Joe Torre May Not Retire After 2010

For most of the summer, Joe Torre indicated that he was planning on retiring from managing after his contract with the Dodgers expires in 2010. Both he and people who have followed his career closely noted that he's made similar statements in the past, and he's still in the dugout. Accordingly, Torre admitted to T.J. Simers on Sunday that he's considering negotiating a contract extension with the Dodgers that would keep him in L.A. beyond the 2010 season.

In his two years with the Dodgers, Torre's taken the team to the NLCS twice, but failed to get past the Phillies both times. Dating back to his years with the Yankees, he's taken his team to a playoff spot in 14 consecutive seasons. Unsurprisingly, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti indicates in the same story that he'd be happy to negotiate with Torre, should he want an extension.

The one person this might affect adversely is the Dodgers' hitting coach, Don Mattingly. Mattingly has long been thought to be a future major league manager and he was supposed to have interviews with the Indians and Nationals this fall, but he turned the Nats down and the Indians hired Manny Acta before he met with the team. Most people thought that was because he was expecting to take the Dodgers job in 2011 after Torre retires.

Mattingly says that it's not a big deal if Torre sticks around a few more years, but he's already been passed over once as Torre's heir (by Joe Girardi in New York). If Torre's not planning on retiring any time soon, Mattingly may not stick around L.A. long enough for it to happen again.