What a stupid move by the Yankees!

They let Joe Torre go. The guy has made the playoffs 12 straight years. This year, the Yankees lost in the playoffs. Was it mismanagement? Was Joe at fault for the Yankees failure to hit in the playoffs? Of course not. Could Torre have exected mayflies in October? And why was he not prepared for them? Oy vey! The kid, Joba Chamberlain had thrown one wild pitch all season. He threw 2 in an inning. Maybe Torre shouldn't have put a rookie in that situation, but who else should he have used? Farnsworth? You never know with him. He could be dominant, or he could be like a batting tee. It was too early for Mo. Torre made the right choices, and got the wrong results.
It reminds me of when Zimmer was manager of the Cubs a few years back. He managed contrarily to recognized strategies. It worked, and he made it to the playoffs--what a genius! The next year, it didn't, and he got fired.
Hall of Fame Manager Earl Weaver was asked how many games a good manager could win for a team. His response? ""Zero." A bad manager may lose a game or two a year, but the best managers win none.
Baseball strategy is limited at best. Certainly, every manager has percentages and "books" available at all times. But belt high fastballs get missed, and "perfect" sliders on the outside of the plate get hit into the upper deck every day.
What does it all mean? Just that if a manager "has the horses" he will lead his team to victory. But saddle him with some broken down 46 year old savior coupled with a bunch of rookies, and throw in some injuries and John McGraw, Miller Huggins and Tommy LaSorda combined can't guarantee a win, let alone a World Series title.
Bottom line:
The Yankees, who have made their share of mistakes during the Steinbrenner years, just made one of their biggest. They allowed a loyal member of the Yankees family to walk. Torre is a gentleman, a baseball man, and most of all, a winner.