How will old-school Torre fare at MLB?

So it's official. Former New York Yankees and Dodgers manager Joe Torre will work for Bud Selig and Major League Baseball. I'm looking forward to seeing how an old-school guy like Torre will deal with the major issues that baseball will be facing over the next few years.

I don’t imagine Torre wants to tamper with the game he loves so much, but in truth there are significant problems that definitely need to be addressed. Instant replay is a great example. I don’t know whether baseball umpiring is getting worse or technology just makes it much easier to catch their mistakes. But the demand for replay is going to get louder with every blown call in a major game, particularly one that costs a team a chance for the playoffs or advancing to the World Series. It’s already cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game. (BTW, I remain firmly committed to my boycott of MLB Network until Galarraga's perfect game is restored, even though I don’t think it’s going to happen now, and Selig reconsiders the use of instant replay in baseball).

I hope that Torre comes down in favor of instant replay, but it’s not a given. Old-school guys like Torre generally tend to think the game is fine just the way it is. But I think it needs to evolve with the times and replay is just one way of doing that. Selig has been resistant to the idea of expanded use of instant replay due to its impact on the pace of baseball games. But I think Torre could convince him of its merits if they can come up with a workable mechanism (limit a manager’s ability to request a replay to one play per game and specifically bar replays on ball and strike calls). But Torre may need convincing himself.

I do like the idea of an ex-manager of Torre’s stature being Selig’s right-hand man. Selig has been quite stubborn on certain issues, but Torre definitely has the credibility and the people skills to talk him into things. Just as long as Torre doesn’t let his image of the game he played and managed get in the way of changes this sport desperately needs to make.

Hoffman always second fiddle to Mo Rivera

Closer Trevor Hoffman will retire as the only pitcher in baseball history to save 600 games, an extraordinary accomplishment. But sometime this year or next, Hoffman will likely find himself once again in a familiar position: playing second fiddle to Mariano Rivera.

Hoffman, whose best years came with the San Diego Padres, will end a terrific career with an all-time record 601 regular-season saves. Rivera just inked a two-year contract to continue closing games for the New York Yankees and only needs 42 more saves to catch Hoffman.

But Mo will still be considered the greatest closer in baseball history even if he does not surpass Hoffman because of his postseason dominance. Rivera has 41 postseason saves, by far the most of any pitcher and well above Hoffman’s four saves, and a miniscule 0.71 ERA pitching against the best teams in baseball during the playoffs. In their only significant head-to-head matchup, Mo helped the Yankees secure a quick and easy four-game sweep of the Padres while Hoffman gave up a 3-run blast to Scotty Brosius that sealed the Padres’ fate in the 1998 World Series.

Not that any of this matters much at this point since both men are going to the Hall of Fame, probably on the first ballot, despite the reluctance of the baseball writers to support the induction of modern closers such as Lee Smith and John Franco. Hoffman has had a fantastic career and earned the respect and admiration of people throughout baseball, including Rivera.

Hoffman was great. Mo was just better.

Thanks to Djh57 via Wikipedia for the photo.

Red Sox show they really mean business

Missing the playoffs apparently did not sit well with the Boston Red Sox, who are showing they mean business by making a big splash in the baseball offseason.

The Red Sox had to watch helplessly as the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays advanced to the postseason in 2010. They seem intent on doing everything they can to ensure that doesn't happen again, spearheading a major trade and a new contract with two of the best young stars in the game.

The Saux have pulled off some pretty good trades in the last decade – Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett – and their deal for Adrian Gonzalez looks like another one. The youngster already has 168 career homers and 525 ribbies, most of which came while playing half his games in pitcher-friendly Petco Park for the San Diego Padres. Imagine the damage Gonzalez is going to do at Fenway Park.

Taking a page right out of the Yankees playbook, the Saux then threw tremendous stacks of cash at one of the top free agents on the market in Carl Crawford. It's a fantastic move for them, giving them speed at the front of their lineup as he brings his 765 runs and more than 400 stolen bases to Fenway. Signing Crawford also seriously weakens the Rays – not that they had any chance to keep him with the dollars he wanted and deserved – and limits the Yankee options in the rest of the free-agent class, something I'm sure the Boston front office is well aware of and practically giddy about.

