“I would say that state of flux is a grand issue. I’m not saying that information and time can not resolve it. But it’s going to take time for us to know how these things are resolved. We’re talking about a long-term contract here, and to make that decision is difficult, knowing there are that many issues up in the air.” –Scott Boras

Alex Rodriguez’s agent, Scott Boras, is good at his job, and he’s seized upon the turmoil of the last few days to apply pressure to the Yankees not only to drive a dump truck full of money to Alex Rodriguez’s front door, but to hire a manager, convince Andy Pettitte to come back, and send trucks of money to Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada’s houses as well. Sez Boras, “Without Pettitte, Rivera and Posada, it’s not the same team.”

Rivera and Posada seem determined to test free agency, but Rodriguez’s deadline to opt out of his contract will arrive six days before free agents are allowed to sign with other teams (see sidebar), so something will have to give. That said, it seems a given that the Yankees will name a new skipper and pick up Bobby Abreu’s $16-million option comfortably in advance of Rodriguez’s opt-out date (for those doubting the Abreu move, Bobby hit .309/.396/.520 over the final four months of the season).

Meanwhile, Joe Torre has turned down an offer from FOX to join Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in the broadcast booth for this year’s World Series citing family commitments. I assume those are commitments he made after the Yankees were eliminated from the postseason.