Joe Torre Will Not Return to the Yankees in '08

In what can only be described as a shock, Joe Torre has decided not to return to the Bronx in 2008.

Torre was offered a one-year deal at a base of $5-million with an additional $1-million guaranteed for each round of the playoffs that the Yankees reached. So, he could have made $8-million for getting to the World Series. The deal also included a team option for 2009 that would have vested at $8-million if the Yankees had made the World Series.

Joe Torre is currently on a plane back to New York, so we probably won't know why he made this decision until tomorrow. Maybe it was that he was tired of all the "stuff" that goes along with the job, maybe he was too proud to take a pay cut, even one that would have still left him the highest-paid manager in the game. Whatever the reason, this is a sad day for the Yankees and they will now scramble to find a new manager to replace the man who amassed 1173 wins, 4 world series titles, 9 straight AL East titles and 12 post-season appearances. And, the new manager will have to be someone who will help convince veterans like Posada and Rivera to return to the Bronx in 2008. Perhaps it will be Don Mattingly, perhaps someone else, but Joe Torre's tenure in New York is officially over.

Yankees president Randy Levine told reporters, "Joe Torre turned that offer down today. We respect his decision. We respect everything he has done but it is now time to move forward... The goal of this franchise is to win the World Series. All of us get up everyday knowing that that is the goal. Unfortunately we have not met that goal for seven years. It's nobody's fault. All of us are in it together. All of us are responsible." He also added, "Joe Torre is a legendary Yankees manager."

Photo of Yankees fans protesting on Wednesday by AP/Kathy Willens

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By Peter Trinkle on October 18, 2007 5:19 PM

Comments [rss]

matthew gannon

Joe Torre just doesn't need all of the dramas that make up the Yankees. He's got money in the bank and his health and isn't getting younger.

He's also has options. He could move into a TV booth and, if we're lucky, force Fox to rid us of the McCarver captivity. He could coach again. Maybe he'd add some class to MLB as the next commish.

I also think, my opinion based on no facts, that Torre sees a possibly sinking ship and wants out. Does he think that the Yankees without the Boss are really not too different from the Mets?

mfib

Yeah, that and the fact this is a NY website...

DCfist

Hey, the ALCS is still going on, and it's a burner. Can't we act for five seconds like the NYY aren't the center of the damned universe?

(and this is an indictment of the media as a whole; I understand why Gothamist reports it)

smitty

yeah right

latb

sports, for 800:

Reyes

Castillo

Beltran

A-Rod

Wright

Alou

Posada

Delgado

Question: What is the Mets 2008 opening day lineup?

Could happen... :)

Dude69

#13 Agree wholeheartedly that Jeter gets a free pass everytime for the Yanks "failures" for the past 7 years. People forget so quickly that A-Rod did marginally better than "captain clutch" who conveniently hit into 3 double plays. Too bad he's untouchable.

Also given the current roster of starters, the other teams have nothing to fear.

ed_Extinct

the offer was a set up. they knew he was gonna reject it... so when he did they're saying "can't blame us, we offered"...

f**king joke!

TKaisen

Posada and Mo to Queens.

virgil

My gut tells me it was a mutually agreed-upon face saving move as well; a way for them to not fire him, but make it impossible for his self-respect to do anything but quit.

And what about Jeter?

rtd2101

Wow that guy in the picture is scary looking. Looks like he's wearing a bad Joe Torre mask.

bornbrednewyorker

Famdoc you are clueless. Blame Wong for lousy pitching and Jeter (I always get a criticism pass) for horrible hitting. A-Rod carried this team on his back. Never would have gotten to the playoffs without him.

smitty

I'm sad.

famdoc

Don't you think today's events were fully orchestrated by all parties involved?

New Yorkers will always remember Joe Torre with fondness. However, his failure to micromanage the team in three postseasons was his downfall (2007: game 1...leaving Wang in until 8 runs were scored;

game 3...failing to take decisive action when god wrought the plague on the Israelites ; game 4...starting Wang, not starting Hughes or Mussina). No matter what you say, he failed to bring the ring home and Steinbrenner et fils are corporate men looking for that measure of success.

My concern now is that we have been lead to believe that Posada and Mariano may jump ship with Joe gone.

Yes, Giambi, Clemens, Karstens and Igawa are certainly expendable. Matsui isn't living up to expectations.

Much has been said about Melky being trade bait, but I see him as a future star. Pitching can be awesome: Wang, Petite, Kennedy, Hughes...wow.

I'd like to see Joba be Mariano's set-up man, continuing his awesome mastery of the sixth and seventh innings and, next season, the eighth.

ARod? We can live without him. Psychologically damaged goods. What pro hits .314 with 54 HRs in the regular season and chokes in the post-season?

Tim N.

I think Joe could have dealt with the pay cut, he's made plenty of money since '96. What I think he couldn't deal with was the option, which only kicked in if he won the pennant. So basically, it's a one year deal that says if you don't win the pennant you're fired. How would that have played out over a whole year? What if they started off slow like they did this year? I don't think there's a baseball man alive who would take a deal that said "one year, win the pennant or you're done."

There's a couple of disturbing aspects to this: one, who was the clown who thought that up? It certainly wasn't a baseball man (so not Cashman or Stick). My money's on former 9/11 Whore aide Randy Levine, who's as good a front-office man as he was a deputy mayor.

And the other is, how does this new "performance-based culture" impact the signing of Rodriguez, Posada, and Rivera? Are they all going to have to deal with stupid incentive clauses, too?

Something tells me next year's team is going to look a lot different than this year's squad.

kurtz

We're gonna miss you joe ...

djacobs

Mariano to the Mets!

cool

This was the best face-saving way for Torre to go. Torre made $7mm last year, and the $5mm was technically a low-ball, but he had the chance to step up to $8mm, if he went all the way. So, it was Torre's "choice" to leave town. He had a great run, but it's time for new blood.

I think we see Mariano go, which is a good thing --- $$$/save is just not what it used to be.

I think Petitte goes, and so does Clemens.

I think we see Posada stay.

I'm not sure what we do with A-Rod. He may option out to a town that wants him more.

Do we have Joba close or start?

Who am I forgetting?

sleiaxxx

...and with torre go some of my favorite yankee players. man, im bummed.

Monster_mash

He had a good run. The only bummer is he couldn't end it with a ring.

They probably lowballed him, hoping he'd walk away instead of making the unpopular move of firing him.

Elderta

Good for Torre. After so many wins, it takes a couple of so-so seasons and Steinbrenner threatens him the way he did? Torre took the high ground and got out without begging for his job. Take that, George!