MLB Betting: Joe Torre Waiting on Steinbrenner's Decision

The Joe Torre Era in the Bronx appears to be finished. (AI Wire photo)

You have to wonder if Joe Torre deserves this. His boss tells him win or you're done, he loses and his boss is now taking his sweet time on bringing down the axe. Torre obviously loves his job or he'd have inflicted upon George Steinbrenner an attack akin to a studded proctological probe by now. Instead, Torre was sitting by the phone in his home on Tuesday while reporters and photographers camped out on his lawn as if he were a Beckham.

He hasn't been fired yet and speculation has already begun on who will replace him as the New York Yankees' manager. Don Mattingly, the former All-Star first baseman famous for never winning a title while being the star player in the Bronx, is considered a favorite choice. He's been a bench coach under Torre for several years. Another option is former catcher Joe Girardi, who was named National League manager of the year in 2005 but left after fighting with the Florida Marlins' management. Girardi covets the Yankee job and there were offseason rumors that he'd been promised it by Steinbrenner in the event Torre was fired. Tony LaRussa is also a candidate, reportedly.

Whoever gets the gig will have a brutal task, as Mattingly pointed out.

“I would think it’s like following John Wooden or somebody,” the Hit Man told reporters. “The guy’s won championship after championship, and he’s in the playoffs every year. It’s pretty much a no-win situation for someone to come in here and be able to experience what he’s done. It’s not going to happen. So as far as coming in here and taking on that job, it’s not necessarily a great situation.”

Even though there's no joy in the Big Apple, there's still great baseball ahead. The Red Sox and Indians begin the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park on Friday while the NLCS starts in Phoenix on Thursday with the Diamondbacks hosting the upstart Colorado Rockies. Get NLCS odds, ALCS odds and World Series odds in the Bodog Sportsbook.