Torre rediscovers the joys of managing with Dodgers

The words on the door to Joe Torre's office are faint, nearly obscured by countless coats of Dodger-blue paint.

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FOR THE RECORD:
Dodgers: In Tuesday's Sports section, Helene Elliott said in her column that Dodger manager Joe Torre was delighted to see Matt Kemp take initiative and knock on his door to ask for permission to steal some bases. It was James Loney who knocked on his door and asked to be allowed to steal some bases. —

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A close look reveals a bit of history -- and a lot about the occupant of that cramped room.

Printed neatly is this:

ALSTON MGR.

That would be Walter Alston, winner of seven pennants and four World Series titles in 23 seasons of managing the Dodgers.

It was his office, but his successors abandoned it to their coaches, sometimes five men sharing a space the size of a walk-in closet.

The managers moved to a bigger room, one that accommodated Tom Lasorda's buffet table and photographs of his celebrity friends, and, most recently, held Grady Little's desk.

Torre, sizing up his options after the Dodgers hired him last November, took Alston's old office and gave his coaches the roomier location.

He doesn't need a big office to feed his ego. He's sure of who he is and is gradually becoming more comfortable as he settles into his new surroundings.

"Looking at the Dodgers' history and growing up with them in Brooklyn, I was just curious if managing could be fun again," he said.

"It's been fun so far."

He was reminded how enjoyable it is when the New York Mets visited Dodger Stadium on Monday. With them came a troupe of reporters with familiar faces and eager questions about Torre's exit from the New York Yankees and cross-country migration.

They asked him whether managing here is different than in New York, where his every move was second-guessed a million times a day on every subway line and any phone call could signal a tirade from owner George Steinbrenner.

Of course it's different.

And at this point of Torre's life and career, nearly 68 and with four World Series titles on his resume, he welcomes the lower intensity level and his lower blood-pressure readings.

"It's a little more laid-back, and in saying that I'm not saying they don't have the hunger to win because I'd certainly have a problem with that," he said before the Dodgers' 5-1 victory.

"But right now, and I say right now, baseball is in the sports section. And that's a nice change."

Here, his team isn't starring in a soap opera performed in huge, front-page headlines. Reporters and photographers don't camp out on his front lawn.