American LeagueI don't think there 's be any question the AL Manager of the Year, regardless of how the Yankees fare in the playoffs, should be Joe Torre. A little over four months ago, New York was 21-29, 14.5 games back of Boston in the East, 9 games back of Detroit for the Wild Card, and people were calling for Torre's job. All they did was go 73-39 in their last 112 games, finishing just 2 back of Red Sox in the East, and finishing with a comfortable 6 game cushion for the Wild Card.
Torre didn't panic. He didn't convert Mariano Rivera into a starter, didn't bench Bobby Abreu, and didn't have any on-field, or locker-room explosions. A consummate class act, Torre has weathered the criticism, the expectations, and the pressure with grace seldom seen.
Eric Wedge also had a wonderful year at the helm for Cleveland, improving the team by 18 games from last season. But comparing the pressure of managing in Cleveland to the pressure of managing in New York is like saying it's just as hard to sink an 8-foot putt on the 18th hole at your local country club as it is to do it in the final round of the British Open.
Congrats Joe.
National LeagueThis is tough, considering there are so many qualified managers for this honor. But with all due respect to Clint Hurdle in Colorado and Charlie Manuel in Philadelphia, I'm going to go with Lou Piniella for much the same reason as I went with Joe Torre. Piniella overcame a dreadful start and tremendous adversity, all in the face of enormous expectations.
From the moment he was introduced as the new manager of the Cubs, the team and its loyal-to-a-fault fans were hoping, praying, and dare I say, expecting to win. Let's not forget the $300 million the club spent in the offseason acquiring Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis, Mark DeRosa, Cliff Floyd, and re-signing Carlos Zambrano and Aramis Ramirez.
Early on, things were not all champagne and caviar on the south side of the windy city. Far from it. In fact, on June 2, the Cubbies were a dismal 22-31, ahead of only Cincinnati in the Central. Much like Torre and the Yankees, Sweet Lou finished the season strong, going 63-46 in the team's final 109 games, proving that during the time he spent in Tampa Bay he really was a victim of his circumstances. They put the whole Carlos Zambrano/Michael Barrett thing behind them. They dealt with not having Mark Prior and Kerry Wood for most of the season (again), they lost Soriano for a month down the stretch, Ramirez for parts of June and August, and only had Floyd for 100 games.
I know Phillies and Rockies fans will cry foul at this, especially considering what remarkable comeback stories both teams staged so late in the season. The Phillies went 23-11 from August 26 on, and as everyone on the planet knows, overcame a 7-game deficit with 17 games to go. All Colorado did was win 14 of their last 15 including a 1-game playoff where they beat baseball's all-time saves leader in the 13th inning.
But the fact is, Manuel and Hurdle weren't under the gun the way Piniella was going into the season, and they weren't under the gun the way he was all season long. All three managers delivered this season, but none of them more than Piniella.
4 comments:
If I had a vote, it would have to go to Willie Randolf, as his team surpassed a record that I didn't think would ever be topped!
In 1978 the Red Sox were up 6.5 games with 17 to play. As we all know, they squandered that lead but at least won on the final day of the season to force a one game playoff. We're not going to talk about what happened in that playoff game.
The 2007 Metropolitans actually lost 8 games of ground in 17 games of play. The Mets didn't even give their fans a crushing defeat in a one game playoff to remember forever.
You have to work hard to be that bad (with that payroll) in such a short period of time. For that, Willie is my man!
what did torre do again? he kept playing the exact same team full of all stars? aka he did nothing?
i wont be upset if he wins it, but i really dont think he did anything. he is always a class act, and a great manager. I am just not sure what managing he actually did.
he isnt bold enough to bench abreu when he was playing badly. and he shouldnt be praised because abreu had a good year (he is always a good hitter, was just slumping) and he didnt start the greatest closer of all time, and he didnt find a diamond in the rough in arod or posado or jeter. he didnt pay his money to roger clemens or andy pettite.
obviously i dont like the yankees, but honestly on that team of very experienced veterans, i dont think there is any concern abotu the locker room. so i ask again, why does he deserve this?
re-reading your post, i see you compared pinella to torre. then you go on to list many reasons lou is worthy and things he did. the same is not true for torre.
yes, he manages in NY and there is pressure there, but he has done it for a long time. i already complimented his demeanor and class, but that alone doenst warrant the award in my opinion.
its a fact that he has more resources than any other team. its also true that his team won because proven guys eventually played like they should.
after arguing with a guy at work, we came to the conclusion that it is quite difficult to measure managering. torre will probably win, and not undeservingly. but it is also possible there were guys managing younger teams with less expectation who got more out of their players and prepared them more for the future.
going into the year, i think yankees fans would be upset with the expectation of the wild card. and if we are going to credit managers with the success of their team, wasnt it torres fault that the yankees played so bad and fell so far in the standings? its like we are crediting him with their comeback but not blaming him for their terrible play early on. he was managing them during all of that.
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