On a night when Roger Clemens won his 300th game, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was trying to deflect a controversy about his relationship with manager Joe Torre.

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, Steinbrenner told friends recently that he was seriously considering firing Torre.

Several team officials told the Star-Ledger that Steinbrenner was angry because Torre had been refusing to return his phone calls or participate in organizational meetings. According to the paper's sources, Steinbrenner also believed that Torre was acting this way in order to get himself fired and be able to collect the $7 million remaining on his contract, which expires after the 2004 season.

Before Friday night's game, Torre said the unreturned phone calls were a "misunderstanding." After the game, Steinbrenner told the newspaper: "I wanted to talk to him. I called him. He was out with his daughter. That made it all right. Everything is all right. I don't have a problem with Joe at all. I'm 100 percent behind him."

However, when a reporter started to ask Steinbrenner about Torre missing organizational meetings, the Boss interrupted. "Not at all," Steinbrenner told the newspaper. "Don't even start that (stuff). This is a big night for this team. Roger Clemens has had a big night. Don't start anything controversial because there is no controversy between he and I."

Clemens reached his milestone by pitching into the seventh inning of the Yankees' 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

When told before the game about Steinbrenner's alleged claim that Torre was trying to get himself fired, the Yankees manager laughed. "That's not something I'm going to comment on," he told the paper.

Torre did acknowledged that there was miscommuication between him and the Boss. "I've returned every phone call, but, I don't know how to put this, there was some kind of misunderstanding," Torre told the newspaper.

Before Thursday's game against the Astros, Steinbrenner visited Torre in the manager's office at Yankee Stadium.

"It was a positive meeting because we did have an opportunity to talk,'' Torre said. "Just to talk about some things, it was good for me.''

Torre reiterated Saturday that he and Steinbrenner are doing just fine, with the Yankees manager insisting he's not worried about being fired despite a recent slide that "stimulated the owner.''

"I don't think our relationship has ever changed,'' Torre said before New York played the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I don't feel any less secure,'' he said. "The losing doesn't make me fearful of losing my job.''

Torre has won four World Series titles in seven full seasons as manager of the Yankees. However, the Yankees have fallen short of the championship goal for two straight seasons, and have not played well over the last six weeks.

Plus, the Steinbrenner-Torre relationship has hit some bumps in the road. Consider: