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The last item suggests that Brian Cashman is losing his "say" in the organization. What other G.M. doesn't get to pick his manager?

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Most of them. I've had conversations with people in upper management at baseball teams. The choice of manager, while heavily reliant on the word of the GM, is never *just* the General Manager's decision. It's more surprising to find a GM with full autonomy over this decision than to find one in Cashman's situation.

Yeah, Ben has it right.

Joe handled himself like you knew he would -- he's a charming guy and the media eats out of his hand. He works them into a hormonal froth with his avuncular charisma. It almost devolved into a Couric-esque "How awesome is it to be so awesome?" lovefest.

I just find the reaction by fans and some media people like Mike and the Mad Dog baffling. M&MD are KILLING Randy Levine and are also acting like this is the end of the Yankees as we know it. They're saying it's going to be a rough year, that the Yankees will have a hard time winning, etc., etc. Russo even went so far as to say that "the Yankee-hater loves this... This is a huge blow for the Yankees."

Listen, everyone who knows Torre loves him, but it's getting out of control. There's no reason why a new manager can't come in here and win. They're still going to have a good team. And many of the important stars on this team don't have any devotion to Torre and weren't here when he won his rings. Do you think Melky, Cano, Hughes, Joba, Kennedy, Ohlendrof, Veras, Betemit, et al., are going to wither and die without Torre?

Be upset if you want to, but get over it for Christ's sake. This team was on the way up when Torre got here; he didn't construct the '96-'01 team by himself. Most people think he won with Buck's team anyway, and give most of the credit to Don Zimmer.

Anyone who thinks the Yankees are done because Torre is gone is in an emotional swoon they will soon be embarrassed by.

"Most people think he won with Buck's team anyway, and give most of the credit to Don Zimmer."

baileywalk--Are you serious?

As I posted hours ago at RLYW, Randy Levine is now the public persona of GS.

Randy Levine is a clown, the 'President' of the team since 2001. No blame accrues to him for this team's failures since 2002? That is laughable.

"Most people think he won with Buck's team anyway, and give most of the credit to Don Zimmer."

Who said that? Which "most people" are you referring to? Do you have a link, or would you rather just stick to weasel words.

We have business men running the team now, good luck with that.

Did anyone catch Joe say that it would be unfair to the PLAYERS to expect them to play for a weakened, lame-duck manager? That is complete bullsh*t; only the sentimental idiots in the NY sports media would buy that. First, it's not classy at all to paint his personal sense of affront as something related to the players. Second, it's shockingly self-absorbed -- as if these millionaire players ever give one second of thought to the manager's job security, even that of St. Joe. Third, Joe's job security, regardless of the contract, has been very low for the last few years. If the Yankees had really wanted to fire him last year, they would have done it and eaten his contract.

Seeing the press conference and listening to the crap that Mike and the Mad Dog were saying today makes me even more sure that this refusal was in the best interest of the Yankees.

Let's see how well this brilliant manager does with a team that has half as much talent as the Yankees. I bet that Joe doesn't have the guts to take a job that may sully his pure-soul reputation.

It's funny, I caught a little of M&tMD too - ripping away at how this was the end of the Yankees, and, "Good luck finding a better manager than Torre for this team over the next 8 years, etc."

Just watch, if the new Yankees skipper comes in, and the team is playing .620 ball to start the season, and they're in 1st place by 9 games on May 30th, everyone will quickly forget about how Torre leaving was the death of the Yankees...it will be as if it was never, ever, spoken....

makes me wish we had tapes of everything being said so that it can be replayed when (or if?) that day comes...

Torre's legacy isn't going to be determined by a .620 start from the new manager. I think most fans realize that a decent manager is capable of managing this team to a .620 season. What I'm more concerned about is how the new manager handles a 21-29 start or how he handles being under .500 at the All-Star break or how he handles missing a playoff appearance or how he handles Damon when he bitches about not playing CF or how he handles benching Giambi. What's the new manager going to do when his ace craps the bed in the ALDS? How's the new manager going to handle the 2nd guessing from Tampa? Those are the things I'm worried about. Those are the things all Yankee fans should be worried about. Stop worrying about the overuse of journeymen relievers. Stop worrying about pinch running for Giambi in the 7th inning. Stop worrying about comparing the OPS of Josh Phelps and Andy Phillips. Managing a team like the Yankees is so much more than calling pitch outs and hit and runs. Torre wasn't perfect, but he was a great fit for this team. I don't think it's going to be as easy to find another great fit as some of you make it seem.

