The Joe Torre era

Have to admit, when the Yankees replaced Buck Showalter with Joe Torre after the 1995 season, I believe my response at the time was, "Ugh." I figured that any "Joe Torre era," given his previous managing gigs, would be short, nasty and brutish.

Today, the Yankees won their 1,000th game under his management. Congratulations, Joe. It's been a helluva lot of fun, I have to say.

Torre has a 1,000-645 record with New York, trailing only Joe McCarthy (1,460), Casey Stengel (1,149) and Miller Huggins (1,067). Torre has the longest uninterrupted term among Yankees managers since Stengel from 1949-60.

"I think 1,000 wins as a Yankee manager is pretty incredible considering the company you're in," Torre said. "A thousand is a lot of wins, especially when you signed a two-year contract back in '96. The Yankee record book is a special place to be. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be here this long."

And I think that he learned a valuable, though overdue, lesson on the occasion of his 1,000th win as Yankee manager: Tanyon "the Bearcat" Sturtze is no longer an effective pitcher in a pressure situation...or even a non-pressure situation.

Williams made it 8-3 with an RBI single in the seventh. Tanyon Sturtze loaded the bases in the bottom half on two walks around a wild throw to second on an attempt to get a double play.

"I wanted to wring his neck," Torre said.

That may be a better plan than continually sending him out there, Joe.