Though I realize the New York Yankees are a business, perhaps this will serve as a lesson on how to build a baseball team rather than a marketing juggernaut.  Whether for the YES Network, new Yankee Stadium, expanding to the Japanese market, or for record breaking milestones the Yankees have made some ill advised moves since the end of 2001.

This is not a bash A-Rod story, because the Yankees have had plenty of other guys come and go with steroid abuse, most notably Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte along with some others in the so-called Mitchell Report.  No this calls into question why A-Rod is still even a Yankee.

I'm not going to go as far as Bill Madden of the NY Daily News who suggested the Yanks just outright cut A-Rod and eat the rest of his $275 million while he hits 40 HR's a year for somebody else at a reduced rate while the Yanks are left constricted with nothing to show for it.  And given the names listed above, I can't give the Yankees a pass on signing A-Rod without some sort of protection, especially just a year after getting duped by Pettitte right after he re-signed with them.  

No this goes deeper, to something Derek Jeter said when vacationing and asked about A-Rod opting out of his Yankee deal.  Jeter commented on how the Yankees had won in the past without superstars and big egos and one would have imagined that Jeter would have rather had Mike Lowell patrolling 3rd base for the Yankees than A-Rod.

That is ultimately what is at the crux of this, because while A-Rod will no doubt in my opinion still put up solid numbers, if the split on bringing him back was based on having him be a marketing tool for the network and new stadium for the record chase, then there's really no point in having A-Rod on the Yankees is there?

I'm sure when he hits the field I'll root for him like I did for Pettitte and Giambi, but really do the Yankees need all this drama?  Honestly the only slim saving grace of this is that now perhaps A-Rod stops caring about the record books which are now tainted and focuses more on the team.  Because really with all of the steroids, off the field tabloid stuff and poor post-season performance issues, if this guy's not going for the record books all that is left is all of that other garbage.

Perhaps one good idea if at all feasible would be making a deal in reverse that started all of this in the first place.  That deal would have A-Rod going to the Chicago Cubs for Alfonso Soriano.  Soriano could possibly solve the Yankees hole in centerfield and A-Rod would be re-united with his ex-manager and mentor Lou Pinella in Chicago where if he could ever lead the Cubs to a World Championship, that could possibly be the last shot he has at completely turning around his legacy.

If you're the Yankees it certainly couldn't hurt to try.

Perhaps this is why Mike Mussina decided to exit stage left.  After endearing himself to Yankee fans in what was one of the few true feel good stories of the 2008 campaign while winning 20 games, Mike Mussina decides to blast off on Mariano Rivera of all people, of all players.  Yes that same Mo Rivera who could've shut it down early because he would soon need off-season surgery and yet stuck around to lock down Moose's 20th victory on the season's last day, got ripped by his former teammate in Joe Torre's new book.

I consider myself to be very partial to Mo, having followed him since his days as a starter for the Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees back in 1994.  There's no nicer guy, no more of a class act in the game than Mo and for Mussina to come out and say what he said and for Torre to back him up in various radio interviews, namely with Mike Francesca on WFAN, is simply preposterous.

"As great as he is, and it's amazing what he does, if you start the evaluation again since I've been here, he has accomplished nothing in comparison to what he accomplished the four years before. He blew the World Series in '01. He lost the Boston series. He didn't lose it himself, but we had a chance to win in the ninth and sweep them and he doesn't do it there. . . . That's what I remember about the '04 series."

Ok Mikey since you asked for it, let's start that evaluation shall we?  First I'll say had Mike Mussina been backed up by Mariano Rivera all his years with the O's, Moose might just have that magic number of 300 wins.  Don't believe me, ask Roger Clemens!  Did Mariano Rivera give up five runs over three innings of work in Game one of the 2001 World Series?  Nope that would be Mussina.  Who pitched to a 9.00 ERA in the 2002 ALDS against the Angels?  Why that would be Mussina as well.  In fact Rivera had a better World Series ERA in 2001 (1.42) than he did in the 2000 (3.00) and 1996 (1.59) Fall Classics, both of which the Yankees won.

In the 2003 ALCS against Boston Mussina lost both games one and four, while pitching to an ERA of 4.11.  It was only his game seven heroics in relief that saved him, but even more so was the invincible Rivera whose three innings of scoreless relief enable the Yankees to stay afloat until Aaron Boone sent the masses home happy, giving Rivera the ALCS MVP.

