My Blog Journal: Yankees What Happened To Our Don?

At the end of the day, it would have been nice to send Joe Torre out on the shoulders of his players, being carried from the field after one last trip to October, one last dramatic seven game Fall Classic, and one last trip around the stadium.

But even though this is Hollywood, the place that patented the Hollywood Ending, we aren't on the set of a movie, and there will be no fairy tale goodbye.

Joe Torre leaves on his own terms nevertheless, old enough to have seen it all and yet young enough to still enjoy the memories.

It is fitting that Torre, who first appeared on the major league scene fifty years ago as a 19 year old kid with the Milwaukee Braves, retires the same year as Bobby Cox, the venerable Braves manager.

Torre is one year older than Cox, and made his debut as a manager in 1977, one year ahead of Cox. Torre managed the Braves in the mid-1980's, taking over one year after Cox was fired from his first stint with the team. And Cox won his only World Series in 1995, one year before Torre would win his first with the Yankees.

And while it seems that these two baseball sages, these two elder statesmen of the game, were always missing each other by a year, of this there can be no doubt: in five years time, these two legends of the game will be standing side-by-side, God willing, as the newest inductees into baseball's Hall of Fame.

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

The Dodgers need pitching, hitting, a great closer, a first baseman who can hit for power and the same at third, and probably a new center fielder and what do they end up with?

A new manager who has never managed before.

I love Don Mattingly as a player. With that steady career batting average of .307, nine gold gloves, an MVP Award and some batting titles - but can he transpose his personal winning attitude and baseball acumen to his team?

It is kind of scary if you are a Dodger fan. Just this week he said he had no idea why the Dodgers were hitting so poorly. This from the Dodgers hitting coach.

In his one stint as manager a month or so ago when Torre was tossed from the game, he made a really stupid mistake when he went to the mound twice in the same trip. Donnie Baseball either forgot or didn't know the rule. Either way, I am glad he's gotten that one out of the way.

Listen, Mattingly may have learned a lot while working at the feet of one of the great managers of our time but it appears like a shot in the dark. I know Joe Torre and you are no Joe Torre.

The Dodgers are a mess as everyone knows what with the owners' divorce proceedings which led to a slashed budget which led to no buying power in the off-season which led to a weakened squad that included a 5th starter with zero big league experience which led to no true back-ups for the weary and the wounded which led to an almost last place finish.

They need a miracle worker not a newbie manager who will be learning on the job.

I wish him well and hope he can pull this one out as easily as he could snare an errant throw in the dirt.