Torre Criticized.

Last Friday, in game one vs. Boston, Jason Giambi got four at-bats. Sure, he was 0 for 2004, and had only managed two hits vs. AAA pitching during his rehab, and the Yankee lead vs. Boston was only 3 1/2 at the time, but Giambi had some encouraging upper-deck shots in batting practice. So Giambi goes 0-for-4 and is even allowed to bat in the ninth inning with the Yankees down by one run.

In the next two games, each of which the Yankees won by ten runs, Giambi got no at-bats.

Sitting in a bar last night, watching the Yankees game, pondering the six-man rotation experiment which had already nearly cost the Yankees the AL East crown, I breathed a sigh of relief as Torre finally came out of the dugout to bring in a relief pitcher.

Then, he left El Duque in for unknown reasons.

The reporters at the Daily News and Star-Ledger and Newsday describe the carnage fairly accurately:

"When Joe Torre walks out of the dugout, it means he's giving his reliever more time to warm up and it's the end of the night for the pitcher on the mound. When he jogs, it usually means he only wants to provide encouragement in a hurry.

Last night, with Orlando Hernandez in a seventh-inning jam and having thrown a lot of pitches, Torre rushed out to the mound.

Perhaps Torre should have strolled out there - because when he left, El Duque allowed a two-run triple to Vernon Wells that put the Blue Jays ahead for good in a 5-4 victory before 49,560 at the Stadium."


"Orlando Hernandez threw only 68 pitches in his previous appearance, that rain-interrupted affair Friday night against the Boston Red Sox. In the seventh inning last night he was at more than 115 pitches -- already his highest total of the season. Yet, after a visit to the mound and with a reliever ready in the bullpen, Yankees manager Joe Torre decided to let the starter who has carried his staff the past two months throw a couple more.

Say it isn't so, Joe."


"The situation cried out for immediate relief. Joe Torre was looking beyond the immediate, and it cost him.

Orlando Hernandez had thrown 106 pitches and was nursing a one-run lead when he started the seventh inning against Toronto last night at Yankee Stadium. Though he might have piled up the innings in Cuba, Hernandez hadn't thrown more than 110 pitches in any of his 2004 starts.

Still, Torre kept Tom Gordon and Paul Quantrill away from the bullpen mound. He didn't want to use Gordon until the eighth and he didn't want to use Quantrill, who had pitched three straight days, at all.

So he stayed with Hernandez, through a leadoff double and a bloop single and a hard out to center. Stayed with him for one more batter, the dangerous Vernon Wells, and paid the price."


This time, they hyper-negative NY press got it right.

Even after El Duque had blown the lead, Torre showed no particular interest in winning this game, turning the game over to Felix Heredia and Tanyon Sturtze. Sturtze did the job, but it's hardly the point. The point is, Torre is continually acting as if he's not in a pennant race. He's constantly trying to accomplish something more than just winning today's game. These secondary and tertiary concerns have taken over.

He is so into this Stoic Overseer shtick, that he won't even tell his team they're about to clinch a playoff spot, if you can actually believe what you're hearing: "I didn't tell anyone (about the clinching chance) because I didn't want to put pressure on anybody."

Oh, now I understand why Giambi is playing game one vs. Boston. It's not a big game.

Now I understand why El Duque is allowed to try to get through the heart of Toronto's lineup for the fourth time while he's running on fumes. It's not a big game.

If it was a big game, everybody would feel pressure, and that would be bad. So by tanking games in the short run, by acting as if he doesn't really care about winning, Torre is sending an important message about staying calm and putting things in perspective.

I call it blase to the point of unprofessionalism, Torre calls it psychological management of his team.

What is Torre possibly hoping to accomplish that's more important than beating the Blue Jays on a Wed. night? S aving his bullpen? Building El Duque's confidence? Determining Heredia's status on the playoff roster?

You know, the lead is 3 1/2, not 10 1/2. The team is down by one run, not ten. Try focusing on winning the game first.

I'll keep dreaming about the 110 wins this team would get if the Showalter or Piniella was the manager.