That same 2003 post-season Rivera saved Mussina's lone World Series victory in game three and had a spotless ERA in that series as well.

In the 2004 ALDS Mussina picked up the Yankees only loss to the Minnesota Twins in Game One, while it was Rivera's two innings of scoreless relief in extra frames which sealed the series for the Yanks in Game Four.

Moving along to the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox, in Game One Mussina flirting with perfection early on, proceeds to nearly squander an 8-0 lead, allowing four runs.  Because of the Yankees horrendous relief and a game where with a lead of such proportions Mussina probably should've lasted longer, Rivera was forced to pitch and inning and a third to pick up the save in a scoreless outing.

 Also keep in mind the Yankees pitching was so abysmal that season, Rivera had to work all four games of the ALDS, throwing 5/2/3 innings, more than starter Javy Vazquez, only a third less then Kevin Brown, two thirds less than Jon Lieber and an inning and a third less than the leader Mussina.  

But I digress to the '04 ALCS, where in Game 2 thanks to the incompetent Yankees bullpen, Rivera was forced to throw another inning and a third of scoreless ball, picking up yet another save.  

In Game Three Kevin Brown and Javy Vazquez gave us all a foreshadowing of what was to come in Game Seven.  Upon looking at the performance of both Brown and Vazquez who were both overshadowed by the Nintendo style offense, where's the criticism by Moose of Joe Torre for trotting these winners out there for that all important Game Seven?  Where was Mr. Mussina to suck it up and take the ball for a few innings after throwing only six in Game Five?  How about some criticism for Kevin Brown who to paraphrase Mr. Mussina's own words about Rivera, "accomplished nothing compared to what he'd accomplished before he was a Yankee."  

Perhaps if the Yankees pitching weren't so poor, Rivera who worked a perfect 8th inning in game Four, wouldn't have had to pitch that inning and had he only needed to throw the 9th, maybe the Yankees are in the World Series? 

And to harken back to the 2001 World Series where Rivera also pitched a scoreless 8th only to lose it in the 9th, only had to do so because of Joe Torre's spat with ace setup man Jeff Nelson, which caused Nelson to walk back to Seattle after the 2000 season.  Think Mr. Torre brought up that little fact to Tom Verducci?  

Mussina also had a sparkling 4.26 ERA that series, neither he Brown or even El Duque pitched to what they had accomplished in the past.

Flip forward to the 2005 ALDS where Mussina had as many post-season wins for the Yanks that year as Al Leiter, with Rivera saving both games.  Mussina's ERA that series against the Angels, a glowing 5.40 which included not being able to make it out of the 3rd inning of the deciding Game Five!

The 2006 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers saw Mussina blow a 3-1 lead in Game Two in the 7th at home.  Rivera wasn't needed as much, seeing as how the Yankees starters couldn't get to him, he only pitched one inning of scoreless relief.  

Finally the 2007 ALDS facing the Cleveland Indians, since Mussina's regular season record of 11-10 with an ERA of 5.15 was nothing compared to what Mussina had accomplished before he got to the Yankees, he was relegated to the bullpen, thus forcing Joe Torre to go with Chien-Ming Wang who'd gotten rocked in Game One, to pitch on short rest in Game Four.  Not to mention Roger Clemens coming up lame in Game Three, where was Mussina's criticism of Clemens who was making $28 million that season to be the savior and couldn't pitch to what he had before Mussina had come to the Yankees in 2001?  What does Mussina think of Torre burying him in the bullpen for that series?  

Oh and if you're wondering about stats between the two who were both relievers that series: Rivera: In three games, 4/2/3 innings pitched, two hits, one walk, six K's, no runs allowed.  Mussina: In one appearance, 4/2/3 innings pitched, four hits, two runs allowed, four walks and three K's.  

Sure Mussina had his moments with the Yanks in the playoffs, the 2001 ALDS against Oakland down 0-2, season on the line on the road where Moose pitches a gem of seven innings of shutout ball, the latter two innings saved by Rivera in a 1-0 victory.  Mussina also had a stellar start that year against Seattle in the ALCS.  Couple that with the two big moments I mentioned above, excluding Game Five of the 2004 ALCS, the common thread is that Mariano Rivera finished each and every one of those games where Mussina pitched at least well enough to get the win as well.

In the end one could say that it was Mussina who could never quite accomplish or compare to what the man whom he essentially replaced in the rotation accomplished on the four championship teams before Mussina even got there.  He was a bulldog who pitched on guts, adrenaline and determination, never moped or complained when he was nearly through, no forget Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina you sir never were and never will be confused with one David Cone!  

