Rays/MLB

Torre to return for another season

By TIMES WIRES
Published October 11, 2006

NEW YORK - Joe Torre was in his office at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, about to give the media his season wrapup, when general manager Brian Cashman handed him his cell phone.

George Steinbrenner was on the line.

"He has informed me that I will be here as his manager next year," Torre said about 15 minutes later.

And with that, Steinbrenner ended three days of speculation that followed his team's second straight first-round exit from the AL playoffs. Would he revert to his old ways, when he changed managers 20 times from 1973-95? Or would he stick with the revered Torre, who led the team to four World Series titles in his first five years but none in the six seasons since?

"Let's just say that he echoed support and commitment to having me go on in this job," Torre said. "I felt comfortable with the conversation."

Steinbrenner recounted the talk in a statement, saying he told Torre: "You're back for the year. I expect a great deal from you and the entire team. I have high expectations, and I want to see enthusiasm, a fighting spirit and a team that works together. Responsibility is yours, Joe, and all of the Yankees."

Monday, Torre spoke with Steinbrenner and told him: "If you feel in your heart a change has to be made, go ahead and do it." After that phone call, Torre said he felt more confident he would keep his job.

All the while, camera crews camped outside Torre's home in suburban Westchester.

"I thought I had the cure for cancer or something," Torre said.

Torre has led the Yankees to 11 consecutive playoff berths and nine AL East titles in a row, finishing in a tie with the Mets for best regular-season record this year at 97-65. But the Yankees haven't reached the World Series since 2003.

Torre said Alex Rodriguez, who had a poor postseason, "is one of the important pieces to this puzzle here" and Cashman said the Yankees didn't intend to trade him.

In other news, Cashman said pitcher Randy Johnson probably will have surgery for a herniated disc in his back and first baseman/DH Jason Giambi likely will have an operation for a torn tendon in his left wrist.

CUBS TAKE A CHANCE: Baseball America reported that cautionary tale Matt Harrington, the seventh overall pick in the 2000 draft, signed a minor-league contract with the Cubs after four seasons pitching for the independent Fort Worth Cats.

Harrington, Baseball America's 2000 High School Player of the Year, turned down a $3.7-million signing bonus or a $5.3-million major-league deal after the Rockies drafted him that June, claiming Colorado reneged on a predraft deal. He was drafted four more times in a lower round each time, including the 13th round in 2002 by the Devil Rays, but never signed.

In the process, Harrington fired and sued original agent Tommy Tanzer and saw his velocity, clocked in the upper 90s in high school, disappear.

TWINS: The team picked up its 2007 option on Torii Hunter's contract, and his $12-million salary will be the largest single-season sum in team history.

The centerfielder wants to stay with Minnesota longer than that, but if his deal isn't extended by the spring, he sounded resigned to leaving as a free agent next year.

"If nothing gets done, then I'm going to enjoy my last season with the Twins and we're going to do it all," Hunter said.

The Twins have potentially eight players eligible for arbitration, including batting champ Joe Mauer, MVP candidate Justin Morneau and cleanup hitter Michael Cuddyer.

[Last modified October 11, 2006, 01:44:33]