BREAKING NEWS: Joe's outta here

Joe Torre has rejected a one-year contract extension offer from the Yankees and will not be returning next season.
We expect that it wasn't the $2.5 million pay cut he would have had to take from his $7.5 million salary this year. He still would have been the highest paid manager in Major League Baseball.
Rather, it's likely that the length of the new contract was what offended Torre.
Who wants to be a lame duck again for another year? Who wants more of the crap that Yankees brass has continually put Torre, one of its most successful managers ever, through every year?
So now the Yankees get to choose, barring some dark horse candidates, from among Joe Girardi, Don Mattingly and Tony LaRussa.
That's LaRussa of still waiting for the DUI court appearance infamy.
Girardi of can't get along with team ownership and blows out young arms infamy.
And Mattingly of "I'm not ready for this job," "Wait, no, I am ready," "Umm, I don't know" infamy.
Things sure are looking up for this team.

Torre in a familiar place ... twisting in the wind

A decision on the fate of Joe Torre has been delayed, according to the AP, and the New York Post reported today that Torre might come back if the Steinbrenners (that's right, apparently George's sons are getting some input these days) can't agree on a successor and if Torre is willing to take a cut in pay from the $7 million he made this season.
Torre's bloated salary (next-highest paid managers in the Major Leagues, according to the Post, are Cubs manager Lou Piniella at $3.5 million, the Braves' Bobby Cox at $3 million, the Cardinals' Tony LaRussa at $2.8 million and the Angels' Mike Scioscia and Tigers' Jim Leyland, at $2 million each) matches the Yankees' bloated payroll, but could be even more reason to cut him loose. They're paying bigtime for the players that should get a team to the World Series, and they're paying their manager twice what any other manager makes, again, to get them to the World Series.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox take the field at Fenway for the start of the American League Championship Series tonight, and the Yankees won't be there. Reflect on that, George.

The new manager(?)'s mugshot ... literally