CBSsportsline.com: It’s like old times in Bronx with Torre in town

Torre, of course, was hoping for a Dodgers-Yankees World Series, even letting his mind drift as to how he might pitch to Jeter—“the first time I’d ever not be pulling for him.” But when Girardi, his former player and coach, directed the Yankees over the Phillies, Torre burst with the pride of the Yankees.

“He’s like a son to me,” Torre said. “It wasn’t easy to follow me and all the success we had in New York. Even though I’m now supposed to be a National League guy, I was pulling for them.”

Zimmer, who just signed his “62nd contract” in baseball (again as an adviser for the Tampa Bay Rays), was the manager of the Cubs in 1989 when Girardi broke in. The two were together in Colorado, when Zimmer coached on Don Baylor’s staff, and again in New York with Torre.

“Joe was always disciplined, smart,” said Zimmer, even citing Girardi’s engineering degree from Northwestern. “He’s a very good man and a very good friend.”

Torre is considering a contract extension himself. With one year left on his original three-year deal, he said he spoke to Dodger GM Ned Colletti about “possibly extending it another year, through 2011.” The soft-spoken legend said he and his family had become much more at home in Los Angeles.

“It’s to my great relief that my 13-year-old daughter, Andrea, is now wearing Andre Ethier’s jersey to Dodger Stadium instead of Derek Jeter’s,” Torre said.