I was watching Baseball Tonight on Tivo this morning, and Joe Torre took responsibility for the Yankees poor play. He said that it wasn't the batting coaches fault or the pitching coaches fault, it was his fault. His job is to have the players ready to play, and they weren't ready last night as a very sloppy game turned into an 8-1 loss to the Cardinals.

Now that Joe is responsible, what is to be done? How many closed door meetings can Torre hold with the team? Is Joe putting the best team on the field every day? Is making out the best batting order? Should his use of relievers be questioned? While Joe won't say if there's a problem with the batting or pitching coach, certainly it's Torre's responsibility to make sure the pitchign and batting coaches are improving the team.

Joe said exactly the right thing last night. But now he needs to show he can motivate these players; that he can find ways to make them improve, that he can prepare them for the game. If he doesn't, his job deserves to be on the line.