End of an Era

They didn't go out with a whimper, but it certainly wasn't with a bang either. The Yankees solo homered their way to a 6-4 loss, made Paul Byrd look like Catfish Hunter, put an end to the ALDS, and, most certainly, the Joe Torre era. Chien-Ming Wang, doing his best Ed Figueroa impersonation, spit the bit for the 2nd time in the series. Derek Jeter hit into yet another double play. Jorge Posada struck out to end the game in what might be his last at-bat as a Yankee. The only consolation is not having to listen to one more second of Chip Caray, Dane Cook, or Frank Caliendo.

Torre was emotional during his post-game press conference. He choked up as he talked about his relationship with his players, and fondly recalled his 12 years in pinstripes ("it felt like 10 minutes"). The fans gave him a standing ovation and chanted his name as he made a pitching change late in the game. And even though I had turned on him the last couple of years, tired of his costly mistakes and his handling of the bullpen, I still have the utmost respect for the man and what he has accomplished as Yankees manager.

Some buffoons still refer to him as "Clueless Joe", wanting to give him no credit for the victories, but all the blame for the losses. These are the true clueless people, many of whom think Steinbrenner is the greatest gift to baseball and mankind.

The vultures are already sitting at the door. Bill Madden, who had everyone convinced Lou Piniella would be taking over before this season, is already pushing Tony LaRussa's name in everyone's face. Bill do us favor, shut up. To paraphrase Peter Abraham's words, the Tampa contingent must be licking their chops at the chance to vilify Torre. These are the people who took piano lessons as kids instead of playing ball. The latter was strictly my words.























And it's not just about Torre's time as manager coming to end. By next season, Derek Jeter could be the only throwback to the 1996-2000 teams. Alex Rodriguez can, and most certainly will, opt out of his contract 10 days after the World Series ends. Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada are both free agents. Mo's words last night seemed a bit tinged with bitterness (this is only from reading the transcript not actually hearing him) as he said he would test the free agent market. Posada, who has said he would all along, backed off that a little last night as he was clearly consumed by the loss. Say what you want about him, Posada is a true leader in the clubhouse and on the field.

One final thought - Go Cleveland. Make no mistake- we do NOT want the Red Sox anywhere near the World Series.

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