Call it “a Concession with a Caveat.”

One year ago in Pipe Dream, I wrote an article saying that Joe Torre should step down as manager of the Yankees.

I discussed how he had been too successful at the start of his tenure to recapture that lost magic, and that the way the Yankees organization was run, Torre would never have the roster of players that would respond to him the way teams did in the late 1990s.

I found fault in how Torre misuses his pitching staff, and tried to figure out how a manager gets so many second chances, even after blowing a 3-0 series lead to the hated Red Sox.

I said that Torre was always good at molding players and working with veterans who knew their roles, and how his close relationships with players was key to getting the best from them.

But when the Yankees saw the key players of those teams — the O’Neills, the Pettites and the Tinos — leave, the front office replaced them with Giambi, the Big Unit, Sheffield and a laundry list of pitchers whose strengths Torre did not know, and seemed unable to get a grip on. I was positive that Joe would not win another title with the Bombers, and I suggested that he would be better off leaving the team before George Steinbrenner made him clean out his office.

Now, one year later, I must concede that I am happy Joe Torre stayed. He could have easily walked, and had said he was very close to leaving after losing to the Angels in last year’s divisional series.

No one could have imagined the 2006 Yankees season going the way it has. No one could have guessed that Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield would be lost all season to injury, Randy Johnson would have a 5.89 ERA on Memorial Day, Jason Giambi would be bothered by nagging injuries all summer, the bullpen bridge to Mariano Rivera would be so unsteady, Alex Rodriguez would be booed so lustily and that, through all that, the Yanks would still manage to be OK.

True, the Red Sox could have, and probably should have, pulled away at some point. Regardless, Torre, working with a new group of young, unselfish players like he was able to when the Yanks were winning titles, molded this team into a cohesive group of winners.

Melky Cabrera and Andy Phillips made huge strides this year, and Scott Proctor, despite being shaky at times, has proven he can pitch a big inning. Robinson Cano has come into his own as one of the best hitters in baseball, and Chien-Ming Wang has had a phenomenal season and will only miss out on the Cy Young because his name is not Johan Santana.

The common link for all of these players is that Torre was able to do what he does best. He took young players and urged them along through the roughhouse that is the Yankees organization, and they became contributors overnight. Think back to the late ’90s when Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera first came up, and what Joe Torre did for them. The names and faces are different, but Torre’s magic is the same.

Heading toward the end of the season, the Yankees have the division well in hand and look primed for a run in October, unlike past years when they were expected to fall early. This was supposed to be the year that Boston overtook the Yankees with their pitching and big acquisitions. Somehow, the Yankees hung around while the young kids got acclimated; if not for Torre, that may not have been possible.

Now, on the flip side, if the overpaid underachieving veterans who spent the summer MIA on the disabled list are back next year, all of this could change. Torre was successful this year because he was the ultimate authority, whereas guys like Sheffield and Giambi will do as they wish; Torre’s tutelage will not change the way these guys play. Established players don’t change much; they would listen to psychics or priests before they asked Torre for advice.

And with that in mind, I have a caveat as well. Next season will be a bumpy one for the Yankees if Joe is, again, stuck with players he does not understand. As I argued last year, Torre needs players he can relate to and dissect; otherwise, he’s an average skipper.

So, you have to wonder, what about next year? The roster will look the way it did when this year opened, except that instead of the minors, Cabrera, Phillips and company will find themselves on the bench. Giambi will be back out there trying to hit every pitch over the right field wall, and Sheffield, if the Yankees pick up his option, will be back endangering everyone down the left field line. All it took was a few openings in the roster and a few young players coming up through the system, but with Melky, Phillips, Cano, Wang and Proctor, Joe made them count. He won’t have the same impact on the veterans.

Torre does still have his problems. He pulls his starters too early, and leaves his relievers in for too long. He overuses certain guys in his bullpen while others could take vacations during the year without Torre noticing. I already said Scott Proctor has come into his own under Torre, but it is no coincidence that Proctor throws much better when he’s not used for more than three outs, or on back-to-back days.

Despite his deficiencies, Torre was the best man for the job this year, something I never could have anticipated.

Even Jaret Wright, whom Yankees fans left for dead, started to come around when Torre had enough time to learn how best to deal with him. This is what Joe does better than anyone, and when allowed to do it, Torre is the best manager in baseball. But that chance may not be there next season, so try not to get comfortable. Even if the Yanks win the World Series, no dynasty talk just yet.

Torre will almost certainly be back next year, though who knows if he would choose to ride off into the sunlight if the Yankees won their 27th title. Regardless, the Yankees are lucky that Torre chose to come back for at least this year, and should do all they can to win now, because once the veterans find their way back onto the roster, no one knows what influence Torre will have.