Can't you see the lines already drawn?

Torre's firing would weaken Cashman, 12 months after he vanquished his Tampa rivals...so for Cashman retaining Torre has nothing to do with Torre per se, it's about retaining internal control vs. the Tampa contingent. Also, Cashman can expect increased respect/loyalty from Torre if it appears that Cashman "saved his bacon."

Someone must be sacrificed for this season and I'll bet that Rodriguez will be the scapegoat. Torre has Jeter and Cashman on his side. Jeter is loyal to his manager and is still angry at Alex over the 5 year old Esquire article. Furthermore, Torre pre-emptively made Alex the scapegoat by batting him 8th in game 4.

We all know the close Piniella/Alex relationship: If Piniella is the new manager, Alex will not go anywhere. But Cashman/Jeter both lose in this scenario: They both have quite a bit of leverage right now and it's ultimately in their interest to retain Torre.

A potential (albeit remote) 3rd scenario: If Mr. S. is adamant about Torre's departure, Cashman has incentive to push for Girardi...If Girardi becomes the manager, Cashman will absorb even more power with the vacuum left by Torre's exit.

P.S. Why would it be any easier for the Yankees to trade Alex than it has been for the Red Sox to trade Ramirez?

We know, bottom line, that Cashman will not accept less than maximum value for Alex, because that's what he's worth. I hear vague talk about getting some power arms for Alex. WHO???...Santana? Halladay? Jake Peavy? The Yankees will really lose, IMO, if they dump Alex for inferior value to mollify Jeter's ego.

There, I said it.