Torre to retire as Dodgers manager; Mattingly will take over..

[madinmaryland]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Joe Torre announced Friday he will retire as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are mired near the bottom of the NL West, and the team immediately said hitting coach Don Mattingly will replace him.

Torre took over the Dodgers for the 2008 season, following 12 years and four World Series titles with the New York Yankees, but he was not able to match that success in Los Angeles.

He led the team to NL West titles in each of his first two seasons, then lost both times to Philadelphia in the NL championship series. The Dodgers were next-to-last in their division, at 72-75, their playoff chances pretty much gone.

"It has been an incredible honor to wear the Dodger uniform, and I will always carry with me some very special memories from the past three seasons," Torre said in a statement. "This was not a decision I took lightly, but I believe it's the right one for myself and my family, and I'm truly thrilled that Donnie will be the one leading the Dodgers. It's time that the Dodgers had a new voice, and I have the utmost confidence in him. I know he's ready for the challenge."

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/09/17/torre.dodgers.ap/index.html

[Upton]

1. ......

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=215x159639

[Auggie]

2. Must be a good day for dupes

[Jack Rabbit]

3. It's really too bad Torre couldn't have won a ring with the Dodgers just to show up Steinbrenner

Jack Rabbit, a true Californian (not a <snear>Southern</snear> Californian), will in 2011 revert to his life-long habit of routing against the Dodgers in any and all circumstances.