Joe Torre Should Remain Manager of the New York Yankees

Joe Torre has been the most successful manager in Major League Baseball during my lifetime. Torre has led the New York Yankees to the playoffs every year since he became the manager of the ball club before the start of the 1996 season. Torre has taken the Yankees to the World Series on six different occasions, winning four of them. Joe Torre is a big reason why the New York Yankees are arguably the most successful franchise in all of sports today.

How is it possible, then, that it is almost a certainty that Joe Torre will not be the manager of the New York Yankees in 2008? George Steinbrenner cannot possibly find anybody to replace Torre in New York. Joe Torre is unquestionably the best option for managing the New York Yankees.

Nobody can blame Joe Torre for the Yankees not winning the World Series in 2007. It wasn't Torre who put together a mediocre pitching staff. Chien-Ming Wang did have 19 wins for the Yankees in 2007 and Andy Pettitte was alright during the season. That's about it, though. Spending the money on Roger Clemens proved to be a huge mistake. Mike Mussina became washed up before our very eyes. Other than Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera the Yankees had a worthless bullpen. Joe Torre can only be blamed for working with what was given to him.

Besides, the American League in 2007 was outstanding. The Red Sox and Indians both won 96 games and, obviously, the Indians were simply a better team than the Yankees in 2007. It's no coincidence that the two teams facing off in the ALCS, the Indians and the Red Sox, have arguably the two best pitching staffs in all of baseball. Say what you want about the Yankees but they don't have the talent of a C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, Josh Beckett, or Curt Schilling. Should Joe Torre be blamed for that?

Getting rid of Joe Torre would almost definitely be George Steinbrenner's biggest mistake. The Yankee players love playing for Torre. Getting rid of Torre would damage the already injured moral of the Yankee clubhouse. Instead of restarting with a new manager Steinbrenner and company need to revaluate the personnel taking the field 162 times a season.

Fans of the Yankees must now realize that the dominance the Yankees held over the American League is officially over. The Yankees have some good young talent and now it's time to rid themselves of dead wood such as Mussina, Clemens, and even Rivera. Get Jason Giambi out of New York as quickly as possible. It's time for Steinbrenner to surround Joe Torre with a core of good young players like the Indians and Mets have done. Let Joe Torre work with these young players and spread his wealth of baseball knowledge.

Too often in sports we see the head coach or manager receive the blame for his team not getting the job done. The Yankees are supposed to be different than any other franchise in sports. They're supposed to be the classiest organization in sports. George Steinbrenner needs to prove it by holding on Joe Torre. Torre's history of success with the Yankees demands that he be given the chance to lead the rebuilding of the franchise.