Let me be blunt. I am a lifelong Yankees and and I love Joe Torre, but it's easy to see why he turned down the offer. First of all, it was a pay cut with 'incentives' to reach the postseason. It's hard to believe that Steinbrenner tried to scapegoat Joe with the media threats the way he did, but well, that's George for you. I have a feeling that Riviera, Posada and A-Rod will likely not be back, if Joe isn't. It was an insult to this truly great manager to try and get him to take a pay cut after dissing him in the media during the Cleveland Series. I hope Joe gets another, good deal somewhere he wants to be and although I'm a diehard Yankees fan, I'll also be a fan of whatever team he might decide to manage for.
Joe got the Yankees into the playoffs every year he's managed them. Even this season, which started so poorly and had folks writing the team off -- well, Joe got the boys to the wildcard position.
Joe will be in the HOF as a manager; that's a given. As usual, he has managed to out-class George Steinbrenner. Look for the Bronx to be burning once again...
