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The year was 1996, I was just starting to become a true fan of baseball, learning everything there was to know about the sport and becoming a New York Yankees fan. It was also at this time that former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager Joe Torre became a manager once again, this time with the Yankees.

Prior to the Yankees, Torre managed three other teams: New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and the St. Louis Cardinals. At the time he had a mediocre managerial record of 894 wins and 1,003 losses.

Due to his lackluster past performance, the New York media nicknamed Torre, "Clueless Joe" when he was hired by the Yankees in 1996. That nickname and the low public opinion on his managing skills flew out the window after his very first season with the Yankees. They won the World Series, their first one since the 1978 season.

Now, let's take a trip through time to this year, 2007. We are now in the 2007 post season. Torre has now been with the Yankees for 12 years after people thought he was barely going to last one. Unlike the end of the 1996 season, the end of the 2007 season holds no World Series title and there is now much uncertainty for Torre's professional future.

Torre's position with the Yankees was threatened about a week ago. The Yankees were playing the Cleveland Indians in a best of five series in the first round of the playoffs. The Indians had two wins over the Yanks in the series and only needed one more to advance.

Then it came out, the statement from the boss himself, Yankee's owner George Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner made a clear, public statement that if the Yankees did not beat Cleveland in three straight games sending them to the next round, Torre would be on the chopping block.

There was really nothing new with this statement. The mentality of the Yankees' organization is to win the World Series, or someone has to pay. I think this is an arrogant mentality because it is a collaborative effort between the manager, players, coaches, and the team ownership. A failed season shouldn't be held over one person's head.

On Sun. Oct. 8, the day after Steinbrenner's statement, the Yankees were able to pull off an 8-4 win over Cleveland, and things were starting to look up for Torre.

As fast as things looked up for New York, Cleveland shattered any hope as they won the next game 6-4 on Mon. Oct. 9, eliminating the Yankees from the first round of the playoffs.

Torre has certainly been through this before. Just last year Steinbrenner gave the same threat to the Yankees manager when they lost their playoff opening series to the Detroit Tigers. It seemed grim for the Yankees skipper until players and organization members convinced Steinbrenner to keep Torre, which he then agreed to.

I do not believe that Torre will be returning to the Yankees in the Spring of 2008. Steinbrenner gave Torre a second chance, keeping him for the 2007 season with hopes of winning another World Series which only resulted in defeat. It appears to be Torre's last straw.

Also, the fact that Steinbrenner kept Torre last year and passed up on signing another great baseball manager, Lou Pinella, is just another possible reason for Steinbrenner's frustration with Torre.

Despite the fact that I feel Torre will not be back next year does not mean I feel he shouldn't, quite the contrary. Since becoming the Yankees manager in 1996, I feel Torre has turned his ordinary managerial career into something worthy of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Yankees have a lot of free agents this off-season: Roger Clemens, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. Rivera has already stated that his decision to stay in New York or not may hinge on Torre's fate. Posada has made it clear on how much he loves playing for Torre. It would be a shame if the Yankees lost some of these fan favorites.

Out of Torre's 12 seasons with the Yankees, they have made it to the World Series six times and were World Series champions four of those six years. The Yankees have made it to the playoffs or the World Series every year that Torre has managed them.

The Yankees were in one of the biggest holes this past May and despite being in that hole, they made the playoffs with Torre in command. I think that even though Torre makes questionable decisions every now and then, this was his best year as Yankees manager. The team had a horrific start with an amazing finish.

I feel that it is not yet time for Torre to leave the Yankees. I understand that Torre will not be the manager forever. Maybe it's just sentimental feelings on my part. Torre is the only manager with the Yankees since my childhood, so to me, the Yankees just won't be the Yankees without him

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