Game #27 -- Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees

1. Cashman did not hire Torre
   
2. Torre has always had his "type" of player (1)
   
3. Torre has historically been very slow to incorporate choice pitchers that Cashman has given him, and is willing to banish them if they don't succeed immediately. Examples would include Contreras, Hitchcock, Dotel, and F Hernandez (2)
   
4. Cashman had to fight a political struggle in the offseason of '05, during which he gained authority to keep his minor league system intact, free from meddling from the likes of George and George's baseball people (chief among them, Torre). It is reasonable to assume he accepted the current pecking order of the major league team as a concession--George does not give out authority easily.
   
5. Prior to this season, the decision of whether Joe wanted to manage or not was always Joe's. That is unusual.
   
6. Joe is at every high level meeting in Tampa. That's not so unusual, except that when Art Howe met with Billy Beane, I think the dynamic was a little bit different.

1. Support the firing: Cashman appears to make Torre look like a scapegoat. Torre is a man that is cited for having won 4 championships, and is thought of by people like Buster Olney to be the second most important Yankee in uniform. Cashman would be vilified if he did this, and his leash would tighten inexorably overnight.
   
2. Do nothing: the middle road can lead to Cashman being vilified, similar to how Jeter was vilified for not supporting A-rod, or it could lead to Cashman losing his job with Torre
   
3. Support Torre: Cashman earns respect in the industry for loyalty to a "proven winner" of a manager. He also earns respect from the media and Joe's fans, for which there are many, and he doesn't have the task of finding a better manager--a decision that ultimately will not entirely be his, but a decision that will ultimately define his competence.

(1) Torre has become increasingly dependent on veterans with at least one valuable skill, and sometimes that skill really doesn't help you win ballgames. Examples: Flaherty, Mientkiewicz, Cairo.

(2) All of these pitchers were horrible, but all were good before they got here. Torre's pitcher management makes it very hard for anyone to ingratiate themselves, and it makes it very hard for Cashman to compile a staff

For the record, I wrote that I can't blame Cashman until Joe is gone. I don't know what Cashman thinks of the team he constructed. I think it is very likely he knows that it's flawed, but he feels the need to construct the team in Joe's mold. If Cashman ever has the opportunity to general manage without Joe Torre, I expect to see a different Cashman.

If not, I would join you. A lot of these moves stink.

Also, for the record, I never said I though Igawa looked good and would come around. I said I see the same things all of you see, but it's only 26 innings. Even a very good pitcher could hang a lot of break pitches five starts in a row. That is not an inane thing to say--calling it inane is inane.