After his playing days were over ...Joe Torre had some mixed results as manager of  the  New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals.  In fact,  when Torre followed Whitey Herzog as Cardinal manager in 1990 and put together some winning  seasons...he finished slightly below .500 as the head man for the Redbirds.

When Torre was hired by George Steinbrenner in New York ...the feeling at the time  was that he would be another in the revolving door of managers that  made their way through Yankee Stadium and left a short time later.  And everyone knew that a .500 record in New York wasnt going to cut it......so Torre was under the gun to produce and  he was working for a hard-to-please boss.

But...did  JoeTorre ever succeed.  He won 4 World Championships with the Bronx Bombers and was in the World Series competing for a handful of  others in a 12 year stretch.  He wound up having the longest managerial stint under Steinbrenner.

Now he has moved to the West Coast and after a couple of years in sunny Los Angeles....Torre has the Dodgers running away in the National League West.  He has a balanced team with solid pitching.  Since Torre runs a professional clubhouse...the Dodgers' play reflects his calm leadership style. 

Dont be surprised if the Dodgers win it all in October.