I was going to say Dallas Green.

"The greatest New York Yankees managers of all time?

Try these: Joe McCarthy, Miller Huggins, Casey Stengel.

And Joe Torre."

Bucky Dent?


"Everybody knows, himself included, if the Yankees don't make it to the World Series in October, his career in pinstripes is probably over.

That is a sad testament for baseball, if not our society. Anything less than first place doesn't count."

Mr. Bodley, why does your list of greatest Yankees managers include Joe McCarthy, Miller Huggins, Casey Stengel ...

And Joe Torre?

Because they won.

What a sad testament for baseball, if not our society.

Not like the good ol' days when American ballplayers politely vied for second place.


"When Torre took over the Yankees in 1996, they hadn't won a World Series in 18 years. He reeled off an incredible four out of five."

What does it matter if the Yankees had not won a World Series in 18 years? Mr. Bodley is saying that anything less than first place doesn't count. What a sad testament for baseball, if not our society.


"The Yankees looked terrible in losing to the Detroit Tigers in last year's American League Division Series, dropping three consecutive games after taking the opener."

With a $200 million payroll.

But who cares who wins and who loses?

Keeping score in a competitive endeavor is a sad testament for baseball, if not our society.


Read this:

"Torre would be back for the final year of his contract, the highest-paid manager in the history of baseball at $7.5 million this season."

Then read this:

" 'You get hurt,' he says. 'I don't think it's strong enough to say you feel sorry for yourself. The last thing I want to do is say, 'Woe is me.' Nobody wants to hear that.' "

Yes, I'd agree that nobody wants to hear the highest-paid manager in the history of baseball say "Woe is me."

But if the last thing Torre wants to say is "woe is me," then he shouldn't even utter the phrase, "woe is me."

If it's not strong enough to say you feel sorry for yourself, then why did you just say you feel sorry for yourself?

The words that you're not saying are the same words that are coming out of your mouth.

"Dignified" Torre pulls this trick all the time.

"I wouldn't say ARod is a choking loser and I want to punch him in the kidney, so let's just say that he appeared uncomfortable in some of today's at-bats."

If you really don't want to say something, then you don't say it. You don't spend all day talking about how much you aren't saying it.