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A thankless job Torre explains tough roster decisions
Posted: Friday July 07, 2000 07:51 PM
It's not all gravy being an All-Star manager. Sure, you get to honor worthy players by selecting them to the reserve list, but the roster's never big enough. It's a tough job. Just ask American League All-Star skipper Joe Torre of the New York Yankees. CNNSI.com's Mark Morgan did exactly that. Mark Morgan: Joe, this is the third year that you've done this. Does it get tougher every year with so many deserving players? Joe Torre: It's probably just as tough Mark every year. Your know we added to extra teams and they only added a couple of extra spots. I'd like to see them go to 35 (players) instead of 30 because there are so many worthy players who can't make the team. And then you have your pitchers who are definitely All-Stars, but because they pitch on Sunday aren't considered. So it's unfortunate because this is one time where you really honor the best players in the game. Morgan: Let's start with shortstop. Mike Bordick of Baltimore is having a career season. He has more home runs and RBIs than your guy Derek Jeter. Bordick was left off the team, you chose Derek. Why?
Morgan Let's move to first base where there is a glut of great players in this league, especially in the first half. Almost all of them had stunning statistics. Frank Thomas (Chicago) is the odd man out. Was that the toughest choice you had to make, leaving Thomas off this roster? Torre: There's no question, Mark. He's one of the ones that stuck out like a sore thumb. He is DH'ing and we don't have a DH in Atlanta this year. And Edgar Martinez (Seattle) with his numbers, they were glaring. And even though he is a DH, he had to make this ballclub. There were some first basemen you had to leave off. I mean, (Jim) Thome (Cleveland), who was second in the voting almost won. He was left off. And of course, (Rafael) Palmeiro (Texas) who always has nice numbers when you put them up there. But there are other additions to that make it fun like (Mike) Sweeney with Kansas City. I think that was a fun pick for me because he has numbers that weren't overlooked. Morgan: Some interesting circumstances surrounding Boston's Pedro Martinez. He's on the DL, we already know he will not pitch in the game, but you placed him on the roster. Why? Torre: Well, I think because all the managers do vote. I don't know if that is general knowledge. But they send a little guideline for me on pitchers that they pick. And he was a unanimous pick. Plus, winning the Cy Young last year, off to a great start this year. I just felt, and I sort of lobbied to have him included even though he can't pitch for us because of what he's done. I think he's if not the greatest pitcher in the game at this time, he's right there. Morgan: Joe, thanks for your time. Torre: Sure, Mark. Morgan: Joe Torre is hoping to improve his All-Star managerial record to 3-0.
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