The Dodgers’ Perfection and the Yankees’ Flaws

Posted on | May 6, 2009 | No Comments

Headline in the New York Daily News today: “Bring Back Torre.” Torre is, of course, Joe Torre the former manager of the Yankees and the now manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. I bet that headline pretty much sums up how all Yankees fans feel right now.

And the Yankees and the Dodgers are really on opposite ends of the spectrum right now.

The Dodgers just tied a record for the most consecutive home wins to start a season. They are a perfect 12-0 at home this year. One more win and the record will be theirs. With the Washington Nationals coming to town, the record is very possible.

Away from home the Dodgers are just a .500 team. But that’s plenty good enough. Overall they’re 12 games over .500 and that puts them 5.5 games up in the NL West. Most likely they’ll run away with the division. And Joe Torre will take his team to the playoffs for like the 15th straight year. Up until last year, the team he brought to the post season was the Yankees. But not anymore.

And this brings us to the Yankees. The 13-13 Yankees. The team that is 4.5 games back in the AL East. The team that has dropped the first 5 games of the season to the Boston Red Sox. The team that desperately needs Alex Rodriguez’s bat in the line-up but could use his locker room presence like a hole in the head.

The Yankees are in trouble. And their biggest problem is their manager, Joe Girardi. I don’t know how his players like him. I don’t know how good of a motivator he is. But I do know this: He’s horrible at managing the pitchers – both the starters and the bullpen. Last night was yet another example. He pulled Joba Chamberlain just when it looked like the Yankees had momentum. And the bull pen came in to allow a 4-3 deficit to grow to a 7-3 loss.

Yes, Joe Torre and the Dodgers are looking golden, while Girardi and the Yankees are looking like like rusted metal.

Related posts:

1. MLB: The Beat Goes On
2. MLB: Dodgers in Trouble, Rays Looking Great
3. MLB: Dodgers Sweep, Yanks and Angels Look to Follow
4. MLB: Yankees In First for Good?
5. MLB: Are the Yankees in Trouble?

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