You knew somebody was going to be the fall guy for the Yankees' collapse against the Tigers in the division series and if it wasn't going to be Joe Torre, then it was surely going to be one of his coaches. And so it is Lee Mazzilli, a victim of circumstances, who takes the hit as the Yankee high command moves manager-in-waiting Don Mattingly into the bench coach position, in which he can concentrate on game strategy instead of tutoring hitters. ...

As for the hitting coach, Cashman will stay within the organization, promoting Kevin Long, who has tutored the Triple-A hitters at Columbus for the last three years. A graduate of the University of Arizona, Long played six years in the Kansas City Royals' system and was the batting coach for their Double-A Wichita farm team in 2000-01.