Will it be enough to topple the Yankees? Hopefully not if Cliff Lee takes all the dollars the Yankees are going to throw at him. It might be enough to pass the Rays, who lost two key cogs in their lineup this week in Crawford and Carlos Pena although they still have their young pitching studs who could keep them in competition with their division rivals. But the moves should satisfy all the naysayers who didn’t like what the wild card did to the American League East this year by assuring a fight to the finish in 2011. Makes me wish spring training was already here.

Thanks to Keith Allison and Djh57 via Wikipedia for the photos.

No birthday gift for Mariano Rivera from Yankees

Mariano Rivera's 41st birthday came and went yesterday with no news on a new deal with the New York Yankees. Perhaps it will just be a belated birthday gift.

Mo hasn't been heard from publicly so far this offseason, but it has been reported that he wants a two-year deal, which I think is entirely fair. The Yankees supposedly have concerns about going that long on a new contract, but Mo hasn't given any indication that age has slowed him down at all. In fact, his only rough patch in 2010 was attributed to poor mechanics, which he corrected right in time for the playoffs.

Baseball contract negotiations can be tricky and contentious so I don’t discount the possibility of things getting ugly between the Yankees and Mo as they have with Derek Jeter. But I hope the Yankees don't draw the same line in the sand that they have with their captain. Unlike Jeter, Mo had another typically great year and should be rewarded for maintaining his status as the best closer in the game by having his very reasonable request of two years granted, along with a solid raise. The Yankees can’t afford to let Mo go because they don’t have anyone ready to replace him. Signing Mo for another two years will give them a chance to groom some brave soul to take his job when he retires.

Mo’s new deal will come after his birthday, but better late than never. Happy Birthday, Mariano! And a very happy birthday to my nephew Jonathan!

Better luck in the National League, Javy Vazquez!

After returning from a weekend in Barbados blissfully free of any baseball hot stove talk, I come back to find that Javier Vazquez has left the New York Yankees for the National League. That was not at all a surprise, just like it wouldn't surprise me if he has a very strong year for the Florida Marlins in 2011.

His tenure with the Yankees ended when he was kept off the roster for the playoffs, even though an argument could be made that he was a more effective starter in 2010 than AJ Burnett. But the writing was on the wall, especially with Brian Cashman openly admitting that trading for Vazquez a second time was a mistake.

Vazquez has some talent and I’m not at all surprised he got $7 million from the Marlins despite his rough 2010 campaign. I have no doubt he will do better in the National League, with its shorter lineups and away from the glare of the New York spotlight. Say what you will about Vazquez in NY, but he has had good years in other cities, including in Atlanta where he was 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA in 219 innings pitched in 2009.

I would expect a performance closer to his 2009 self than the guy often mercilessly booed at Yankee Stadium this year. I wish him well and I hope other Yankee fans will too because there were other Yankee employees far more responsible for the disappointing end to the 2010 season of the Bronx Bombers.

Robinson Cano will get another shot at MVP

Robinson Cano will have to be content with his Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards, at least for now.

In what seemed like a foregone conclusion, Josh Hamilton won the American League Most Valuable Player award by a pretty hefty margin over Cano and the other candidates. Despite missing 28 games at the end of the season, Hamilton put up strong enough numbers to clearly convince the writers of his value to the Texas Rangers. It must feel like a particularly gratifying achievement after all the troubles Hamilton has endured.

But I must admit to being very surprised by the lack of first-place votes for Cano considering the New York Yankees actually made it to the playoffs while the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays both watched from home. Ever since Alex Rodriguez started winning MVP awards during his time with the Rangers, it has become clear that some writers will cast their votes for the players with the gaudiest numbers rather than the players who are actually most valuable to their teams in helping them get into postseason play. I have no problem with Hamilton winning, but the writers who put Miguel Cabrera and Jose Bautista ahead of Cano really missed the boat. Granted, those guys put up fantastic numbers this year, but Cano kept the Yankees in contention when ARod went down and other big-time players such as Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter struggled.

But Cano’s MVP loss doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. And Cano is young and has become one of the best players in baseball. He will get another shot at an MVP award eventually.

Keep baseball postseason expansion short

Major League Baseball is considering expanding the playoffs, possibly with two wild card teams duking it out for the right to keep playing in October. It’s a good idea, but MLB has to do it in a way that doesn’t drag the season out any longer than necessary.

It's bad enough that the baseball playoffs already last a month, with the World Series played in November and the risk of more cold, disruptive weather that comes with that. The worst thing baseball could do is create a system that draws the postseason well past that one-month mark like the basketball playoffs, which are tedious and dull for all but the most die-hard fans. Seriously, I can’t even tell you when I last watched a full basketball postseason. Patrick Ewing might have still been wearing a Knicks uniform.

