torre, spelling.

\”i love the yankees. they are better than \’cats.\’ i want to play for them again and again.\”

if the yankees move forward as threatened, the above is about the only thing that players and managers will be able to say about the team if they ever write a book about their experiences in the big apple. this kerfuffle, of course, has been brought about by the release of joe torre\’s new book, \”the yankee years,\” outlining his years in pinstripes. in it, torre (although one would argue it\’s more tom verducci doing the talking) spills all kinds of dirt about the team and its players, particularly alex rodriguez.

in turn, the yankees brass is considering adding a non-disparagement clause to the contracts of all future players and managers. quoth the worldwide leader:

Club officials, according to the report, would like to ensure that any future books are \”positive in tone\” and \”do not breach the sanctity of our clubhouse.\”

am i the only one who feels that statement is more than a little orwellian? or that it\’s bordering on the edges of violating protected speech? who\’s the arbiter of positive tone? when derek jeter comes out with his biography (EDITOR\’S unfortunate note: next biography), is he allowed to say he didn\’t like teammates? the showers in the locker rooms? the postgame spread? sounds like an incredibly slippery slope.

now, i fully support the cromulence of such clauses when it comes to not sharing a company\’s proprietary information, its intellectual capital. i signed such a thing when i got hired both at UHG and at dain. but it\’s not like torre is putting out the yankees\’ draft strategy, or their formula for determining arbitration offers. instead, he\’s being a gossipy, petty prick who\’s trying to make even more money. if the yankees were smart (and, i think signing a.j. burnett to a five-year contract shows that they aren\’t), they wouldn\’t even acknowledge torre\’s book. the more defensive they are, the more they legitimize the claims that torre\’s book makes. they\’d be better off if they just ignored it and played baseball.