Those Yanks are out. Either tomorrow or early this week, Joe Torre will be too. In the words of tonight’s play-by-play announcer after the last out of tonight’s 6-4 Yankees loss to the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS –

“An era ends, perhaps, in New York.”

After a weekend of threats to win or get the boot, Steinbrenner worked the angle he’s used to playing — the intimidator — and threatened manager Joe Torre’s job if he didn’t overcome the 0-2 start to the Indians. Well, Boss, you got what you wanted. You motivated your team into avoiding a sweep. Too bad it was never going to be enough to bring the Yanks back into the bigger picture for this year. Their loss will most likely lead to the end of the Joe Torre Era, which included 4 World Championships. The Boss is probably filling out the necessary pink slip as I type these words, if he didn’t already draft one.

Am I wrong to constantly root for The Boss to wake one day to a cup of joe, a fresh edition of The New York Times and a solid, doctors-confirmed case of senility?

Maybe I am being too harsh on the man. Knowing how much he likes to make the front page of tabloids and entertainment posts, he probably is more of a New York Post kind of guy. My mistake.

The Boss makes his living running one of the most successfully branded sports franchises in the world. How successful? Even key franchise players for other cities are outspoken about their love for the Yanks. But no matter how successful his team is, he always finds a wrong place and wrong time to meddle.

Forget Torre’s 4 World Series rings with the Yanks or his over 60% postseason success rate, to The Boss it’s all about what have you done for me lately. Ask former manager Billy Martin, who went through a constant on-again, off-again bout as manager of the Yankees during the 70s and 80s. One year he would win a pennant. Another the World Series. The next, he’d be fired. Each year one thing was consistent — The Boss meddled.

The Boss is incapable of taking care of those who take care of him. Wait, no. I take that back. The Boss is incapable of any non-monetary show of appreciation unless your name is Derek Jeter or Don Mattingly. Otherwise, your seat is always hot.

In discussing Torre before Game 3 against the Indians, The Boss had the following to say to The Record:

“His job is on the line… I think we’re paying him a lot of money. He’s the highest-paid manager in baseball, so I don’t think we’d take him back if we don’t win this series.â€?

All this year, it was almost as if The Boss had stepped out of the spotlight and appeared willing to let the organization leaders run the show. Wrong. He was just lurking in the background, awaiting the playoff spotlight to remind everyone he was there. As if any of us could ever forget that stain in our memory.

Sooner or later, senility will overtake The Boss’s mind. The delirium will be overwhelming and, oddly enough, incredibly similar to his days as full-time owner of the Yankees. And his last big move may be this week’s firing of his loyal, successful, 4-time World Championship manager.

At that point, Torre will have a best-selling tell-all book out, Alex Rodriguez will be partial owner of a ball club and double as the most paid players of that same club, and somewhere in the distance, drooling on his stained Yankees pinstripes special-made jersey, screaming at the nurses to trade Jay Buhner, and bring “that youngin’ Jeter” up. The Boss will be The Crazy Ex-Boss. The man who, at one point in time, made everyone temporarily forget how crazy and manipulative he his because his best cover-up to crazy was simple — winning. With the constant success given his ball club through the years, his type of crazy has become a managerial style.

It’s been a good run, Joe. Now move on to greener pastures. Because as sweet as the grass is in New York clubhouse, you know as well as anyone that, emotionally, the grass is always greener on any side opposite that of The Boss. Because your successes of today mean absolutely nothing tomorrow. Who wants to work under those conditions, anyway?

UPDATE: Most notable quote pulled form the Joe Torre post-game press conference –

Reporter: “If not here, Joe, do you want to manage somewhere else?”

Torre: “Oh, it’s too early. Not in the next three days anyway, you know. Let’s see what happens in the next few days and then whatever comes next, you know, if I have some options I’ll look at it cause I certainly don’t — I’m not ready to move somewhere and not do anything, I can tell you that.”