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I'd like to buy it, smash it into a couple of pieces, and hand it out to Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown, Joe Torre and Brian Cashman in "thanks" for their roles in this whole sordid affair.

MJ, call me a crank for saying this yet again but, hey, it is what it is. Why is Theo Epstein routinely called a genius when the team he "built" was two outs away from being swept out of the season by their most hated rival...a humiliation that would have had Lucchino, Henry, and Epstein tarred, feathered, and dumped into the Big Dig. Oh, the sheer pleasure of that would have been the capper on 86 years of this so-called rivalry. I blame all those you named and George for this revolting turn of events. This would have been the most satisfying playoff win in modern memory. Even sweeter than the ALCS victory the year before. I'm still seething. The heat from this may outlast the microwave background from the Big Bang.

I get blaming Torre, K-Brown and Javier Vazquez (the most overrated pitcher in the last 5 years. Beckett's a cose 2nd). But why Cashman?

Nick, I'm an avowed Cashman hater. We'll never know for sure who really called the shots in terms of putting the 2004 team together but the GM has to bear at least some responsibility when a team gets the rug pulled out from under it in such a manner. My personal opinion on Cashman is that he's a) lacking the testicular fortidue for the job (not willing to stand up to the manager when certain things are clearly not working) and b) refuses to practice what he preaches (he wants to get younger but still brings back Bernie Williams, loves rummaging the waiver recycle bin when there are younger AAA arms available...).

Obviously my gripes on Cashman go beyond 2004 but I think some of what happened there is on him too.

I think Cashman is very good at working deals. The problem is choosing what to or what not to deal for.

All good points on Cash, MJ, but I think your arguments are a tacit confirmation of Mr. Torre's tremendous influence on the composition of the Yankee roster. I'm not going the extra mile to defend Cashman either. But, ultimately, the reason Cashman doesn't have the stones to rein in Torre's sentimentality and eccentricities is all the deference given to the green tea man by the press, fans, and, yes, players like Derek Jeter. Whereas Cashman ought to be exercising his genuine authority as Torre's boss, he finds himself alone on a island if he wants to buck him. Because George Steinbrenner no longer has the stones to be George. He's old, in bad health, and tired of hearing everyone berating him about firing his managers (as if managers having an 11 year tenure with any team, much less the Yankees, is a commonplace instead of a rarity). The blame is ultimately George's...he should have hired a GM who had the gravitas and experience to say no to Joe Torre, and, yes, even to him. But, he didn't and chose to hire a caretaker without any scouting background...the one thing that made Gene Michael capable of re-building the team pre-1996. Michael's not the only guy with great scouting acumen. But if George couldn't stomach Michael, how would he have tolerated a Billy Beane or Pat Gillick? It's mostly on George. And I'm not a George-hater like Mike Francesa. But when decisions are made for personal comfort instead of baseball sense, well... I will surprise you all and confide that if the Yankees had a stronger personality as GM (Beane, Schuerholz, the younger Gillick), Joe Torre would be a much more effective manager. He could do what he does best -- handle disparate personalities (admittedly mostly veterans) -- while the GM handled the roster decisions. He might even be persuaded to "trust" a few rookies now and again (as he did in those desperate days of 2005 with Cano and Wang).