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*In this interview, Joe Torre never actually says that Willie Randolph is not a moron. But Torre doesn't say that Willie is a moron, either. And that's gotta be good for something these days.
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[url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080521&content_id=2745004&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb]Torre feels for Mets skipper Randolph[/url]
Dodgers manager weighs in on controversy in New York
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
LOS ANGELES -- Perhaps nobody can appreciate what besieged Mets manager Willie Randolph is going through more than Dodgers manager Joe Torre.
"I feel bad for him," Torre said, responding to the ongoing controversy sparked by Randolph's recent comments that raised the issue of race in how he had been depicted by the cable network in which the Mets own a controlling interest.
"It's a tough market," Torre said. "Willie is a good man, he's had success as a player and a manager. Unfortunately, with what happened last year, he's having to endure some things tough to endure.
"People get caught up on both sides of the equation. He's under a great deal of pressure, as is [Yankees manager] Joe Girardi, as was I [for 12 years as the Yankees manager]. Maybe you're not as well-rested one day and you get a little cranky."
Torre said Randolph, prior to his hiring as Mets manager, went on numerous futile interviews that satisfied MLB's requirement for clubs to interview minorities for managerial jobs.
"He's gone through that and it's a frustrating exercise," said Torre. "He's had to deal with so much more than the rest of us. I feel badly for him."
Torre knows the pressures of the New York fishbowl, but he said he's confident that Randolph wants to remain in his job.
"As frustrated as he appears to be, I'm sure he doesn't want to change jobs," Torre said. "That's the excitement of that job -- the highs are high, the lows are low."
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