HE’S NO AL ARBOUR
Torre book deal only reaffirms class of The Coach
Until Joe Torre came around, Al Arbour had no competition as the pre-eminent leader of a dynastic New York franchise over the last 50 years.
Ten years ago, Torre joined the conversation. There were the four World Series championships. There were the playoff berths in every season he coached. There was the perfect management of personalities in his stacked lineup, even if Derek Jeter is the only everyday player from the World Series teams going to the Hall of Fame.
Most of all, there was the perception of true leadership. Torre put on a Masters class in public relations with every media scrum in his office, every phoner with “Mike & The Mad Dog.” As brilliant as he was with protecting his team, the Yankees manager was unsurpassed in protecting his own image. “That stuff stays in the room,” he said all the time.
Is there any reason for the rest of our lives to ever believe a coach or player with that one?
Torre wants it every way with this book. Cute idea to have it by Joe Torre & Tom Verducci, as opposed to “As Told To.” Just because it’s well-written and insightful (thanks to Verducci) doesn’t change anything. Torre has now blown what always mattered to him most – his image. He’s going to spend the next week in New York repairing it, masterfully no doubt. But the damage is done.
With each year, the skill, the dignity, the class of the man they called “Radar” only become more untouchable. How blessed we were to have him in New York, on Long Island.
Al Arbour stands alone.
Comments.
56 Responses to HE’S NO AL ARBOUR
Torre book deal only reaffirms class of The Coach
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stevedepot says:
Dan, very well said.
As for Radar. Just another example why hockey differs from every other sport.
Humility. -
Paul* says:
Maybe Mr.Arbour can give Coach Gordon some Tips on Defense to help His System!
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Stumpy32 says:
What’s very interesting about Torre is, as one radio guy said, what does this do to the relationship he has with his current players? After showing the ability to write a tell-all, you think the Dodgers will be interested in doing anything that will become fodder for a new book? Very strange that a manager still very much active in the majors writes something like this.
By the way, as a Yankee fan, I just don’t get it. It’s almost like I need Torre to say it in a crowd of people for me to believe it. It’s just very, very strange.
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JayK says:
At some point, Bill Parcells was talking about being a coach in New York, while Arbour was still coaching the Isles, and said something like “Does anybody realize what Al Arbour has down in this town?” It was high praise indeed.
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isles316 says:
I think the fact that the Yankees haven’t won since 2000 and all the money they have spent speaks volumes about everybody in that organazation over that time frame. From the Steinbrenners to Cashman to Torre and the players.
I think Torre might now be looked as one of the problems in recent years.
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Islander505 says:
Please e-mail a copy of this blog entry to Jim Baumbach…and if there’s a way to do it “collect” in this cyberage…make it happen.
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UIF says:
Don’t really care much about Torre one way or the other, but Arbour is the man. Last year was great when he came back for 740. The incredible energy in the building told the whole story regarding the amount of respect and appreciation Islanders fans have for all he did here.
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All this hubbub over something so ridiculous. Supposedly Torre broke some “code” of the locker room. This isn’t some little league or high school team it is a business where the locker room is filled with big money egos and prima donnas. In today’s world with trades and free agency the sense of team is flexible. Same as in hockey, how a guy you squared off with for seasons, hated, tried to punch the snot out of can now be a trusted line mate.
Torre has moved on, he has a new team, I think we can all agree the Yankees (read Steinbrenners) insulted him after contract negotiations broke down and they snubbed him for the last game at Yankee stadium…why should he have any allegiance to protecting the team or their “code”?
Most fans would probably still agree that Torre is a guy who calls it like he sees it. So Torre told it like it is and so what if a few egos get bruised? Fans are so stupid these days. They are bashing Torre and a majority of them haven’t even read the book yet. I’m sure it is being over hyped a wee bit to drive up sales. It is going to work too because all those people bashing him will all run out and buy this book.
Bottom line…sports is entertainment. We should all be thanking Torre for providing a very hot topic for our entertainment.
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I’m a die-hard Yankee fan, and that book revelation bothered me. I, too, think all thoughts of Torre’s “class” and “grace” went out the window when that book hit the presses. It’s a crying shame for a man so well-regarded for so many years.
I’m not saying he doesn’t have a right to be bitter, but I could see it both ways. The Yankees offered him a deal that would still be the highest salary for a manager, but at a cut reflecting the fact that he failed at the team’s main goal – win the World Series – for 7 straight years. It especially baffles me that, as other have said, he chose to do this while he’s still managing a Major League team. This will hurt him in many ways.
