I would like to thank everyone who took a moment to participate in my most recent poll! The question was simply, "Which Joe will have a better first season?" This was in reference to former Yankees' manager Joe Torre, who recently took over the helm for the Dodgers, and of course, new Yankees' manager Joe Girardi.
I believe that the Yankees are a better team than the Dodgers so its hard to say Torre will have the better season. On the other hand, however, the Yankees play in a much more talented division, in the tougher league. Not to mention all the scrutiny that will hang over Girardi and the Yankees if everything doesn't go well out of the gate.
The results are in, the blog readers have spoken! It appears that the majority (and a very slight majority) of you that voted agree with me and feel that Joe G. will have a better first season than Joe T. Thanks for voting, thanks for reading, and keep an eye out for the new poll!
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7 comments:
I vote for more polls!
The challenges for both Torre and Girardi are many. I think the biggest difference is that each face very different levels of expectations. While the Dodgers have floundered in recent years the Yankees are cast to the forefront of baseball criticism each and every year.
While Torre may have 'success' in LA simply by contending for a wild card spot, everyone knows that Girardi has failed if the Yankees aren't contenders during October.
So, if the question is simply wins and losses, however, I would have to agree, Girardi most certainly will have a more successful year. Despite having their hands full with the American League, the Yankees have a great shot at being a 90 win team. I personally don't think it's going to happen, though, so I'm voting for Torre.
I think that Joe Girardi is gonna have a way better season than Torre. I'm basing this solely on the players of both teams. The Yankees have a team that is posed to win the series this year ( as tough is that is for me to say that) and the Dogders need a few years to get to that level. However on a different topic, I would just like to say how outrageous the move was to just let Joe Torre walk away from a team that he has done so much for. The man is one of the best managers that baseball has seen in quite some time, and I think it is a kick in the balls for the Yankees to give him such a piss off offer. What are your feelings on this brad?
Rich and Ryan,
First off thanks for the comments, its good see your interest.
Rich, I agree that there are definitely multiple ways to looks at this question, which is a big reason why I thought it was a great question. My thoughts when I wrote the question was which team would have the better season overall, in terms of the rest of the league. So, I wasn't really concerned with the failure of the Yankees if they don't win it all, but perhaps I should've considered this. Either way, its something to keep an eye on throughout the year.
Ryan, I think you make a very valid point about the Joe Torre situation and how it was handled in NY. It's no secret, Jor Torre is one of the most successful managers of all-time. With that in mind, you wonder how George could want him to leave.
I for one feel that the situation was handled by the Yankees very poorly. All though this may come as a surprise, I'm not that upset that Torre is no longer the manager of the Yankees. It's very sad to see him go given all the history, but I am for the first time since A-Rod excited for the who the Yankees have brought in.
I think that Girardi is ready for this challenge, and can lift the Yankees out of the rut they've been in for the past few years (getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs several times). Even with all the success, Torre's later teams seemed to run out of gas in cruch time. Hopefully, Girardi is the kick in the ass the Yanks need.
Agreed.
Torre is going to be continually frustrated killing Scott Proctor's arm against the Rockies and the Diamondbacks this year. The Diamondbacks are arguably the best team in the NL (Notice how I said "arguably" because I believe the other NY team is better, but the DBack deserve to be in the conversation) and Colorado probably won't be as lucky as last year, but all their pieces are still there. It is hard for me to imagine the Dodgers overcoming those two teams and the steady Padres to get a playoff berth.
On the other hand of the question are Girardi's Yankees. The Rays improved by acquiring Garza, creating a suddenly scary rotation (God, they were throwing Casey Fossum out there only a year ago). The Blue Jays have found some young pitching talent along with their decent hitting lineup. Boston is...Boston. Despite all of this, there is something about the Yankees this year. Besides the re-signings, the Yankees had a strangely quiet offseason. I like how the Yankees are under the radar this year. Girardi will shake things up in the locker room and the veterans who are sick of failing the last few years will react positively. Who better to get the most out of young talent than Girardi? I also think Girardi will make better calls to the bullpen than Torre did. I feel so much better about having Joba and Mariano chilling out in the bullpen together instead of Vizcaino's Voodoo magic out there. The Yankees finally have depth at starting pitching with Wang, Petitte, Mussina, Kennedy, Hughes and possibly Chamberlain and Horne as well. The depth is also in the bench as well with Ensberg, Betemit, and SHELLEY!!!!! I expect a better year than most expect for the Yanks despite the other AL nightmares (Tigers, BoSox, Mariners, Angels and Indians) proving that the AL should get 6 playoff spots and only give 2 to the NL.
So, after all of this, the end result is more success for Girardi.
Just imagine, if Cleveland wasn't plagued that night, we probably wouldn't be even having this conversation.
Oh, additionally. It looks like Beckett has been spending his offseason with Schilling
http://bp2.blogger.com/_LmyzzYKlUTM/R7RyZA-8JfI/AAAAAAAAAGY/y2wvzgLMfcg/s1600-h/fat+beckett+edit.jpg
That didnt work. Just go to SI Extra Mustard and check out the thing on Beckett
Hey Bierman, good to hear from you bud. Thanks for the comments, they were in depth and have some genuine emotion about them. I agree with what you said about the N.L. West. I highly doubt there will be any fun for Torre's Dodgers in '08.
I also am on board with Joba staying in the Pen. That gives the Yanks such an edge over everyone... just like '96. This year seems to be a crazy year already. Since when do the Yanks stay quiet and under the radar?? All I know is that I'm quite alright with NY teams coming in as an underdog. We have all recently seen what that can lead to...
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