The New York Yankees were apparently hell bent on getting "Not Joe Torre."

When you take a wildly successful skipper with a 12 for 12 record of making the playoffs and offer him a wet-fish slap of a contract extension, you are pretty much saying: "Look. Any monkey could do what you did. We want to make you prove it to us one more time."

I hope it works out as fabulously as they envision the "Not Joe Torre" Era to be.

Because whoever the next guy to manage this team is -- not named Joe Torre, of course -- he's going to face a helluva lot of pressure just to make the playoffs in the first place! Contrary to some people's perceptions, the American League does NOT automatically advance the team with the highest payroll into the playoffs

You still have to go out and win the games. Funny little detail, that.

In a way, this really IS Joe Torre's fault. He was the guy who went out and helped guide the Yanks to four titles in five years. He's the idiot who didn't just flat out TANK a season and finish fourth one year to remind people that this thing isn't as easy as it looks.

It's a good lesson for everybody, really. You are better off lowering people's expectations of you, so that others are genuinely impressed when you leap over the bar of accomplishment.

A guy, who takes the trash out every Tuesday at 5:30 a.m. sharp for five straight years, probably gets an earful crap from his wife the one day he hits the snooze bar and forgets.

This year, the Yankees were rescued from the brink of total collapse in late May, and nearly won the division in the process. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Joe Torre had something to do with that.

Most of the starting rotation was on the disabled list. Jason Giambi was in the crosshairs of Commissioner Selig's roid inquiry. High-priced impulse buys like Bobby Abreu couldn't crush a grape at the plate. And -- oh, yeah -- every column inch of back page tabloid speculation was focused on Torre's head.

But hey, I'm sure Don Mattingly will be just as good with the heat on. Right?

The Yankees in general -- and the Boss in particular -- like to hammer home how the ONLY measure or success for them is to WIN the World Series. Okay, fine. That makes them sound very cocky and high and mighty. But sports never work quite that way.

Sometimes, despite all the money, you still don't have the best team in the game. This year certainly qualifies. By the time this season started for the Yankees, the accumulated detritus of several years of questionable acquisitions had taken its toll. Where was the chemistry? Where was the depth?

Even if you want to argue that Yankees had plenty of talent to beat ‘em all this October, sports remain a great mystery of chance. So much luck, timing, karma, and other un-accountable ju-ju goes into a Championship in any sport, that to simply EXPECT it because you broke the bank is idiotic.

It's possible that history will look back and say that an ill-timed swarm of bugs got Joe Torre fired from the New York Yankees. It's even possible -- merely possible, not likely -- that we someday mark the 12th consecutive year in which the Yankees MISS the playoffs entirely.

Instead of the Yankees making a bold move two days after their exit by announcing Torre's end with dignified confidence, they strung it out, low-balled the guy, and left a messy aftermath.

Now, Torre has become the first guy to say "no" to the Yankees. How many more will do the same? If A-Rod leaves first, you could see Posada followed by Rivera, followed by perhaps even Mussina and Pettitte.

Then what? More reaching on aging stars like Curt Schilling? Overpaying for guys like Jake Westbrook, Torii Hunter, and Andruw Jones?

The Yankees and George Steinbrenner treated the playoffs as their personal parking spot during their 12-year association with Joe Torre. Obviously, they don't think he had that much to do with it.

They are the ones who were interested in finding out once and for all if they were right. For 12 straight years, Joe Torre = Playoffs. Now, "Not Joe Torre" = ????

I look forward to seeing what happens.