BILL PLASCHKE - McCourt and Colletti still have some work to do
Hiring Joe Torre to manage the Dodgers is like hanging a masterpiece in a tool shed, installing leather seats in a jalopy, buying designer shoes for a dog.
Joe Torre is a wonderful, dramatic, once-in-a-lifetime gem.
But if the Dodgers don't significantly improve their roster, he'll be little more than a gaudy trinket.
Those who need proof need only to look at the current plight of the other Hall of Fame coach in town.
Phil Jackson sitting on the Lakers' bench these days is like Mt. Rushmore plopped in the middle of a Wal-Mart parking lot.
Torre is Jackson without the smugness. He is Pete Carroll with a couple of more championships. He is Mike Scioscia with more seniority. He is Ben Howland with less rancor.
Torre is lacking only one asset, and that is time. He is 67 years old. He has a career window no larger than his three-year contract.
The Dodgers wanted the younger guy, first chasing Joe Girardi in obvious hopes that he can grow with the kids.
They could have sold us on a long-term plan with Girardi. Life would have been cheaper and easier with Girardi.
But Girardi chose the Yankees, the Dodgers snapped up a guy with a much shorter shelf life, and now everything has changed.
No more slow growth. No more hand holding. Torre is not a nice lot in a burgeoning suburb, he's a $13-million ocean-view, cliff-side property who needs to be enjoyed -- now -- before it erodes gently into the sea.
The Dodgers made a smart move in hiring him; they would be really dumb in trivializing him.
Not that they need to give him the talent of the New York Yankees. We're talking about the National League here, remember?
They only need to give him enough talent to be the best of the mediocre, then allow him to guide them to October.
At the end of last season, even mediocre was a leap, with the Dodgers unable to cope with teams that were younger (Arizona), thinner (Colorado) and more unsettled (San Diego).
That leap is a new third baseman. It's a veteran outfielder who is not 50 years old and who can actually throw the ball. It's a starting pitcher. It's a decent backup catcher.
Memo to owner Frank McCourt: When calculating team payroll, managers don't count.
Memo to Ned Colletti: Your window is even smaller than Torre's.
"[Torre] gave me no indication that he had any concerns as to the type of club that there is currently," Colletti said.
