Hiring Torre won't help Dodgers' pursuit of A-Rod

Joe Torre and Alex Rodriguez went through their share of ups and downs during their four years together in New York. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

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ORLANDO -- As Dodgers manager, Joe Torre might be many things: He could be the glue that puts their fractured clubhouse back together. He could be the dignified leader that restores a regal touch to the storied franchise. He could be their best manager since Tommy Lasorda, or maybe ever.

But there's one thing Torre won't be: a lure to put Alex Rodriguez in Dodger blue.

The Dodgers may well be an option for A-Rod, but that's no thanks to Torre.

There's already been positive conjecture regarding the ties of Torre and A-Rod. Yet these theories are promulgated by folks unfamiliar with the stormy history of these two giants of the game. The Dodgers are a rare team to admit interest in looking into baseball's biggest free agent and are fairly viewed as one of A-Rod's top five potential landing spots (along with the Angels, Red Sox, Mets and Giants); and yet they should know that Torre's presence will do nothing to further their cause if they do decide to chase A-Rod hard.

Except in the rarest of circumstances, star players don't make career decisions based on who their manager will or won't be, anyway. Sure, it's possible that if Buck Showalter were currently managing a team, A-Rod might try to avoid it. But generally speaking, whether we're talking a superstar like A-Rod, just a regular star or even an average player, free agents generally choose the team that gives them the best deal -- and that means dollars. The ability to win may also be a consideration, but often it is just window dressing for the real reason: money. Comfort could be a secondary factor, but that usually involves a certain city or organization, not specifically a manager.

Even a great loyalist like Mariano Rivera admits the manager is not part of the equation. Back when Torre was a candidate to be fired, Rivera tried to do what he could to save Torre by saying Torre's status with the Yankees might "impact'' Rivera's own free-agent call. But of course, the moment Torre rejected the Yankees' $5 million offer to stay, Rivera admitted Torre's case would have zero impact on his call.

As for A-Rod, while he said complimentary things about Torre at season's end back when it looked possible both would be back with the Yankees, theirs has been a rocky relationship. Though Rodriguez's agent Scott Boras says that Rodriguez's relationship with Torre is better than it had been, and it surely has improved, a friend of A-Rod's still insisted, "He doesn't like Torre at all.'' (Perhaps he just dislikes him less than he used to.)

A-Rod and Torre did coexist in 2007 after their relationship soured badly in 2006. A year ago Torre viewed A-Rod as a head case who was failing him badly and said so publicly, then finally confirmed those feelings by batting baseball's most dangerous hitter eighth in a first-round playoff game against Detroit. While Rodriguez was diplomatic enough not to complain, a prideful superstar had to be embarrassed by that nonsensical move.

This year wasn't perfect for the two future Hall of Famers, either. Let's not forget there was that episode in Toronto, when Rodriguez distracted a Blue Jays third baseman by yelling as he attempted to field a popup. In the aftermath, when Rodriguez was taking heat for what the Blue Jays described as a bush-league play, Torre publicly sided with the competition, calling Rodriguez's efforts "probably inappropriate,'' a characterization that drew a rare rebuke from club owner George Steinbrenner, as first reported on SI.com.

A-Rod desperately wanted the legendary Torre to accept him and may now even be tired from his exhaustive efforts to win Torre's affection. The belief here is that while A-Rod may not view Torre as a deterrent to joining the Dodgers, he surely wouldn't view him as an attraction, either. It might also be interesting to hear how hard Torre pushes his new bosses to pursue Rodriguez, who obviously frustrated him by badly underperforming in 2006 but rebounded to have one of the greatest individual seasons in the past 25 years.

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