Bert Blyleven

The Dodgers haven't won a World Series since 1988. They're out to end that drought and in Joe Torre they couldn't have made a better choice for a leader to go about getting their fortunes turned around.

When Torre talks, players listen
Torre commands respect and he provides leadership. Under him the Dodgers won’t have a repeat of what happened last year when a late-season fade was made all the worse by unrest in the clubhouse as some older and some younger players clashed, some of the veterans reportedly feeling like the degree of their efforts was not being matched by some of their younger teammates.

Then manager Grady Little lost control of the clubhouse. Torre’s been brought in to cure all ills among the Dodgers and when it comes to handling players whether they be veterans or guys with little or no major league experience the Brooklyn born 67-year-old knows how to succeed. Just look at his work with the Yankees and you’ll find overwhelming proof of that. Proof such as he got Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, by no means frequent dinner companions, to coexist and not mess with team harmony.

Yes, the Yankees had the best talent money could buy, but that didn’t guarantee success. It was the way Torre got this talent to mesh and even more so kept it from creating disharmony that is his finest attribute as a manager. Many thought Torre just sent his millionaire players out on the field and all good things simply fell into place. That wasn’t the case. His teams were always winners on paper, but he worked at making them winners on the field. Every one of his clubs during his 12 seasons in the Bronx went to the playoffs, six of them won AL pennants and four won World Series. Case closed on Torre’s ability to connect with his players.

Courting compatibility
The first thing the Dodgers will hear from Torre is that last year is last year. It’s in the past and the manager will demand all his players understand that’s exactly where it stays. Torre wants all those on his roster to be pulling in the same direction – and that direction is forward not backwards. To keep alive the issue of the clubhouse discord of 2007 is to continue to live in 2007. It’s 2008 and that’s where Torre wants his team’s focus to be from the very first day of spring training.

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Of course, Torre’s been around a block as a manager so many times there’s little if anything he hasn’t experienced. This is a guy who started managing in 1977 with the Mets. He’s also skippered the Braves, Cardinals, and Yankees. He knows that words (like his telling his new team to put last year behind it) mean little if they are not combined with actions. So it’s not surprising that a short time after getting the Dodgers job, Torre spoke with veteran second baseman Jeff Kent, who went public about the clubhouse issues.

The message to Kent is the same one Torre will give or has already given to any of those players whose team chemistry turned combative in the late stages of last season. Torre stresses communication. He believes it’s his job to listen to players, to try and understand where they are coming from, to try to make sense of it all, and in the end to make sure all of his troops realize they are wearing the same uniform.