During the last game at Yankees stadium, many past players that meant a lot to this organization were able to take the field one last time to be cheered by the New York fans. It was a nice ceremony where many players that have meant a lot to this city throughout many generations were honored on the very field that made them legends. But many fans were taken aback by the absence or lack of mention of two former Yankees that were meaningful to this teams championship era: Roger Clemens and Joe Torre.
I happen to agree with not inviting Clemens. This wasn't a Yankee farmhand that pitched the team to the playoffs, he was an expensive free agent who joined the team after they had already begun their championship run in hopes of winning some himself. That, and he's currently rolled up in an investigation concerning his use of performance enhancers throughout his time with the Yankees. He looked awful before the media, and even worse before congress. Nothing has been proven, but that's beside the point. Clemens is someone who "retired" from the Yankees and then took his retirement Hummer down to Houston where he picked up a new contract to go play for them. Then he did his whole, I'm the "belle of the ball" routine for two seasons while the Astro's, the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Rangers kept adding zero's to their checks in hopes that he'd take. This isn't Willie Randolph, Whitey Ford, Goose Gossage, Don Larsen, or Derek Jeter. Was there mention of Orlando Hernandez, Doc Gooden, Hideki Irabu, or Ramiro Mendoza, all of which were apart of those championship teams? I'm just not all that convinced that Clemens needed to be brought in for this.
Torre on the other hand is a different story. The fact that the Yankees made no mention of him despite being the manager that led the Yankees to their 4 most recent World Series Championships is unexcusable. I've heard people say that he should have been invited to the ceremony, which I disagree with, but they definitely needed to mention the man. The reason I don't agree with the invite idea is that Joe Torre is managing the Dodgers, and needs to be focused on them. He had a game that day, and it simply wouldn't have been appropriate to skip out to be at his former stadium. At least that's my opinion.
So, what do you all think? Should Clemens and Torre have been mentioned or invited to the final game, or do you think they did not merit the effort?
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13 comments:
Clemens should not be there...he's untouchable right now...he puts a damper on anything he's involved in. MAYBE you show video of him on the screen but you can't have him there.
I have no idea why there was no video shown of Torre. Maybe the Yankees were worried because they didn't want any "if Torre was still here we'd be in the playoffs" backlash...but I still think they should have showed him in video. He definitely can't attend though because his new team is his priority.
Torre should have been there no doubt. the man kept the team together during those runs. he was able to keep the clubhouse together by having the leaders lead. he wasnt too controlling. he was perfect for at team with the amount of leaders. its a sin they didnt mention him
Clemens should not have been mentioned, I agree. However, the Yankee brass should have made the gesture to invite Torre, expecting him to turn down the invitation due to his obligations with the Dodgers. But the invitation still should have been extended and he definitely should have been mentioned, and not just as a footnote. He was the dynasty of the 90s and early 2000s right along with Jeter, Mo, Posada, and Petitte. To not give him his due was pure blasphemy and his curse on the Yankees will surely continue!!!
Why shouldnt Clemens be honored? Because of the PED thing? Well, then why did Giambi and Pettite get honored? Seems pretty hypocritical to me. I mean, clemens played a pretty big part in that championship run, no? I dont want to hear about Pettite and Giambi admitting it either. The both still knowingly took it. Just because they came forward, they shouldnt be held any less liable.
You can't deny what Mr. T and the Rocket had contributed to this team.
You can't deny history.
And please don't tell me such a dominant boss like Big George had no clue what his Ace was doing.
Players take all the blame while owners count the money?
That should not be a Yankees' tradition.
Clemens right now is an eyesore to baseball.
I understand why he was left off and I can live with it. As far as Roger as a Yankee, I don't feel he was just looking for a ring like that other Red Soxer, Boggs.
Torre on the hand is too involved right now with his team to have come to the event (Don Mattingly also but no one is crying about Donny Baseball) I don't recall the Yankees showing Managers on the big screen like the position players. They did mention Miller Huggins and Casey before the position by position stuff. Buck Showalter was there and didn't get a mention.
Look at how well the opening was and not what they missed.
No doubt Hank will blast the D-backs for conspiring with Al Qaeda to hand the Dodgers the NL West title for free.
This team deserves a better owner.
Clemens played a part in the 1999 and 2000 runs, as many other players who received no mention did as well. Pettitte and Giambi were honored because they're on the current team. Would it be different if they were both not current Yankees? I think Pettitte would still be honored because he came up through the Yankee farm system, but Giambi wasn't apart of the championship teams so he'd be absent. Either way, I thought it was a beautiful ceremony, but leaving Torre off is hard to overlook.
oh, I'm not saying I dont agree with it. I strongly dislike roger clemens. I just hate how some people get a free pass, while others are vilified. I personally dont care if a person did PED's or not. For every Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, you have your Paxton Crawfords and Deron Peters (Oh yeah, I went there). I think fans were ready to move on, and the Mitchell Report screwed that up big time.
For me its not just the PED thing with Clemens. Was he great when he was with us? Sure, but so was I when I was with the Yankees and they didn't invite me back. Yes, I sold T-shirts for them, but I was a hard-nosed salesman who did the small things that made the team great. I had some great moments. I once sold a Randy Johnson T-shirt to that camera man he attacked. That's how scrappy I was. But then they found out I was drinking on the job, which in sales is considered a performance enhancer. I denied it vehemently, but the beer salesman ratted me out after a federal investigation found he was importing contraband rum from Cuba making him the only American in the post-prohibition era to still import alcohol illegally.
I wasn't sorry they didn't show Clemens or invite him. There were plenty of pitchers not included in the ceremony, including Sparky Lyle, who won the Cy Young award. As for Torre, I agree with everyone that they should have shown him in a video but not invited him. The man is busy! He had a game that night with his new team! On the whole, I think the Yankees did a great job. These events are like weddings. Somebody's always gonna feel slighted.
"These events are like weddings. Somebody's always gonna feel slighted."
That is a great way to put it. You can't appease everyone. If they had shown Clemens and Torre, then someone would find some other player that should have been there but wasn't. You can't win.
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