And to my recollection, Coney never blamed Joe Torre when he lifted him or Mo for "blowing" his near no-hitter after coming back from an aneurysm in 1996.  

So please, please, please spare me this sort of utter garbage from of all people Mike Mussina about, of all people Mariano Rivera.  And to Joe Torre, you'd better stick up for your former closer, because had he been uncovered that much sooner it might be Buck Showalter still managing the Yankees.  But then again perhaps Hal Steinbrenner would've given you the same courtesy of possibly broadcasting for the YES Network.

There are times I look back at how the New York Yankees dynasty teams of the 1990's were formed and I wonder would the results have been any different had Gene Michael and Buck Showalter remained the General Manager and Manager of the ballclub?  Don't get me wrong here, Joe Torre and his staff (especially Don Zimmer) was a perfect fit for those Yankees in dealing with the players, media and ultimately The Boss.  Yet one wonders if Showalter had Tino Martinez and Derek Jeter over a declining Don Mattingly and Tony Fernandez and had a healthy Jimmy Key along with discovering Mariano Rivera, if the Yankees would've fared much differently?

Early in his tenure in the Bronx Torre could do no wrong, mixing and matching, pushing all the right buttons.  Joe didn't seem to mind alienating some veteran players when they simply weren't producing, for instance the 1996 playoffs when Torre benched the struggling Tino Martinez and Wade Boggs in favor of Cecil Fielder and Charlie Hayes.  Perhaps the egos were a bit different along with the makeup of the team, but it takes a lot to sit down a future Hall of Famer and a cornerstone of the franchise during its dynastic run.

Those Yankees were built with much more balance.  Why do you think Joe Torre looked like such a genius handling that bullpen with Wetteland, Rivera, Stanton, Nelson, Lloyd, Weathers etc. as opposed to what he does now which is tax his bullpen more than the state of New York does its citizens?  With stars but no "super-stars," at every position Torre was allowed more wiggle room in terms of his lineup decisions.  

So when did it all turn sour?  Somewhere around 2001 where as a result of his not getting along with reliever Jeff Nelson, the Yankees were forced to send Mariano Rivera out for the 8th and 9th innings of game seven of the World Series that year.  Rivera had been over taxed in the playoffs, the most playoff innings in his career and by having him pitch in the 8th he was over exposed for the 9th.  

Following that loss the core of the team was changed drastically, with really only three prominent position players left from their championship ballclubs in Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada.  But alas Jason Giambi would never become Tino Martinez nor would Mike Mussina duplicate the success of David Cone's playoff heroics.  The team also started to bring in malcontents such as Raul Mondesi, who couldn't hold a candle to Paul O'Neill.

In 2003 Torre still had the magic and misfortune, pinch hitting Aaron Boone in Game Seven of the ALCS, good decision, pitching Jeff Weaver who hadn't seen or warranted an inning in the playoffs in the World Series while he still had Mariano Rivera sitting there, not so good.

Then 2004 is ultimately where Torre gets exposed.  Granted the Yankees foolishly let Andy Pettitte go and by proxy Roger Clemens and made a wholesale shift from pitching and defense to slugging with the additions of A-Rod and Gary Sheffield.  Oh but the headcases didn't stop there, Kenny Lofton and Kevin Brown were also brought into the fold.  

Why do I denote 2004 aside from the collapse against the Boston Red Sox?  Because that was the first year during the Torre era which did not include bench coach Don Zimmer.  The two were a yin and yang of sorts, while Torre handled the personalities, Zimmer took hold of the X's and O's.  Without Zimmer the Yanks got burned badly in the 2004 ALCS.

Some very evident examples which even Zimmer commented on were: Not running on Jason Varitek when knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was pitching, and not bunting on Curt Schilling with his bum ankle certainly didn't help either, nor did starting Kevin Brown in Game Seven.

Moving onto 2005, what some call class, others may refer to as bending over and taking it.  Why on Earth was Joe Torre out on the top step of the visitors dugout at Fenway Park waving and giving thumbs up to Terry Francona and the Red Sox as they rubbed the ring ceremony in the Yankees faces?  If I'm managing the Yankees in that spot, I either take my team off the field or don't go out onto the field until the game starts.

