Joe Torre has been getting killed on Los Angeles sports-talk radio and now has to rally his Dodgers against the evil empire that used to employ him: the New York Yankees.
The Dodgers finally broke a six-game losing streak with a big 10-6 win against the LA Angels of Anaheim on Thursday night.
The Angels have taken all but one of the six inter-league games played so far this season and that only made things worse for the Dodgers skipper.
When base running and fielding mistakes made his stars look lackadaisical, Torre suffered more than the usual criticism.That's because Angels manager, Mike Scioscia is renowned for drilling his players from the lowest level of the minor leagues on baseball fundamentals.
Matt Kemp criticized by GM for fielding errors
Torre and the Dodgers have had an up and down season. Early on they slipped to eight games below .500 only to see themselves rally and take the top spot in their division.
But coming off the lackluster play of the previous week and a half and knowing the World Champs are at the door for the weekend can't be pleasant.
Oh, you'll read all the sweet stories about how Torre's mainstay players in pinstripes adore him and can't wait to see him again, but unfortunately none of them play for his team.
Despite that, Torre and fans are entitled to better than they were getting from the players who wear Dodger blue. Every little mistake can take its toll when the pitching situation continues to be fluid.
With two rookies seeing a lot of time in the rotation due to vets being on the DL (Padilla and now Billingsley) reliance on timely hitting and execution of plays is even more important.
Torre's style is one of an adult talking with other adults in a calm, measured manner. But the losing streak provoked a rare closed-door meeting with his club on Wednesday night. It's unclear if the law of averages took over or Torre's little chat with his players had an effect.
And here come the Yankees with their World Series championship rings barely tucked away in their vaults. Sporting the best record in the majors this year and two games ahead of Tampa Bay in the AL East, the team has had its share of pitching issues with A.J. Burnett mired in a slump and Javier Vazquez yet to distinguish himself as a fifth starter.
But Torre would kill for the Yanks pitching woes just as he would love to have the calming presence of Rivera, Jeter, Posada and Pettite in the clubhouse. They just aren't walking through the door anytime soon.
Torre must somehow inspire his team to show the Steinbrenner brats that they care about him enough to make a good showing in the three-game set.
I'm sure at this point he'd settle for no base running mistakes and no balls getting past Matt Kemp in centerfield.
Chris Lardieri, LA Dodgers Examiner has more on the team and their owners, here.
Box score of Dodgers victory over Angels, here
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