Grady Little is done as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Grady Little's inability to control his clubhouse leads to his downfall. (Getty Images)

Little has resigned, the Dodgers said late Tuesday in an announcement that, to everyone who had half a clue, surely elicited a reaction of, "Oh, really?" followed by a very large yawn.

As soon as word leaked that the Dodgers are talking with Joe Torre, there became absolutely, positively no way Little could return.

His authority had been pulled out from under him. His leadership had been compromised. His dignity had been bruised.

On a conference call Tuesday, Little said it was his decision, he had been thinking about it for quite some time, and that it absolutely wasn't related to the rumors that the Dodgers had been speaking with Torre and Joe Girardi.

Of course, his timing was impeccable, no?

Funny how it all happened about the time the Dodgers were glued to Torre on the Late Show with David Letterman Monday.

Little is a good man who deserves better than to wind up as a byproduct in another ham-handed Frank McCourt Production.

But sometimes there is no dodging circumstance, even if you are manager of the Dodgers. The often ugly bottom line in a production-based business is that it's all about the results, and if you're the Dodgers and Torre becomes available, you have a responsibility to check your options.

And the Dodgers most definitely are. According to one major league official with whom I spoke on Tuesday, the Dodgers and Torre are deep into talks that could produce a new Los Angeles manager by week's end.

Regarding the question of whether Torre wants to step right back into managing so soon after his Yankees tenure ended, the official said, "There certainly is significant interest on the sides of both parties."

Something like this certainly isn't unprecedented. In 1979, the Detroit Tigers were faced with a similar decision with a man whose situation was remarkably similar to that of Little's.

Les Moss, a name mostly forgotten now by all but the history books, was a career baseball man who was the Sporting News Minor League Manager of the Year in 1978 when the Tigers tabbed him to replace Ralph Houk.

Moss guided the '79 Tigers to a 27-26 record through the first 53 games, whereupon he was promptly fired.

Because Sparky Anderson became available.

Anderson was much younger then (45) than Torre is now (67), so the circumstances aren't exactly identical.

But the intent is. Anderson brought a World Series championship to Detroit within five years and provided clear authority and leadership in the manager's chair for close to 18 seasons.

In 12 seasons with the Yankees, Torre established himself in the game's largest market in a way few others before him had. He built a Hall of Fame résumé, a mountain of respect, exhibiting an extraordinary ability to manage the clubhouse as well as the game.

As things disintegrated around Little in 2007, with veteran players sniping about the younger players, the young ones disrespecting the veterans, things got worse instead of better. The fractures widened instead of healed.

That Little was working with a flawed roster is on general manager Ned Colletti.

That Little was incapable of healing the rifts and limiting the damage is on him.

When the affable Luis Gonzalez is completely disgusted by season's end with lineups and the way situations are handled, there is a major problem that needs to be addressed.

One Dodger veteran I spoke with Monday termed it an "insult" to a player of Gonzalez's stature that he was yo-yoed in and out of the lineup without Little or any of his coaches explaining their thinking to Gonzalez.

The same player also pointed out that it wasn't exactly like the Dodgers seemed to have much confidence invested in Little anyway, given his bargain-basement salary of $600,000 in '07.

"There are college coaches making more than that," the player said.

Torre has a presence that McCourt and Co. have learned the hard way is needed in a major market like Los Angeles. A former Dodger, Mike Scioscia, now has that down the freeway in Anaheim. Phil Jackson, coach of the NBA Lakers, especially has it across town.

In Dodger Stadium, meanwhile, former manager and current cheerleader Tommy Lasorda still maintains a bigger presence than anybody else.

Problem is, he has neither the authority nor the position to blend old Dodgers such as Jeff Kent and Nomar Garciaparra with new ones like James Loney and Andre Ethier. He doesn't have the hammer to lay down any kind of law. And his riffs on bleeding Dodger blue mostly fall on deaf ears to a generation of players who have been able to squeeze out only one postseason win for the franchise since the Kirk Gibson World Series season of 1988.

Based on his track record, you have to believe the issues that blew apart the '07 Dodgers would not be issues under Torre.

You have to believe that communication within the clubhouse would be far better. You have to believe as a result of that, the overall atmosphere would improve.

That, combined with the talent, should prevent any more 3-11 stretch-run collapses (the Dodgers' record from Sept. 1 on in '07) and should lead to more wins.

Until then, the Dodgers have another very real public relations problem on their hands in that Colletti said late this summer that Little would return as manager.

And McCourt very publicly backed both Colletti and Little.

At the time, neither man knew Torre would become available. And Colletti on Tuesday declined to talk specifically about Torre.

But if you're going to investigate your options, you'd better make a decision quickly and close the deal immediately. The collateral damage when you go looking for action outside of marriage is broad and far-reaching. There are unintended consequences.

In Los Angeles and across the baseball landscape, one of those right now is the public neutering of Little.

If Torre decides a return to Southern California isn't for him, if the timing or the dollars aren't right (he's certainly going to command more than Little's $600,000), then the Dodgers are in even more of a mess.

But while I'm told that Colletti was not headed to New York to meet with Torre, and that Torre was not headed West, a source with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday that the telephone conversations are ongoing.

While I'm told that an agreement between Torre and the Dodgers was not imminent, the source indicated that one is expected by week's end, and that a resolution to the Dodgers' managerial situation certainly should be in place by the start of the general managers' meetings on Nov. 5.

The way things now stand, that almost certainly will be Torre.

And if not, it wasn't going to be Little. Not anymore. No matter how much the Dodgers' spin cycle called it a mutual decision that Little and Colletti felt was best for the Dodgers organization.