For most of the summer, Joe Torre indicated that he was planning on retiring from managing after his contract with the Dodgers expires in 2010. Both he and people who have followed his career closely noted that he's made similar statements in the past, and he's still in the dugout. Accordingly, Torre admitted to T.J. Simers on Sunday that he's considering negotiating a contract extension with the Dodgers that would keep him in L.A. beyond the 2010 season.
In his two years with the Dodgers, Torre's taken the team to the NLCS twice, but failed to get past the Phillies both times. Dating back to his years with the Yankees, he's taken his team to a playoff spot in 14 consecutive seasons. Unsurprisingly, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti indicates in the same story that he'd be happy to negotiate with Torre, should he want an extension.
LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw stood in the clubhouse in front of what must have seemed like a hundred reporters, all pointing cameras, recorders and notebooks at him, firing the same question over and over. And every time they asked, he had the same answer, which was really no answer at all.
"I don't know exactly what happened."
To the Dodgers' 21-year-old left-hander, what had transpired a couple hours earlier -- four brilliant innings capped by one disastrous one -- was still a mystery. He had no idea how he could be so good and then so awful.
ST. LOUIS -- Two years in a row now the Dodgers have taken a player who was so maddening to his previous team that it was willing to pay him to play somewhere else.
Two years in a row, that player has been instrumental in getting the Dodgers to the League Championship Series.
As they stood in a clubhouse thick with the smell of champagne after they finished off a sweep with Saturday's 5-1 victory over the favored Cardinals in the National League Division Series, the Dodgers had both of their cast-offs to thank for the latest victory: Manny Ramirez came back to life with three hits, and Vicente Padilla continued his unlikely run of dominant pitching since general manager Ned Colletti picked him off the scrap heap.
LOS ANGELES -- Early in Joe Torre's storied managing career, when he wasn't quite sure about the intricacies of managing October baseball, veteran bench coach Don Zimmer instilled in him one of the key differences between the regular season and the playoffs.
You pull your starters early.
"I usually have the starter decide his own fate, but Don Zimmer taught me that this postseason stuff is all about not being patient, and doing what you feel you need to do at the time you need to do it," Torre said.
It's October, which means Joe Torre is managing. The Dodgers manager is about to embark on his 14th consecutive postseason, looking for a fifth championship.
In one sense, though, this may be the big one.
"If you think about legacy, for him to have a championship in L.A. would solidify that," Dodgers pitcher Randy Wolf told FanHouse. "There is always the argument about the payroll in New York and the whole deal there, and it may not be fair, but to do it here would really solidify his place."
Ahhh, the National League -- where pitchers can play out their golden years without a care in the world.
Think of the NL as baseball's rest home.
Just in the past few weeks, Brad Penny and John Smoltz have reached the legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de Sabathia discovered last year in the wilds of Wisconsin.
"In reality, it's a little tougher to pitch in the American League than it is the National League," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who formerly managed in Seattle and Tampa Bay.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday -- it's running Friday this week.
Earlier this week, Brad Lidge's nightmare 2009 season continued, when he allowed a walk-off homer to Andrew McCutchen. Ed Price covered the outing the following morning. The abysmal performance by the Phillies' closer underlines the only weakness of the defending World Series Champions.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Manny Ramirez is an important part of the Dodgers offense, FanHouse has learned.
Not quite an earth-shattering scoop there, but nonetheless a point driven home -- along with a few runners -- as Los Angeles took the first two games of its series against the Giants.
Ramirez had been decidedly human for much of the previous two weeks, hitting .190 over a 15-game stretch during which the Dodgers went 6-9.
Over the past three games, though, Ramirez has racked up seven hits in 11 at-bats, including a two-run homer and a double on Tuesday night.
For most of the summer, Joe Torre indicated that he was planning on retiring from managing after his contract with the Dodgers expires in 2010. Both he and people who have followed his career closely noted that he's made similar statements in the past, and he's still in the dugout. Accordingly, Torre admitted to T.J. Simers on Sunday that he's considering negotiating a contract extension with the Dodgers that would keep him in L.A. beyond the 2010 season. 
LOS ANGELES -- 
ST. LOUIS -- Two years in a row now the 
LOS ANGELES -- Early in 
It's October, which means 
Every Sunday, 
Every Sunday, 
SAN FRANCISCO -- 