If nothing else, I think Al Arbour should go back on the pedestal as the best modern coach in New York sports. How much dirty laundry do we know about that team? Practically nothing; the best I’ve got is Potvin missing the bus and going through a personal practice the next day.
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Torre should have taken the high road and I lost a lot of respect for him after the initial news came out. To write that book 1 year after wards while he is still coaching in the league shows poor taste.
Zimmer never did it and he despises the Steinbrenners claiming he would not go to George’s funeral.
Torre, the luster came off the trophies a bit.
BTW, is there anything wrong with offering an incentive based work performance model?
I work under that system as I am sure most do. -
…and I still think Arbour’s banner should read “740″ instead of “1500″.
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Lets give Mr. Torre a Break! and dont judge him on his Book, that’s Tabloid stuff.
Let’s judge him on his Accomplishments, he is a Great Coach!
Is this the first time your hearing somthing like this, No! -
Mike from Philly says:
Great post Chris, unfortunatly Radar never gets the reconition he deserves mainly to the fact that the Islanders have become such an after-thought now in the NY Sports Market. Al Arbour will always be the greatest NY Sports Coach no matter what the so called NY media likes to say.
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Jim Clark says: Isn’t something how in this distressed economy people still swallow this notion that a $5 million one year contract with a chance to make an additional $3 million was “an insult”. Give me that job any day of the week.
I wouldn’t mind Torre writing a book giving his views on what went wrong the last seven years if he wasn’t such as hypocrite. For years he repeated the mantra about “sanctity of the clubhouse”. He told Evan Roberts in 2007 how wrong it was for Jim Bouton and Jose Canseco to write books (apparently Torre takes a “Who killed Davey Moore”-old Bob Dylan song about evading responsibility-for steroids in the Yankee clubhouse). Yet now he is doing the same and going on tour of soft questions by Larry King and David Letterman.
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doc says:
True dat…
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Al is the best, no doubt. But in all fairness- the Isles never treated Al in the same crappy kind of way that the Yanks have treated Torre. that is a huge factor here and shouldnt be ignores. Torre was treated like unappreciated garbage by the Yankees.
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michael says:
first, no one here has even read the book yet all you’re going on is excerpts taken out of context. secondly, this is JOE TORRE we’re talking about. if he wants to put a book out about how much of a diva arod is i for one would be very interested in reading it.
joe torre is a yankee. alex rodriguez just collects a paycheck from them. lets not start crying for a guy who routinely bats .180 in the post season.
maybe if the yankees had just MENTIONED his name during the closing of yankee stadium ceremony this book wouldnt’ have come out!!
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Jason W says:
I dont care what Joe Torre has to say.
I wont be spending money on his book and I dont care how tarnished his reputation is.
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admin says:
I’d like to think my entry was in the end more about the class and greatness of Al Arbour.
Michael: the book was written over the course of an entire year. The book was planned long before the last game in Yankee Stadium in September…CB
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mw147 says:
Great contrast, Chris.
I am a big Yankee fan who HAD a tremendous amount of respect for Joe Torre.
I still cherish and appreciate his accomplishments here. But I have lost some respect for him.
No question that the Yankees were done with him, and treated him poorly. But had this image of being classier and above all of the nonsense. Not any more, unfortunately. After all, who did he hurt more with this book, Yankee management, or the players whose back he had all those years?
I am very sorry to see this book come out.
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djc says:
Has anyone read this book? Can we wait till Feb 3 to make a final judgement about Joe Torre.
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CB, I think people are talking about the Yankees and Torre because it’s still a hot news issue.
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guerin13 says:
all baseball managers are overated. they don’t have to much in the way of strategy. what torre is doing now is messed up and completely ruins his yankees legacy. arbour is a class act and is very underated. hopefully that will change when this franchise is back where it should be.
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chris i guess i missed the main point of the article, i just wish the yankees had kept torre in the end, i am not a very big fan of joe girardi. i dont like reading so much negative press about joe torre is all.. maybe he got some bad advice about putting this book out but joe will always be a yankee to me! if he bashes arod a little bit, maybe thats just what arod needs to turn his career around!! maybe he’ll do better than hit .180 in the post season now. joe never missed the playoffs in NYC, but a-fraud, i mean arod, has.
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SIR WILLIAM says:
Does Joe Torre need the money that badly that he would ruin his reputation and soil his accomplishments with his kiss and tell book?
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas….SW -
Ed J says:
Al Arbour > Joe Torre always & forever.
