Little Resigns, Paving a Way West for Torre

LOS ANGELES — Grady Little is out, whatever the reason. That sure seems to pave the way for Joe Torre to become the Los Angeles Dodgers' next manager.

Little resigned yesterday with a year remaining on his contract in a move he said he considered for some time. First, he called it "a mutual resignation." Later, he said it was his choice to leave.

"I've got my own personal reasons. There's a lot of belief I've been dealt an injustice here. That couldn't be further from the truth," Little said on a conference call. "My plans? To play with my grandkids."

When asked if reports that the Dodgers were speaking with Torre influenced his decision, Little replied firmly: "No."

Torre and his former bench coach with the New York Yankees, Don Mattingly, have discussed the possibility of joining the Dodgers together, according to a person with knowledge of those talks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the manager's job was still open in Los Angeles.

"We haven't hired anybody," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. "We're talking to some people, that's all I'm going to tell you. We'll talk about where we go from here at a later date."

The New York Post reported on its Web site last night that Torre had agreed in principle to a $14.5 million, three-year contract with the Dodgers, but a baseball official with knowledge of the search said no deal was imminent. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the job was still open.

Torre's agent, Maury Gostfrand, declined comment.

Colletti said he had a sense the 57-year-old Little was leaning toward stepping down, so he recently discussed the job with potential replacements. One of those candidates, Colletti acknowledged, was Joe Girardi, hired by the Yankees as Torre's successor earlier yesterday.

Colletti refused to put a timetable on picking Little's successor. The GM stressed that Little would have kept his job for next season had he decided to come back.

The 67-year-old Torre managed the Yankees to four World Series championships and 12 playoff appearances in as many seasons before turning down a one-year, $5 million offer for next season with an additional $3 million in incentives on October 18.

Torre, who completed a three-year, $19.2 million contract this year, ranks eighth on baseball's career list with 2,067 victories and has won a record 76 postseason games.