I was reading about some of the comments he made in his press conference and I have to say I feel a little sorry for the guy. The guy has won 4 world series, 10 division titles and taken the Yankees to the playoffs all 14 years he's been there, that is an insane resume. To be treated like trash by an organization that you did that much for is really pathetic. Its would have been one thing to fire him, but giving him a lowball offer so that he quits instead is really a slap in the face. I undestand they were trying to keep up appearances so Mo, Posada, and Arod wouldn't leave but this is so transparent that unless those guys have IQ's in the teens its not going to work. I have a ton of respect for Joe Torre even as much as I despise the Yankees, anyone that Steinbrenner doesn't fire for 14 years has gotta be damn good at his job. I think it would be awesome if Torre managed somewhere else and won a World Series or maybe became the bench coach in Boston and won a World Series/knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs.

It was not the five mil, but the "incentive" clause in the contracts that were insulting. Torre knew he was being lowballed, knew he was not wanted, and walked away. I think the Yankees shot themselves in the foot. Yes, the Yankees had tons of talent, but they had tons of talent for years before Torre got there (Mattingly, Winfield, Ricky Henderson, etc., etc.) and they did squat from 1980 til Joe got there. I don't particular like the Yanks, but I like Joe, he is a class act, and to make him wait for two weeks and then lowball him was pretty lame. If the Yanks did not want him back, they should have told him like a man the day after their season was done. I think this move by the Yanks is going to bring incredibly bad baseball karma (maybe not trading Babe Ruth bad, but pretty bad), and I think in a few years Yankees fans will be ruing the day the organization insulted Joe and let him go.

I like Leyland a lot. As a Cards fan, I think LaRussa thinks outside the box well and usually handles his staff pretty good, and anyone who can take the shower of shit team we had last year and still be a couple of games out of first place at the start of september (OK, in the NL Central, true...) can't be all bad, but he does have a brain freeze now and again and makes some strange moves that don't always seem to work out; I'd prefer someone like Leyland, I think, though LaRussa is a good fit in a bits-and-pieces team like St Louis at the moment.

Well, Larussa reneged another 2 years, so he won't be a Yankee. There was a slight worry of that methinks.

I think Torre wanted 2 years and the Yankees knew that. I think they wanted to offer him a contract because the press and fans would be hard on management if they just came out and fired him, and the happier they keep people, the more money they make. So, the Yankees offered him a 1 year contract, lowered the guaranteed amount and his base salary by 30%, and did their best to make sure they gave him a fair enough deal and that he would be pissed by it and not sign it. I really think they thought this through...I refuse to believe that the Yankees a) wanted him to return and b) got lucky that all the variables fell into place and they looked pretty clean from blame that Torre doesn't return.