Brian Cashman was the brains that ultimately led to the Yankee turnaround. We could argue that he was also the brains behind the collapse, but then there's always the Tampa and the Owner principle involved. Anyway: Cashman
"Here's what I'm thinking," he told the manager and then explained what he wanted to do: move Tony Womack, whose bat and glove had been underwhelming, to left field, shift Hideki Matsui to center and call up 22-year-old Robinson Cano from Columbus to become the Yankees' new second baseman.
Probably the biggest moves he made was in getting Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small.
The Daily News has a great playoff online section for the Yanks.