The possible changes to the baseball system are definitely intriguing, have numerous potential advantages and merit further consideration. I really like the idea of rewarding division leaders with a first-round bye for playing well during the regular season. Why not? It works for football.

For the record, I didn't think the American League East division race between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays this year was as lackluster or non-existent as most people claim. But such a change would definitely spice up the division races and motivate teams to play well (and put all their best players on the field rather than resting people in September) to avoid an early exit.

If MLB wants to add another round of playoffs, that’s fine. Bud Selig and Co have plenty of time to figure out how to make it work. But it has to be done in a way that keeps the postseason as short as possible. It’s more fun that way and they don’t risk losing our attention.

Pay up New York Yankees fans!

Here's a reality check for any fans who want the New York Yankees to get Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford AND Jayson Werth.

The Yankees are increasing ticket prices, ostensibly to help offset the cost of having baseball's highest payroll. Despite the still-sluggish economy, the team will raise the prices of field-level seats (which I don’t care much about since I can’t afford to sit there at current prices) by about $10 or $25 and for bleacher seats without blocked views (which I care deeply about since I often sit there) by $3.

I am often amazed when I travel to other cities how much cheaper game tickets are. My last trip to Toronto, I got three tickets for roughly the same price I paid for one ticket to my last home game. But then the Blue Jays are not paying their way into contention so that's to be expected.

But for the record, I don't have a big problem with the Yankees raising their prices. If we want them to keep putting a competitive team on the field, spending big is the way they are going to do it and we have to live with that. Do I wish the tickets were cheaper? Of course. But I don't relish paying $13 to see a movie either, which is why I usually wait for them to come out on DVD. It's the same reason I watch most Yankee games on television.

I would like to see Brian Cashman & Co make better investments with my money. The Yankees are usually the only team that can afford to eat bad contracts such as the one they gave to Chan Ho Park, who was eventually replaced with the more expensive and much-more effective Kerry Wood. It was an easy call to keep Javier Vazquez off the roster for the playoffs despite his $11.5 million salary, but he wasn't a bet Cashman should have made in the first place. Let's hope he learns from that experience.

Bottom line: You get what you pay for. And Yankees fans will be paying more if they want to personally watch the most coveted free agent on the market pitch in Yankee Stadium next year. Imagine how much ticket prices would have gone up if Yankee officials were targeting all three of the top guys available. Personally, I can live without Crawford or Werth since it probably saves me some dough.

Yankees don't need Crawford or Werth

The New York Yankees need pitching, not hitting, despite the disappearance of their offense in the playoffs. That's why I believe the stories about their lack of interest in Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth.

Sure, the Yankees could be spinning the story to drive down the price for either or both of these guys. But in making their offseason plans this week, I totally buy that the discussion centered on how much money they can throw at Cliff Lee and a backup plan to trade for a good starting pitcher if Lee spurns them. The Yankees need another arm to go with CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes, especially if Andy Pettitte finally decides to go home for good. Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi believe AJ Burnett can rebound in 2011 and the next guy they hire to be their pitching coach will have the sole mission of fixing Burnett, but they can’t pin their hopes on being able to straighten him out.

When the Yankees look at their team, I don't think they see their outfield as a liability. Late in the baseball season, Curtis Granderson started to show the promise that led Brian Cashman to go after him and say goodbye to fan favorite Johnny Damon. Brett Gardner scored nearly 100 runs, mostly out of the 9th spot in the lineup, while bringing an element of speed that the team has been missing for a long time. And despite his second consecutive rough postseason, Nick Swisher had an All-Star year in hitting 29 homers and knocking in 89 runs.

This being the Yankees, I wouldn't rule them out of landing Crawford and/or Werth, especially if the market for free agents collapses again. But there won’t be intense pressure to sign either one like there was two winters ago to sign Sabathia. If Cashman hadn't gotten his man that time, his master plan for revamping the Yankees would have blown up in his face. But he got Sabathia and another World Series ring.

If Cashman can focus all his energy on Lee, he could add more jewelry to his collection. He doesn't need another bat for that, even if has the name Crawford or Werth on it.

Thanks to Keith Allison and phillymads63 via Wikipedia for the photos.

