LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers aren't hiding their gratitude to the Yankees for making Joe Torre an offer he could refuse.

A thank you card, addressed to George Steinbrenner, Esq., would seem to be in order.

"It's in the mail," Jamie McCourt, vice chairman and president of the Dodgers, was saying early Monday afternoon.

She spoke through a radiant smile as she stood near the center-field warning track at Dodger Stadium, where Torre had just finished entertaining the Southern California media with the human touch that has identified him everywhere he's been, as a player, manager and broadcaster.

In his first act as Dodgers manager, Torre had chased away the morning marine layer, basking in the warmth of autumn sunshine. As metaphors go, that's about as good as it gets for a storied franchise that has won one postseason game in 13 tries since 1988, the year Tommy Lasorda and Co. shocked Planet Baseball.

"It's sort of the punctuation point to our commitment to winning," said McCourt, wife of club chairman Frank McCourt. "How lucky are we to have this opportunity?"

She paused before answering her own question: "We're incredibly fortunate to have Joe on our side."

Torre's reputation as one of the sport's true gentlemen is intertwined with his managerial achievements. During a remarkable Bronx reign, his Yankees teams reached the postseason 12 years running, winning six American League pennants and four World Series.

When Torre rejected the Yankees' one-year proposal following a first-round Yankees knockout by Cleveland in the American League Division Series, the Dodgers were in the process of evaluating and determining the status of their manager, Grady Little.

Moving quickly when they determined that Little "wasn't sure he wanted to manage anymore," as Frank McCourt put it, the McCourts invited the Torres, Joe and wife Ali, over on Sunday, Oct. 28.

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti joined in the dialogue and the process.

To suggest the gathering at the McCourts' home went well would be the understatement of the social season in La-La Land.

Gauging Torre's words and manner, and appraising Ali's input, Frank McCourt discovered all the "fire in the belly and passion" he'd been hoping to find in the man from Brooklyn.

"The negotiation, for lack of a better word, was actually a very quick one," McCourt said. "It just shows that people of a like mind can get it done very quickly. We were ready to have a manager like Joe Torre. We've worked very hard the last three or four years to get to this point. We're very excited to have Joe."

Jamie McCourt said she has been inundated with public support for the hiring, with her four sons -- Drew, Travis, Casey and Gavin -- also voicing their approval.

"I'm really happy with Joe coming in," she said. "I know Ned's happy. My kids are happy about it. I have more e-mail than ever before with people telling me how happy they are with Joe coming in.

"I think it really emphasizes our commitment to winning, getting a World Series and championship team under our belt. I think it's a really, really strong statement about everything we're trying to do, on and off the field. Joe really does embody all the family values we care about."

An attorney with membership in the Massachusetts and New York state bars, Jamie McCourt has made a career of taking a position and making her case. Speaking on Torre's behalf might be the easiest assignment she's ever handled.

"He's a consummate communicator, an incredible motivator," she said. "He has the ability to instill that [winning attitude] inside you -- and he's going to do that the second he walks in the clubhouse."

The Dodgers reportedly had a few clubhouse lawyers of their own late in a season that turned sour down the stretch, taking a club that had been a contender all season out of the postseason dialogue.

"I hate to lose," Frank McCourt said. "I particularly dislike losing when I feel we didn't fulfill our potential. That's what's so disappointing. I feel we could have done so much better."

In Torre, McCourt is secure that he's found a "proven winner, a proven leader. You can talk about winning all day long, but you can't do it without leadership."

The secret to Torre's ability to direct high-priced talent to high-yield performance lies, in Jamie McCourt's mind, in a fundamental personality trait.

"He's incredibly fair," she said. "He doesn't treat [players] all the same, but he treats everybody with fairness. What's great about his presence is everyone will listen to him. He really lives up to what he says he's going to do.

"After all those times going to the World Series, I'll put my money on that guy."

Having already received coaching commitments from Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa, Torre will continue putting together the balance of his staff and sit down with Colletti to get a firmer handle on his new personnel. When the discussion turns to free agency, that's when it will get very interesting.

Alex Rodriguez flourished under Torre's calm, steady hand in New York. Only natural is speculation that the free-agent third baseman would be a dream fit with Torre's new club.

He wouldn't address A-Rod's situation in any detail, but McCourt did say the organization "will do whatever it takes to win."

"We're going to spend the money wisely -- we're going to be strategic about it," he said. "It's not about spending money; it's spending money wisely."

The doors -- and minds -- appear to be open. Whatever happens from this point forward, one thing is certain: The McCourts got their man when Torre landed on their doorstep.