October 9, 2007 -- JOE TORRE receives one last second-guess for the road, for starting a pitcher on three days' rest who didn't last the second inning. Even if the alternative, Mike Mussina, who pitched a scary tuneup to end a largely terrible season, gave up the two insurance runs in relief of Chien-Ming Wang that cost the Yankees the game.

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This hanging offense, losing in the first round for a third straight October, will keep none of several teams from gauging Torre's interest in managing again by next week, assuming George Steinbrenner can't be talked down off the ledge today, assuming Brian Cashman even has an inclination, or the stomach, to try for the second straight year.

If not, the Yankees lost more than just a series, more than just an era, but the steadiest hand and the sanest voice of the too-often self-defeating Steinbrenner era.

A 12-year run of 12 postseason berths, four World Series titles, six AL championships and 10 division crowns likely, absurdly, ended with Torre's best work, leading his team to the playoffs from a 21-29 start. Unless, of course, he managed better in 2005, when the Yankees started 30-32 and had to win 18 of their last 23 to get into the playoffs on the next-to-last day of the season.

Certainly that had to be Torre's best work under pressure, unless it was 1996, when David Cone was on the disabled list for three months and his first Yankee team lost Games 1 and 2 of the World Series by a combined score of 16-1 and still won.