Torre enjoying LA success after split with Yankees

PHILADELPHIA – Joe Torre got more out of this season than an NL West title with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He got a chance to prove he could win without the New York Yankees. “I didn’t necessarily feel I needed to vindicate myself, I just wanted to see if I could do it somewhere else," the manager said Wednesday. “It wasn’t that I was looking to get out of New York. I just felt it was time to leave because it wasn’t as comfortable." After a drawn-out split with the Yankees, Torre found a perfect fit in Los Angeles. He won four World Series titles and six AL pennants during his 12 seasons managing New York, making the playoffs every year. But the team offered him only a one-year contract last fall following its third straight first-round exit. Torre, who will manage the Dodgers against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL championship series starting Thursday night, was reluctant to uproot his family and make the 3,000-mile trek from one coast to the other. At 68, he had no intention of starting over. But his wife talked him into the move and Torre couldn’t resist the temptation to show he could still take a team deep into October. “I think the word is satisfaction, more so than vindication," Torre said. “I was curious, after you’re in one place for so long, you’re not sure your voice carries to other people." – AP