If you're a sports follower, then you've probably already heard -- Joe Torre turned down the Yanks, which I find outstanding.
All this time there's been talk about whether or not the Yankees would fire their 67-year-old and nothing-but-successful manager.... or would they bring him back? Back and forth it went, with multiple meetings of the Yankee "brain trust" in Florida over the past few days.
So finally today they grace Joe with an offer. A shitty, one-year offer. Never mind the money (at $5 million, he'd still be the highest paid manager) -- when I say it's a shitty offer, I mean the one-year contract part.
If Joe signed for one year, he'd have to either announce immediately that this was his final go-round and it's his farewell tour, OR he'd have to deal with an entire year of the crap we heard for the past few weeks, about how he might be fired if the Yankees aren't winning at a Colorado Rockies-like clip (and how weird is it to say that?).
So Joe says no thanks and I love it. Nobody seemed to ask Joe what HE was thinking all this time -- everybody in the media was waiting for the Yankees to decide whether they royal family wanted Joe back, all the while assuming that if they snapped their fingers, that Joe Torre would be eager to scurry back to his position. I've said before that I thought Joe should have been treated with more dignity and respect. And the easy way to do this would have been for the Yanks to say to Joe that they had decided they wanted him back and then asked if Joe would like to come back. If Joe then said yes, they could have announced that and then gone into some negotiations. But no, instead we have this draconian approach where the Yankees cryptically meet without Torre and then offer him a deal he's supposed to be grateful for. I'm glad he said no, and this is coming from a big-time Yankees fan, as anyone who knows me can attest.
I had a friend email me right after this happened and I said I was happy for Torre and he replied and asked if maybe this was all planned by the Yankees brass. Like they told him his options were: A) they would either offer him a deal to reject and leave with dignity or B) be fired. I don't think this could possibly be the case because this is the Yankees and they're not about letting people go out on their own terms. Just look at Bernie Williams. The Steinbrenners are simply too arrogant to even risk the possibility of a deal like that coming to light. They have control and they want everyone to know that.
I absolutely love Joe Torre as a manager. I think he's a terrific manager of men and is so seasoned and experienced especially after having had this particular job that no matter where he goes he's going to be well-received and whoever gets him will be lucky to have him. It could be broadcasting, but I think Joe wants to be on the field a little longer. So it's weird for me to like him so much and yet be happy about this -- but I am. I am glad Joe is walking away and not enduring more years on a ridiculous "hot seat" that shouldn't have ever even gotten warm. Joe's a class act and a great guy and he just thumbed his nose at the Yankees. Whether or not it was in direct response to how they've been treating him, we may not ever know. But I am happy he's got his dignity.
Good for Joe.