Christopher,

A new manager could handle old Yankees like Damon and Giambi better than Torre. He wouldn't owe those guys anything. A new manager could even eventually move Jeter off of SS. That's a benefit of having a new manager.

Also, you assume that the Tampa group is going to be meddlesome. We really don't have enough evidence to make any conclusion about what the new Tampa people are going to be like in the middle of the season. We don't even know how much power Cashman is really going to have.

it will be as if it was never, ever, spoken....
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How true! There is no such thing as accountability amongst the sports media.

The M&tMD show was incredibly infuriating. I had to turn it off just a short time after the Torre interview.

Hey Chris, how about - I don't know - AVOIDING a 21-29 start. The yankees started downright putridly two of the last three years. Maybe a different manager could get his veteran team to get their asses in gear before June.

I had the same problem when Showalter was let go; the bs way the organization went about it.

Hey Chris, how about - I don't know - AVOIDING a 21-29 start. The yankees started downright putridly two of the last three years. Maybe a different manager could get his veteran team to get their asses in gear before June.
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And yet, 2 of the last 3 years, the Yanks have finished in first place. 3 of the last 3 years, they've mad the playoffs.

It's not how you start, it's how you finish, and all you can ask is that the team makes the playoffs and that gives them a chance to compete for the World Series.

Torre was not the reason the Yankees lost to Cleveland this year. Like I've said before, most of my issues with Torre are during the regular season, and he kept getting the Yankees to the playoffs because the players respected him and he kept them focused on baseball. To me Torre allowed this team to focus on the game and excel at it. Who knows if this will be the case under another manager. I just don't think it would have mattered much who was managing them this year in the playoffs and the last couple years either. I think this year's team had the most talent in the past few years, but Wang sucked and that KILLED them. Plus, the Indians are pretty damn good too.

Torre HAD to have some part in them winning 4 World Series in 5 years, they couldn't just be that much more talented than everyone else. Maybe for a year or two, but you don't win 4 times in 5 years on just talent alone, you need a good manager as well. If Torre sucked so bad as a manager he probably would have messed something up along the way during that run.

Every coach has some flaw, things that we used to complain about Torre doing, the new coach might not do, but maybe the new coach will suck at handling his players and the media, and we will be complaining about that instead. I don't always agree with Torre's moves but I'm sure I won't agree with the new coach's moves all the time either.

Also, in case nobody has noticed, there has been alot more parity in baseball the last few years. I mean come on, the DBacks and Rockies were in the NLCS, now the Rockies are in the World Series out of nowhere. The Cardinals sucked last year and won the whole thing, the White Sox won, it's just alot more random then it used to be. There is no dominant team. I think just making the playoffs alone is an accomplishment because the talent has evened out amongst the better teams. The Yankees were the only playoff team last year to make it this year, that says alot about this team and the state of baseball right now.

And I don't want to hear anything about their payroll being so high that they should win because we know that isn't true. They should make the playoffs, yes, but it doesn't mean they should win. There is alot of dead weight eating up salary on the team.

absolutely right on christopher.

guys like steve and baileywalk can't see the forest for the trees.

look at who gave them their brave new world. baseball people? shit no, business sleaze like randy levine.

this hasn't played out yet.

this hasn't played out yet.
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Exactly, so you can't take guys like steve & baileywalk to task quite yet.

~~~guys like steve and baileywalk can't see the forest for the trees.~~~

dereksTeam, didn't you say, at least twice, in comments made here that you didn't like this blog, and that you were not coming back to it? Why are you now coming back under a new name? Something makes you want to keep coming back? If I annoy you that much, why not just ignore the blog and not read it?

Please, Jay, do us both a favor and find something else to waste your time on.