Misfit Giants rule the world of baseball

The misfits rule the world of baseball.

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for winning the 2010 World Series. A team that heading into the playoffs was mostly known for being a collection of eccentric characters will now forever be known as the champions of baseball.

As a baseball fan, I fully appreciate the Giants’ wonderful team performance, characterized by great pitching, timely hitting and shrewd managing by Bruce Bochy. And watching the Giants finish off their improbable victory felt really good because it was fun to see so many guys cast aside by other teams claim the ultimate prize.

“We don’t have any superstars,” Cody Ross said. “We just have a bunch of guys that want to win.”

Guys with a lot of heart. Guys who deserve to be champions.

Thanks to Dennis and UCinternational via Wikipedia for the photo.

What is Sandy's plan for fixing the Mets?

I guess I have to pay attention to the Mets with the New York Yankees out of the playoffs.

There's a lot of work to be done in Flushing by new general manager Sandy Alderson and it starts with picking a manager. If you listen to all the media speculation, it seems like former Met player and minor-league manager Wally Backman is a top candidate. But Alderson gave no hints about who is on his short list for the job. He did firmly dispute speculation that he wanted a yes-man, which would have taken the feisty Backman out of the mix, and said the need for star quality will be a factor in picking the guy who will be largely responsible for turning around the disappointing Mets.

But Sandy is going to take his time finding the right guy to lead the team and I think that's the right move, especially since he admitted the Mets probably won’t be aggressive in the free-agent market. While Alderson said he won't make any hasty decisions on players, he made it clear that his hands are pretty much tied with $110 million in committed contracts for 2011. That means no Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford for the Metsies. But that may be a blessing in disguise. I think the Mets problems are so deep that even one star player wouldn't be enough to turn things around.

So how will Alderson fix the Mets with no payroll flexibility? He didn't give any real clues yesterday. The only thing he said about his plan is that there are no untouchables although the homegrown guys are less likely to be traded. But one positive Mets fans should take away from the Alderson hiring is that he seems to genuinely believe that the Mets should be a top franchise, not just in baseball, but in all of sports. And he also seems confident that the Mets can be competitive next year, even with the noose of the bad contracts for Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo hanging around their necks, the uncertain health of Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana, and the legal problems of Santana and Francisco Rodriguez.

"I by no mean am looking past 2011," he said. "I'm very optimistic about 2011."

If he gets the right guy to be his manager, Mets fans will be optimistic too. They just need a reason to believe.

Girardi must earn back trust of fans, media

Finalizing a deal to remain the manager of the New York Yankees was never going to be a difficult task for Joe Girardi, especially since Brian Cashman wanted him back. It's what he does in the second phase of his tenure at the helm that matters now.

The deal for Girardi to return as manager, likely official Friday, was inevitable since Cashman quickly announced Girardi's return after the Yankees were thoroughly outplayed and embarrassed by the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series.

Just to be clear, I don't think Girardi should have been fired for losing that series. But his managing during the regular season and the playoffs did raise legitimate questions about his job performance, namely about his over reliance on statistics and matchups and seemingly being incapable of telling when a game was about to get out of hand.

I don't blame the entire series loss on Girardi, but he has to take responsibility for two key decisions: failing to get AJ Burnett out of Game 4 with the score tied (if the Yankees win that game, the series could have ended much differently) and bringing in David Robertson in Game 6 with the game on the line. Yankee fans are like elephants, we never forget, and it will be a long time before the fans get past those maneuvers.

The media is another story. The beat reporters were already tiring of Girardi's post-loss testiness and getting suspicious about his injury reports, a distrust that's going to grow to a whole new level now that Girardi has admitted he shuffled his ALCS rotation around because of Andy Pettitte's injury. The open hostility already started with Joel Sherman's column earlier this week. But it's going to get worse as reporters feel free to question Girardi more intensely after his failure in the playoffs. Of course, Girardi has the security blanket of his new three-year contract so he may not care if reporters like him or not. But if the press is motivated to go after him, they could subtlety turn fans against him and that could make things very uncomfortable for the Yankee skipper.

Girardi’s going to have plenty of major decisions to make in his own clubhouse: Should Jorge Posada be more of a designated hitter? How often should he sit Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez? But his managerial style and interaction with reporters will also need some work if he wants to win back the trust of the fans and the media.

