Torre takes it up a notch with management

The signing of Joe Torre as manager will bring stability and cachet to a Dodgers franchise that has recently struggled trying to achieve both, said a wide cross-section of players, former managers, executives and others throughout baseball.

“A guy like that, he brings instant credibility and instant respect to any organization,” said Dodgers pitcher Derek Lowe, who pitched against Torre in his seven seasons with the Boston Red Sox.

“Joe, when he walks into a room, you just know that he’s the guy,” added Dennis Gilbert, a former agent and now a special assistant to Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. “He has an ambience about him, a way about him. He commands respect.”

Torre, who left the New York Yankees last month after a record 12-year run in which he never missed the playoffs, signed a three-year, $13-million contract Thursday to replace Grady Little as Dodgers manager. Little resigned Tuesday after what he termed his toughest season in baseball, one in which the Dodgers’ dysfunctional clubhouse fractured during a stretch drive that saw the team lose 11 of its last 14 games to finish fourth in the National League West for the second time in three seasons.

A split clubhouse is something the Dodgers shouldn’t have to worry about under Torre.

“He’s somebody who invites conversation from anybody, which is good because the biggest thing in that spot is the ability to communicate, to make young players around you comfortable and the veteran players respect you,” said Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics.

Former Dodgers catcher Jeff Torborg, who played and managed against Torre and coached with the Yankees for a decade before Torre arrived, agreed.

“Joe has a presence,” he said. “In and out of his clubhouse you could just see the calming presence he had.

“Obviously he is the leader. He does it in a much different way than a flamboyant, dogmatic type guy would. But Joe still gets his point across.”

But in addition to a presence, Torre also figures to bring stability to a franchise that had only two managers between 1954 and 1996 -- but has had six since.

“He can put together an attitude, a feeling, a togetherness,” said Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda, who started the managerial merry-go-round when he stepped down after 20 years in the Dodgers’ dugout. “He’s got that tremendous desire that I felt I had.

“He knows how to manage a game. He’s not one of those kinds of guys who expected every one of his players to be great. He looks at the ability that the players have. A lot of times when a guy was a great ballplayer, they expect everyone to be great. He has handled that very well.”

And while the Dodgers will be looking for immediate dividends on their investment after giving Torre the most lucrative managerial contract in baseball, that will be nothing compared to the expectations Torre has for himself, said former Yankees pitcher Jon Lieber.

“Joe is going to expect to get to the World Series and, there’s no doubt, probably to win,” said Lieber, who added that Torre had “an aura about him.”

Yet despite the excitement Torre’s signing generated, the news was somewhat bittersweet for Lowe, who was saying goodbye to Little for the second time. After Little converted the former closer into a starting pitcher in Boston, the right-hander had the best two seasons of his career, going 38-15 with a 3.49 earned-run average. But Little was fired after the Red Sox lost to Torre and the Yankees in the American League Championship Series in 2003.

“That’s something that’s tough for players in a situation like this,” Lowe said. “Just because we’re happy to see one guy come in, everybody thinks we’re happy to see the other guy go out. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I liked Grady. And I liked playing for him.”

Times staff writer Dylan Hernandez contributed to this report.

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