Monday Morning

I'm sitting in the library between classes again and I think I am more awake than I've felt in a while. I slept hard last night after studying the Oedipus Cycle for an hour after rehearsal. My English 220 class is the most silent and unresponsive class I've ever been a part of. When the professor poses a question I often feel bad answering it because it is clear that some of the students are trying to sleep. I would rather it just be me and the two or three other people who care sitting in the corner with the professor while the other people sleep off their hangovers. Perhaps I'll pose this solution.

Basically, when it comes to English, I'm the shit.

Aaaand when it comes to having three BANGIN new arrangements done in time to melt some faces at the annual Unity Concert (Tonight, Monday, October 22, 7:00PM in Stewart Theatre), Acappology is the shit.

I know what you're all wondering. I can hear the question on the wind, "Sean, what do you think of Joe Torre's decision to leave the Yankees." Well, friends, it upsets me, but from Joe's perspective I can't say I disagree. The Yankees are making a big mistake not taking Joe back for another year. I have already made my reasons for this clear to a point in my last entry, but perhaps now I can lay out exactly how ridiculous the logic of this is. I promise to be brief (but I'm also a filthy liar).

Joe Torre managed the Yankees for 12 seasons. He reached the World Series 6 times. He won the World Series 4 times. He reached the postseason 12 times. That alone should be enough to get him whatever he wants in a contract. Joe Torre should have been able to leave on his own terms and go straight into retirement. Regardless of Joe's feelings and his boggling managerial success, however, there are factors here that make the Yankees' lackadaisical attempt at rehiring him more of a tragedy. Free agents Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera both said that they would likely leave the team if Joe Torre wasn't rehired. Let's think about this. In Jorge Posada you've got one of the most consistent defensive catchers in the league who, by the way, had the best offensive year of his career this season. In Mariano Rivera you have an absolute first-ballot Hall-of-Famer who still has three or four solid seasons in him. When these two players stated their position on the issue of Torre being rehired, that should have been all that the Steinbrenner family needed to keep Torre on. Instead, like Bernie Williams before them, Posada and Rivera are being told indirectly that they aren't worth the effort. That is disrespectful, and it makes me ashamed of my team. Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Joe Torre...these are Yankees you should be building monuments to.

Another aspect of the debate is that Alex Rodriguez now has a reason to say "I want out." Even if he was already planning to opt out of his contract and pursue unprecedented riches from some other team, he can now say that he doesn't want to sign with a team that hasn't hired a manager. It's giving him an excuse to leave.

The solution: hire Joe Girardi. He was Posada's mentor when he was still a player, so Posada would play for him and he was Rivera's catcher in 1995 and '96 when he was just beginning to find his role as a short reliever. Oh yeah, and he also brought the Florida Marlins out of their role as the doormat of the NL East two years ago, making a collection of young individuals into a solid team in playoff contention. I think Girardi is the best candidate.

Bottom Line: Next year is the Yankees' last year in Yankee Stadium before they move next door into the new temple that George Steinbrenner and Co. have built for them. It is absolutely disgusting that Joe Torre will not be given the option of ushering in that new era of Yankee baseball. It is the same logic that got Yogi Berra fired in 1964 after losing the seventh game of the World Series, and it's the same logic that made Don Zimmer leave his role as Torre's first mate several years ago. It's the Steinbrenner code of conduct that makes the Yankees the most hated franchise in baseball, and it's sad that Yankee fans have to cling to the good to keep from being consumed by the bad.

Not brief. I care a lot about my Yankees.

Fuck the Red Sox. It's not fair for them to have the Patriots and the Red Sox. At least my NY Giants are winning.