Torre walks away from Yankees

Torre was offered a one-year deal for $5 million with the option of earning an additional $1 million for each playoff series he won. If Torre and the Yankees won the World Series in 2008, the veteran mentor would have earned $8 million next season.

Torre was thought to have managed his last game in a Yankee uniform on October 8 when the Yankees were beaten by the Cleveland Indians, 6-4, in Game 4 of their American League Division Series. It marked the third straight year the Yankees were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs.

But, the Yankees brass had second thoughts and offered Torre the opportunity to return, albeit with a reduced base salary. Numerous media reports indicated that Torre accepted the team's terms but the Yankees announced he had turned them down on an afternoon conference call.

"It is now time for the New York Yankees to move forward," Yankees president Randy Levine said in announcing Torre's decision. "We felt we needed to go to a performance-based mode. We thought the offer was very fair and it clearly was at the top of the market."

Torre has led the Yankees to four World Series titles and 12 consecutive playoff appearances. His 12 appearances in postseason play with the Yankees (1996-2007) are the most by any manager in American League history and he has won more postseason games than any skipper in major league history.

The 67-year-old Torre is a gaudy 1,173-767 during the regular season in his tenure with the Yankees, winning the World Series four years in a five- season span (1996, 1998-2000). His tenure includes a run of nine straight AL East titles.

The team with the highest payroll in the majors over the last few years hasn't fared well in the playoffs, however. The Yankees blew a 3-0 lead in the ALCS against Boston in 2004 and were beaten in the 2005 ALDS by Anaheim. Last year, the Yankees were eliminated in four games by Detroit in the first round.

Torre has 2,067 career victories for sole possession of eighth place on baseball's all-time managerial wins list and ranks second on the Yankees all- time victories list. He's also managed the Mets (1977-81), Braves (1982-84) and Cardinals (1990-95) during his career.