My point was that Kevin Brown and Randy Johnson were supposed to be the two huge mega aces, and really, they weren't.

I don't think it can be denied that the Cashman/Steinbrenner plan in recent history has been signing far too many 30-35+ year old pitchers, paying them tons of money, and then watching them spend tons of time on the DL, pitching inconsistently, and falling apart in the second half of the season and/or post season.

In that situation, I don't think any manager can save the team. Frankly, the fact that they keep getting to the post season (and generally winning their division over a usually good and also high-spending Red Sox team) is evidence of a manager doing a good job.

If you want to see a manager who does jack shit with good players, look at Bobby Cox.