The oust of Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona leaves a very coveted vacancy. Â Joe Torre was once a candidate for the job and now that it’s open he could be considered once again. Â Considering the bitter rivalry between the two teams it would be a bit uncomfortable for the former Yankees manager to become the new Red Sox manager. Â Check out what Torre had to say or not say after the jump.
Joe Torre beat a hasty retreat Friday night when someone noted that the Red Sox, who suddenly have a managerial vacancy following Terry Francona’s ouster, had long ago nearly made Torre a candidate to skipper at Fenway.
“Oh, my gosh,” said Torre, who is now Major League Baseball’s vice president for baseball operations. “That was back in my broadcasting days. You see, when you’re a broadcaster, they think you’re the smartest guy in the world, so that’s what happened.”
Then Torre, generally loquacious with the media, begged off finishing a conversation with a group of reporters, saying, “I’d love to talk to you guys, but I have a meeting to go to in the umpires’ room.”
Who knows if Torre would consider the job now or if the Red Sox would consider hiring him. Torre seems to be enjoying his MLB gig, which is why he was at the Stadium Friday night.
Then-Boston GM Lou Gorman courted Torre when Torre was broadcasting Angels games for KTLA in Los Angeles, but the Red Sox made Joe Morgan the interim manager and Morgan did so well he kept the job.
The news of Francona’s ouster was a topic of conversation at the Stadium Friday night. The news came across the giant scoreboard screen while the Texas-Tampa Bay game was being shown there during the Yanks’ batting practice and Joe Girardi was asked about it during his pregame press conference.
Girardi made sure to praise Francona at the end of his answer and both Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira echoed their manager’s words.
“Tito has done a great job there,” Girardi said. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I know he’s done a great job.”
“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Terry,” Jeter said. “I don’t know what the situation is, what happened or anything, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine with whatever he decides to do.”
Added Teixeira: “My first spring training, in 2002, Terry was the bench coach in Texas, so I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a great manager. He’s done a lot of great things in Boston. But every relationship, every tenure, has to end at some point and this was best for him and the team.”
