The things we know that we know

After last night's latest kick in the teeth by the most unlikely of sources, we found ourselves considering the vicissitudes of popular and media perception of managers over the course of a season. If the ship doesn't turn, Girardi, thus far admired for his candor and "no-nonsense" approach, may find himself firmly on the defensive.

Girardi is not only in trouble because his team is floundering. What his supporters might be worried about is how fans and the press will reflect on the season if the Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time since 1994 and the Dodgers make it. Columns will be written in droves about Torre's deft managerial touch, and how sorely his calming presence was missed. Maybe he'll even earn manager of the year of the honors.

What Murray Chase and his peers will fail to realize is that correlation does not equal causality, and that Joe Torre inherited a team teeming with excellent young players as he left a team whose golden era had long passed -- and whose decline he helped accelerate.

We of course consider it axiomatic that managers thrive on luck. And has there ever been a luckier son of a bitch than Joe Torre?