Latest October debacle likely to end Torre's tenure

Joe Torre has led the Yankees to 12 playoff appearances in 12 seasons, but they've lost in the first round in each of the last three years. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

World Series Coverage   Monday John Donovan: Rox, Sox built to last Albert Chen: Ellsbury an unlikely hero Joe Sheehan: Scenes, notes from clincher Red Sox celebrate World Series victory Sunday Sox clip Rockies 4-3 to win World Series John Donovan's Report Card for Game 4 Jon Heyman's 15 Greatest Mr. Octobers Lowell takes home Series MVP honors Dynasty in the making for Red Sox? Clock strikes midnight for Rockies' ride Time.com: Red Sox are the new Yankees Saturday Red Sox down Rockies 10-5, take 3-0 lead John Donovan's Report Card for Game 3 Tom Verducci: The Sox are superior John Donovan: The Coors Field factor Jon Heyman: Four keys to Game 3 Friday Melissa Segura: Corpas gets his wish John Donovan: Rockies' lumber slumber Jon Heyman: How the Sox got Beckett Joe Sheehan: Electric night at Fenway Thursday Schilling, bullpen shut down Rockies 2-1 John Donovan's Report Card for Game 2 Tom Verducci's five cuts for Thursday Albert Chen on the Red Sox's bullpen John Donovan: Rockies turn to a rookie Joe Sheehan: Postseason drama lacking Tale of the Tape: Rockies vs. Red Sox World Series Fungoes Joe Lemire on Rockies-Red Sox Schedule/Box Scores Game 1: Red Sox 13, Rockies 1 Game 2: Red Sox 2, Rockies 1 Game 3: Red Sox 10, Rockies 5 Game 4: Red Sox 4, Rockies 3

Word is, George Steinbrenner was "quite upset'' during the 6-4 Indians' win that ensured the Yankees would not be a World Series champion for a seventh straight season. According to confidants, Steinbrenner actually has been itching to fire Joe Torre for a few years. Now a managerial firing will likely be the Boss's only consolation.

Torre is almost surely doomed after 12 mostly wonderful seasons in the Bronx. You could see it on his face after Monday's loss. And you could hear it in some of general manager Brian Cashman's answers. After successfully winning a stay for Torre following the debacle in Detroit last October, Cashman sounded like a man out of bullets. When asked about Torre, Cashman only said, "I am going to sit down with ownership to find out where we're going to go.''

In other words, it appears there will be no talking Steinbrenner out of making the change. People close to the Boss say Steinbrenner wanted to fire Torre for years but he got gun shy as he got older. He also believed that Teflon Torre was too popular. And he didn't want to pay Torre $7 million to sit on the sidelines -- or worse, manage for someone else. In the old days, Torre would have gotten the ax after his team blew a three-game lead to the hated Red Sox. Instead, he got a three-year extension.

There will be no more extensions. Torre's time is almost surely up.

Steinbrenner and his baseball people soon will begin to figure out who the replacement is, if they haven't already. It is believed Steinbrenner wants bench coach Don Mattingly. But there will be support for Joe Girardi and maybe for Tony La Russa, who's a free agent. And maybe even Bobby Valentine.

Torre has been a mostly terrific manager. He is reliable, dignified and astute. He is for the most part beloved in the clubhouse, which isn't easy to do. He is smart, smart enough to know his time is up. "This has been a great 12 years,'' Torre said, tearing up. "Whatever the hell happens from here on out, I mean, I'll look back on these 12 years with great, great pleasure.''

He's a Hall of Famer whose constant refrain was that the postseason is a crapshoot (at least it has been since the Yankees started to lose in October). Well, he has finally come up craps.

Torre got his team to rally for a playoff spot after its atrocious beginning. Nobody's been better at getting his team into the playoffs. He is 12 for 12 in that regard.

But once they arrived in October, which is supposed to be their time, the Yankees have underperformed nearly every single year this century. "I feel like we've had some lost opportunities,'' Cashman said. "A number of times I thought we were good enough.'' Cashman did say he thought Torre has been "consistent'' and "fantastic.'' That's surely true of April through September. Lately that hasn't been the case in October.

You could nit-pick Torre's decisions -- and one scout said he was "shocked'' that Torre went to rookie Ross Ohlendorf so soon in Game 1, down just 7-3 -- but there were no obvious mistakes. His moves just didn't work.

Some would say that this isn't the manager's doing, that the manager isn't responsible. And I would counter by saying that over the past seven seasons, with baseball's highest payroll each year and many Hall of Fame players, 0 for 7 is not acceptable. I would say that if the manager has no bearing on the outcome, why did Torre request and receive a $7 million salary, double what anyone else gets?

Torre did a superb job in the clubhouse. He kept things as calm as could be. He kept the team playing hard, he covered for the players when necessary and he was a credit to his profession. But he was no better than average strategically. He learned that first year from Don Zimmer to put the pedal to the metal. But he took it too far with certain relievers, wearing them out to the point of exhaustion.

Watching these Yankees the past seven postseasons has been somewhat exhausting in itself. No, he didn't overuse Mariano Rivera this year like he did last. No, he didn't bat Alex Rodriguez eighth. And yes, the Yankees did show up this October -- though they didn't show enough to beat the Indians, whose payroll is less than a third the Yankees' $200 million.

Steinbrenner is said to dislike Torre for several reasons. Two of the reasons were that Steinbrenner thought Torre got too much credit and too much pay.

Steinbrenner may be wrong about the credit for the four championships. But he wouldn't be wrong to change the manager now. No one could say he's being impatient or rash. Maybe the team just got too comfortable. Maybe it could use a little shaking up, the kind that Girardi or even Valentine would give it.

1 of 2