NEW YORK - Yankees manager Joe Torre faces an uncertain future after failing to satisfy a win-or-else ultimatum from club owner George Steinbrenner when the Cleveland Indians ended New York's season on Tuesday.
Cleveland's 6-4 Game Four victory completed a 3-1 divisional series win for the Indians and
sealed a third successive first-round defeat for the Yankees, the major league's highest salaried team with a payroll exceeding $200 million.
Torre steered the Yankees into the playoffs in every one of his 12 seasons and won four World Series titles in his first five years at the helm.
However, New York's last Fall Classic crown came in 2000.
"This has been a great 12 years," Torre told reporters after the defeat.
"Whatever the hell happens from here on, I'll look back on these 12 years with great, great pleasure."
The Yankees made two other trips to the World Series under Torre, losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 and to the Florida Marlins in 2003.
"To have been in six World Series and going to the post-season, I can tell you one thing - it never gets old. It's exciting," said Torre, 67, in the last year of his contract.
"The 12 years just felt like they were 10 minutes long, to be honest with you."
This season had been one of the most challenging for Torre, whose pitching staff was ravaged by injuries early in the season as they fell 14 games behind in the American League East before fighting back to claim the wildcard playoff spot.
"I just finished telling them how proud I am of what they did," Torre said.
"They dug themselves out of a hole. They learned how to be a team.
"I know we all get judged on how it ends up, but there's so much that goes on between the start and the finale."
Torre, growing emotional as he talked about his team, added: "What I take a great deal of solace in, is just how badly the players want this.
"If you have children growing up, maybe some of them will make A's, other will make C's, but they work their ass off either way and you hug them.
"That's basically the way I feel about those guys."
- REUTERS
