Boss back to blustering: Torre on notice, ump bugs him

"Till the next series, right?" he said.

"You have seen managers who have been here before me. I don't think any of them have been on easy street as far as the day-in, day-out operations here," Torre went on. "So whether I think it's right, wrong, fair, foul or whatever is really not the point at this point in time. I'll save all that stuff for later on when there's really nothing left for me to do here."

New York players have long been accustomed to Steinbrenner's pointed remarks.

"Obviously he speaks his mind at any time," general manager Brian Cashman said.

Steinbrenner also criticized umpire Bruce Froemming for not stopping play when insects invaded the field during Game 2 in Cleveland on Friday. Rookie reliever Joba Chamberlain threw two wild pitches that allowed Cleveland to tie the game in the eighth, and the Indians went on to win 2-1 in 11 innings.

Froemming called it "just a little irritation." Steinbrenner profanely dismissed Froemming's explanation.

"He won't umpire our games anymore," Steinbrenner said.

The 68-year-old Froemming -- the longest-tenured umpire in major league history -- is retiring after this season. The Yankees complained to baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

"(Selig) just said, 'That's in the umpires' hands.' ... It was terrible. It messed up the whole team, (Derek) Jeter, all of them," Steinbrenner told the paper.

A little more than an hour before Game 3, Froemming stood by his decision.

"George is entitled to his comments," the umpire said. "Nobody complained about it. Neither manager, nor the players. They put the spray on 'em, 30-40 minutes they were gone. So, it was a non-issue. We have worse situations with rain and cold in the spring."

Steinbrenner also predicted Alex Rodriguez will remain with the Yankees. A-Rod has the right to opt out of the final three years of his record $252 million, 10-year contract after the World Series and become a free agent.

"I think we'll re-sign him," Steinbrenner told the paper. "I think he's going to have a good run the rest of the (postseason). I think he realizes New York is the place to be, the place to play. A lot of this (postseason) is laying on his shoulders, you know, but I think he's up to it."

The 77-year-old Steinbrenner, who has appeared to be more frail in recent years, said he will make the decisions on Torre and Rodriguez.

"I have full control," Steinbrenner said.