Torre Turns Down Yankees

1050 Radio played the conference call. Torre was offered $5 million base, plus $1 million bonuses for each playoff round. If they made the WS, he would be guaranteed a base of $8 million for 2009.

And Torre said NO.

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Torre set to Return?

Update - WFAN is reporting a conference call at 4 PM

From PeteAbe:

"Accompanied by Brian Cashman, Joe Torre arrived at Legends Field about 70 minutes ago and is now meeting with the Steinbrenners.

Obviously he did not go down there to get fired in person. It is evident the Yankees are finalizing a contract extension for him to return as manager.

More on this story as it becomes available."

From Mark Feinsand:

"Joe Torre is now in Tampa, apparently negotiating a new deal to remain as the manager. Torre arrived in Florida today with Brian Cashman and Lonn Trost, and the three of them have now headed to the ballpark to meet with the Steinbrenners.

It certainly looks like Torre will be back in the fold, possibly as soon as today. The end is in sight. Then all we'll have to watch will be A-Rod, Mariano and Jorge."

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Life of Brian

Is there a more boring speaker, outside of Joe Lieberman, than Brian Cashman. "It's a process" and other biz speak is all we hear from the Yankees GM. And he was spewing the same rhetoric yesterday at the conclusion of the 2nd day of Yankees org meetings.

Cash flew home yesterday and will continue to participate in the meetings via phone. Perhaps he'll be personally meeting with Joe Torre. Why else fly home?

"Hello Joe. This is Brian from the Bronx. 1st time, long time."

Cash also re-iterated that the Yankees will not negotiate with A-Rod if he opts out. Cashman obviously has Steinbrenner's backing of this plan. Now Scott Boras, aka "resident evil", must decide if he can do a big time deal without the Yankees participating.


photo courtesy of yankees.com

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Swinging in the Breeze

Remarkably, or maybe not depending on how you look at it, the Yankees have concluded their organizational meetings today with no resolution concerning Joe Torre.

The official statement:

Statement from Howard J. Rubenstein, spokesman for The New York Yankees:

“The Yankees have completed their discussions today. No decisions have been made concerning Joe Torre. The discussions will continue.”

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D Day is Upon Us

Decisions, decisions. What's a team to do. Day 2 of the Yankees meetings are under way. The fate of Joe Torre should finally be decided today. Or at the very least, leaked to the public. Most of the participants were there early, but according to the Daily News' Mark Feinsand, King George arrived around 10 to 1. So things should just be getting going.

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No News is No News

Courtesy of PeteAbe:

Statement from Howard J. Rubenstein, spokesman for The New York Yankees:

“The meetings are adjourned for tonight. There have been no decisions made, nor will there be any comment today. The meetings will resume tomorrow.”

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Decision Day Delayed

The Yankees have put off their organizational meetings until Monday night or Tuesday, thereby delaying the fate of Joe Torre.

Meanwhile Yankee opponents are chiming in to pay homage to the Yankees manager.

David Ortiz - "Every organization is like a human body. It has a head that if you mess with it, it just goes down," Ortiz said. "Joe Torre is the head of that organization. He's one of the best managers in baseball. You've got to have a good head to keep the body together like that."

Ortiz credited Torre for helping the Yankees overcome a 21-29 start to make the playoffs as the AL wild-card team.

"Even if they got knocked out, you've got to give him credit for that. You've definitely got to give the man respect," Ortiz said. "If he doesn't go back to the Yankees, they're going to feel that next year somewhere. This guy knows what he's doing."

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Meet and Greet

The Yankees held organizational meetings in Tampa yesterday to discuss where to go from here this season. They are still targeting a 1st Baseman and bullpen help.

Here's more from the Star Ledger's Dan Graziano:

The Yankees are hanging around on the periphery of the Mark Teixeira talks, so far balking at Texas' demands for either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain. But remember last year, when the Yankees waited and waited for the Phillies to drop their asking price for Bobby Abreu, and they did. The difference now is that several other teams (Dodgers, Angels, Braves, Orioles) are interested in Teixeira, whereas there was little market last year for Abreu, and Texas isn't dealing him solely for financial relief. ... Yesterday's organizational meetings in Tampa, Fla., focused more on the Yankees' need to change the personnel in their bullpen and obtain a versatile, utility-type hitter who could play some first base until Jason Giambi gets back.

Many in the organization favor seeing if Andy Phillips and Shelley Duncan can provide the offensive answers. And there are also many in the organization who worry that manager Joe Torre could stand in the way of the improvements they try to make. Torre was opposed to the team's efforts to acquire outfielder Milton Bradley when the A's put him on waivers, and he opposed a possible deal for Houston infielder Morgan Ensberg.

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