Torre May Stick Around, Provide Stability
In the midst of turmoil, the Zen-like steady hand of Torre would be welcomed for more than just one more year.
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Joe Torre could hang out with the Dodgers a couple more years.
With a divorce threatening to shake the ground under the Dodgers franchise, Joe Torre may be the stability the team needs.
Torre, whose contract ends after next season, is sitting down now to talk extension with Dodgers General Manager Ned Collitti. Torre, who will turn 70 next year, has said the last two seasons have been “invigorating” and he may want to continue. The fact he makes $4.3 million a year and could probably get more doesn’t hurt, either.
Just a couple more years would be welcome by Dodger fans. Right now the franchise needs some stability.
The Dodgers owners, Frank and Jamie McCourt, are now regulars on TMZ. Their bitter divorce, the reports of their lavish spending and homes, Jamie being involved with another Dodger employee are the recent team headlines. Frank says he owns the Dodgers, Jamie says under community law she is owed 50% of the team, and a judge gets to decide. Even if Frank is awarded the team, would he be able to afford to run it, or run it well, after the likely large payouts Jamie will get after 25 years of marriage?
Torre brings a Zen-like calmness and steady hand to the team on the field, something it will need with the distractions flying all around. Over the long summer of a baseball season, he never gets a team too high or too low. And the last two seasons he has gotten the Dodgers to win the National League West and within a few games of making the World Series, father than they had been since 1988.
Even if Torre is not going to manage all the years of his deal, any sign that he would be there is a benefit in this environment. The Dodgers also recently extended Collitti’s deal. It tells other teams they know who to talk to and deal with in the organization, even if the ownership is in flux.
And with so many things seeming in flux, a steady hand is always welcomed.
