Pettitte: Yankees or no one in 2008

From Kat O'Brien:

Andy Pettitte said during the season that he would either return to the Yankees or retire. But with all the Yankees' recent changes, it would have been reasonable to wonder if he was having second thoughts.

Pettitte nixed the idea that he might play elsewhere next year, in an interview with Houston's FOX 26 Sports (KRIV). The story was posted on the TV station's Web site. He told KRIV that he will either play for the Yankees next year or not at all.

"The New York Yankees committed an awful lot of money to me and put it in my hands, gave me a player option and trusted me with that option," Pettitte told KRIV Tuesday. "It probably wouldn't be real honorable for me not to do anything other than if I shut it down, shut it down or go back and play for the New York Yankees." (Newsday)

This is good news. The Yankees will have a young rotation next year (Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain, as well as Chien-Ming Wang) and a having a veteran like Pettitte in the mix would be huge. Hopefully Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman can convince him to exercise his option.

Pettitte has until November 7 to decide whether he will pick up his player option or not.

Fun with Photoshop

Here is what NoMaas made in response to Joe Torre signing with the Dodgers:

The Scott in question is obviously our own Scott Proctor. I still can't get enough of this story.

Girardi's coaching staff

From Tyler Kepner:

Tony Peña, the other candidate interviewed last week, will remain with the Yankees as the first-base coach, and the hitting coach Kevin Long is close to signing a three-year, $1 million deal.

Three newcomers are expected to join the staff: Dave Eiland as the pitching coach, Mike Harkey as the bullpen coach, and Bobby Meacham as the third-base coach.

Rob Thomson, a special assignment coach, will inherit Mattingly’s job as the bench coach. The Yankees had offered to let Mattingly stay in that position, but he turned down the job. (The New York Times)

Larry Bowa was likely headed to Seattle, but Peter Abraham suggests he may follow Joe Torre to Los Angeles.

I really don't have any complaints about the staff. Pena, Long and Thomson have done a good job with the Yankees in their tenures. Eiland has experience working with the younger arms, so I'm happy to see him get the job. I don't know much about Meacham or Harkey, but I do know that they both worked with Girardi in Florida.

Rivera meeting with Yankees in Tampa

From the Daily News:

A deal to bring Mariano Rivera back to the Bronx may be in the works, as the All-Star closer and his agent are meeting with the Yankees Tuesday at Legends Field.

Fernando Cuza, who represents Rivera, showed up at the Yankees' spring ballpark around 11:45 a.m., accompanied by two of his associates. Ten minutes later, Rivera arrived by himself in a black Mercedes.

When asked if he was meeting with the Yankees, Rivera said, "Yeah. We have to see something." Rivera declined further comment, telling reporters he would elaborate on his way out of the ballpark.

Rivera was one of five Yankees to file for free agency on Monday, the first day players were allowed to do so. The Yankees are expected to offer Rivera a three-year deal worth approximately $40 million. (New York Daily News)

I would've offered two years with an option for a third year myself, but the Yankees can't let Rivera walk. He may have lost a few miles per hour off of his cutter, but he is still one of the best closers in baseball. How he is in the second and third years of this contract (if this report is accurate), however, remains to be seen.

Girardi agrees to offer

From Jon Heyman:

People inside the Yankees organization are re-energized by the appointment of Girardi after suffering a difficult blow when Alex Rodriguez opted out of his $252 million Yankees contract.

An announcement regarding Girardi's hiring could come today.

It is believed that the Yankees were offering about $6 million over three years to Girardi but may have had to bump the pay to counter the Dodgers' efforts. Girardi has longtime ties to the Yankees as a former player and coach and current broadcaster. He has been baseball's hottest commodity among managerial candidates almost since the day he was fired by the Marlins following a Manager of the Year performance in 2006. (SI.com)

Joe Girardi was Scott Proctor's Arm's choice for the managerial vacancy, so we obviously are thrilled with this decision.

The Joe Torre story is still rather funny to me. I'm happy Torre got another chance to manage, but the Scott Proctor sub-plot is too good.

In other news, the previous post was my 500th post. When I started this blog at the end of May, I didn't know how much I'd update or how long I'd even write before forgetting about it. I'd like to thank all the readers, because without you guys, this wouldn't be possible.

Journal News: Torre to manage Dodgers

From Peter Abraham:

The Los Angeles Dodgers have decided to fire manager Grady Little and replace him with former Yankees manager Joe Torre, The Journal News has learned.

