Trick

When the season ended part of me secretly wished that Joe Torre would tell George Steinbrenner to go to hell, and walk away from the Yankee job on his own terms. It didn’t happen and I’m happy that Torre is still around. He knows what he’s in for and he’s a big boy. But apparently the prospect of working for Larry Lucchino for another three years was more than Theo Epstein was ready to endure. In a suprising turn of events Epstein turned down the Red Sox three-year offer to remain as the general manager of the ballclub. In effect, Epstein is saying that he isn’t willing to put-up with his mentor Lucchino anymore (This article by Dan Shaughnessy has been cited as the straw that broke the camel’s back for Epstein.) Good for him. He walks away from Boston with the world as his oyster. He’ll forever be a hero in New England and now has his pick of job opportunities. I’m sure the Sox will find a decent GM, but for the moment there is no buffer between Sox fans and Boston’s version of the Boss, Larry Lucchino.

Treat

In a move that is bound to infuriate as many as it pleases, the New York Post reports that Derek Jeter will be awarded the Gold Glove for the second consecutive year later today. While I don’t think that Alex Rodriguez is the best fielding third baseman in the league yet, Jeter can give Rodriguez an assist for his new piece of hardware. It’s not a coincidence that Jeter’s fielding improved once Rodriguez arrived at the hot corner, allowing Jeter to cheat more up-the-middle. I don’t put too much stock in the Gold Gloves–heck, Bernie won four of them, and Yankee fans are well aware of Raffey’s 28-game winner in 1999–but I’m amused at how upset some fans will get over Jeter’s selection. Good for you, Jetes: keep giving ’em something to riff about. But as Cliff mentioned in the previous post, Jeter’s fielding has indeed improved. He might have won the award based on reputation but he wasn’t an awful choice either.

The Yankees’ organizational meetings commence today here in New York where it is unseasonably warm and gorgeous (whatta day to take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge or hang out in Central Park). The first order of business for the Bombers will be to re-sign Godzilla Matsui. They’ve got two weeks to get it done. Something tells me that they will.