For fans inflamed by provincial loyalties, it may be hard to fathom the personal bonds forged in an environment seemingly more suited for enmity than affection. But this winter, the general managers, Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman, made public appearances together, Cashman at Epstein's charity event in Boston, Epstein at a speaking engagement at a New Jersey university, one that Cashman jokingly likened to an Obama-Clinton debate. The friendship is genuine.
"We've known each other and been friendly for a long time," Epstein said yesterday.
Francona, meanwhile, shares a connection with the new Dodgers manager that began four decades ago, when Torre was playing with Francona's father, Tito, and Francona was 8.
"He was a really good hitter," Francona said. "Really slow, but a really good hitter."
Mirabelli slow? Francona looked dubious.
"He was slow, kind of heavy-legged," Francona said. "But I always listened to guys that my dad liked. He said [Torre] was a player's player, and that was good enough for me."
Last October, during the American League Championship Series, Francona held up his media conference so he could watch television coverage of Torre's resignation from the Yankees. "It's almost like you're watching 'The Bronx is Burning,' " Francona said at the time, referring to the cable TV miniseries about a turbulent Yankee team from an earlier generation. "You're watching something unfold that's unbelievable."
He said yesterday that over the winter he and Torre exchanged multiple voice mails, but haven't talked about the circumstances that led Torre to leave the Yankees as manager after a dozen seasons, six AL pennants, and four World Series titles. Francona mentioned that in 1999, when he was managing the Phillies, he bought tickets, took three of his kids to Yankee Stadium, and sat in the upper deck, "above the French's mustard" sign, to watch Roger Clemens pitch the clinching game of the Series against the Braves, one of three straight world championships won by the Yankees.
"I just want him to be happy," Francona said. "What he's done for the game, I felt bad that he was kind of living through it. Everything was so out there."