 The 2006 season saw Torre choosing boppers who were either hurt the majority of the year and or playing out of position (Giambi, Matsui, Sheffield) over the guys who got him there and sparked the ballclub (Bernie Williams, Melky Cabrera).  Not to mention hitting A-Rod 8th, a ploy which had worked in the past to loosen up other players and motivate them... with A-Rod not so much.

The 2005 season along with 2006 and 2007 were either Torre's best or worst managing jobs depending on one's perspective.  From purely an on the field view, given the dearth of pitching, roster flexibility and superstar egos, had Torre been managing any other team not named the New York Yankees, say like Bobby Cox and the Atlanta Braves, those seasons would've been deemed great successes.  On the flip side those were the New York Yankees, blessed with a plethora of unlimited resources, payrolls over $200 million and a roster chalk full of not only All-Stars but future Hall of Famers, and they didn't win one post-season series during that final three year run.  

After not making the playoffs in 2008 the one could argue for the Yankees, "you don't know what you've got 'till its gone," in reference to Torre.  Then again I suppose current skipper Joe Girardi could've said the same thing about Chien-Ming Wang.  

If Joe Torre is managing somewhere like Minnesota and does what he did in New York, he'd likely be there for life much like a Tom Kelly would.  But this is New York and perhaps had Torre won his four championships spaced out over a period of every three years he'd be viewed differently.  Yet those years were iconic and while Torre's Yankees were managed from 1996-2007, it was almost as if he were managing two completely separate teams, 1996-2001 and 2002-2007, save for a few holdovers such as Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte etc.

These things happen though in sports, sad as they are.  The man most compare Torre to, another legendary Yankees skipper Casey Stengel, came in with a fury much like Torre, winning five World Series in a row from 1949-1953.  Granted unlike Torre there would be a few more titles to come, but just like Torre, Stengel went out unceremoniously after the 1960 season losing in the Fall Classic to Maz and the Pirates.  

Torre has been shown to be certainly a classier individual than GM Brian Cashman who sold him up the river in the end, not able to win with his players and pitching failures and yet unlike Torre being rewarded with an extension after not even making the playoffs.  And Torre need not be dragged into the mud with A-Rod, whom Cashman has bet all of his chips on, also awarding him an extension despite post-season failures.  However as much as he may still be hurting and wanting to manage in that new stadium, I must say let it go Joe, you're better than that.

The only thing that suprises me anymore about the NFL is that we are actually suprised at what happens every year in the NFL.  What we do know is that there will be a new AFC Champion, the New York Giants are the lone NFC team to return to the playoffs from last season and the Detroit Lions are now on the clock.

Starting off in Atlanta where the old axiom still holds true, the sign of a good team is one who beats who they're supposed to beat.  Case in point, the St. Louis Rams knocked off the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins earlier this season for their only two victories, just part of the reason those two squads are sitting at home and the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles are goin' dancin'.  The Falcons have had an impressive turnaround, wisely investing in "3M" (coach Mike Smith, Matt Ryan and Michael Turner) and their stock continues to soar.  Atlanta finishes out at 11-5 just barely missing out on a 1st round bye and division title.

The reason Atlanta is going on the road, the Carolina Panthers and John Kasay's last second field goal gave John Fox's boys the first road victory by an NFC South team within the division.  After blowing a 23-0 lead early, Carolina got the kick they couldn't get a week ago at Giants Stadium.

Sticking in the South, should John Gruden be sending off his resume to South Bend?  The Bucs drop four in a row, including bowing out to Chuckie's old team at home.  From 9-3 to 9-7, yikes.  For all of their percieved success with Gruden at the helm, Tampa's last playoff victory came the same year the Raiders did, when the Bucs beat them in the Super Bowl nearly six years ago.  With Derek Brooks and Ronde Barber the two standouts remaining, that defense isn't striking the fear of God into anybody these days.

So how does that Cowboys-Browns Super Bowl look right now?  How about Cowboys-Pats?

The Cowboys day in Philadelphia must've felt longer than game 5/1/2 of the World Series.  Dallas suffers its worst loss in over 20 years and the Eagles once again finish strong.  So do Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb get extensions now?  Seven out of the last ten years Reid and Co. have made it to January football and what a ride.  From McNabb's benching, to "tie-gate," beating the Giants on the road, losing at Washington to having to wait on the Bears and Bucs to lose, Philly then found the football version of the New York Mets and spanked the Cowboys 44-6.  You know for a head coach Wade Phillips makes an awfully swell defensive coordinator.

