Remove Torre and The Dynasty is Over

The Yankees are hanging on and are one win away from making it interesting. Steinbrenner said over the weekend that Joe Torre would be judged on the outcome of this series. Torre realizes this and has for as long as he has been manager. His job is on the line every day. Torre means "tower" in Italian. Joe has towered over baseball for the past fifty years--first as an ambassador of all things National League when he played catcher for the Cardinals and now as manager of the Yankees. I remember owning his baseball card. Remove Joe and the mystique is gone. His eyes tell the story as they shift and calculate situations. He is a godfather more than a coach--the head of the Yankee family. Having an Italian at the helm is a good thing for a number of reasons. The Yankees have had their share of productive Italian-Americans: DiMaggio, Crosetti, Berra, Rizzuto, and Pepitone. Italians of a certain generation, no matter where they reside, identify with the Yankees. Growing up in an Italian family would have given Joe the necessary training in Machiavellian tactics. George Steinbrenner is the banker--he merely funds the operation. Torre is the spirit of this latest Dynasty. Jeter and Mariano personify that spirit--not A-Rod or Damon. The dirt wedged between Torre's cleats has more gravitas than Steinbrenner. It's hard to imagine that Clemens or Pettite would come back to play for another manager. Is there any better manager in the world than Joe Torre?