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April 28, 2007
The New York media has been abuzz the last couple of days about the prospect that should the Red Sox sweep this series, venerable and respected Yankee manager Joe Torre will be fired.
Torre is on the final year of his contract. Owner George Steinbrenner, who, according to reports, would have fired Torre after the Yanks' Division Series wipeout to Detroit last year had it not been for general manager Brian Cashman's intervention, can't be happy with the seven-game losing streak.
Torre, as is his custom, answered any and every question about his seemingly shaky job status with class and thoughtfulness a few minutes ago in his daily media conference.
"Hey, I've got a job to do. I certainly don't go out there to manage just to try to keep my job. I manage to try to win ballgames. I've been doing that for 20 years," said Torre evenly.
"I'm not comfortable with the fact we're losing. But I can't concern myself with what might happen. I have to concern myself with what goes on on the field. I talked to George about three or four days ago. He wasn't happy. He's got every right not to be happy. We're not happy either," he said.
The injuries that have decimated the starting rotation this month are no excuse for the team's slide, said Torre.
"This is my responsibility," he said. "I'm in charge. I'm not going to push this off that it's not my fault. We have to deal with this. We have to find a way to win. That's my responsibility. I do the best I can to please (George) and make him proud of the ballclub. I've got to continue to do what I do and hopefully it will satisfy everybody."
The fact it has been the Red Sox that have started and contributed to this slide can't help but raise Steinbrenner's blood. Boston is 4-0 against New York this year.
"That magnifies everything," said Torre.
Torre reportedly had a brief closed-door meeting with his team after Friday night's loss, not as intense as some he has conducted over the years, but more of a meeting to say "enough is enough, let's get going," in so many words, according to reports.
-- Steven Krasner
Posted by Steven Krasner 
at 2:08 PM | Permalink
