters how proud he was of his team. The night before game three, Yankee owner George Steinbrenner had declared that if the Yankees did not win the series against the Indians, Joe Torre would likely no longer be with the Yankees next season.
After the Yankees lost the series in four games, Steinbrenner did not immediately follow up on his threat, but after two days of meetings, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman called Torre and told him that the Yankees were ready to make an offer and that he should come down to Tampa Bay to discuss it. Torre obliged, and when he saw the conditions of the one year, five-million dollar deal, he told Yankee management that he would need a better contract. No one expected Torre to take such a massive pay cut, and Yankee management likely offered the contract out of respect. Their indifference to renegotiate indicated their willingness to move the team in a new direction. So, with no renegotiation offered to him, Torre stood up from the table in Tampa Bay, thanked Steinbrenner for trusting him with the Yankees for 12 years, and left.
Some members of the Yankees were not ready for change. The Yankee captain walked back to his locker, hung up the pintstripes, quickly pulled on a jacket and tie, briefly answered a few questions from reporters and drove home. Jeter's bats, gloves, practice jerseys and cleats were all still in his locker when he left. Other players had taken time to clean their lockers out. Most of them would probably trade in the baseball bats for golf clubs and board planes for home the next morning. Jeter didn't. His locker looked like he was ready to play game five.
Just across the hall from Jeter's locker is a small office whose chief resident has been the same for the past 12 years. Of those 12 years, the Yankee's skipper Joe Torre said, "these 12 years just felt like they were ten minutes long." Tears welled up in the 67-year old man's eyes as he told reporters how proud he was of his team. The night before game three, Yankee owner George Steinbrenner had declared that if the Yankees did not win the series against the Indians, Joe Torre would likely no longer be with the Yankees next season.
After the Yankees lost the series in four games, Steinbrenner did not immediately follow up on his threat, but after two days of meetings, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman called Torre and told him that the Yankees were ready to make an offer and that he should come down to Tampa Bay to discuss it. Torre obliged, and when he saw the conditions of the one year, five-million dollar deal, he told Yankee management that he would need a better contract. No one expected Torre to take such a massive pay cut, and Yankee management likely offered the contract out of respect. Their indifference to renegotiate indicated their willingness to move the team in a new direction. So, with no renegotiation offered to him, Torre stood up from the table in Tampa Bay, thanked Steinbrenner for trusting him with the Yankees for 12 years, and left.
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