Joe Torre

New Year's Day is nearly upon us, and perhaps no MLB team is looking forward to a fresh start in 2011 more than the Los Angeles Dodgers.

From the ugly proceedings of the McCourt divorce to the departure of Manny Ramirez to the retirement of Joe Torre, the Dodgers had their fair share of pitfalls in a year that saw them fail to capture a third consecutive NL West division title.

Making a Hall of Fame case for the legendary player, manager and world series champion

By Howard G. Ruben

For most hardcore Dodgers fans, the ongoing melodrama between Jamie and Frank McCourt has more than frayed our collective nerves, worn our patience and bored us to tears. 

Derek Jeter is one of the classiest guys in the Major Leagues and will go down as one of the best Yankees players in the history of the team.

With manager Joe Girardi's contract figured out after he signed a three-year deal worth around $9 million it is now Jeter who will be the primary focus of the team. Brian Cashman knows he's in for a delicate negotiation, but he needs to be sure Jeter signs on the Yankees' terms.

Now that the search for their general manager is over, the Mets can now concentrate on getting a manager.  At the moment, they are in the early stages.  Many names are being mentioned, and we all know that only a few will become serious contenders for the job. 

It’s official.

Joe Girardi will remain the New York Yankees' skipper for three more seasons.

Many Yankees fans have been quick to blame Girardi for the team’s failure to repeat as World Series Champions. Fans were frustrated all season with Girardi, blaming any loss on unnecessary pitching changes or playing it by the book/binder.

There was little drama to the negotiations that led to the three-year contract extension Joe Girardi reportedly agreed to with the Yankees on Thursday.

It kind of makes all the second-half speculation about Girardi's future seem a bit silly in retrospect. I'm not innocent—on more than one occasion I joked that Girardi did postgame interviews this summer while looking over blueprints of Wrigley Field's manager's office.

The Los Angeles Dodgers couldn't have summarized their disappointing season any better than manager Joe Torre's farewell speech Sunday, following a Dodgers win that allowed the team to finish a game under .500 for a fourth-place finish in the National League West.

Torre's speech seemed to stumble along in pleasantry, rambling while he searched for words to describe his tenure as Dodgers manager.

Tim Wallach says he's ready to manage in the bigs, and after being passed over by the Los Angeles Dodgers, he may finally have his chance.

According to Bob Nightengale of the USA Today, the Blue Jays currently have their eyes on Colorado Rockies hitting coach Don Baylor, but he also says that Wallach is quickly emerging as a front-runner for the managing job in Toronto.

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi won a World Series last season and also was voted Manager of the Year in 2006 with the Florida Marlins.

The Chicago Cubs currently have an interim manager, Mike Quade, after Lou Piniella left the team in August to take care of his ailing mother. Quade has led the Cubbies to a 20-11 record in his short time as skipper.

They are known as the Cubbies or Baby Cubs because they are using all their young players. These kids are producing at a high level and much of the credit is going to the interim manager.

Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti has already announced that his club intends on making a number of personnel changes in the offseason, but many folks around Dodgertown are curious to see if the current coaching staff will remain intact to compliment newly hired manager Don Mattingly.