Please Let's Keep Joe Torre as our NY Yankees Manager

Please Mr. Steinbrenner, DO NOT let Joe Torre go!! Mr. Torre has been a dedicated manager and ALWAYS makes his team feel that they can go the distance by managing his team the best he can. Now while I realize this is the third time that the Yankees did not make it through the first round, you also must understand that had it not been for Mr. Torre, the Yankees would not have made it to the playoffs at all. As you know, the Yankees were 21-29, and after the All Star break, they ended their season with an outstanding record of 94-68. Talk about results….what other team can do that. Joe Torre managed the team so well, that they were able to come back from this deficit. The New York Mets were up by 7 games and they did not make it into the playoffs and Mr. Willie Randolph’s position is still secure. Joseph Torre deserves the same respect.

Mr. Brian Cashman did a great job with hiring Joba Chamberlain and Shelly Duncan this year, and also let’s not forget Andy Pettitte, Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu, Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano. There is no way you can even think about letting Andy Pettitte go. He is your ACE. Not only did he do an extreme job during the regular season, but he came through in the post season. Pettitte played a lot of games, and won his 200th game, as the New York Yankees moved to 1.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. Andy Pettitte could have received more wins, but instead he received no decisions, because the bull pen could not hold on. However, since Joba, Pettitte has been able to secure more wins. Now talk about your players that have come through not only offensively but defensively, Johnny Damon has made plays to save the game that not many players could have made, Alex Rodriguez, your MVP, has played better than ever, Bobby Abreu, has played extremely well, Shelly Duncan is incredible, Melky Cabrera always comes through, along with Robinson Cano and Doug Mientkiewicz, all which have helped us to get into the playoffs. What can I say about our Captain, Derek Jeter, other than he is just absolutely fantastic. Your bull pen has improved with

Joba Chamberlain, Jose Veras and Luis Viscaino. I am also aware that Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera will be free agents. Please do your absolute best to keep them. Jorge has been spectacular, along with Mo. I know that Alex may be looking for more money, but these players are all dedicated and they ALL know that if it had not been for Joe Torre, they would not have been champions.

One other thing, the Indians were prepared for the swarm of insects that disrupted the eighth inning of the Cleveland Indians 2-1 playoff victory over the New York Yankees. I am sure this was not the first time this happened, and the Indians were prepared, but this was the first time the Yankees have been invaded by these insects. While the Indians played with the insects on them as the Yankees did, I still feel that they were prepared and had some kind of bug spray on them, because they were not bothered as much as the Yankees were. You could see that every time they tried to focus, these insects were flying in their nose and in their face.

I know you will need to make some changes, and I also know that Roger Clemens may need to retire, but PLEASE Mr. Steinbrenner, PLEASE allow Joe Torre to stay as your manager.

I have been a dedicated New York Yankee fan since I have been a child. I was born and raised in the Bronx, and moved to Long Island. I have Yankee plates on my car which read HOT26, only because 26WINS was already taken, and I had 27WINS in reserve for this year. I have autographed baseballs from Andy Pettitte, John Wetteland, Goose Gossage, David Cone, Jorge Posada, Whitey Ford and I have a room completely filled with photographs of the Yankees. My father in law is an excellent artist, and back in 1988 he drew a magnificent picture of Joe DiMaggio, and had it autographed by Mr. DiMaggio. He saved it for the right moment, and last year he gave it to me as a Christmas gift. I also have Joe Torre’s book which was autographed by him, and I want to be able to continue to purchase more, providing they are not too costly. My dream is to one day have an autographed home plate signed by the team, but my point here, Mr. Steinbrenner is that I would not have had a chance to have this memorabilia in the past 12 years had it not been for your ultimate manager, Mr. Joseph Torre. I know you know the record, but on May 7, 2006, Mr. Torre won his 1,000^th game as Yankees manager, making him one of only four Yankees managers to do so. Mr. Torre has led the Yankees to 12 consecutive postseason appearances, winning 10 AL East titles and two wild-card berths. His 1,173 regular-season wins are second among Yankees managers behind Joe McCarthy's 1,460.

Once again Mr. Steinbrenner, please don’t let Joe Torre go, he is a class act, along with your ACE Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera.

Thank you for an interesting and exciting season and hopefully with Mr. Torre managing the team next year, we will get our 27^th win.

Respectfully,


MaryAnn Slater