Dear Mrs. Lee: I'm very, very sorry

Dear Mrs. Lee:

I sincerely apologize for the crude, obnoxious treatment you experienced at the hands of fellow fans of the New York Yankees. I use the word fans loosely here because they are clearly not real fans, but boorish thugs. The behavior you described is deplorable and I completely embarrassed by it. I really hope Yankee officials can somehow figure out who was responsible and ban them forever from Yankee Stadium. I wasn't personally there to witness this behavior (couldn't get tickets to the playoffs this year), but if I had been, I assure you I would have immediately spoken to security to put a stop to it.

Unfortunately, you are not the only woman to experience this type of lunacy from drunken, out-of-control idiots. I've been to more than hundred Yankee games without incident, but two games that I attended alone stick out in my mind. I once had the misfortune of getting hit with a ketchup bomb during a Yankees-Red Sox game a few years ago. Perhaps the jerk who threw it was too drunk to distinguish between the Yankee blue I was wearing and the red jerseys being worn by the Red Sox fans sitting below me, but it was still unacceptable. Another time I was harassed during God Bless America for failing to remove my cap because the drunken idiot who was yelling at me didn't realize that I was a woman. I quickly found a cop who would have escorted the idiot out of the stadium had he not run away like the coward he is.

I'm not writing this letter in the hopes of changing your mind about letting your husband Cliff Lee pitch for the Yankees next year. I personally wouldn't blame you if you put your foot down and told him there is no way in hell you will live in New York. I would just like to assure you that not all Yankee fans are like that. In fact, most of us are very well behaved and just there to support our team and enjoy a well-played baseball game. I hope that you will give us, as a group, the benefit of the doubt. But either way, I sincerely apologize for the humiliation you experienced at Yankee Stadium, not from people who are real fans, but people who are real jerks.

Sincerely,
Rebelyankeechick

Cashman takes his share of blame for defeat

Brian Cashman rightfully took his share of the blame for the New York Yankees falling short of their goal of repeating as World Series champions.

He didn't take all the blame for the ugly defeat at the hands of the Texas Rangers and he shouldn't have because he put together a team that was more than capable of a long, successful run in the baseball playoffs. But he was honest about how some decisions he made in the offseason ended up hurting the team in the regular season and October.

The move that obviously hurt the most was thinking Javier Vazquez could be a key cog in the Yankee rotation. Because Vazquez was never able to put everything together in New York and lost the faith of his manager, he was never an option for the playoffs and that really limited Joe Girardi's choices. Cashman has been vocal about accepting complete responsibility for that move, leaving the pitcher off the postseason roster even though that made it clear the offseason trade was a bad decision on his part.

But Cashman made some moves that were sheer brilliance, namely picking up an injured Kerry Wood, who helped the Yankees secure a postseason berth with some solid set-up work for Mariano Rivera. He deserves a lot of credit for that one. He was also under a lot of pressure to trade Phil Hughes for Johan Santana a few years ago and his reluctance to do so paid big dividends when the kid became a key member of the bullpen last year. Despite his rough postseason, the Yankees wouldn’t have even made the playoffs this year if their fifth starter Hughes hadn’t won 18 games.

I look at the Curtis Granderson trade as a mixed bag with solid potential for next year as he showed in September and October the kind of player he is capable of being. Cashman’s pursuit of the younger, more athletic outfielder could prove to be a good move in the future.

Unlike Joe Girardi, you get the impression that Cashman is perfectly willing to take a hard look in the mirror and learn from his mistakes. So I expect no more signings of injury-plagued players, unless they are willing to sign for low-dollar, incentive-laden deals (So long, Nick Johnson!). No more expensive bullpen guys, unless Wood is willing to settle for being Rivera's set-up guy in exchange for another shot at the World Series.

Cashman has a lot of tough choices to make and is somewhat limited in revamping his roster, but the one thing we now know is that he will be the first guy to the microphone to take the blame when things don't work out.

Is Eiland a scapegoat for Yankees collapse?

So I guess it’s Dave Eiland's fault that the New York Yankees did not advance to the World Series.

Or not, if you believe Brian Cashman when he said he made the decision for what he described as private reasons he chose not to discuss and firmly denied it had anything to do with the Yankees getting their butts kicked by the Texas Rangers. "It had nothing to do with looking for a scapegoat or a sacrificial lamb," he said.

But if that's not the reason, then what is? Both Cashman and Joe Girardi praised Eiland’s work and said he would quickly find another job. But if he’s such a good coach, then why did he lose this job?

