Joe Torre

Go to the Yankees website today, and check out the top SEVEN articles--Joe Torre's time with the Yankees is over, just like George Steinbrenner promised it would be.

Being a New Yorker, though a firm Mets fan, this leaves me feeling very sad. Joe Torre was the Yankees. He was the manager for 12 years. He was a part of New York culture. Fred Claire says that

Torre decided to walk away from a job he loved. He decided to say goodbye to a city that loved him in return.

We really did love him. Even Mets fans didn't mind him so much (or at least, I didn't). The only thing that might bother his fans is the fact that he was offered a one-year contract, though with a salary cut of 2.5 million. If the Yankees made it to the post season (as they have for the past 12 years), he would've made 1 million for each round, and gotten 8 million for 2009 if the Yankees made it to the World Series. But Mike Bauman says it best.

His record deserved more than the 2 1/2 weeks of uncertainty regarding Torre's job status that followed the end of this regular season. Up or down, in or out, a simple "yes" or "no" shortly after the end of the season was in order.

More than that, Torre has persistently conducted himself with the dignity and class that the Yankees believe epitomizes their organization.

They didn't treat him right at the end of this year--and they gave him a stipulation that no other manager in baseball has (as far as I know). That isn't fair to Joe Torre.

So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to a 12-year legacy. Joe Torre, you will be missed.

And if the Yankees don't even make it to the post-season next year, I hope the world gives George Steinbrenner a huge "I told you so."