It was an emotional weekend for Joe Torre (not pictured) and for Yankees fans.
The Yankees returned to LA to take on the Dodgers.
Most importantly, it was the first time that Joe Torre and Don Mattingly ever OPPOSED the Yankees.
It was strange as a fan.
It was surreal.
And more importantly, as a 3-game series, it was ****ing awesome!
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There are really two stories that were at work.
There was the baseball story.
This was a potential World Series preview. This is a rivalry that goes back to Jackie Robinson sliding under Yogi Berra in the World Series. This is the two biggest media markets, two of the biggest payrolls.
All of that.
And, more compelling in my view, there was the human story.
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I read Joe Torre's book "The Yankee Years" and I watched him build an empire in New York.
The day he was signed the New York papers ran a headline "Clueless Joe." He went from that, to four world championships.
Along the way, Torre always demonstrated class, dignity, and a quality that made people hate the Yankees less.
That's hard to do.
Even Yankee haters respect Jeter, Rivera, and Posada (Pettitte would be on this list but he cheated).
Torre was also on that list.
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That said, to write a tell-all book about your players, WHILE YOU ARE STILL MANAGING, is pretty bush league.
Seriously.
I read the book with great interest.
But did he really need to rip AROD like that?
For a guy who excudes class, I thought it was a cheap money-grab.
But more importantly, I thought it reflected how truly HURT he was by the end of his Yankee years.
Not only did Torre not go out on his own terms, but he was essentially made to grovel for his job.
In the book, he stooped to management's level.
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Which brings me back to this weekend.
Yes, there were emotional reunions.
Jeter hugged Torre.
Mariano hugged Torre.
Billy Crystal showed up wearing a Switzerland Hat (he's a Yankees fan but close friends with Torre).
Jack wore a Yankees hat (is there a bigger front-runner on planet earth--- really? Yankees and Lakers? Does he go to Vegas to cheer on the dealers?)
And the games were great.
Friday night, 2-1 win for New York. CC Sabathia and Mariano combined to shut down the Dodgers. AROD hit a beautiful F-U home run.
Saturday, the Dodgers strike back. They trounce the Yankees as Reggie Jackson and Tommy Lasorda shoot the stuff in the Fox broadcast booth (note to Tim McCarver: less is more, it's not about you when two legends are riffing).
Sunday: The Yankees trail 6-2 in the 9th. They had a 9th inning rally off Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton and eventually won in the 10th on a 2-run homer by Robinson Cano (who is baseball's MVP so far--- go look at his stats--- SICK).
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During that rally, Torre had to look over wistfully and think, DAMN!
The difference in this game is simple.
I rolled out Broxton in the 9th, Joe Girardi rolled out Rivera.
With Mo, I'm a genius 4-time champ.
With Broxton, I'm Philly's bitch in the Playoffs.
Is Torre a better or worse manager in LA than he was in NY?
Nope, he just had better players in NY.
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I say all of that to get to my favorite moment, and it involves my favorite athlete.
The Yankees had rallied to tie the game at 6-6.
There was a runner on 2nd and two outs.
Torre had looked cool, calm, and collected as his team was falling apart.
That was until Derek Jeter walked towards the plate.
ESPN cut to a panicked Torre throwing up 4 fingers.
I said to my girlfriend (who has quickly learned that Yankees game are a central part of my existance): He's walking Jeter.
He's scared.
Joe Torre has dealt with a lot in baseball and in life.
He was fired prematurely (and reacted badly only after the fact).
He was a rock while his brother battled cancer.
He was abused as a child (and has done amazing work to prevent that since).
He's a former league MVP and 4-time WS champion as a manager.
But that guy wanted NO PART of Derek Jeter in the 9th.
Too many times he'd seen DJ get the needed base hit to settle games.
When Jeter was coming up, I could already visualize the base hit to right, the run scoring and Jeter giving his little fist pump.
So could Torre.
He had seen this movie before.
30 Years from now when someone starts talking trash about Jeter, and telling me how overrated he is, and how he's not truly a Yankees legend... I'll know.
The man who was afraid of nothing, FEARED Jeter in the 9th.
That four-fingered salute and look of panick tells me more than Elias Sports Bureau's stats ever will.
