Big Papi Goes to Bat For Joe Torre...

Like many fans out there in baseball, whether they root for the Yankees or not, are very much irked and angry that Joe Torre, the manager of the Yankees who has won four World series along with appeared in the playoffs for 12 straight years may be out of a job.

Well, a member from the enemy side now has put in his two cents - David Ortiz.

"Big Papi" Ortiz who has tormented the Yankees and just about every other team in baseball for years has a soft spot Torre and believes the Yankees would be damaged by his departure in an article from the New York Times.

He says:

“This is the way I see it,” Ortiz said. “Every organization is like the human body. You have a head that, if you mess around with it, everything just goes down at the same time. I think Joe Torre is the head of that organization right there.”

also...

“There’s no doubt about it, he’s one of the best managers in baseball,” Ortiz said. “It’s because the way they played the first two months, and going through injuries, and going through everybody apart, and end up being in the playoffs, you got to give him a lot of credit. You need to have a good head to keep the body together that way. And I think he did.”

Ortiz is irked that the Yankees are not expected to make a decision on Torre until they hold organizational meetings in Tampa, Fla. He said that the Yankees “need to give the man respect” in how they dealt with Torre’s future.

To top it off...

Ortiz said that Torre, who has helped lead the Yankees into the playoffs for 12 consecutive years, might have done his best job this season because he prevented the Yankees from “falling apart.” With or without Torre, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry will continue. But if Torre is gone, Ortiz said, that will favor Boston.

“I tell you what, if he doesn’t come back to the Yankees, they’re going to feel that next year somewhere,” Ortiz said. “I’m telling you that right now. The guy, he knows what he’s doing. To tell you the truth, he plays to win.”

Thanks David. Though some in Boston may not be happy to hear what he had to say, it's a classy thing to say about someone on the enemy side. It shows that ballplayers are not robots, or care solely about the money; they have heart.