Maybe Yanks Need a Closer Too
By Mike Silva ~ December 1st, 2008. Filed under: Mike Silva.
Mariano Rivera, the best closer in baseball history, still is the man to navigate the Yankees ninth innings. Closing has never been an issue on the field when you play in the Bronx. The closer void is off the field and Richard Justice of the Sporting News might be on to something.
Joe Torre always seemed to be a huge reason that free agents came to the Yankees. Peter Abraham even pointed this out, on NYBD Radio, that Torre was a big reason Mike Mussina came to the Yankees. If you remember, the Mets had some trouble recruiting top guys cause of fears of playing for Bobby Valentine. Are the Yankees suffering a similar fate now that Torre is replaced by Joe Girardi?
Torre always seemed to be the difference when players were unsure about New York. He was able to bring calm and serenity to a team that has neither as its attributes. The corporate nature of the Yankees was overshadowed because he knew how to deflect the pressure and channel it the proper way.
Girardi has done none of that in his short year on the job. He has shown an ability to be prickly, unsavory with the media , and lacked communication with his players. In short, Girardi is the anti-Torre. In the age of technology, this is no secret to out of towner’s. Free agents talk, and many might be unsure how great a place New York is to play. Why play in front of petulant fans and pressurized environment if you don’t believe your internal work environment will be solid.
We will never know if Torre would make a difference. Perhaps if the Dodgers decide to get into the fray we will. Money is always king in contract negotiations, but it appears that the difference might be minimal in this case. What we will learn this off season is do the Yankees need a salesman to close their deals. Right now they seem to be lacking in that area.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Free agent like to play for managers who can’t manage a bullpen? Who knew?