Letters to the Editor
Torre on Decline
As a die-hard Yankees fan, I feel the need to object to the sentiments espoused in the recent article about the firing of Joe Torre (“Torre’s Tenure in NY Should Not Hinge on One Division Series,” Oct. 12, 2007). Yankee fans demand a level of performance that other fans may not be accustomed to. For some teams, fans just want a winning season, or to beat their division rivals, or to find some way of not letting a perfectly good season fall apart (like the Yankees’ cross-town friends, the Mets). Yankee fans want a World Series title, though some years we’ll settle for a pennant. We don’t expect one every year, but with such a dominant lineup, getting kicked out of the playoffs in the first round again and again, and losing the way we have, merits the dismissal of the manager. We’re not fickle fans; I love Joe, but he’s lost his touch with the team. They just aren’t working the way they did back in the late ’90s; he is not even managing the way he did then. Joe’s been on the decline for a while, and this was just the straw that broke Steinbrenner’s back.