Torre Arrives in Kiss and Tell Hell

Torre arrives in kiss and tell hell

Joe Torre always seemed just a little better than the people and things around him. He carried himself with a quiet dignity and appeared to have wisdom beyond us mere mortals. He was legit, the real deal, a rock.

That is why it was so utterly sad to watch Torre on CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman” this past week trying to twitch and fidget his way out of the backlash generated by his book “The Yankee Years,” co-written with Sports Illustrated scribe and MLB Network regular Tom Verducci.

Parts of the book criticize some of Torre’s former Yankee players and colleagues. It is a typical kiss and tell, behind the scenes hatchet job, conveniently released now that Torre is 3000 miles away managing the Los Angeles Dodgers.

During the Letterman gig, Torre went so far as to imply that some of the information in the book was written by Verducci, not Torre himself. Letterman, clearly trying to help Torre, went along with that line of B.S. It may be true that Verducci contributed much to the book, but Torre’s name comes first, and therefore, he is responsible for every word between the covers.

The contents of Torre’s latest venture into the often-crass world of sports authoring is no surprise. He is merely the latest jerk to sell out those with whom he once worked daily.

In 2003, “60 Minutes” interviewed ex-Giant linebacker Lawrence Taylor regarding his own piece of literary slop . The Q and A spurred much unnecessary controversy. In truth, LT really didn’t tell us anything that we didn’t already know.

Regarding bounties in the NFL, Taylor offered, “That’s just part of being the [expletive deleted] rough and tough football player. You get no pay for doing a cheap shot. But if I hit you straight up, yeah we’re going to get paid for that.”

The bounty issue is an old one. Current Fox analyst and ex-Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson used to go toe-to-toe with former Eagles coach Buddy Ryan on bounty accusations.

Regarding Taylor’s bounty comments, NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders stated, “We passed the hat around. Guys put in $100 here, $100 there. You knocked the guy out, but it was not initiated from the team or the coaches.” Added CBS’ Dan Marino, “We did that with touchdown passes too. Big play, big touchdown passes, players would put it in a pool.”

Taylor also discussed prostitution in the NFL, stating that teams would send women to their opponents’ hotel rooms to tire them out before games. He also reiterated that he and many NFL players spent as much as $1000 a day on drugs.

Was this news? Face it folks. CEO’s at business conventions send women to other guys’ rooms. The NFL is not the only bastion of bad behavior. As for Taylor’s drug use, it is about as surprising as Monday coming after Sunday.

All of this was, to quote William Shakespeare, much ado about nothing. The bottom line is that Lawrence Taylor was trying to trigger sales for his new book. What we saw on “60 Minutes” was the same tired old rant of a gifted athlete hell-bent on self-destruction.

In 2005, “60 Minutes” interviewed former NFL tough guy Bill Romanowski. Known for his dirty methods and pharmacological diet, Romanowski showed regret for his brutal play and admitted to taking steroids and human growth hormone provided by Victor Conte of BALCO infamy.

Romanowski’s performance was from the Lawrence Taylor school of thought. Step 1: Show a sensitive side preferably accompanied by tears. Step 2: Admit to character flaws. Step 3: Drum up interest in your soon to be released book, “Romo. My Life on the Edge.”

In the interview, Romanowski talked about breaking the finger of Dave Meggett during a game. “All I could get was a finger and, at the time, I thought it was his, but whatever it was, I just snapped it and I could hear a scream at the bottom of the pile,” he stated. How nice.

We learned that Romanowski’s hard-hitting style resulted in twenty “documented” concussions and possibly permanent brain damage. According to CBS, Romanowski’s brain showed “profound slowing of cognitive function.”

In truth, Romanowski’s brain functioning was questionable long before the interview. Throughout his career, he was a cocky, swaggering ass. He regaled anyone who would listen about his gross intake of a smorgasbord of pills and supplements. His teary admissions of using steroids and feeling regret for his past were about as sentimental as a Motorhead concert.

“I compromised my morality to get ahead, to play another year, to play two more years, to win another Super Bowl,” the ex-Niner, Bronco and Raider said in an almost heroic tone. Please. This interview was completely laughable.

The fact is that Romanowski was being utterly Cansecoesque, cashing in on the steroid scare and feigning regret for his cheating ways. The same way the washed up Canseco’s “Juiced” book blew the lid off baseball’s steroid secret. Canseco, to some, is now viewed as some sort of hero, but in truth, he wrote the book just to satisfy his own thirst for lost glory.

You can almost understand why has-beens like Taylor, Romanowski and Canseco decide to put poison pen to paper. They have an almost psychopathic drive to share their bitterness and anger with all of us. They are desperate for attention and money. In many ways, Torre’s indiscretion is worse. He is a manager, and a wealthy and working manager at that. He is supposed to be the father-figure on a team. He is supposed to be the one who eliminates in-fighting. He is supposed to be the one person on a team whom everyone should be able to trust.

Torre’s book is a shameful stab at a financial windfall, and Verducci is no better. For years, he has criticized Barry Bonds for being a bad teammate. Now, Verducci is profiting from Torre being a bad manager. I guess stabbing teammates and colleagues in the back is OK if it lines your pockets, right Tom?

On the Letterman show, Torre looked tired, worn and frazzled with all the negativity surrounding his book. He tried to dodge, deflect and dance around the blame. Yes, Joe Torre always seemed just a little better than the people and things around him. Turns out he’s as bad as any in the bunch.

John Molori writes for Patriots Football Weekly, Boston Baseball Magazine, New England Golf Monthly and BostonSportsMedia.com. He is a contributor to the “Papa Joe Chevalier Show” at KLAV AM 1230 in Las Vegas and papajoetalk.com. He hosts the “J-Team Radio Show” at AM 980 WCAP and www.jteamradio.com. Email John at MoloriMedia@aol.com.