Imserba Webstore - The Yankee Years

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Binding: Audio CD Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357092 EAN: 9780739370773 Feature: ISBN13: 9780739370773 Format: Abridged ISBN: 0739370774 Label: Random House Audio Manufacturer: Random House Audio Number Of Items: 8 Publication Date: 2009-02-03 Publisher: Random House Audio Release Date: 2009-02-03 Studio: Random House Audio
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Editorial Reviews: Twelve straight playoff appearances. Six American League pennants. Four World Series titles. This is the definitive story of a dynasty: the Yankee years When Joe Torre took over as manager of the New York Yankees in 1996, the most storied franchise in sports had not won a World Series title in eighteen years. The famously tough and mercurial owner, George Steinbrenner, had fired seventeen managers during that span. Torre’s appointment was greeted with Bronx cheers from the notoriously brutal New York media, who cited his record as the player and manager who had been in the most Major League games without appearing in a World Series Twelve tumultuous and triumphant years later, Torre left the team as the most beloved and successful manager in the game. In an era of multimillionaire free agents, fractured clubhouses, revenue-sharing, and off-the-field scandals, Torre forged a team ethos that united his players and made the Yankees, once again, the greatest team in sports. He won over the media with his honesty and class, and was beloved by the fans. But it wasn’t easy. Here, for the first time, Joe Torre and Tom Verducci take us inside the dugout, the clubhouse, and the front office in a revelatory narrative that shows what it really took to keep the Yankees on top of the baseball world. The high-priced ace who broke down in tears and refused to go back to the mound in the middle of a game. Constant meddling from Yankee executives, many of whom were jealous of Torre’s popularity. The tension that developed between the old guard and the free agents brought in by management. The impact of revenue-sharing and new scouting techniques, which allowed other teams to challenge the Yankees’ dominance. The players who couldn’t resist the after-hours temptations of the Big Apple. The joys of managing Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, and the challenges of managing Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. Torre’s last year, when constant ultimatums from the front office, devastating injuries, and a freak cloud of bugs on a warm September night in Cleveland forced him from a job he loved. Through it all, Torre kept his calm, kept his players’ respect, and kept winning. And, of course, The Yankee Years chronicles the amazing stories on the diamond. The stirring comeback in the 1996 World Series against the heavily favored Braves. The wonder of 1998, when Torre led the Yanks to the most wins in Major League history. The draining and emotional drama of the 2001 World Series. The incredible twists and turns of the epic Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Red Sox, in which two teams who truly despised each other battled pitch by pitch until the stunning extra-inning home run. Here is a sweeping narrative of Major League Baseball in the Yankee era, a book both grand in its scope and fascinating in its details.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Not Just About The Yankees Comment: While Mr. Torre's first book was told from his perspective, this book is told second-hand via Tom Verducci. Verducci weaves a great narrative of the all the drama and action behind the scenes with the Yankees. The stories about A-Rod and Clemens make for good reading, but the problem with this book is that it seems to leave a bad taste with his former employer. Not only are some players called out, but management is painted in an unfavorable light. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the Red Sox comeback games and how sabermetrics changed the game, for a while. I'm interested after dealing with the Steinbrenner family, and now the McCourt family, what sort of stories will come out working for the Dodgers. If you are a baseball fan, a Joe Torre fan, and or a Yankee fan this is an entertaining and insightful read. If you are none of the above get a cookbook. Customer Rating: Summary: Not just for Yankee fans! Comment: Joe Torre and Tom Verducci have joined together for a real winning combination. Joe's calm style shows through in every line, as does his enthusiasm for his team and his players, and his absolute love for the game. The book doesn't just cover the good times and the highlights either. There are sections on the heart-wrenching losses, the games booted, player and manager errors, and just plain getting beat by a better team. Oh, yes, there are also beautiful full-color photo inserts that are worth more than their thousand words. I highly recommend it for any real baseball fan out there. Customer Rating: Summary: Scored with this one! Comment: My husband requested this book for Christmas; he is a big baseball fan and loves the Yankees so this gift was definitely a 'home run'. He is currently reading it and it enjoys it very much. Thank you. Customer Rating: Summary: Entertaining but Disconcerting Comment: This is a very quick and entertaining read, particularly for Yankee fans who followed the great teams of the Torre era. The book is written by Sports Illustrated reporter Verducci, not Torre -- though Verducci has access to extensive interviews with Torre. As a result, some of the sources for the book are third persons, sometimes even anonymous ones. Press reports that Torre was ripping A-Rod and others are not quite true. Third persons, not Torre, called A-Rod "A-Fraud." Torre was concerned about perceptions of A-Rod and his concern about A-Rod's fear of failure as undermining his performance is something he told A-Rod directly. One surprise to me is that Damon essentially lost interest in baseball at the beginning of 2007 and almost walked away from the game. He ended up playing catch-up the rest of the season. Given the extraordinary performance of both Sheffield and Giambi as clutch hitters, I was a bit surprised to hear criticism of those two. Yes, it was stupid for the Yanks to go after Sheffield instead of the younger Guerrero. But I was surprised that Torre was never a fan of the Giambi deal -- the guy was a terrific hitter and clubhouse presence. He is criticized, somewhat unfairly, for telling management that he was too lame to play defense in the 2003 World Series. Yet, this is precisely the kind of honesty Torre wanted from his players. Still, Torre emphasized defense and reliability, which I suppose was his root problem with Giambi. The real problem of the Yankees from 2004 to 2007 was not Giambi or Sheffield or A-Rod, but their pitching. Their offense was terrific in this period. But all great offenses are prone to being shut down against post-season pitching, and the Yankees lacked the top starters necessary to match up with the pitching of the Red Sox, Angels, Tigers, and Indians in these years. The book makes a very good case that the Yankees went after the wrong pitchers in this period -- Vazquez, Pavano, Contreras, Brown, Johnson, Wright. Vazquez may not belong on this list, but he certainly was not the number 1 or number 2 pitcher the Yanks were looking for. One of the problems, however, was what was the alternative? As Verducci points out, the rest of the league was on to the Yanks. They were signing their young pitchers to long term deals to keep them away from the Yankees. Still, the Yanks just plain blew the opportunity to get Schilling and should have held on to Pettite and Lilly. This would have made a huge difference and may have produced another championship during the end of the Torre era. My criticism of the book is threefold. First, it is poorly organized and repetitive. Second, the criticism of Cashman is unfair. Yes, he blew the pitching moves. But he was a big supporter of Torre and put his neck out for him to help save his job. Only when the franchise was irretrievably committed in another direction does Cashman back away from Torre. I think Torre should have seen Cashman's conduct as simple business as opposed to a personal betrayal. Third, and most importantly, if Torre's management is based on trust, doesn't he breach it by doing a tell-all book so soon after his departure? Revealing locker room secrets is a betrayal of trust. I could see writing this book several years after the fact, but writing it now was unfair to A-Rod, Giambi, Damon, Sheffield, Cashman, and some of the others who do not come off well in this book. As an admirer of Torre, this lapse in judgment is very disconcerting. Customer Rating: Summary: Amazing look at the Torre Years Comment: Very well written book that flows smoothly and very easy to read. A must read for any Yankees fan!