Boomer sees Red on Yanks.
Let’s take a look here…
… “Brian told me, ‘We’d love to have you, but The Boss is looking in another direction and we’re going to go with youth.’ Then they turned around and signed Randy (Johnson). What part of that I didn’t get, I don’t know.
Cashman answered this well:
Cashman confirmed that he told Wells the Yanks wanted to get younger in their rotation, saying they backed that up by signing Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright as free agents. The Johnson deal was “a separate transaction,” Cashman said.
“He had a chance to be a Yankee last year and he chose to go to San Diego,” Cashman said of Wells.
“I’ve never had a good relationship with Joe, we’ve had a few run-ins, and Mel Stottlemyre, as well,” Wells added. “Mel’s probably the best pitching coach I’ve ever had, but when you have run-ins like that, it just leaves a sour taste. And who needs it? I can understand their point, and hopefully, they can understand mine.
Joe Torre is one of the most respected managers in baseball, I think most will agree. If you have a problem with Joe Torre, chances are you are the problem.
“He got thrown into a pretty good mix over there. He inherited a team just like I think Joe did when he became manager in ’96. They already had a good team there,” Wells said. “Joe’s a good manager, a great manager … and when you have that kind of atmosphere, winning becomes contagious.”
Speaking of that inherited team, Joe has been at it for 9 years. Wells was on the team for 4 of those years. Those teams? 1 WS win, 2 appearances. The other 5 years? 3 WS wins, 4 appearances. Coincidence? Probably, but I’m just saying…
Wells also said he’s “annoyed” that Rodriguez occasionally has referred to the Yankees as “we” when discussing their past championships.
“He was talking like he’d won three or four rings with them, when he hadn’t,” Wells said. “And that kind of disturbed me, because I would never put myself in that situation. … He shouldn’t put himself in that category. You gotta earn it.”
He can say we because he is part of the current “we”.
Wells also intimated he would have no emotional problem “protecting” his new teammates while pitching against his former ones this season, even if that might turn his longtime fans in New York against him.
“Last year, I probably had the best ovation I’ve ever had in my life,” Wells said of his return to New York with San Diego. “To get a two-three minute standing ovation, was awesome. … They don’t forget and that’s what’s so good about New York. They remember, and hopefully just because I’m putting on a Red Sox jersey, they don’t think I’m a traitor of any sort.”
I didn’t really like you when you were a Yankee, but … if you start hitting Yankees, those people who did like you may just start to turn…
Via Alex.
