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Manager Torre Out After Saying No Thanks To Yanks

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By RONALD BLUM, The Associated Press

Published: October 19, 2007

NEW YORK - After all he had accomplished - four World Series titles, 12 straight years in the playoffs, almost certain entry into the Hall of Fame - and after all the indignities, this was one Joe Torre wasn't going to stand for.

He wasn't going to take a pay cut from the Yankees, no matter that he still would have been the highest-paid manager in baseball, and he certainly wasn't going to prove himself all over again.

Torre walked away Thursday, turning down a $5 million, one-year contract - $2.5 million less than he made this season, when the Yankees failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year.

'A difficult day,' General Manager Brian Cashman said. 'He will always be a Yankee.'
Bench coach Don Mattingly is the leading contender to replace Torre. Yankees broadcaster Joe Girardi, the NL Manager of the Year with Florida in 2006, is another top contender. Tony La Russa and Bobby Valentine also could be considered.

Most Yankees fans could see this day coming.

After losing the first two playoff games to Cleveland, owner George Steinbrenner said he didn't think Torre would be asked back if the Yankees didn't advance. New York hasn't won it all since 2000.

Torre took a morning flight to Tampa to meet for an hour with Steinbrenner, his sons and team management. Torre listened to the offer and said it wasn't acceptable. They shook hands and Torre headed home.

The 67-year-old Torre, who made the playoffs in every year with the Yankees, scheduled a news conference for today. He indicated last week that he might be interested in managing elsewhere.

New York's offer included $3 million in bonuses if the Yankees reached next year's World Series and an $8 million option for 2009 that would have become guaranteed if New York won the AL pennant.

Torre just completed a $19.2 million, three-year contract. The Chicago Cubs' Lou Piniella was the second-highest paid manager at $3.5 million.

'Under this offer, he would continue to be the highest-paid manager in Major League Baseball,' team president Randy Levine said. 'We thought that we need to go to a performance-based model, having nothing to do with Joe Torre's character, integrity or ability. We just think it's important to motivate people.'

Torre called Cashman on Tuesday and asked to meet with the 77-year-old Steinbrenner and the owners' sons, Hal and Hank, who have taken on an increased role. They spent an hour together, and then Torre was gone.

Steinbrenner let his sons do the talking.

'The objective of the Yankees since the '20s has been to win the championship every year, just as the objective of Vince Lombardi with the Packers was or Bill Belichick and the Patriots,' Hank said. 'None of us think we can win the championship every year, but that's the goal. Period.'

Torre led the Yankees to 10 AL East titles, but they haven't reached the World Series since 2003.

With 2,067 regular-season wins, Torre is eighth on the career list and was third among active managers behind the St. Louis Cardinals' La Russa (2,375) and the Atlanta Braves' Bobby Cox (2,255). Torre's four World Series titles are likely to earn him a place in the Hall of Fame - every manager with three or more has been inducted.

Torre's was the longest uninterrupted term for a Yankees manager since Casey Stengel held the job from 12 years from 1949-60. Stengel was pushed out, too, let go after his team lost a seven-game World Series to Pittsburgh.

Under Torre, the Yankees went 1,173-767. He trails only Joe McCarthy (1,460) for wins among Yankees managers.

'I hope Joe is happy,' Boston manager Terry Francona said. 'I think you're going to hear people in baseball, every area of baseball, say probably very, very kind, respectful things about Joe the next couple days, and they're all deserved.'

When Torre succeeded Buck Showalter in 1996, the Yankees had not won the World Series since 1978, the longest drought since the team's first title in 1923. It was the 20th manager change following Steinbrenner's purchase of the franchise in 1973.

Torre never had much success as a manager before landing in New York, and many predicted he would be gone in no time. But he turned out to be a rock and a buffer to the blustery Steinbrenner. He was calm, stoic and brought an unprecedented period of stability to a team accustomed to constant turmoil.

New York won the World Series in 1996, led by a group that included Bernie Williams, rookie Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez. With catcher Jorge Posada added, they won the Series from 1998-2000, the first team to win three in a row since the Oakland A's of 1972-74, and advanced to Game 7 of the Series in 2001, when they could not hold a ninth-inning lead at Arizona.

Since then, despite baseball's largest payroll, there has been only frustration: a first-round loss to the Anaheim Angels in 2002, a World Series defeat to the Florida Marlins in 2003 and a painful exit the following year, when they allowed the Red Sox to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the AL Championship Series.

They lost to the Angels in five games in the first round in 2005, were eliminated by the Detroit Tigers last year and were knocked out by Cleveland this year.

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