Is Torre Going?

Torre was up for a new contract, and the latest Yankee offer was for $5 million base salary with up to $3 million more depending on how far the team went into the playoffs.

He rejected the deal.

I'd love to have that kind of base money and the possibility of making all that much more based on a team that on paper should make the playoffs year in and year out.

However, if I'm Torre, I wouldn't want to consider such a large performance portion of a deal because it relies so heavily on things going well - a lack of injuries in the pitching rotation for example. Those are things that are out of his control.

When the Yanks got off to the disasterous start this season, it was due in part to a bunch of pitching injuries that took its toll and a lack of hitting. Things came together in the second half, but they couldn't make it out of the wildcard round.

Injuries could do in any team, no matter how stacked they are. Torre knows this as well as anyone.

This gives Torre the ability to walk away and the Yanks have to consider their next step - whether to submit another offer, or to go in a different direction.

If they don't sign Torre, it means that whoever follows Torre will have huge shoes to fill (4WS rings in 6 appearances, and 12 straight playoff appearances).