But after reaching five World Series in six years, and winning four of them, the Yankees started losing their way the day they gave $120 million to the bloated Jason Giambi, a non-athlete who was everything and anything Torre's dynastic Yanks weren't.

Torre lost his last three Division Series in New York, which felt like a cataclysmic trend until Girardi didn't even make it to the Division Series. Is this the beginning of another postseason Ice Age in the Bronx to match those that stretched from the mid-'60s into the mid-'70s, and from the early '80s into the early '90s?

Cashman rages at the thought. The GM said he signed on for three more years because he was afraid his legacy would be defined by recent failures, and not by the successful moves he made in the glory years.

"I'm not going to let that story be written," Cashman pledged. "I'm staying to change the story."

Next year, he'll get to assume the role of executive editor in the new Yankee Stadium across the street.

Meanwhile, Cashman will listen as Torre addresses East Coast-like playoff crowds in La-La Land, and he'll watch as Boston and Tampa leave his franchise in the divisional dust.