Here's what his book said (my emphasis added):
And here's what Torre said on "Larry King Live":Back in 2004, at first Rodriguez did his best to try to fit into the Yankee culture - his cloying, B-grade actor best. He slathered on the polish. People in the clubhouse, including teammates and support personnel, were calling him "A-Fraud" behind his back.
Co-author Tom Verducci recently criticized the tabloids for blowing the A-Fraud thing out of proportion. In a recent interview, he said:"The A-Fraud thing was more of a joking type thing. I know Larry Bowa used to take him out to hit ground balls after he had a -- maybe a bad night or had made an error. And he says, 'Who is it today, is it A-Rod or A-Fraud,' you know? And it was right there in front of him. It wasn't like anything was said behind his back."
It was funny to see the tabloids misrepresent the "A-Fraud" reference and still then chase down Pettitte and Damon about it; the term appears in the book in a very specifically defined manner: only in regard to guys in the clubhouse (not Torre) noticing that Alex was trying too hard to fit in, only in 2004, his first season in New York. Pettitte was playing in Houston and Damon in Boston that year!And Bowa was managing in Philadelphia that year, so how would he know how the term was used?
I do find it funny that 1) Torre and Verducci literally can't keep their stories straight about the use of "A-Fraud" in the book, and 2) Verducci is complaining that the tabloids misrepresented what was in "The Yankee Years," given that the book describes A-Rod as a "cloying, B-grade actor" who "slathered on the polish"!
Later on today, I will show more examples of how Joe Torre misrepresented the contents of his book on "Larry King Live." But in the meantime, please tell us what you think!
who cares?
ReplyDeletepitchers and catchers reporting soon!!
km
hey senator mccarthy, can we start discussing the upcoming baseball season now?
ReplyDeleteDiscuss what exactly? What is a conversation that hasn't been had about the Yankees? You guys act like we're in the middle of the season or they just signed a big free agent.
ReplyDeletePure conjecture is no more amusing than this topic. Don't read the darn thread.
Hell, I go on MLB and baseball sections of sports sites all the time and there just isn't much out there.
Why does Torre care if he burns bridges? He doesn't need a bridge.
ReplyDeleteSaint Joe can walk on water.
baseball starts in less than a month! joe torre left over a year ago. move on! books have been written before, and will again. move on. make the playoffs. play in the world series. get over it.
ReplyDeletesymphony, have a baseball discussion. who will play centerfield? what will the rotation look like? set up man? long man? that is what baseball fans do. not sit around and bit*ch about a book that you ex-manager wrote.
the saddest thing is that most of what has been written has already been said by yankee fans in the past. yankee fans whined and moaned about arod before. they've crabbed about cashman and his stupid moves. torre put it in a book. big deal. quit whining about it, it is tiresome!
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your constant insight into what a weasel Torre was and still is.
I know it would be controversial for you but you are one of the few writers who has the gall to write about how Jeter needs to go after his contract ends in 2010. $189m for 10 years is enough. He cant play defense anymore, where will they put him? His whopping ego will never take a paycut like Pettitte did, so what will the Yanks do after overpaying him for all these years? He is by far the most overrated player in baseball.
Lisa, forget Woodward and Bernstein. You should have investigated Watergate! The whole subject of A-Rod amuses me. What's so wrong with trying to fit into a new clubhouse? Why would Torre even think that was a bad thing?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous (isn't it always),
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you've been in a coma. But every Yankee site on the internet has talked ad nauseum about who is going to play center field, the number of outfielders, the rotation, the bullpen, what to do with Joba, long term contracts, what to do with Jeter as he's getting older, which of the remaining free agents the Yanks should go for, and almost every other on-the-field topic to the point where they aren't even bringing the topics up because (depending on the site) there have been hundreds of comments debating each of the topics.
Someone like you sitting around "complaining" about what people choose to discuss on their own blogs shouldn't be what a baseball fan does either. But you're doing it? Huh.
So go find one of those sites that is currently talking about what you want to talk about. Or discuss it on your own site if you feel there is more that needs to be discussed.
