Driving force behind the "Lonely Yankee" revealed - backstabbing Joe Torre

I'm sure you'll read about Joe Torre's backstabbing book, set to hit shelves in early February (I'll be doing my best to somehow pirate it so Torre doesn't see a penny of my money).

It looks as though this is going to be a yearly incident. Spring Training is set to arrive and Joe Torre tries to stir up controversy in the Yankee clubhouse - even though he is long gone, fulfilling his "dream" of managing the Los Angeles Dodgers. All of that aside, this incident has caused me to have somewhat of a revelation. Remember that "lonely Yankee" article in Sports Illustrated a couple of years ago by Tom Verducci? Yes, that same Tom Verducci who co-wrote this soon to be Joe Torre exposé. It was pretty obvious at the time that Verducci had some unprecedented access to the clubhouse to be allowed to write an article ripping apart every aspect of the team's best player. Now, it is clear that Joe Torre was the driving force behind the polarizing article that came out just days before the 2006 playoffs - the fateful series against the Tigers featuring Torre's famous panic move of batting A-Rod 8th in the key game.

Since Torre left for greener pastures in Los Angeles, I have been pretty forgiving. Last March, I questioned the outward bashing of Torre in some articles out of Spring Training. Joe Torre was a leader of men during the late 90's and early 2000's and led the Yankees to an unprecedented run at the top of Major League Baseball. He did his time in New York and we can all commiserate with someone getting tired of the daily grind of doing the same job for over a decade. That being said, his bitter and petty obsession with the franchise since his departure has me thinking that there may never be a "Joe Torre day" at the new Yankee Stadium.

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