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Yankee skipper Torre showing signs of wear and tear
By John Giannone, CNNSI.com NEW YORK -- Autumn in New York. It has become Joe Torre's domain. Entrenched on the Yankees bench, living and dying with every pitch, loving every minute of it. But there is something in Torre's words and his tone of voice this fall, something in the way he moves, that seems disconcerting. To watch Torre before, during and after Game 1 on Tuesday, one is struck more by a feeling of exasperation than anticipation or exuberance. When Torre openly weeped after the Yankees finally dispatched the Athletics on Sunday night, it wasn't especially surprising. We've seen Torre cry before. But why from a manager with three World Series rings and one playoff series defeat in four years? "There's been a lot of [stuff] going on around here really the whole season, but especially the last month," one Yankee insider said. "I think it's all piling up on Joe. He's not in a very good mood." Tops on Torre's "stuff" list is the lingering bitterness he feels about the perception that his team -- still every bit an extension of the manager -- quit down the stretch, only to re-energize in October. That, Torre believes, is a slight to him, to his team and even to the integrity of the game. But underneath the anger, there is for the first time a certain sense of helplessness, a feeling that even Torre couldn't find the solution to the Yankees' September swoon. "The way we played the first series was probably as determined as any team I've been around," Torre said. "We've been counted out. You get the same questions about turning it on and off, and I know it wears thin a little bit."
Another question that has tormented Torre the past week surrounded Knoblauch's selfishness and insubordination at the season's pivotal point was something Torre never experienced or expected in his five years in the Bronx, where controlling his clubhouse has been paramount to his success. But this week, it is something Torre still is forced to face. "I told him I didn't think it was the right thing to do," Torre said. "I understand how he felt but it has nothing to do with how you have to go about your business. "The most important time of year for all players concerned is right now and to win ballgames ... To me, Knobby was a little bit caught up in how this thing affected him." Finally, the usual trappings of October -- endless ticket requests, countless demands for your time, the rigors of travel -- have been compounded this fall by the prospect of a Subway Series. It is a prospect that has every native New Yorker salivating. Every New Yorker, that is, except Torre. As if working under George Steinbrenner's eagle eye and iron fist isn't daunting enough, imagine the angst, the pressure, Torre would endure if the Mets were his roadblock to a World Series. Or if the Mets, and not the Yankees, traveled down the Canyon of Heroes at the end of the month. Heck, Steinbrenner has been known to torment his manager when the Yankees lose to the Mets in spring training. "If there's ever a postseason and that existed, it would be unbelievable," Torre said. "It would be great for the city, no question. But it would be exhausting." A feeling Torre knows all too well this fall.
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