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ReplyDeleteSymphony,
ReplyDeleteYour avatar - the silhouette of the woman with the megaphone - is really cool! It's cute, too.
i'm the one in the coma? you guys have been in a world-series less induced coma for 8 years! and now, after adding 2 of the biggest free agents this offseason, what you want to talk about is that joe torre had negative things to say about the team?? pathetic.
ReplyDelete"Anonymous (isn't it always)" i am generally very clear about who i am, and quite frankly you have not been around here very much if there is any question who i am.
I'm guessing "Anonymous" must be "km" ... I don't get why he or she states that "i am generally very clear about who i am" because if "km" is very clear then you must be a 0t ... and I'm betting "km" must stand for "kid's mind."
ReplyDeleteanother continent heard from, literally. I am sure that a man of your organizational ability and business stature could come up with something better than kids mind. I mean come on, you are a master of industry and that is the best you have? really.
ReplyDeletekm
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ReplyDeletekm, as you can see I have posted enough information for you to have an idea of what is that I do for a living and where I live.
ReplyDeleteI'm a master alright, I'm a master of disaster! And, really, I've always wondered why is it that some Red Sox and Mets fans spend their time reading Yankee blogs.
If you are going to bring something to the discussion bring something intelligent or funny. It's just a game! Have fun! Why the obsession or hate? What a waste of feelings!
Kiddo, don't forget your reading, writing and ... Reagonomics! Waiting for your comments after the bell rings! And say NO to drugs.
KM, c'mon - that's enough already. Nobody's whining about Joe's book, they're just frustrated about what he said about certain players, that's all.
ReplyDeleteMets fans would be chatting, too, if an ex-player or ex-manager departed the team on bad terms and then wrote a book about what goes on in the clubhouse and said disparaging things about some of the players. It's just wrong and fans have every right to complain about it.
A fan of ANY team would react that way.
Believe me, once the season starts and important games and series are being played, the topics of discussion will keep changing and this Torre issue will eventually evaporate.
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ReplyDeleteNow I read that Torre talks about Steroid use by the Blue Jays.
ReplyDeleteAgain I think 99% of what Torre says is true, as an active Manager in baseball and someone who has not had his # retired or benn elected into the HOF yet I am baffled that he is coming out with these allegations, I now believe that he will be replaced as manager and be out of baseball before March 1 2009.
Nutball Gazelle,
ReplyDeleteMore than likely you are correct in that Torre probably is correct on nearly everything he says.
And yes, he does have every right to say what he wants to say in his book. He is fully protected by the United States Constitution and he has every right on the planet to excercise that right.
However, from an ethical standpoint is he correct to publicize the information he did about certain players? If this is a way to vindicate himself, I suppose in a way it is because all of us are talking about it one way or another. But to use revenge as a took to market yourself is not a favorable way to win notoriety and endear yourself to baseball fans.
And truthfully, in spite of all his wacky quirks and strange liasons with the women he's seen with, I'm fed up with the way everyone treats A-Rod and singles him out as if he's the 2nd coming of Hitler. Leave the guy alone and maybe he'll do better, people!
emperor, nobody's whining? come on. that is all that lisa has been doing since the reports came out!
ReplyDeleteAlvaro, I am always having fun and never post, nor take, anything seriously. I have become so conditioned as a result of my allegiance to the metropolitans. As a met fan, and seemingly one of the very few on this blog, I feel that it is my civic duty to push the buttons of yankee fans.
ReplyDeletekm
I agree that I wish this whole Torre thing would just blow over already.
ReplyDeletePitchers & Catchers report in 11 days and I cannot wait!
It's fun isn't it? Actually, I root for the Mets if they make the playoffs (except if they play against the Yankees of course) and I was jumping up and down on game 6 of the '86 series. It was a double whammy for me, Mets win and Red Sox lose.
ReplyDeleteOne of my best friends is a Red Sox fan and we went together to a September series Red Sox-Yanks at Yankee stadium in '05. We both wore our respective team jerseys and the most fun we had was with the "bleacher creatures." The only Red Sox players I dislike are Jason Varitek and Johnathan Papelbon. No explaining needed.
So "km" must stand to King Met! Is that a homage to Dave Kingman? Because your IQ must be around his BB/year or maybe you are really royalty ... you know what happens after all that inbreeding.
Just kidding! Have a good one!
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