Torre on hot seat

Baseball Betting Lines

10/09/2007 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Torre likely managed his last game in a New York Yankees uniform Monday when they were beaten by the Cleveland Indians, 6-4, in Game 4 of their American League Division Series.

With the Yankees out of the playoffs in the first round for a third straight year the writing is on the wall that Torre's 12-year tenure in the Bronx is all but done.

"His job is on the line," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner told the Bergen Record in a phone interview on Sunday. "I think we're paying him a lot of money. He's the highest-paid manager in baseball, so I don't think we'd take him back if we don't win this series."

The Yankees didn't, instead faltering to a team they went 6-0 against during the regular season, leaving many question marks for Steinbrenner's club, starting with the manager.

However, Torre has received plenty of support from his players, including third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

"It's not Joe's fault. It's the players," Rodriguez said. "It falls on us. You can point the finger at whoever you want. The bottom line is we didn't get the job done. I will tell you one thing, we left our heart and souls out there. We can't look in the mirror and say we left anything behind. I think the city of New York for that should be proud."

Torre is in the final year of a contract worth $7 million per year. He has led the Yankees to four World Series titles and 12 consecutive playoff appearances.

"He's always been good at dealing with people," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "He's always been good looking at the big picture and relaying that message to the team. He's the best. That's basically how I can sum it up. Hopefully he's back."

Torre's 12 appearances in postseason play with the Yankees (1996-2007) are the most by any manager in American League history and he's won more postseason games than any skipper in major league history.

The 67-year-old Torre went 1,173-767 during the regular season in his tenure with the Yankees, winning the World Series four years in a five-season span (1996, 1998-2000). His tenure includes a run of nine straight AL East titles.

The team with the highest payroll in the majors over the last few years hasn't fared well in the playoffs. They blew a 3-0 lead in the ALCS against Boston in 2004 and were beaten in the 2005 ALDS by the Angels. Last year, the Yankees were eliminated in four games by Detroit in the first round.

Torre has 2,067 career victories for sole possession of eighth place on baseball's all-time managerial wins list and ranks second on the Yankees all- time victories list. He's also managed the Mets (1977-81), Braves (1982-84) and Cardinals (1990-95) during his career.

Rodriguez didn't help Torre's situation with just one RBI in the four games against the Indians, and he also could be on his way out of New York. The question arises if Rodriguez will void his contract, which has three years remaining at $27 million per season, to leave the Yankees and become a free agent. Rodriguez has a 10-day window after the World Series to decide his future with the team.

"I love New York," Rodriguez said after the game. "As a player I've come full circle and in New York this is the most comfortable I've felt. Hopefully things work out."

There are other personnel issues surrounding the Yankees going into the offseason.

Closer Mariano Rivera, catcher Jorge Posada, and pitchers Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens could also be gone.

Torre's last move on Monday was putting Rivera in the game to escape an eighth-inning jam.

"I didn't expect this at all," Rivera said. "The team we have was strong enough to overcome this. Being here for so many years, it's hard, especially the way we played the whole year."

After the game Rivera indicated he wasn't committed to returning to the Yankees.

"I don't know what's going to happen," said Rivera, who has 34 career postseason saves, including nine in the World Series, both major league records. "I'm just going to go home and relax and see what's going to happen. I'm going to see what's out there and what ever happens, happens."

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LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP

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