George: Hire Don Mattingly

Dear Mr. Steinbrenner, supreme emenance of the New York Yankees and all-around humble guy,

Sure...I love Lou Pinella also. Seriously though, throwing temper tantrums and critisizing club management tends to rankle you, so why hire a GM who has done both? Consider the noble slugger turned coach Don Mattingly.

Listen to me George, Joe Torre is a fallen hero. His stature was such that you just let him keep the show running even in years when the roster looked old and busted. But now that the best Yankees team in a decade has blown it, it's time for to go with a new GM. Everyone agrees with you about this, for once. You nevertheless need someone of equal stature. Mattingly was the model for Derek Jeter. The players revere him, as do the fans. Everyone will respond to his message and if this most talented Yankees team that won an insane 97 games in the regular season but laid a gigantic egg against the Tigers doesn't win the series in '97, you can always Billy Martin him.

(Oh Billy... how we miss your antics).

Your friend, although sometimes I hate you,

William Li