While Yankees watch, Torre returns to playoffs

Sometimes in sports, things work out exactly the way they're supposed to.

This is one of those times.

Joe Torre made it to October.

Hank Steinbrenner didn't.

So the good guy won, exuding his usual poise and class and baseball acumen as he masterfully steered the Los Angeles Dodgers to the top of the National League West and on to this week's first-round playoff clash with the Chicago Cubs.

And the bad guy lost, showing himself to be a petty, low-rent dolt as his New York Yankees failed to get to the playoffs for the first time since the strike-shortened season of 1994, the year before Torre arrived in the Bronx.

Not only did Steinbrenner -- George's bombastic son, who now runs America's most famous sports team -- feebly try to diminish his former manager's West Coast success, but he also foolishly tried to pretend that Torre had nothing to do with the Yankees' 12-year playoff run, which included 10 AL East titles, six World Series appearances and four world championships.

Did Steinbrenner think nobody would notice Torre's name wasn't mentioned during the grand ceremony that marked the final game at Yankee Stadium? Did Steinbrenner think anybody would buy his ridiculous whine about Torre's Dodgers not being better than this year's Yankees, because the Dodgers won in a weaker division? Aren't the Yankees, full of pride and dignity, supposed to be above such things?

"It was very un-Yankee-like, not recognizing Joe's contributions during the ceremony," said Jim Kaat, the former major league pitcher who spent 12 years as a Yankees broadcaster before retiring last year.

"The Yankees have always been an organization that takes the high road, so I was really surprised they didn't mention him. I know it's become kind of a personal thing with Hank. Joe called him on how they let him go, and it obviously rubbed Hank the wrong way. And that's too bad.

"As much as tyrant as George could be at times, I think he would've made sure, no matter how much bad blood there was, that things were done the right way."

But they weren't.

Not with the Baby Boss now calling the shots.

Not with Torre's team still in the championship chase and Steinbrenner's Yankees waiting for next year.

So Torre freely admits he was insulted by the way the Yankees handled last year's contract negotiations, which ended with him rejecting a $5 million deal that required him to get to the 2008 World Series to get the same $7.5 million he earned in 2007.

He bristled at the notion that he needed to be financially motivated to get the most from his players.

And rightfully so.

Given all Torre had accomplished in New York, where he took the Yankees to the playoffs every year, he deserved better.

And he got it. In L.A.

He didn't get more money. Or even the same money. In fact, he settled for noticeably less than the Yankees had offered, accepting a three-year, $13 million contract from Dodgers.

But he got something better.

He got a chance to prove he could still manage, still win, still take a team to October.

A different team in a different league.

With a different style.

"Actually, I thought they'd do even better," Kaat said of Torre's Dodgers, who battled back to win the division after falling 4-1/2 games behind Arizona in late August.

A lot of people thought so, because of the Dodgers' high-priced roster and Torre's resume.

But Torre first needed to mend a fractured clubhouse that cost his predecessor, Grady Little, his job. Then he needed to overcome an injuries to Jason Schmidt, Rafael Furcal and Takashi Saito, all the while getting nothing from Andruw Jones.

And he did.

"They didn't play great baseball most of the season," Kaat said, "but Joe got things together in the latter part of the year."

He also got Manny Ramirez, who was acquired from Boston in a July 31 trade and has been the Dodgers' version of Babe Ruth.

If the Dodgers hit, they've got more than a puncher's chance to knock off the Cubs -- because the Dodgers' pitching, especially their bullpen, should be up to the task.

The pieces are in place.

So is the manager.

"With Joe, it's not a strategy thing," Kaat said. "You wouldn't put him in the category of a Whitey Herzog. What Joe brings, though, is a calmness, a steadiness. He has a way of putting his players in as relaxed a state of mind as they can get in. Intense without being tense, he calls it.

"That's what worked so well for him in New York ...''

He traded his Yankee pinstripes for Dodger Blue and has taken another team to October.

The good guy won.

Just like he's supposed to.

(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. On the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)