“Dave helped us win a championship and I’m very grateful,” said Girardi, who clearly was not at all involved in the discussion and threw his general manager under the bus by pointing that out.

“Cash informed me that was going to be the move today,” he said. “Cash just felt we had to go in a different direction.”

Perhaps it is related to whatever personal issue kept Eiland away from the team for several weeks in the middle of the baseball season. That’s pure speculation, but it’s the only thing that makes sense if this wasn’t about his job performance or him being a scapegoat.

I tell you one thing. I don't want to hear or see any off-the-record comments from the Yankee hierarchy criticizing Eiland's job performance. Too often, the Yankees have been guilty of disparaging a guy after they've given him the boot, notably Don Zimmer and Joe Torre, to make themselves look better. If Eiland was so terrible at his job, why were the Yankees so desperate to get him back from his personal leave when AJ Burnett was struggling?

Maybe we’ll know the reason at some point in the future, just like we found out today that Andy Pettitte pitched hurt in the playoffs. I just hope Eiland wasn’t the scapegoat because I can think of many people a lot more responsible for the ugly defeat, starting with the manager.

End of the road for Yankees Core Four?

Will the Core Four no longer be a core next year?

That is a disturbing proposition for fans of the New York Yankees, with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte all free agents.

Of the three of them, Pettitte is the most obvious candidate to leave because he's always talking about walking away from baseball to be with his family. It's hard to gauge which way Pettitte is leaning. He proved this year that he was one of the top pitchers in the American League when healthy, when healthy being the key phrase as he spent most of the second half on the disabled list. But he came back in time to give the Yankees exactly what they needed in the playoffs and would have won both of his starts if he hadn't been up against Cliff Lee, who the Yankees hope will be Pettitte's teammate next year.

Despite all the fretting about Jeter's regular and postseason, I still think he and the Yankees will come together on a new contract. Jeter has been unequivocal about his desire to keep playing for the Yankees, the only professional team he has ever known, and the Yankees know they have to sign him so I expect a quiet, relatively quick contract negotiation.

The wild card is Mariano. In the exhilaration of last year's World Series win, Mo talked about pitching another five years. But it was clear as this year went by that Mo is getting tired of the side stuff that comes with being a professional baseball player, namely the traveling. Could Mo decide enough is enough and go home with his legacy as the greatest closer of all time completely secure? I surely hope not. Despite a shaky September, Mo proved he is still one of the best closers in the game and it's hard to imagine him leaving on such a sour note.

Posada still has one year left on his contract, but it's clear that there will be major changes at the catching position in 2011. He just can't throw people out anymore and opposing teams are wreaking havoc on the bases, unnerving Yankee pitchers and creating tension between Posada and his staff. Brian Cashman doesn't have much room to maneuver with his roster, but one move I definitely expect is for him to free up the designated hitter spot for Posada, Jeter and Alex Rodriguez and either bring up one or two of his stud catching prospects or make a trade.

For the Core Four, knowing they might not all be back next year must have made the ugly loss to the Texas Rangers a bitter pill to swallow.

Girardi very lucky the old Boss is long gone

Joe Girardi is very lucky George Steinbrenner is not around anymore or he might be checking the managerial want ads.

In truth, had the old Boss been in charge of the New York Yankees for the last few years, neither Girardi nor Brian Cashman would have survived missing out on the 2008 playoffs, the first time the Yankees were completely out of the postseason since Steinbrenner wisely hired Joe Torre to manage his team. And even with his team winning championship after championship, Steinbrenner constantly felt the need to show Torre who was the Boss.

The old Steinbrenner would have really blown a gasket about the way Girardi mismanaged his team during the 2010 postseason. The old Steinbrenner was never shy about second guessing his managers and he would have had a field day with Girardi's extremely questionable decision making.

Steinbrenner always took things too far, but the one good thing about him is that players and managers knew they had to answer for their mistakes. There doesn't seem to be the same level of accountability with Cashman, Hal Steinbrenner and Hank Steinbrenner running the team.

The Boss would have sent his manager and team a stern message about their poor postseason. But Cashman was quick to assure the baseball world that Girardi would return as manager of the Yankees. My question is why? I don't think Girardi deserves to be fired, but couldn't Cashman have made him sweat a little bit or at least ponder whether his mistakes would cost him his job? If there is no accountability for Girardi's poor choices this postseason, what's to stop him from doing things the same way next year?

