Say it ain't so, Joe

It's no secret I never liked Joe Torre.

He had good people skills but was ultimately a middling manager who benefited from an obscene payroll.

Yes, his teams won four World Championships, and he only missed the playoffs once in 12 years as Yankees manager, but the combination of his $200 million teams and his managerial genius should have produced more. He was at the helm when the Yankees blew a 3-0 lead over the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS. He also helped the Phillies advance to the World Series in 2008 and 2009.

I hope his decision to step down as Dodgers manager is really a retirement, but I get the sense it's not.

It was funny watching Kevin Millar, whose analysis I don't like on MLB Network, interview Torre. "I hate you," Torre quipped in reference to Millar's 2004 walk that set up the great comeback.

I hope this is my last impression of Joe the foe, because it was a good-natured rib that I appreciated. But he's still a Yankee, and I still don't like him.

Personal: I did my longest bike ride ever - 70 miles. I think I'm ready for next week's 75 miler.

Today's games: The Phillies beat the Nationals 5-2, but the Mets once again could not beat the Braves. The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays while the Rays and Yankees both won.

Hallelujah!

Neither the cold 18-degree air during my morning walk nor my nice hot cup of coffee jolted me awake today as much as the exaltation I felt when I read the stories about Ruben Amaro Jr.'s weekend press conference.

One of the few questions for the defending champions is who will fill the No. 5 slot in the rotation. There's been no movement toward a particular candidate, but the new GM made it clear who won't get the job. (Hint: His name rhymes with beaten).

"It's a four-man competition, and he's not involved in that," Ruben Amaro Jr. said a few minutes ago at Citizens Bank Park. "Is it possible that Eaton pitches well enough to put himself in the mix? You never know what's going to happen. Right now, we just think those other four guys [Chan Ho Park, J.A. Happ, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco] give us a better opportunity to win."

Yes! Yes! Yes! It's nice to hear an honest negative assessment from a club about one of its biggest mistakes ever. Fortunately, like the Eric Gagne-Red Sox debacle, Adam Eaton didn't prevent the team from winning a championship.

More good news: Sports tell-alls are usually sugar-coated or slanted toward the writer's personal bias. I might give Joe Torre's the benefit of the doubt, if for nothing else than to see his account of why the Yankees underachieved during the later part of his tenure. A-Fraud, indeed.

Oops: Last week, I made a steroid reference to Julio Lugo gaining 20-pounds of muscle. This week, Nick Cafardo corrected himself:

I meant Julio Lugo had gained 10 pounds of muscle, not the 20 I incorrectly typed last week.

Pat Burrell gets it done

Led by venerable Pat Burrell, the Phillies bats stirred a bit today to beat the Brewers 6-2 and advance to the National League Championship Series against Manny, Joe Torre, Larry Bowa and the Dodgers. We'll be at Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 7.

After getting overly excited before Game 3's loss, Christine and I are pretty mellow for the Phillies first playoff series clincher since 1993. It probably hasn't sunk in yet.

There was some anxiety before the game. We missed the first third of it because of an outdoor charitable function. Though friends' cell phones, we knew it was 1-0 on Jimmy Rollins' leadoff home run. When we got into the car, we just missed Burrell's three-run homer, which put them up 4-0. Jayson Werth then hit a solo home run. We felt like honking our horn, but that probably would have been rude to the kids playing soccer in the park we were leaving.

There were two stars today: Burrell, who added an insurance run with a solo blast in the 7th, and Joe Blanton, who gave up one run on five hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. Brad Lidge closed it out with a remarkably calm 16-pitch inning - one hit, one strikeout.

So while we prepare for Josh Beckett's attempt to sweep away the Angels tonight, our attention also turns to the other looming team from California.

If this is the year of the SoxandPhils World Series, there's probably no better opponent for the Phils than the Dodgers. There are so many angles - former Yankee manager Joe Torre, former Phils manager Larry Bowa, and former Red Sox Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra. Remember all the much speculation about a Manny trade to Philly involving today's man-of-the-hour Pat Burrell? I wonder how differently this season would have turned out if that trade were made. As Christine noted, all of Red Sox nation should be rooting for the Phils to knock Manny out of the playoffs, although I'm sure some would love to beat him in the World Series.

Assuming the Phillies keep their rotation in order, we'll finally see Brett Myers in Citizens Bank Park this year for Friday's Game 2. I'm torn about wanting to see a Game 7 - it would be such a rush, but I know Christine would be a wreck and my hand would be bloodied from fingernails digging into it for nine tortuous innings.

Well, I have some time to mull that all over. Meantime, congrats to the Phils and let's go Sox - get our second clincher of the day.

[Photo credits: Associated Press]

L.A. pinball

We're still thawing from yesterday. It looks like there was a lot of fun in warmer Los Angeles, where the Red Sox and Dodgers re-enacted the mid-20th century when baseball was played in the Los Angeles Coliseum with a 60-foot net serving as the left field wall 200 feet from home plate.

The Globe explains the craziness:

The Dodgers didn't even bother with a left fielder. Torre went with a five-man infield. Francona had Bobby Kielty in left but when Rafael Furcal led with a double down the line, the ball was fielded in the corner by shortstop Julio Lugo. It really had the feel of backyard Wiffle ball. Kevin Youkilis dropped a 300-foot homer over the Screen Monster in the third. In the fourth, Jacoby Ellsbury was caught stealing, 2-8, center fielder Andruw Jones taking the throw. Pretty sure we had the largest crowd wave in baseball history, including players on both benches.

Other than the wave - how could my team participate in such a putrid activity? - sounds like good times. Proceeds went to charity. Even some old friends and foes made appearances:

The Dodgers' Nomar Garciaparra addressed the crowd, then their manager, Joe Torre, took the mike and said, "There's not a better way to do this than against the Boston Red Sox ... excuse me, the world champion Boston Red Sox. For some reason, it doesn't bother me to say that anymore."

In Philly land: Phil Sheridan and Jim Salisbury have good reads that explain why I neither drink the Phillies Kool-Aid nor write off their chances of repeating. And the Inquirer's opening day countdown feature on Cole Hamels softens my stance on the outspoken punk:

Because Hamels has less than two years of big-league service and figures to become a multimillionaire very soon, his remarks drew negative comments from fans at a few of his exhibition appearances.

"That's over and done with," Hamels said of his contract snit. "I said what was on my mind early on, and that was it. Now I'm back to focusing on baseball and what I need to do to help this team get back to the postseason."

Hypocrites

A big name and a lesser name had some interesting comments in today's papers.

First up, old friend Joe Torre chimes in on baseball's steroid problem that he helped enable during his reign of the Empire:

"Our success in Major League Baseball is based on the trust of the people," the Dodgers manager said. "And it is our job to regain that trust. And whatever it takes for us to do that, we have to be willing to do it."

Too little, too late Joe. You could have taken a stand when you were in position to do so. You didn't, so hang your head with your pals Roger and Andy.

Also in that notes column was that former Phil Rod Barajas signed with the Blue Jays. Wasn't there some history where he agreed to go there, but backed out, which led to the glorious Barajas era in Philadelphia? Yup.

"That was last year. It's over with," said Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi. "I think in life, all of us, you need to go forward. There's nothing to be gained by going backwards."

The Toronto Star also said the move could affect another former Phils catcher:

The Barajas signing, however, couldn't have been particularly great news for veteran Sal Fasano, who'd signed a minor-league deal with the Jays last month.