Big Islanders/Yankees fan but what Torre has done is uncalled for. Al Arbour has NEVER bashed this poor club for any reason ( and he has had more then enuff reasons to in the last 15years ) but has not.
Last year on the bench ( Coach Arbour ) looked like a kid in the candy store there and for 1 day last year I was never so proud to be an Islander fan.
Torre who clearly lost that team 2 years before leaving at times on the bench looked ” clueless ” ( hope you all remember those headlines and when all Yankees fans & all of New York wanted his head ).
Plus that team was handed to Torre but Coach Arbour built THAT team. So again…..
Arbour > Torre
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Does Joe Torre want the Lighthouse To! LoL! Could we stick to Hockey.
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i dont understand how you can do that. im a yankee fan but i have trouble liking baseball more and more. the stupid contracts, ( mostly yankees yet there are other big contracts elsewhere ) steroids, and the books. ratting ppl out is a no-no especially when you are still managing. i think had he done it when he was retired he it would be viewed differently. can any baseball figure be compared to scotty bowman and arbour? i still think arbour is better than bowman being that bowman would go on allstar teams and arbour and the torrey made one.
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JPinVA says:
Comparing Torre to Arbour is in itself an INSULT to Mr. Arbour. Please don’t compare the average Joe sitting on top of an earth mover to the classic sculptor of a DYNASTY.
Potvin was a no miss prospect, everybody else on that team was a QUESTION MARK…EVERYBODY. Making them into a winner was no small task…and AL ARBOUR MADE THEM WHAT THEY WERE.
As far as the book is concerned, who cares. Just like winning a world series with the highest payroll in baseball…big deal. Jim Bouton already already walked over those coals. And in all honesty, reading about The Mick hunting cows is more entertaining than whatever Joe has to say. It was NY in the 90′s, we knew it all anyway… just needed the confirmation. -
Kevin – I seriously doubt that there’d ever be a salary cap in MLB. Neither the owners nor the players want one. The owners of the large market teams want to be able to outspend their competitors 3-to-1; the owners of the small- and mid-market teams don’t want to spend to a floor and risk huge losses every year.
And @ michael, #19 – Alex Rodriguez has, in his career, played in three League Championship rounds:
In his rookie year he went 0-1 in one game against the Indians.
In his second, he was easily Seatlle’s best player: most hits, most homers, most runs, most rbi, rolled up a 409/480/773 line in six games.
In his third, of course, Boston pulled a ’75 on the Yanks. He got some heat for only hitting .258; of course, Jeter only hit .200 with ONE measly XBH in seven games.A-Rod’s career totals in the ALCS: .315 with four doubles, four homers, ten rbi, and a slugging average of over .600.
Sorry to be off-topic, but really, if y’all dislike A-Rod so much send him over to Citi Field. I’d move Reyes to second in a cold minute. Reyes-Beltran-Wright-Rodriguez-Delgado to top my lineup? Yes, please.
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Gentlemen, I just got off the telephone with Mr. Joe Ra who is the TOH attorney. I had wriiten an email to the TOH opposing the LightHouse Project last week.
In todays mail I received a pre printed response thanking me for my SUPPORT of the Lighthouse.
I immediately picked up the phone and called Mr. Ra, insisting that I speak to him, reminding his associate that I am a taxpayer and the Mr. Ra works for me.
Mr. Ra was good enough to take my call.I explained to him what happened and asked if anyone in the TOH knew what they were doing? His reply was that all Lighthouse Project emails and mail get routed into a computer and a stock, two page response is generated.
In other words no one in the TOH bothers to read what you write. I asked him why elected officials can’t be bothered to read emails from the very voters who elected them and was told that the Islander fans are flooding the TOH with emails and that no one has the time.Mr. Ra was very gracious and open about this policy. I explained that I was an Islander fan, but was against building large apartment houses on the land. He said that he was also a fan but that the Coliseum was not the only issue involved.
Once again I stress how gracious Mr. Ra was and how open and honest he was about the emails.
He promised to look into my particular email and get back to me with a different response. I will keep you guys posted…..SW
CHris, sorry to change the subject but I thought it was important enough to do so…SW
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Sab says:
I remember asking him around the time that the Fish Sticks book came out if he had ever been approached or considered releasing a biography…..Al gave his classic “forget about it” look and simply told me “What went on in that room, stays in that room”…..
He’s still good at telling stories about his playing days and the Isles glory days so a book would have been good…but you can totally respect his wishes…..
I bet the only way he would have ever done a book would have been if the proceeds went to the alumni…..