Steinbrenner died only a few months ago, but the old Boss has really been gone for a long time. Girardi should be incredibly grateful for that.

Cubs fans lucky to get off Girardi hook

Chicago Cubs fans: consider yourselves lucky that you don't have to live with the daily head scratching that comes with having Joe Girardi manage your baseball team.

When I visited Wrigley Field last month, I made conversation with a few Cubs fans. After telling them about my allegiance to the New York Yankees, they immediately asked me about Girardi, who was rumored to be a top candidate for the Cubs job that went to Mike Quade this week.

What I told them was simple: if you can live with Girardi making one move per game that has you thinking "WTF," then you can live with him as your manager. But if strange decision making has you wanting to throw your television against the wall, you want no part of Joe Girardi. Not only does he make puzzling moves at least once a game, he has no interest in explaining them afterwards and is downright hostile to anyone who dares to question his thought process.

My manager review wasn't all bad. I did praise Girardi for doing a great job protecting his players, making sure his arms in the bullpen don't get burned out and giving position players a day off now and then to recover from nagging injuries, even in the heat of a pennant race and intense criticism.

But my job critique did come down pretty hard on his decision making and Game 4 was classic Girardi. The Yankees were positioned to win that game, even with the offense so cold, but the manager made bizarre choices that left embattled AJ Burnett hung out to dry. Burnett took the loss, but really the defeat was on his manager. I don't think it's enough to fire Girardi, even if the Yankees lose this series, but he doesn't have nearly as much leverage negotiating his next contract as he did before the playoffs started.

I got the sense from the Cubs fans that I spoke to that they would have trouble with a guy like that, even if he came with Girardi's resume. Congratulations, Cubs fans. You are officially off the Girardi hook. Only we Yankee fans have to worry about what he's going to do next.

Random Yankee thoughts: playoff edition

You would think that the Steinbrenner family and New York Yankees have more important things to worry about these days: their team's lackluster play in the baseball playoffs, perhaps? But they are acting like real bullies in preventing a 77-year-old woman from releasing letters she received as a teenager from a young George Steinbrenner.

Lonn Trost, the COO of the Yankees, cited the potential embarrassment and harm to business interests that would be caused by the release of the letters, whose content has been described in several news articles. I'm amazed by such a claim about innocent letters passed between teenagers. If anything I would think releasing the letters would make Steinbrenner look better, especially after Bill Madden's biography cast new light on his terrible treatment of players and employees. The Steinbrenner family's behavior is shameful, but not surprising because the Boss was the ultimate bully.

* Austin Kearns is not in the lineup for Game 5 of the American League Championship Series despite the devastating injury to Mark Teixeira, which brings me back to my original question: why is he on the postseason roster? After striking out against the world in September, it is clear that Joe Girardi has no confidence in him. At this point, he’s just taking up space in the dugout. If the Yankees do make the World Series, they may want to consider making a roster move.

* Melky Cabrera, a key cog in many thrilling Yankee comebacks last year, was released by the Atlanta Braves. I guess that Javier Vazquez trade didn't really work out for either team.

* Johnny Damon last week expressed an openness to returning to the Yankees despite last year's bitter divorce. With the way the offense has been struggling this postseason, the Bronx Bombers really could have used his clutch bat this October.

* Minka Kelly, best known as Derek Jeter's girlfriend, was named Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive in 2010. For a guy like Jeter who values his privacy, I'm sure he was thrilled by the attention.

Tough break for tough Teixeira, Yankees

Losing the toughest guy in pinstripes to a season-ending injury is a devastating blow the New York Yankees will probably not recover from.

I could tell immediately from Mark Teixeira's reaction that there would be no more baseball for him this season. Tex is the toughest guy in a Yankees uniform, playing the last month of the season with a broken toe and an injured finger. When he didn't even try to get up last night, it was obvious that the injury was bad. And the pained look on his face said it all.

The Yankees first baseman didn't even wait for the MRI to tell reporters that he was done in the playoffs. For a guy as tough as Tex, the realization that his banged-up body wouldn't cooperate with him any longer must have been crushing.

Even with his lack of hits, Teixeira is still a dangerous hitter and a key cog in the Yankees lineup. And with the Yankees pitchers already struggling, his superior defense will be sorely missed. It would too much to expect Lance Berkman or someone else on the bench to step up to fill the void created by Teixeira’s absence.

Losing Teixeira may be the body blow that puts the Yankees away for good this postseason.