Boss to sit down with Torre in Florida


NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Yankees put off their meetings on Joe Torre's future until next week.

The meetings are likely to start Monday night or Tuesday, and they probably will be held at the team's spring training complex in Tampa, Fla.

Torre will not be asked to attend the start of the session, when owner George Steinbrenner, his sons and top aides will discuss whether to bring the manager back for a 13th season — which would be the longest run for a baseball manager in New York since Joe McCarthy was in the Yankees' dugout from 1931-46.

Steinbrenner said last weekend that he didn't think the Yankees would keep Torre if the team failed to advance from its first-round series with Cleveland. New York was eliminated in four games by the Indians. the Yankees' third straight opening-round exit, but Steinbrenner has been silent on Torre's fate.

Since the Yankees' season ended Monday, New York players, politicians and even opponents have urged Steinbrenner to retain the affable 67-year-old New York native. Boston designated hitter David Ortiz was among the latest to speak out.

"Every organization is like a human body. It has a head that if you mess with it, it just goes down," Ortiz said. "Joe Torre is the head of that organization. He's one of the best managers in baseball. You've got to have a good head to keep the body together like that."

Ortiz credited Torre for helping the Yankees overcome a 21-29 start to make the playoffs as the AL wild-card team.

"Even if they got knocked out, you've got to give him credit for that. You've definitely got to give the man respect," Ortiz said. "If he doesn't go back to the Yankees, they're going to feel that next year somewhere. This guy knows what he's doing."