The Joe Torre saga continues. Almost a week after his Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs by the Angels there is still no word from the Yanks skipper about what his plans for next season will be. The very popular, and successful Yankee manager has not made any comments to the media or front office personnel regarding what his plans for next season may be. With Lou Piniella looking for work as a manager team brass would like to hear from the skipper so that the team can pursue him as next seasons manager. The New York Daily newspapers are already in Joe Torre watch mode, and have begun to put up a counter for the days that have passed since he last spoke to the media. The New York Daily News has a “waiting for Joe to appear” day 4 clicker already running and no one seems to be talking, or tipping their hand as to the Yankees managers future with the club.

GM Brian Cashman has also been laying low and has not made any statements regarding his plans for the upcoming season. The GM’s contract expires this year and it is still unclear whether the boss would like him to return, or if he wants to promote one of his Tampa yes men to the GM position. If cashman is bot retained it would be another mistake by the big boss man in the Bronx, (I mean Tampa). Cashman has consistently put together quality teams with Steinbrenner breathing down his neck. Just look at the pitching staff he put together this season in the face of injuries and inconsistency from big ticket singings like Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano, not to mention supposed staff ace Randy Johnson. Cashman should without a doubt be retained as GM. But the boss is still fuming over another early round exit in this years playoffs may be in the mood to get rid of valuable pieces to his past championship team puzzle. Starting by axing cashman is not the wise choice however. Especially considering that he will most likely promote from within and vault one of his Tampa guys into the position of General Manager. Which for Yankees fans is not good news at all. This would mean that the boss would have even more control over player personnel decisions than he already does with Torre, and Cashman as buffers in NY. With a new GM here comes more old, broke down pitchers and star position players that only know how to compile statistics and don’t know how to perform in crucial situations and win playoff baseball games, (A-ROD). The boss would be making a big mistake if he continues down this path of quick fixes by letting Cashman walk, and by severing ties with manager Joe Torre. His Yankee organization needs more voices like theirs in the mix if they are to regain preeminence in the sport and return to the World Series anytime soon.

In case anyone thought the Chicago White Sox were lucky to get a win on a fluke play by the home plate unpire in game 2 and were not for real, they answered all doubters with a stellar performance in last nights 5-2 win over Anaheim. The pitching staff is hitting on all cylinders with consecutive great outings by Buehrle, and garland. Both pitchers threw complete games in games 2, and 3 respectively, the defense has been sharp, and the lineup is doing just enough to scratch out enough runs to win ballgames. This is shaping up to be a tremendous American League Championship Series with tow temas locking horms and not backing down one inch. Both of these teams have adopted their managers personality and bring that aggressiveness out onto the field with them everytime they play. I look forward to continuing to see a great playoff series where the viewer will see great playoff baseball come alive; great defense, solid pitching performances and clutch hitting all make this a series to pay close attention to as these teams fight to get into the World Series.