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 Torre, who grew up in Brooklyn rooting against the Dodgers, was hired Thursday as their manager
-- a half-century after they moved west.
"He likes the idea that the Dodgers are the franchise that is looked upon in many ways as one of the great icons in American sports," general manager Ned Colletti said on a conference call. "He likes the challenge of that, the market size, the chance to take a club that hasn't had a chance to go to the World Series since 1988 and do something about that.
"I don't have any doubts that his appetite is there and he's up for the challenge."
Torre took the job two weeks after walking away from the Yankees.
"Joe Torre comes with a great resume," Colletti said. "What he's done the last 12 years is as powerful as any manager in recent memory."
The winningest manager in postseason history, Torre moved from one storied franchise to another, agreeing to a three-year, $13 million contract. He becomes the Dodgers' eighth manager since they left his hometown, where he pulled for the rival New York Giants.
"As a kid growing up, you didn't like them," Torre said on WFAN radio in New York shortly before the hiring was announced. "As a player, to me the Dodgers were the Yankees of the National League because ... you either loved them or you hated them."
The 67-year-old Torre will be introduced at a news conference Monday at Dodger Stadium. He succeeds Grady Little, who resigned Tuesday after completing two seasons of a three-year deal.
Favored to win the NL West this year, the Dodgers faded late and finished fourth. They have only one playoff victory since winning the 1988 World Series under Tom Lasorda.
"I'm so happy for him. I think his record speaks for itself," said Lasorda, a special adviser to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. "I think what he accomplished with the Yankees, he should have been able to control his destiny.
"We're happy that he's here -- very happy."
Torre guided the Yankees to four World Series championships from 1996-2000, and they made the playoffs in all 12 years he managed them. New York lost to Cleveland last month, eliminated in the first round for the third straight year.
Following that defeat, the Yankees offered Torre a one-year contract worth $5 million with an additional $3 million in performance bonuses.
Calling the performance incentives in the proposal "an insult," Torre turned it down. He was hired by the Dodgers on the same day the Yankees introduced Joe Girardi as their manager
Torre completed a $19.2 million, three-year contract with the Yankees this season. He earned $7.5 million this year
-- more than any other big league manager by far.
Torre ranks eighth on baseball's career list with 2,067 victories. He also managed the Mets, St. Louis and Atlanta, but won only one division title in the NL, in 1982 with the Braves.
He passed former Dodgers managers Leo Durocher (2,009) and Walter Alston (2,040) last season on the career wins list. His teams have won 76 postseason games.
Colletti said he met face-to-face with Torre, though he declined to say when or where.
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"I asked him, 'Do you really want to get back into something like this?' He looked at me and he said,
'There's no doubt in my mind what I want to do and where I want to do it,'" Colletti said.
Colletti said he first spoke with Torre about four days ago.
"I went into it hopeful, curious -- probably more curious than hopeful," Colletti said. "By the time we got done talking, I was more hopeful than curious."
The Dodgers had the NL's best record in mid-July. During their late-season slide, problems surfaced between older and younger players on the team, prompting criticism of Little.
"I think he's going to do a good job in the clubhouse because he's got great leadership abilities," Lasorda said of Torre. "He knows how to handle a ballclub."
Since Lasorda left during the 1996 season after suffering a heart attack, the Dodgers are 1-9 in three playoff appearances. One of those was in 2006, Little's first year as manager, when the Dodgers won the NL wild card with an 88-74 record but were swept by the New York Mets in the first round of the playoffs.
Teams are generally directed to interview at least one minority candidate for open managerial jobs. The Dodgers were granted an exemption by commissioner Bud Selig, however, because of a strong track record on minority hirings.
Don Mattingly, Torre's bench coach this year, is set to join his mentor in Los Angeles as hitting coach. Mattingly lost out to Girardi for the Yankees' managerial job.
Mattingly's son, Preston, is a minor leaguer in the Dodgers' organization.
"We don't have a coaching staff yet," Colletti said. "We're talking to a bunch of former players and coaches. We're not quite there yet."
Mattingly could be in line to manage the Dodgers when Torre retires. Considering his age, that probably won't be too many years down the road.
"Joe is 67 years old. We don't expect Joe to manage a very, very long time," Colletti said, adding it would make sense to "groom somebody under Joe's direction" the way Lasorda was groomed under Alston.
Alston managed the Dodgers from 1954-76, and Lasorda was their manager from 1977-96. Torre is the team's sixth manager since Lasorda stepped down.
With his track record, Torre seems destined to follow Alston and Lasorda into the Hall of Fame.
"There's definitely a locker waiting for him in Cooperstown, that's for sure," Lasorda said. "I've known him for close to 30 years and we've been good friends."
[Associated Press; By JOHN NADEL]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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