ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — One man survived a late-season collapse and won a third straight World Series with the Yankees. The other didn’t and found himself in a broadcast booth instead of the dugout where he led the Red Sox to a pair of World Series titles.
Say hello to Joe Torre and Terry Francona.
Because the Red Sox went from leading the AL East by one game last September to out of the playoffs last year, that collapse is fresher. Nevertheless, Torre’s 2000 Yankees were up by nine games on Sept. 13 and lost 15 of the final 18 but hung on to win by 2 ½ lengths.
Asked what the most important vibe a manager can give off when his club is circling the drain, Francona’s answer was swift.
“Be consistent. If you go back to last year when we were 2-10, we pulled out of it,’’ Francona said Wednesday by phone. “In September we didn’t pull out of it. But if a manager changes, then players see right through you. If you change every day, deliver different messages, you are sending mixed messages.’’
Talking from L.A., Torre was also quick with an answer.
“As a manager you have to realize how many people you influence. If a manager has a look of not having confidence, that will permeate the air,’’ Torre said.
Is there anything else a manager can do?
“If I had the answer for that I would still be there,’’ Francona said of managing the Red Sox. “But different teams at different times turn out differently. It’s a game that is amazing, and at the same time can give you ulcers.’’
Torre recalled agonizing over whether he should hit Tino Martinez third or fourth.
“I would sit there with Zim [Don Zimmer] for 15 minutes about where we were going to hit Tino,’’ Torre said. “Then by the time we had our first at-bat we were down by five runs because our pitchers were giving up a five-spot every game. It became laughable.’’
The Yankees created a sliver of breathing room with a 6-4 win over the Rays Wednesday night. The win, which snapped a streak of three straight losses, combined with the Orioles 6-4 loss to the Blue Jays, gave the Yankees a one-game lead in the division. The Yankees still have lost 10 of their past 15.
Because Francona isn’t in the Yankees’ clubhouse he doesn’t know the dynamics, but he listens to Joe Girardi’s mantra about believing in the players even though many of them were in very deep slumps at the plate — the Yankees had scored 13 runs in the previous five games.
“If you get the team to buy in, even when you are struggling, it’s OK,’’ Francona said. “Every team goes through tough times. Even if you are going the wrong way and everybody is buying in, you are going to be OK. At the beginning [of 2011] I knew we were going to be OK. At the end that wasn’t the feeling because I was looking at the way we played.’’
Francona believes Girardi has something that can get him through this miserable stretch: Derek Jeter.
“When you have a guy like Jeter, it’s easier to get through tough times,’’ Francona said. “When you have a guy like Jeter the manager can sleep.’’
Late in 2000 before a game in Baltimore, Torre attempted to lighten the mood.
“I remember that line about the champagne,’’ Torre recalled yesterday. “I said, ‘You guys want to drink it now because you guys are as tight as a drum.’ ’’
The Yankees won the East and beat the Mets in the World Series. Francona walked out of a Camden Yards dugout on the last day of the 2011 season, and it wasn’t long before he was no longer the Red Sox manager.
The Yankees started down the right path last night. Now they have to find a way to keep heading that direction.
george.king@nypost.com