Yankees baseball blog

Torre not trustworthy?

Mind you, this is just a guess, but I have a feeling the Yankees won't be having that Joe Torre Day at the new Yankee Stadium anytime in the foreseeable future.

Nor, one suspects, should Torre expect the Yankees to be renewing their customary table at his "Safe At Home" charity dinner. And when it comes to them finally getting around to retiring ol' No. 6, it's a better bet they'd do it to honor their newest Hall-of-Famer, Joe Gordon, or even perennial prodigal son Roy White rather than the man who wore it while managing them to four world championships. Continue

Torre stands by book

Speaking in detail about his book, "The Yankee Years," for the first time Friday night on CNN's "Larry King Live," Joe Torre insisted he did no wrong and doesn't see why it should change his relationship with fans, former players or Yankee management.

"I did not burn any bridges," Torre told King. "When I talked about what went on in the clubhouse, I don't think there was any sensitive material that shouldn't have been in there. There is nothing in that book that went on in the clubhouse that I would rewrite in any way."  Continue

Wells disses Torre

In at least two radio interviews, David Wells fired back at Joe Torre yesterday, saying the manager has unfairly criticized his ex- New York Yankees players in his new book.

"I just think it is stupid," Wells said on "The Michael Kay Show" on 1050 ESPN Radio. "He is just out of his, you know what. The more and more that comes out he is just going to make himself look bad and what he is doing he is [ticking] off some New Yorkers. He is going to have to deal with New York." Continue

Derek giving Joe benefit of the doubt

 Derek Jeter knew it was coming. His reaction to Joe Torre's new book? "I thought that was going to be the first question," the Yankees' captain said last night at his Turn 2 Foundation dinner.

"To be quite honest with you, people were saying this and saying that. Then all I hear is, people saying wait until you read the book. To be fair to everyone, I think you have to wait to see what's in it first and then give Mr. T an opportunity to address it." Continue

In 'The Yankee Years,' Torre blind to steroid use, Cone was not

Joe Torre claims in the new book he wrote with SI's Tom Verducci that he didn't know his Yankee teams were fueled by steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

But in "The Yankee Years," David Cone said the players had a good idea about who was juicing. There was speculation about players who worked closely with Brian McNamee, the trainer who told the Mitchell Commission, Congress and federal investigators that Roger Clemens used steroids and human growth hormone and that Andy Pettitte used HGH. Continue

Torre's co-author tries to clear Joe on the radio

In the wake of the controversy over his soon-to-be released book, "The Yankee Years," Tom Verducci took to the airwaves yesterday to clarify misconceptions about his collaboration with Joe Torre.

Verducci, a Sports Illustrated writer who co-authored the book with the former Yankees manager, appeared on "The Dan Patrick Show" and WFAN's "Mike'd Up" with Mike Francesa after a story in Sunday's New York Post portrayed Torre as bitter toward Yankees brass and linked him to scathing remarks about Alex Rodriguez and A-Rod's relationship with captain Derek Jeter. Continue

Joe Torre phones Brian Cashman from Hawaii to quiet storm over 'The Yankee Years'

Joe Torre is telling the story of his contentious Yankee breakup in a book, but Sunday he wanted Brian Cashman to hear it firsthand.

One day after reports surfaced that Torre takes shots at the Yankee GM in his memoir "The Yankee Years," Cashman said the former Yankee skipper reached out to him by phone from Hawaii.

Cashman, who said he was "surprised" by the reports, added that he is "very comfortable" with his relationship with Torre. Continue

'A'-team blasts Torre

 Insiders close to Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez blasted Joe Torre yesterday, saying a new book by the former Bomber manager that characterizes A-Rod as an emotionally needy prima donna is "unequivocally not true" and "one final act of desperation."

"None of it's true, and it's obviously a ploy to sell books," said one insider about allegations in "The Yankee Years," which were first reported in Sunday's Post."It's just unequivocally not true." In his book, Torre says Rodriguez's teammates referred to the third baseman as "A-Fraud" and claims he had developed a "Single White Female"-like obsession with captainDerek Jeter. Continue

In book, former Yankee manager Joe Torre takes aim at A-Rod, George Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman

Joe Torre's place in the Baseball Hall of Fame is secure, but his place in Monument Park at the new Yankee Stadium may not be.

According to a new book by Sports Illustrated baseball writer Tom Verducci, Torre was a bitter man by the time he left the Yankees in October of 2007, and he takes a few rips at the team that he led for 12 seasons.

In "The Yankee Years," due to be released on Feb. 3, Torre describes general manager Brian Cashman as a less than supportive ally who betrayed him on several fronts, and says that his star player, Alex Rodriguez, was often referred to by his teammates as "A-Fraud" and was obsessed with his perceived rival, shortstop Derek Jeter. Continue

Dodgers close to making Joe Torre next manager

It appears Joe Torre won't be out of work long. The former Yankee skipper is finalizing a deal to become the manager of the Dodgers, less than two weeks after he walked away from the Yankees. His path to the Dodger dugout was cleared yesterday after Grady Little resigned as the Los Angeles manager.

"Discussions are ongoing" for the former Yankee skipper to replace Little, according to a source with knowledge of the talks. In an interesting twist, Torre was not the Dodgers' first choice as L.A. offered the job last week to Joe Girardi, who yesterday replaced Torre in the Bronx. Continue