Fire the Manager

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Sports Illustrated reports that the Yankees are considering firing Joe Torre. These decisions often seem to me to defy any probabilistic understanding of a sport like baseball. I mean, in ten seasons, Torre has won four World Series and made the playoffs most of the other years. This year he has a horribly injured pitching staff, and the team has not done well for one month. What are the odds that some other manager could do better? Is there any other major league manager with a better record than Torre over the last decade? But a few bad weeks, and his job is on the line. Well, the fans want something done, and Steinbrenner sure isn't going to fire himself!

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