At least we have the #1,500 interviews and the dinner & dynasty dvd to relive a couple stories…
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Tom says:
Who cares? The Yankees & Torre are divorced. No need for Torre to be loyal. His loyalty lies w/the Dodgers. IF the Dodgers crap on him the way the Yanks did, he’ll have a 2nd book coming out.
If Ted Nolan writes a book I’d love to read it! Garth neutered him on WFAN, THEN he scolds The Warrior, Brendan Witt for stating what everybody already knows? ‘Keep it in family?’ Yeah ok. The Islanders or the Yanks are NOT a family in any shape, manner or form. They are co-workers, nothing more, nothing less.
Loyalty is dead in sports & rightfully so. Loyalty is dangerous. Loyalty gets people fired. Loyalty gets people embarassed on WFAN. Loyalty ‘raises eyebrows.’
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Joe says:
A-Rod sucks, he’s a cancer in the locker room. Torre was a fantastic manager and treated like garbage by the organization. He can write whatever he wants.
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Bri on Li says:
JayK, I tracked down the article with the quote, “Do people really appreciate,” Parcells asked, “what Al Arbour did in this town?”
The quote is from two years before this article, but the article makes me remember why I will be an Islanders fan until the day I die, and I look forward to the future in the hopes that Scott Gordon will be able to channel Al Arbour and find a way to make the players give everything they have to the team…
here’s the link: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFD8143CF931A35756C0A965958260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/P/Playoff%20Games
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Johnny Islander says:
Autobiographies sicken me to begin with. Guess what, your story really isn’t important or interesting enough for me to spend money on it.
Besides, how much more money does Joe Torre need?
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Re: Torre book – At some point, we all have to ask ourselves this…if there wasn’t an audience for this kind of rubbish, we wouldn’t be discussing it.
How much does it say about our hunger for controversy when everyone who either agrees or disagrees with Torre’s outings claims they’ll buy the damn book and read it for themselves? (David Wells, Jeter etc all have claimed they’ll pick up a copy and judge for themselves).
Torre is merely looking for a profit with this book. He won’t save anyones life or change the game.
I have more respect for Canseco who outed steroid users. Well maybe not.
The bigger story here for this hockey fan is Arbour. Someone whose nose and ego were both smaller than Torre’s but who’s accomplishments were and never will be in question because of his character. -
Bri,
I remember reading that article a few years ago. Even though it was originally published in 1993 it may be one of the most referenced articles concerning Al. Thanks for linking it. I’ve added it to my favorites as well.
Al is also one of the reasons I have never left this team. He is truly one of the most underrated sports figures (or leaders in general) in my lifetime. -
Great post Steve.
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SIR WILLIAM if you are writing letters opposing the Lighthouse project Im pretty sure that nobody around here is going to pat you on the back for it.
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Todd says:
Great piece Chris. This brings up a thought I have had. I have tried to find as many Al Arbour and Bill Torrey quotes as I could find over the years. I would absolutely love it if they both wrote books. I don’t really understand why they haven’t written any to this point. I suppose those books might possibly help all the enemy teams in the league, so that part is not good. But I would just love to pick their brains and learn everything they ever knew about the game and the psychology of it…You can learn so much by the little quotes that you do get from them..
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CHRIS TMC, I’m not looking for a pat on the back. Just telling the facts as they are. If you bothered to write a heart felt tome about the Lighthouse and sent it to Ms Murray you should know that it went straight into the shredder…SW
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19 ISLE in NJ 22 says:
Bri on LI … awesome link … thanks for sharing.
As a die hard Yankee Fan and Islander Fan growing up with both teams in the late 70s though now I can say as an expert fan of both teams that what the Yankees did in the late 90s pales in comparisson with what the Islanders did in the 80s … not even close … first off .. the 19 consecutive playoff series victories … there is now way that will ever be matched.
Secondly … Joe Torre deserves squat… EVERY year the Steinbrenners spent money to give Joe a chance to win … and he lost his magic this decade … I love what Joe did as a manager of the Yankees … but without Popeye (Don Zimmer) and Mel Stottlemyre at his side … he just didn’t have it.
Joe lost my respect with the book … especially since the Steinbrenners treated him better than most managers ever were treated in the same position. He was offered a deal that still made him the highest paid manager loaded with incentives … if he took that as an insult … too freekin bad.
YOU NEVER open up the genie in the bottle that he opened … I’m sure there are players on the Dodgers that lost total respect for him … he violated his own rule … how can they confide in him … loose lips sink ships.
