It's official: Grady is out

The Dodgers have scheduled a conference call for 4 p.m., at which time they are expected to announce the firing of manager Grady Little after two seasons at the helm. Little guided the club to an 88-74 mark and the National League wild card in 2006, after which the Dodgers were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the New York Mets, but the Dodgers fell off to 82-80 this season and finished fourth in the National League West. Both owner Frank McCourt and general manager Ned Colletti said on the final day of the regular season that Little would return in 2008. It isn't clear what happened in the interim to change their minds. The Dodgers are believed to have actually offered Little's job last week to former Florida manager Joe Girardi and at one point even believed Girardi was on the verge of accepting the position. But Girardi was formally introduced earlier today as the new manager of the New York Yankees, replacing Joe Torre, who turned down a one-year, $5 million offer earlier this month to remain with the club. Torre now becomes the leading candidate to replace Little with the Dodgers. Numerous media reports over the past 24 hours have indicated the Dodgers might already have a deal in place with Torre, but that has yet to be confirmed.