Joe Torre’s book and last week’s revelations about steroid use by Alex Rodriguez spark memories of the old Bronx Zoo that was at its peak 30 years ago. The craziness stepped up when Reggie Jackson joined the Yankees for the 1977 season, and he immediately ignited a storm and alienated teammates with controversial remarks about Yankees catcher Thurman Munson.

There was bad blood between Jackson and manager Billy Martin before the star’s arrival, and they mixed it up a few times in New York. And then there was the string of Martin firings by George Steinbrenner, which began during Jackson’s five years in the Bronx.

The Sports Illustrated story pushed Torre’s tome to the back of the sports pages, but the next grenade heading in the Yankees’ direction will only feed the media firestorm. Now comes word that an unauthorized biography of Alex Rodriguez will be rushed for an April 14 release. Just in time to steal the thunder from the start of a new season. The book, “A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez” by Selena Roberts of The New York Times, reportedly will give us salacious details of his private life, which no longer will be private.

The 2009 Yankees will have to play through this mess. They will downplay it publicly, but the media blitz will take some of the fun out of going to the park.

Right now the franchise is more a celebrity circus than a baseball team, but baseball begins again this week, and what the Yankees did in 2008 has more meaning than what they did in 2003 or during the Joe Torre era.

The rotation was a disaster, as Chien Ming-Wang was lost for the season in June and youngsters Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy weren’t ready to take on starting jobs. The offseason tells us the Yankees will have a better rotation in 2009 -- maybe not $244 million better, but better. CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett will join mainstays Andy Pettitte, reliever-turned-starter Joba Chamberlain and Wang, who should be ready to go next week.

The biggest concern for the 2009 team may be its run production. Although the pitching has taken much of the heat for the 2008 Yankees missing the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons, the offense deserves an equal share of the blame. Run production was down markedly over 2007.

During the 13 consecutive seasons in which the Yankees reached the playoffs, beginning in 1995, the 2007 club was the most prolific at the plate. It scored more runs (968) and posted the highest slugging percentage (.463) of any Yankees team in those 13 years -- and the 2007 Yankees outscored and outslugged all other big league teams that summer by a substantial margin.

Most Runs Scored & Highest SLG, Single Season by Yankees, 1995-2008

Yr. . . . . . . . .Runs. . . . . . . . . . Yr. . . . . . . .SLG
2007. . . . . . . .968. . . . . . . . . . .2007. . . . . . .463
1998. . . . . . . .965. . . . . . . . . . .2006. . . . . . .461
2006. . . . . . . .930. . . . . . . . . . .1998. . . . . . .460
1999. . . . . . . .900. . . . . . . . . . .2004. . . . . . .458

One year later, in 2008, the Yankees scored 179 fewer runs than in ‘07. Their 789 runs ranked seventh in the American League last season, and it was the Yankees’ lowest total since 1995 -- the first year of New York’s playoff run.

The same is true of the .427 slugging percentage of the 2008 Yankees -- a drop of 36 points over 2007 -- also the team’s lowest since 1995.

Fewest Runs Scored & Lowest SLG, Single Season by Yankees, 1995-2008

Yr. . . . . . . . . .Runs. . . . . . . . .Yr. . . . . . . . . . .SLG
1995. . . . . . . . 749. . . . . . . . . . 1995. . . . . . . . .420
2008. . . . . . . . 789. . . . . . . . . . 2008. . . . . . . . .427
2001. . . . . . . . 804. . . . . . . . . . 2001. . . . . . . . .435
1996, 2000. . . . 871. . . . . . . . . . 1997. . . . . . . . .436

Going into spring training, Mark Teixeira is the key addition to an aging lineup that includes Derek Jeter (34), Johnny Damon (35), Hideki Matsui (34) and Jorge Posada (37). Gone are Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi after collecting 196 RBIs last season.

A number of Yankees had off years in 2008, and Posada and Matsui were lost to injury for long stretches. In 2009, Yankees fans will find out if the decline was an aberration -- a coincidence of off years and injury -- or the beginning of the end for a few veteran Yankees.