"Now we're gonna party like its 1989," the Bengals finish out winning three in a row, while the 49ers close out winning five of their last seven.  Samuel L. Jackson err Mike Singletary has done an excellent job in changing the culture around the Niners and has earned a permanent gig in Frisco.

Any reason Ben Roethlisberger was playing in Sunday's tilt against the Browns, any? 

In the "its not how you start but how you finish bowl," the Indianapolis Colts start out 3-4 and the San Diego Chargers 4-8, both will face each other in the Wild Card round this weekend.  Which is harder to believe, that Indy at 12-4 is a Wild Card or that San Diego at 8-8 has the same or worse record than three other AFC teams (Pats, Jets, Texans) and is hosting a playoff game?  The hardest to believe may be the fact that Denver was in 1st place for 16 weeks and will be sitting at home yet again.

Speaking of the AFC East, if you'd rather give Mike Smith or John Harbaugh coach of the year over Tony Sparano for winning with rookie QB's that's fine, but there's no question that Bill Parcells deserves executive of the year.  But of course this is just what Tuna does right?   How's that gold and burgandy working out for ya Jason Taylor?

So Parcells trumps Belichick, Pennington sends the Jets home wondering where that Subway Super Bowl went.  This just in, Wall St. is inviting the Jets over to ring the closing bell in admiration of their collapse. 

Hard to feel sorry for the Patriots, but to go 11-5 and end up going home, there's just something that stinks about that.  The last team to do so, the 1985 Cleveland Browns.  Does what happened in San Diego with L.T. and Michael Turner this season make the Pats take a closer look at bringing Matt Cassel back? 

The Bills Rian Lindell may be the first kicker to have ever hooked a kick wide left and sliced one wide right on the same exact kick. 

Eric Mangini, Romeo Crennel and Rod Marinelli all out, is Wade Phillips short to follow?

So many storylines for Wild Card weekend, two rookie QB's in Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco going on the road to face two guys who've resurrected their respective careers, both ex- NY QB's in Kurt Warner and Chad Pennington.  Then you also have two teams in the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles who nobody wants to play right about now. 

Finally there were whispers of it only moments after the conclusion of Super Bowl XLII, which will inevatably be amplified in the coming weeks: Manning Bowl.

If the Yankees are looking for a combination of domination, then they need to pair Alex Rodriguez with Manny Ramirez.  Now I'm sure you're saying look a player like A-Rod shouldn't need anybody hitting behind him much like Barry Bonds all those years and having table setters in the duo of Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter should lead to superb offensive production.  But why not sandwich the guy between two of the most clutch hitters in the game for the better part of the last decade? 

When the Yankees added Roger Maris back in 1960 even Mickey Mantle's numbers jumped.  Thanks to Maris who won back to back MVP's in '60 and '61, Mantle hit 31 HR's and knocked in 75 in 1959 and topped that with 40 HR's and 94 RBI in 1960 and of course the 1961 season of 54 HR's and 128 RBI. 

In 2003 when he joined Ramirez in Boston, David Ortiz's numbers shot way up from his Twins days.  Ortiz in 2002, 20 HR's and 75 RBI, 2003 with Ramirez 31 HR's and 101 RBI. 

Based on these two examples, coupled with A-Rod's propensity to put up MVP numbers, in fact doing so the last three "odd year's" (2003, 2005, 2007) one would have to assume that A-Rod's production will fly off the charts.  With the pressure of having to carry the lineup by himself lessened by Manny's addition, one can expect A-Rod to put up around 45 HR's and 128 RBI. 

As I've mentioned before, Manny is a flat out RBI machine, makes good teams great and great teams into champions.  In the playoffs which the Yankees are all about, Ramirez has 28 career HR's, a .286 post season average, a World Series MVP and two rings.  What more could one possibly want?  He's been on winning teams everywhere he's been, is from the Bronx and is no doubt chomping at the bit to get back at the Red Sox.  Manny is no worse defensively in the outfield than Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui or Bobby Abreu. 

The Yankees should base this signing as a baseball decision and I would hope that the same team that almost gave Manny's ex-teammate Albert Belle a deal about a decade ago, brought in great "character guys" like Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden Steve Howe, Gary Sheffield, Kevin Brown, wouldn't get all high and mighty as if they were above it.

As far as the Boston situation is concerned with Manny, well let's just say the Sawx ownership has never historically taken to brash flamboyant sluggers, all the way back to Babe Ruth.