Say it ain’t so Joe- say it ain’t so….

On Thursday, October 18th, the Yankees said goodbye to a legend in Joe Torre. Now, they could miss three more players….Once again, the Bronx is truly burning. While it was burning with rage from the depths of George Steinbrenner’s box when then Yankees walked with a 2-0 deficit to the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series this year, it’s now white hot after Joe Torre bounced himself a day ago.

After multiple World Series and World Series appearances – as well as numerous AL East titles and even a couple of perfect games under his guidance, Joe Torre is out and the Good Ship Yankee is looking helpless again.

And now Torre’s out the door after turning his back on a $5 million, one-year offer, then don’t be surprised if the dynamic trio of Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera go too.

If A-Rod leaves, it won’t be because of the fact that he can’t deal with October pressure. It’ll be because Torre’s not his guide anymore and the Scott Boras-fed chequebook is calling him somewhere else. The Red Sox can yell all they want about how nice it is to have Mike Lowell on their team, but do you think that Theo Epstein would hesitate for one second and pay a king’s ransom for the future home run king? I don’t think so.

Jorge Posada, who became the Yankees’ starting catcher in the Torre era, has voiced concerns about staying about with a new manager. For him – as was for most Yankee players – Torre’s gone and now it’s just the cranky new ownership. I’m sure that the younger Steinbrenners would love to the throw the checkbook at him, but can Posada be without Torre?

And Rivera – possibly `Uncle Joe”s biggest fan – told the New York Daily News: “I mean, I’ve been with Joe for so many years, and the kind of person he has been for me and for my teammates. It’s been great. The thing is that I don’t see why they have to put him in this position.” Don’t worry Mariano – you’re not the only one. And if it wasn’t for Rivera, would Torre be on his way to Cooperstown? Methinks not.

But the one thing that will be most missed about the Yankees in 2008 is Torre’s class. Torre didn’t criticize his players to the media, and he didn’t get involved in spitting brawls (much!) like Bobby Cox or Lou Pineilla. He always sucked up the defeats and blamed himself – something that’s pretty hard to do bearing in mind you’re the one that puts together the line-up.

We’ll miss you Joe, we’ll miss you.