It’s ex-boyfriend / girlfriend syndrome … if you have to still talk about it .. you’re not over it … not to mention the extra $$$ he’ll stuff in his pockets.
Can’t wait to see his interview on Regis and Kelly next week … He’ll be more offgaurd with Regis.
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ed says:
I would love it if Arbour came out with a book. I would like to hear how he was able to sustain such success and maintain discipline on his team. Get Arbour to write a book! Someone of his coaching stature should have one just to help other coaches imo
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… and CB is right … this should be more about what Al did for the Islanders … he started from scratch … building the team and sculpting the players into not just champions … but into hall of famers … he made marginal players good players … good players into great players … and great players into hall of fame super stars … he even got the 93 Isles a team of cast offs and hold overs to the semi-finals … Nobody touches Al’s legacy … nobody.
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BeatleBailey says:
Sir William:
What is your alternative to the Lighthouse Project? Something needs to be done there or the Islanders will leave and the coliseum will be a vacant waste of space. Or is that what you would prefer? -
My guess is that Sir W would like the coliseum turn into a flea market. I’ve never seen Sir W post an alternative idea on this blog or Logies blog … just opposing traffic and public funds.
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Firstly … I’d like to add … I am assuming that money spent by the county on the LHP would be for infrastructure like water and sewer … probably some road improvements too … Well … over the course of time … roads need to be maintained and improved… so I can understand the arguement of that cost …. but water and sewer?? Don’t people in the TOH pay a water and sewer bill??? With a consolidated development like the LHP you’d have an excessive amount of residents paying water and sewer taxes that will more than pay the bills for the initial construction … that compared to residents in more sparsely populated areas that require a longer time to recoup the costs.Secondly … with the economy the way it is … and a private company willing to build a project of this scale … isn’t this a no brainer?? A privately funded economic stimulous to the TOH??? … and she’s a Republican??? That is a head scratcher to me.
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ny711ot says:
not a yankee fan but if you had to sum it up..
torre=coward
arbour=legend -
Well Thank you SIR William for giving us insight about the Other SIDE! That’s Good reporting fair and balanced somebody else should catch on to that!
So we can hear both sides of the LightHouse! Thank You! -
19 ISELS IN NJ, You live in NJ, so what happens here doen’t affect you. When you move into the TOH your opinion will count for something. Otherwise, it means nothing…..SW
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The next question is: “When is YOUR book coming out, CB?”
No, I know you don’t kiss and tell. But you know you’re sitting on a mound of interesting “clean” tales, the disclosure of which would harm no one. (Well, maybe Kirk Muller.) And you clearly would have readers.
Maybe best to time it for the Islanders’ renaissance though, when others have come back to the bandwagon — when others will want to hear of all the steps and travails between Egypt and the Tavares Land.
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James says:
Different coaches and players, different times, different sports. Unfortunately.
In reading the article in today’s Post about David Wells taking Joe Torre to task about the book, and then bragging about how he’d defiantly turn up the radio after Torre would turn it down, it got me thinking:
If Al Arbour was in Torre’s shoes, and Wells was, for this argument’s sake, say Brent Sutter (the logic here: a good and somewhat key player, but not someone who carried the entire team); first, he’d smash the radio. Then, he’d make Sutter buy a new one. Then, he’d berate him in English and French. Then, he’d STILL bench him.
And then Sutter would say how he learned his lesson and how Al Arbour is the greatest coach he ever played. Which he was.
Different coaches and players, different times, different sports. Unfortunately.
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Islebethere4u says:
Colin Campbell must go!!
Hey CB, great story and thoughts as usual. The truly great ones stand out and stay there. Others eventually crumble under what they perceive as outside or undue pressures, and nothing can be said, compared, explained away or justified in the fall.
Thanks for the link Bri on LI. You’re one of the few who get it.
And SW, you too are quickly becoming irrelevant here. You make less and less sense lately!!
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SW – doesn’t that actually make the TOH look a lot worse? If they can’t be bothered to actually read the notes people send them about the biggest suburban building project since Levittown, why should we expect they are anything but in over their heads? I’m more insulted by that than I would have been if they simply mis-interpreted Maria’s letter.
We need to start holding them accountable on these things. This is not inconsistent with my past positions; I’m not into demonizing people blindly, but this is an egregious breach of their responsibility to the public.
Torre had every right to be bitter towards Yankee brass.
But to write a book that includes gossip about the players – “his players” – shameful. If I play for the Dodgers today, I’m certainly looking at him differently.
Full disclosure – bigtime Yankee fan