NO JOE
Dodgers manager Joe Torre was back in New York for the All-Star break to host his Safe at Home Foundation’s annual charity golf tournament and, along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, attend a news conference to open the 11th Margaret’s Place, a safehouse for student victims of domestic violence.

He did not attend the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, his baseball home from 1996-2007.

When asked by a reporter at the news conference, how it will feel to be back at the Stadium, he quipped, “I couldn’t get a ticket.”

Instead, Torre, who won four World Series titles and was the AL manager at the All-Star game six times, will be home with his family.

“I’m not going. I will watch it,” he said. “But if I was there, it would be strange to be on the other side of the field. That would be the odd perspective I’d have to look at it from.”

WILLIE’S BACK
Former Mets manager Willie Randolph accepted Yankees owner George Steinbrenner’s invitation to the All-Star game.

Randolph, a former All-Star second baseman and longtime coach with the Yankees, was fired last month after the Mets got off to an inconsistent start this season. He was selected to be a coach for the game during the final season for Yankee Stadium and was replaced by Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella.

“George invited him to the All-Star game on the basis of his great friendship for him and he wanted him to take part in this momentous occasion,” Steinbrenner spokesman Howard Rubenstein said.

Mets star David Wright said he has exchanged messages with Randolph since he was fired, and was glad he was going to the game.

“I think it’s good for a guy that’s been such a part of that Yankees history to be here,” Wright said. “He definitely deserves to be here.”

BIG RATINGS
More homes were tuned into Monday night’s Home Run Derby than have ever watched the event. The contest on ESPN was seen by nearly 6.2 million households, breaking the record of more than 5.7 million set in 1999, the network said Tuesday.

The 6.4 rating was up 25 percent from last year’s 5.1. It was the most-viewed non-NFL program on ESPN since the Florida State-Miami football game Sept. 5, 2006.

The rating is the percentage of homes with televisions watching a broadcast.

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Tony Gutierrez / AP

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