Torre, 67, could be named manager as soon as tomorrow, according to two sources close to the situation. Don Mattingly is expected to accompany Torre to Los Angeles as his bench coach. Torre is also interested in hiring Kevin Long, his hitting coach with the Yankees. (The Journal News)

Incidentally, Scott Proctor is a reliever for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two will be reunited, if this report is true. How funny is that?

ESPN: Girardi offered job

The Yankees officially offered their managerial job to Joe Girardi on Monday morning and he is expected to accept it, a source has told 1050 ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand.

"The Yankees have offered Joe the opportunity to become their next manager. Discussions are ongoing." Steve Mandell, Girardi's agent, said. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told Don Mattingly and Tony Pena that they will not be getting the job. (ESPN)

I mentioned this in my previous post, but I felt it should be its own post.

In the same article, ESPN says that Don Mattingly will not accept a job on the coaching staff.

This is the absolute right move, and I am happy the Yankees weren't influenced by Mattingly's mythical status. The Yankees are headed down a younger path, and Girardi is the perfect manager for this team at this time. The report is that the contract is around three years for $6 million.

Hank comes out hammering

Hank Steinbrenner is sounding a lot like his father these days.

"It's clear he didn't want to be a Yankee," Hank Steinbrenner told the Daily News last night. "He doesn't understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field.

"I don't want anybody on my team that doesn't want to be a Yankee." (New York Daily News)

Amen.

Alex Rodriguez's departure will most likely hurt the lineup this year. In the long run, however, this is probably the best thing that could have happened to the Yankees.

Since constructing the all-star lineup, the Yankees have only gotten out of the Division Series once. They've strayed away from what won them those four championships all those years ago.

It's time to get back to building the team as a team, not as a collection of all-stars. The Yankees have a chance to return to greatness without Rodriguez.

ESPN Radio 1050 is reporting that the Yankees have offered Joe Girardi the managerial job. If this turns out the be true, the Yankees have started the offseason on the right foot. Next comes re-signing Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada.

The lineup takes a major hit, but Brian Cashman has more money to play with as a result. I have faith that he will build a solid team for this season. We are on the verge of a new era in the Bronx. Hopefully it's as successful as the previous one.

A-Rod opts out

Good-bye.

Thursday is decision day

From Peter Abraham:

Brian Cashman said via e-mail that he would stay in Tampa tomorrow to meet with the Steinbrenners. It is expected a decision will be reached then.

"We’re very impressed with all three candidates," Hank Steinbrenner said. "I told you it would be a tough decision." (LoHud Yankees Blog)

Hopefully they make the right decision.

Valentine not an option

From Peter Abraham:

Hank Steinbrenner told reporters in Tampa today that the Yankees would not be interviewing Bobby Valentine. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

I'm a little disappointed. I thought he would've been a good fit.

Scott Proctor's Arm still endorses Joe Girardi.

Interviews to begin today

From Newsday:

The Yankees will interview their first three managerial candidates in quick succession, beginning Monday in Tampa, Fla., with Joe Girardi and continuing with Don Mattingly Tuesday and Tony Peña on Wednesday.

Those are the only three candidates whom general manager Brian Cashman has contacted, but he expects to add candidates in the days to come. Cashman, club president Randy Levine and some member(s) of the Steinbrenner family (owner George and/or sons Hank and Hal) are expected to be a part of the interview process. (Newsday)

Peter Abraham had a good article about Pena and how he has support from team executives. He doesn't seem to get as much play as Mattingly and Girardi get.

Of these three candidates, Girardi is my first choice. The team is headed in a younger direction and Girardi won the 2006 National League Manager of the Year award with the young Florida Marlins.

I think hiring the unproven commodity in Mattingly would be the wrong decision the team could make following Joe Torre. Torre will be a tough act to follow and I don't think that would be fair to Mattingly. However, he wouldn't have become hitting coach in 2004 if he didn't have thoughts about managing some day.

The Yankees should carefully examine each of the candidates and not rush to any decisions.

The world is upside down

At least they didn't beat the Yankees to get there, I guess.

:-(

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Latest from MLB Trade Rumors

For starters, the Yanks are expected to make "eye-popping" offers to retain Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera before the World Series ends. The team does not want the pair to file for free agency.

