Torre on hot seat

Baseball Betting Lines

10/09/2007 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Torre likely managed his last game in a New York Yankees uniform Monday when they were beaten by the Cleveland Indians, 6-4, in Game 4 of their American League Division Series.

With the Yankees out of the playoffs in the first round for a third straight year the writing is on the wall that Torre's 12-year tenure in the Bronx is all but done.

"His job is on the line," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner told the Bergen Record in a phone interview on Sunday. "I think we're paying him a lot of money. He's the highest-paid manager in baseball, so I don't think we'd take him back if we don't win this series."

The Yankees didn't, instead faltering to a team they went 6-0 against during the regular season, leaving many question marks for Steinbrenner's club, starting with the manager.

However, Torre has received plenty of support from his players, including third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

"It's not Joe's fault. It's the players," Rodriguez said. "It falls on us. You can point the finger at whoever you want. The bottom line is we didn't get the job done. I will tell you one thing, we left our heart and souls out there. We can't look in the mirror and say we left anything behind. I think the city of New York for that should be proud."

Torre is in the final year of a contract worth $7 million per year. He has led the Yankees to four World Series titles and 12 consecutive playoff appearances.

"He's always been good at dealing with people," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "He's always been good looking at the big picture and relaying that message to the team. He's the best. That's basically how I can sum it up. Hopefully he's back."

Torre's 12 appearances in postseason play with the Yankees (1996-2007) are the most by any manager in American League history and he's won more postseason games than any skipper in major league history.

The 67-year-old Torre went 1,173-767 during the regular season in his tenure with the Yankees, winning the World Series four years in a five-season span (1996, 1998-2000). His tenure includes a run of nine straight AL East titles.

The team with the highest payroll in the majors over the last few years hasn't fared well in the playoffs. They blew a 3-0 lead in the ALCS against Boston in 2004 and were beaten in the 2005 ALDS by the Angels. Last year, the Yankees were eliminated in four games by Detroit in the first round.

Torre has 2,067 career victories for sole possession of eighth place on baseball's all-time managerial wins list and ranks second on the Yankees all- time victories list. He's also managed the Mets (1977-81), Braves (1982-84) and Cardinals (1990-95) during his career.

Rodriguez didn't help Torre's situation with just one RBI in the four games against the Indians, and he also could be on his way out of New York. The question arises if Rodriguez will void his contract, which has three years remaining at $27 million per season, to leave the Yankees and become a free agent. Rodriguez has a 10-day window after the World Series to decide his future with the team.

"I love New York," Rodriguez said after the game. "As a player I've come full circle and in New York this is the most comfortable I've felt. Hopefully things work out."

There are other personnel issues surrounding the Yankees going into the offseason.

Closer Mariano Rivera, catcher Jorge Posada, and pitchers Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens could also be gone.

Torre's last move on Monday was putting Rivera in the game to escape an eighth-inning jam.

"I didn't expect this at all," Rivera said. "The team we have was strong enough to overcome this. Being here for so many years, it's hard, especially the way we played the whole year."

After the game Rivera indicated he wasn't committed to returning to the Yankees.

"I don't know what's going to happen," said Rivera, who has 34 career postseason saves, including nine in the World Series, both major league records. "I'm just going to go home and relax and see what's going to happen. I'm going to see what's out there and what ever happens, happens."

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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