Torre will manage Team USA and (after a yawn) we say, "Yeah, that makes sense."
The idea of the World Baseball Classic is that it will someday be like soccer's World Cup.
It may never get there. It's not close yet.
But if it ever does, perhaps we'll argue about the Team USA manager the way the English argue about who manages England, or the way the Italians and Germans and Dutch scream about their managers.
For now, we see that Joe Torre is going to manage Team USA next year, and we yawn and say, "Yeah, that makes sense."
It does make sense.
Who better to take over a team of superstars with conflicting egos? Who better to take over the original Yankees than the guy who once managed the Yankees to four World Series titles?
If we cared about the WBC the way everyone else in the world cares about the World Cup, Torre would be under bigger pressure now than he ever was in the Bronx.
We've never won the WBC -- although I challenge anyone out there to remember who did.
I looked it up. Japan won in 2009. Japan won in 2006, too.
Now there's another WBC coming, to be played next March.
Why were there three years between WBC I and WBC II, and then four years between WBC II and WBC III.
I don't know. And I don't care.
I do hope that the WBC someday turns into a big deal, because it would be fun.
Can Torre help make it a bigger deal?
Perhaps, if he can get Team USA to play better than it did the first two times.
How did we do in 2006 and 2009?
I looked that up, too. In 2006, with Buck Martinez as manager, we lost to Mexico and didn't make it out of the second round.
In 2009, with Davey Johnson in charge, we got run-ruled by Puerto Rico (11-1 in seven innings) in the first round, but made it to the semifinals before losing to Japan.
As far as I can remember, no one complained.
If Torre loses next year, no one will complain.
But if he wins, maybe the WBC will become a slightly bigger deal.
It may never get there. It's not close yet.
But if it ever does, perhaps we'll argue about the Team USA manager the way the English argue about who manages England, or the way the Italians and Germans and Dutch scream about their managers.
For now, we see that Joe Torre is going to manage Team USA next year, and we yawn and say, "Yeah, that makes sense."
It does make sense.
Who better to take over a team of superstars with conflicting egos? Who better to take over the original Yankees than the guy who once managed the Yankees to four World Series titles?
If we cared about the WBC the way everyone else in the world cares about the World Cup, Torre would be under bigger pressure now than he ever was in the Bronx.
We've never won the WBC -- although I challenge anyone out there to remember who did.
I looked it up. Japan won in 2009. Japan won in 2006, too.
Now there's another WBC coming, to be played next March.
Why were there three years between WBC I and WBC II, and then four years between WBC II and WBC III.
I don't know. And I don't care.
I do hope that the WBC someday turns into a big deal, because it would be fun.
Can Torre help make it a bigger deal?
Perhaps, if he can get Team USA to play better than it did the first two times.
How did we do in 2006 and 2009?
I looked that up, too. In 2006, with Buck Martinez as manager, we lost to Mexico and didn't make it out of the second round.
In 2009, with Davey Johnson in charge, we got run-ruled by Puerto Rico (11-1 in seven innings) in the first round, but made it to the semifinals before losing to Japan.
As far as I can remember, no one complained.
If Torre loses next year, no one will complain.
But if he wins, maybe the WBC will become a slightly bigger deal.
