Who, exactly, is managing the New York Yankees?

Those in Major League Baseball upper management positions have pretty clear-cut roles, if you ask us. The general manager uses the owner's money to obtain players that the manager then coaches. Duties shouldn't overlap, much like tequila shots should not be taken after shot-gunning a cold one. Or vice versa, of course.

Simple, right?

Well, it seems the mighty men running the New York Yankees are a bit confused about their duties. On Aug. 15, starting pitcher Carl Pavano got in a car accident that left him with a mutulated jaw and on the brink of death a couple of broken ribs. Pavano, that sly cat, opted not to tell his employer until well after the accident.

Now, Brian Cashman, New York's G.M., says Pavano can't pitch for two weeks. If you remember from above, the G.M. obtains players. The manager coaches those obtained. Yet the G.M. in this situation decided who plays and who doesn't.

So, getting back to the subject of this now wordy and somewhat dummied-down post, who the fuck is managing the Yanks? We'd sure like to know Joe Torre's take on his boss making his decisions for him. From the linked article, it's rather clear that Cashman won't be inviting Pavano to Sunday night dinner this week. (Meatloaf, by the way, is the probable for the main course.)

We can't really figure out how this managerial decision falls under Cashman's so-called jurisdiction. If the dude can/can't/doesn't know how to/doesn't want to/forgot how to/is scared to pitch, shouldn't that be Torre's call as the manager?

Cashman also said that if Pavano can take the hill that it will be in a relief role, and that "discipline" is a possibility. Again, basic baseball convention would suggest that the manager -- it's Torre, remember him? -- decides what role that player has, not the G.M.

As for the discipline thing, based on Cashman's kind words about Pavano, it could be something like this.

In other news: Despite being in the hospital for an irregular heartbeat, David Ortiz hit his 48th homerun Wednesday in a 7-2 loss to Oakland.