Additionally, the Yankees may make a big play for Aaron Rowand. They believe a package of Melky Cabrera, Chien-Ming Wang, and Ian Kennedy would entice the Twins for Johan Santana. That's a huge price, but doesn't seem out of line to me for the best pitcher in baseball. (MLB Trade Rumors)

It is not surprising that the Yankees want to make "eye-popping" offers to Posada and Rivera. The Torre debacle has rubbed many fans the wrong way and losing Rivera and/or Posada would send many Yankee fans through the roof.

I don't know how I feel about the Santana rumor. He will be a free agent after next season and that is a steep price to pay for him. It may just be worth making a run at him next offseason instead of giving up Cabrera, Wang and Kennedy.

Again, these are just rumors. I don't know how reputable they are.

Cashman's short list

From Peter Abraham:

Just spoke to Brian Cashman. He said he reached out today to three candidates to become manager: Joe Girardi, Don Mattingly and Tony Pena.

The Yankees were interested in speaking to Trey Hillman, but by the time they had a vacancy, he had agreed to terms with the Royals. "Trey is somebody I talk to at least once a week,"” Cashman said. "But the timing wasn’t right."

Cashman said the process could be culiminated swiftly. But he also warned that it could take until after the World Series. "I’ll expand the pool of candidates if that is what I need to do," he said. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

I am opposed to Mattingly being the manager next year. I would love it if they hired Girardi. I would also support Bobby Valentine. His name has been mentioned but I don't think it will happen.

Torre's news conference

Joe Torre's news conference just wrapped up, and I'd say that he came out looking like the good guy.

He felt insulted by the incentives in the offer, saying that he didn't need any motivation. I agree with him. With all of the success he had, he knew what was expected of him. He also felt shafted with only being offered one year. That left him in lame-duck status, which is something no one wants.

The pay cut didn't bother him as much as the years and incentives. Last night, I focused on the 33% pay cut. Apparently that didn't affect Torre as much as I thought it would have. The Yankees also did not allow Torre to negotiate this offer.

Torre said that he didn't have many regrets during his time as Yankees manager. One of them was that he felt he should've gone out on the field during the Canadian Soldier invasion during Game 2 of this year's ALDS.

So there you have it. The Joe Torre era in New York has ended.

For minute-by-minute coverage of this news conference, Newsday had minute-by-minute coverage of it.

For even more on this story, Torre will be appearing on Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN and YES at 4:30 p.m.

Good-bye and thanks

The 12-year Joe Torre era has now come to an unfortunate close.

Torre did not need to be treated this way. He has made the playoffs in each of those 12 years, winning four World Series championships and six American League pennants. He has been a class act and took George Steinbrenner missives in stride, when others would have melted in the face of pressure.

With all of his success, he did not deserve to be low-balled like he was today. He flew to Tampa and was presented with a 33% pay cut and an incentive-based contract. Basically, the front office was trying to save face and appear that they were keen on keeping Torre for next season. Instead, they ended up looking horrible in the process by giving him an offer he most certainly could refuse. And he did.

They knew he'd refuse this offer. This year was perhaps his best managerial job, yet they wanted to cut his pay.

I know I have been on Torre's case over the last few years. He probably should have been let go after last year's playoff defeat. However, with Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte - vocal supporters of Torre - being free agents, this is not the offseason to mess with Torre.

Aside from the manager, the team could probably look very different next season. And that is a frightening thought.

Thank you for your time in pinstripes, Mr. Torre. You have been the only manager I have really known, and it has been a hell of a ride.

Good luck in the future and maybe we'll see you again. Stranger things have happened.

Torre turns down extension

In a shocking development, Joe Torre will not return as manager next season.

He turned down a $5 million deal that included $3 million in incentives. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

Wow.

Torre and Cashman in Tampa

From Peter Abraham:

Accompanied by Brian Cashman, Joe Torre arrived at Legends Field about 70 minutes ago and is now meeting with the Steinbrenners. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

Torre wouldn't be in Tampa to get fired, obviously.

I guess the Yankees realized they have a better chance of re-signing Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera with Torre as the manager.

Cashman stands his ground

Brian Cashman said, with the backing of ownership, that the Yankees would not pursue Alex Rodriguez as a free agent if he opts out of his contract.

Cashman has been saying that for eight months. But now it’s with the support of the Steinbrenner family. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

Scott Boras will soon notice that he won't be able to get what he's asking for from any team. It's good to see that the Yankees won't be fooled by the games Boras and Rodriguez will try to play this offseason.