Sam Donnellon | Bowa would be logical choice to manage Yanks

SOMEONE ACTUALLY wrote this in an e-mail yesterday:

"I'm scared we could lose Manuel to the Yankees."

Which brought on this immediate thought: You think he would retain Larry Bowa as his third-base coach?

My, how times have changed. Charlie Manuel was given an extension to continue managing the Phillies for the next two seasons yesterday while Torre, the face of the Yankees for the last decade, continues to twist in the wind.

Truth is, Bowa is as likely as anybody to become the next manager of the Yankees should principal owner George Steinbrenner follow through on his comments to fire Joe Torre for the Yankees' latest failure to advance past the first round of the playoffs. If you think about it, Bowa has many of the qualities the Yankees' boss finds missing in Torre, notably a willingness to throw million-dollar players under a bus when they do not return on their investment.

Some of the Yankees who can become free agents in November include catcher Jorge Posada, pitchers Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte and, of course, Alex Rodriguez. Wonder how they would view re-upping and retiring in pinstripes with Bo at the helm.

Me? I'm thinking about how it might have worked in reverse, had Manuel's insistence on a 2-year deal here have lead to an impasse and departure. Would the next move have been to see if Torre wanted to continue his managerial career 90 miles south with a team filled with young superstars and young arms, with more purportedly on the way?

In some ways, it makes perfect sense. Like Torre, Manuel is appreciated by his players because he respects them, respects the difficulty of the job, handles his dissatisfaction and theirs through closed-door meetings. When Adam Eaton complained about the "short leash" he was given in his final start of the season, he was beckoned into the manager's office for a chat. Afterward, when Eaton was left off the playoff roster, he said he understood.

I believe Torre's deft handling of Rodriguez during his disappointing and divisive 2006 season had something to do with the monster MVP season the third baseman produced this year. Sure, A-Rod's postseason was disappointing again, but so was Derek Jeter's - again. The Yankees got there through no small effort by both.