He Did Himself A Fever!

[1] Joe Torre turning down the 5 million dollar contract offer was smart. Meeting George Steinbrenner in Tampa Bay, Florida, Torre said he couldn't accept the offer.

Torre's 12 straight playoff appearances are over, and the Yankees have suffered.

"A difficult day," general manager Brian Cashman said. "He will always be a Yankee."

Fans are heart broken, and teammates aren't happy. He'll be remembered with great memories.

"Under this offer, he would continue to be the highest-paid manager in major league baseball," team president Randy Levine said. "We thought that we need to go to a performance-based model, having nothing to do with Joe Torre's character, integrity or ability. We just think it's important to motivate people." Nobody is motivated; it’s horrible for the Yankees.

Torre did what's best, and that's important. His legacy won't be forgotten, because he was successful.

"It is difficult, near impossible, to accept a salary cut," Boras said. "Successful people can afford their principles. They understand if they accept the position, there is a great risk the message to all under him is dissatisfaction. “It wasn't the money, it’s his job. Torre needed a rest, because New York brings pressure.

"Your job is always on the line, it goes with what you do. I still had to act and behave like I was doing the job until they told me I wasn't. That's how I acted here. I think the people around me felt it more than I did. You still feel the fallout from it, though. As far as the possibility of being fired, well, I've been fired three times. After a while, because I've been here so long, I think the players sort of allowed me to do my job in spite of the unsure nature of everything." said Torre.

He wasn't fired, and that's surprising. Torre's recent playoff failures lead many to believe he'll be fired.

"The objective of the Yankees since the '20s has been to win the championship every year, just as the objective of (Vince) Lombardi with the Packers was or (Bill) Belichick and the Patriots," Hank said. "None of us think we can win the championship every year, but that's the goal." Winning the World Series every year isn't happening. Yankees fans always believe it can happen, but it can't. That's important to know, because it can lead to mistakes.

And the "media spot light" will continue....