Some Old Friends (and Enemies)

Tonight the Yankees return to action against the LA Dodgers who are led by former Yankee manager Joe Torre and coaches Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa. Much has been made about whether or not the Yankee players will embrace Torre tonight, especially after the way he left and the book that he wrote. Alex Rodriguez did not want to comment on it, but any Yankee that was part of a championship team with Torre will probably be all hugs and reminiscing before the game tonight.

This also leads me to the way the fans may think of Torre now. We won't know the kind of reception he'd get in New York because these games are in LA. But I get the feeling many fans would boo Torre. Sure, the last four or five years weren't very great, but you can't blame all that on him. You have to remember the good times Torre brought to the Yankees, and remember how he was the man who helped the Yankees get back on top of the sports world. They were in an 18-year World Series drought before Torre arrived, and he won four in five years and led them to six AL pennants in his 12 year stint with the Yankees.

Torre is a Yankee legend and I hope the Yankee fans treat him like one whenever the next time he arrives at the Stadium may be. We don't boo our World Series heroes. We are not Red Sox fans.

Speaking of Red Sox fans booing World Series heroes, the Yankees are reunited with their all-time villain Manny Ramirez tonight. Ramirez has haunted Yankees fans as a member of the Indians and Red Sox, but now he is at the end of his career and his numbers have been on the decline. But say what you want about Manny, he always turned it up a notch whenever he was facing the pinstripes, and expect the same during this weekend.