I'm in mourning right now, my Yankees just couldn't get it together. Now the airwaves are rampant with talk, not of how well the Indians played, but of how manager Joe Torre is about to be fired. Weird, his contract expires in about 2 weeks, so what's the sense in firing him? I'm sure what the sportswriters really mean that he might not get re-signed to manage the Yankees, but "not re-signed" just isn't sexy enough to sell newspapers I guess.

For what it's worth, they owe it to themselves and the fans to make some moves. They need to give A-Rod a contract extension, or make good on the threat to quit the maelstrom if he opts out of his contract. They need to re-sign both Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada, because while it is just a business they still need to reward their loyalty. They need to avoid making any other major panic moves, just continue to work the farm system and rebuild the pitching staff with fresh faces like Joba and Hughes et al.

As for Torre, I've been going back and forth on that. There are those who question the wisdom of "firing" a manager who's been to the playoffs 12 straight years. Hell, Casey Stengel managed the Yankees to 10 World Series appearances in 12 years and won 7, and was fired because he lost the last one. (That was back when the playoffs were the World Series.)  There are those who question his handling of pitchers, pointing to the Joba Rules and history of wearing out relievers. On the flip side, he's been a rock in the 12 years media storm that is New York, a storm that has wrecked quality managers and players alike over the years.

My mind may change, but right now my gut says give him another two years. 

(With apologies to the New York Post for that headline...)

The Yankee 'braintrust' blew it. They had an opportunity to re-sign Joe, or decide to cut ties because of his "failures," but instead they chose to make a half-hearted offer as if to say "Hey, we tried." In the end, though, Yankee fans see through the charade -- we're not stupid, you know.

(OK, maybe some Yankee fans are stupid, you know who I mean -- the ones that booed A-Rod for three years when he was only having seasons that Mickey Mantle would have loved to have.)

So, now the "braintrust" has put themselves in a bad spot. They have two premier free agents -- Posada and Rivera -- who have only ever played for Joe, and see how badly he was treated. They'd love to remain Yankees, but may now be so disgusted with the "braintrust" that it'll take much more money to keep them in the fold. Andy Pettitte is another, with a player option for 2008 but unsure whether he'll be back. A-Rod? He has to be wondering what's going on here too, and looking over the fence into greener pastures.

Worst case scenario has Posada and Rivera signing elsewhere (Mets could use a catcher, and the Phillies a pedigreed closer), Andy deciding it isn't fun anymore and heading home, and A-Rod seeing how the wind is blowing and opting out of his contract. The Yanks could easily find themselves watching the entire playoffs on TV here. The new stadium sits doesn't sell out, and players stop wanting to play there (a la the 1980s).

Best case scenario? The "braintrust" realizes they just screwed up royally, and signs Torre to a two-year deal. They re-sign Posada and Rivera at reasonable (non-punative) salaries. Andy decides maybe another season could be fun after all, and sticks around. A-Rod realizes that his NY home is where he really belongs, clicks his ruby slippers together, and signs a contract extension.  A new World Series flag flies over the new sold-out stadium.

Two extreme scenarios, both entirely possible based on what happens in the next two weeks. It's your move, "braintrust." Don't blow it.

I won't belabor the point about textbooks being TOO expensive. (We already covered that in this other blog post.) Now I find out that one of our alternatives is seemingly under fire...

In this article from Publisher's Weekly, publishers forced a settlement last week with vendors who were selling international versions of textbooks to US students. For those who aren't aware, international students don't pay nearly what you do for the same book -- they wouldn't stand for it. So they get a book with not-quite-as-fancy printing but essentially the same innards as the one you buy, only it costs a hell of alot less.

(Don't for a minute think that the scaled back printing is responsible for the price reduction -- we covered that in this other blog post.)

So now the publishers have decided to cut US students off from one of their lower cost alternatives. Fight back -- buy used, buy old, or don't buy at all!