I've got nothing against Joe Torre.  He's a great guy from everything that I have read about him.  I'm not a Yankees hater.  As a Pirate fan I can't really complain about teams over-spending my team, because that's the entire league I'd be complaining about.  The problem I have isn't with Torre.  It's with managers in general.

As you probably know by now, Joe Torre was offered a one year deal worth $5 million, with a $1 million incentive for every round of the playoffs he reached.  If you haven't heard, then you've managed to miss every sports site and report issued today.  Here is the major problem I have with the situation.  It's not that the Yankees can't afford Torre.  They could pay him $10 million a year and wouldn't have any issues.  It's just that Joe Torre isn't worth it.  No manager is.

My problem with managers can best be explained by the history of Joe Torre.  Before being the great manager that he was with the Yankees, he spent 15 years between the Mets, Braves, and Cardinals.  His winning percentage in those 15 years?  .471.  His Yankees winning percentage?  .605.  How does a guy with 5 winning seasons in 15 years go on to win 4 World Series titles and post a .605 winning percentage over the next 12 years?  Did Torre suddenly just get better?  Maybe.

Or perhaps Torre inherited a team that featured Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and plenty of other recent Yankee greats in the making.  So did Torre just get better, or did he get better players?

That's the problem I have with managers.  That's the problem I have with the Yankees.  Joe Torre was a great manager when he had a rotation of Pettitte, Jimmy Key, Kenny Rogers, David Cone, and Dwight Gooden.  When he has a rotation with his ace being Chien-Ming Wang?  He's a horrible manager.

The Yankees have the biggest payroll in baseball, yet their starting rotation was made up of mostly AA pitchers.  That's not Yankees baseball.  That's Pirates baseball.  I've seen the "Let's throw the rookie out there to get shelled" routine.  It works when you're a lock to lose, and you're hoping for an ace to suddenly emerge on your team.  It works when you've got a powerful offense like the Yankees and you want to win 95 games.  I'll tell you when it doesn't work.  When you're in the playoffs.

The Yankees have made it to the playoffs every season under Torre.  They buy the playoffs every year.  The problem is that you can't buy a World Series.  At least not without pitching.  The World Series is like that small town Dairy Queen when you've got a late night ice cream craving, with the problem being they only take cash.  Having great pitching is like having a wallet full of cash.  The Yankees were only carrying debit cards this season.  And Joe Torre paid for it.

The Yankees are going to make the playoffs next season.  You're an idiot if you don't think they will.  They can even do it with Don Mattingly as their coach.  Joe Torre can go off and be the red hot management candidate for other teams, and this time next year we will be having conversations like "Has Joe Torre lost it?"  The fact is the Yankees are a team that is a lock for the playoffs, with or without Torre.

So what exactly is Torre good for?  Break it down and it's simple.  He's a manager.  We all have them.  They're the people above us who don't do anything.  We think we could do their job better.  They're not exactly responsible for our success, but they get all of the credit when we succeed, and come down on us when we fail.  Joe Torre is nothing different than the manager of the Yankees.  He doesn't coach.  He doesn't make Jeter or A-Rod better players.  He just keeps the clubhouse in order, fills out a lineup card, makes a few game moves and calls it a day.  Make no mistake, every manager in baseball is the same.  Late innings, call to the bullpen, left handed batter at the plate?  Bring in the lefty.  Runner on first, one out, down by one, with a bad hitter at the plate?  Lay down a bunt and move the runner to second.

We all know the drill.  Nothing surprises us when a baseball manager makes a move.  The only time we are shocked is when someone screws up.  Then we roast them for years and call them a bad manager.  Grady Little and Pedro Martinez, anyone?

So why do we get so hyped up over managers?  Why do we say "Man, as a Devil Rays fan I'd love to have Joe Torre on my team.  That would make Ben Zobrist a better hitter, and solve all of Rocco Baldelli's injury problems."  The fact is that you or I could go in there and do the exact same job.  I'd be a baseball manager in a heart beat.  You get front row seats to the game, free travel, meal money, and your main duties are to fill out a lineup card, make the same old late inning changes, and put on a scene with an umpire when the occasional call goes wrong.  The only thing better is being the manager of the Yankees.  Then you can set your lineup card and make 162 copies at the start of the season.

The bottom line is that Joe Torre is over-rated.  The Yankees don't need a new manager to make it to the World Series.  They don't need to give Torre incentives to win.  They need a better team.  They're the Yankees.  They shouldn't have to pitch guys like Tyler Clippard, Kei Igawa, Matt DeSalvo and Darrell Rasner.  Go out and buy some pitching why don't you?  They spend at least $10 million each year on three guys to rotate at first base, and all of the guys end up being average players that are no better than Jason Giambi, and not really needed for an offense that is already dynamic.

The lack of pitching for the Yankees is like their house being on fire.  It's been on fire for years, but they keep on adding flowers to the garden.  Now they realize the house is in flames, and what do they do?  They fire the gardener.