As June approached for the Los Angeles Dodgers, there are two HUGE story lines that will become very apparent. "Manny goes back to Fenway Park". This is for the first time since the trade". Then right after, "The Yankees are coming".
Joe Torre will be willing to talk about his love for Derek Jeter and his fond memories he spent in Pinstripes. There is no doubt in my mind that he is also relieved that THEY are coming to Dodger Stadium instead of the Dodgers going into the New Yankee Stadium. The one Joe was not apart of. What is interesting about baseball players is they very rarely show emotion. If you ask Joe or Manny how badly they want to beat their former teams, they will both say that they want to beat every team they play. The real fun will come when reporters try and think of a million different ways to ask this question to get a different answer!
When the Yankees come, Dodger stadium will turn into NYC west. There will be a million FOT's (Friends of Torre) sitting in the "Good Seats" for every game. Although the Dodgers are not allowing the purchase of just one Yankee game ticket, (you have to buy a multiple game package) there will not be an empty seat in the house.
When the Dodgers go to Fenway,(those games already sold out)it will be a media east coast circus. I love covering east coast games. The media resemble a lioness stalking her prey. It's hilarious! I have seen the pushy approach, the Big Network Reporter, the Rude question reporter, the reporter who looks like she is a prostitute to get attention. I'm not making any of this up, it's the East coast. LA has TJ Simers, but the east coast has everyone! The thing that is most amusing is the athletes "get it" and no one "gets it" more than Manny! Manny has seen it all, heard it all, laughs at it all! I love this about him. Watching someone who does not react to the obvious is a real skill. Manny may be embarking on 550 homeruns but his real gift is not swinging the bat but keeping it in check.
Since Manny has been a Dodger, we have never seen that Bad Manny. EVER. Not once. Sure he does the occasional leave the locker room early. So does everyone else. Not different. He always has time for a picture or an autograph. Maybe Joe Torre has something to do with that. There is something about Joe that makes you want to be better, as a person. Not just a ball player. No disrespect to Terry Francona or any other manager but Joe is Joe.
Which goes back to, how bad does Joe want to beat his former team at Dodger stadium? I'll keep you posted.....
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