LOS ANGELES - It's not easy being Blue these days, not for Joe Torre. Since a 7-5 loss to the Phillies in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers' manager has come under a barrage of criticism from local newspaper columnists, sports-talk callers and the guy who bags the groceries.
They questioned why Torre chose to start light-hitting Juan Pierre in place of Matt Kemp, second-guessed his decision to start Derek Lowe on 3 days' rest, then questioned why he pulled Lowe after five innings. They criticized his use of the redoubtable Dodgers bullpen, which subsequently imploded, giving up two, two-run home runs in the eighth that ultimately cost the Dodgers the game.
Of course, a lot of people think it was Torre who was more responsible for losing the game, and the series.
"They brought him here not only to get them to playoffs, but to be the difference once they got there," said Ken Rybele, of Long Beach. "That was a game they could have won, should have won. I'm sorry, he blew it."
Rybele was with his girlfriend Shannon Lester at Philippe, a landmark eatery - the purported birthplace of the French Dip sandwich that is a popular pregame meeting place for Dodgers fans. Lester, sporting a pink Dodgers jersey, said she was inclined to give Torre the benefit of the doubt seeing as how he "has been in the playoffs for 10 straight years." (Thirteen actually.)
"So what?" Rybele responded. "Getting to the playoffs every year doesn't make you great. It makes you Bobby Cox."
Criticism of Torre continues a recent trend around LA to go after some of its big-name coaches. We're talking icons: Torre, USC's Pete Carroll and Phil Jackson, of the Lakers. While generally revered, they have more recently come under some serious scrutiny. Carroll because his Trojans football teams - the town's de facto NFL franchise - seem to play down to competition; Jackson for being outcoached by the Celtics' Doc Rivers in the NBA Finals.
Don't misunderstand. Los Angeles can be just as hard on its coaches as anywhere else, just ask Grady Little and a few of the guys who followed John Wooden at UCLA. But, as local legal proceedings have proved over the last 15 years, it is a place that is pretty forgiving to stars, including coaches.
And during the regular season, Torre was given the benefit of the doubt. Any of the team's struggles then were usually attributed to youth and inexperience. Torre was seen as a steadying hand. But folks thought his hands moved much too quick to remove Lowe in Game 4.
Fans weren't any happier with Torre in Game 5 last night as the Phillies beat the Dodgers, 5-1, to win the NLCS and advance to the World Series.
Torre seemed slow to remove Chad Billingsley. The fans booed when Billingsley was allowed to remain in the game while giving up three runs in 2 2/3 innings. They booed when Torre came out to get Billingsley.
"Is Torre an idiot or what?" asked one incensed fan.
And it might be that LA fans' frustrations with their coaches might be borne of the fact that no local team has won it all for a few years. While LA teams have been relatively successful as of late - Dodgers in the NLCS, Lakers in the NBA Finals, USC a perennial Top 5 team, UCLA in three straight Final Fours - none of them has won it all for the past few years.
The Dodgers haven't won a World Series in 20 years, a fact that was ramrodded home in a bittersweet manner by the fact that yesterday was the 20th anniversary of Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit home run in Game 1 of the World Series.
LA's frustration at not being able to win the Big One might be the reason Dodgers fans booed shortstop Rafael Furcal, who made three errors last night and also booed the image of former USC quarterback Matt Leinart on the stadium video screen. It might be why there have been stories about Phillies fans being pushed, yelled at and having beer poured on them.
"You know, I do think that has something to do with it," said Mike Villegas, of North Hollywood. "Los Angeles, we're the kind of town, you know, where we don't put up division banners, we only put up championship banners. That's all anyone cares about. And, usually, when our teams get into the playoffs, they usually win it all. But lately, I don't know, but they just can't seem to finish the job. Yeah, I think people get frustrated."
When Villegas was asked, then, if he didn't feel a little sympathy for folks living in Philadelphia, he shook his head.
"Hey, there's a lot of reasons not to want to live in Philadelphia," he said. "Losing's just one of them." *
