Where Have You Gone, Joe Torre?

Don't weep for Joe Torre, America. He has had an extraordinary successful tenure—a dozen years, every one in the playoffs, with four World Series titles and six American League championships—that could land him a spot in Cooperstown. And since there is no shortage of teams that could use a class act and a steady hand, Torre can almost certainly quickly land another managerial gig.

Still, it seems clear that after three consecutive first-round exits in the postseason Torre's time with the Yankees has run its course. Despite the vulgar way George Steinbrenner goes about his business—in this case with a gratuitous ultimatum—most Yankee fans will welcome a managerial change, if with a tinge of sadness.

And so might Torre, though he seems incapable of admitting it. All these years in what remains—even as sportswriters write about the mellowing of the Boss—"the Bronx Zoo" have clearly taken a toll on him. Managing the Yankees may be the only job that ages you faster than the American presidency. Through much of this past season Torre appeared numb and, at times, soporific, incapable of summoning up the requisite emotions on those occasions when they might be useful in energizing his team.

Still, Steinbrenner, with his continued faith in the equation that payroll equals championship, is sadly out of touch. That formula is no longer guaranteed in baseball's new millennium, as seven different champions in the last seven years attest. Other teams with big payrolls—the Mets and Dodgers this year, the Red Sox and Angels last year—have failed to make the playoffs. Torre's perfect record in reaching the playoffs with the Yankees should not be regarded as the inevitable outcome of the team's high salaries but as a credit to how he managed, despite ample distractions, to keep his team's eye on the prize.

Now, even as the playoffs move on without New York, and New York almost certainly moves on without Torre, the Yankee story will be fascinating. The team faces huge decisions beyond who will be its dugout leader next year. Two of New York's longest-serving stars, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada, are free agents, and the team has a $16 million option on outfielder Bobby Abreu, who put up very good numbers after a wretched first half that helped bury the team behind the Red Sox in the A.L. East. An even bigger decision looms for Alex Rodriguez, a shoo-in for American League MVP but a postseason bust in all four of his years in New York. A-Rod can opt out of the last three years of his 10-year, $250 million deal. Finally, the Yankees' most reliable big-game pitcher, Andy Pettitte, can also leave.

A primer on the Yankees past and a prescription for the team's future: