Jim Litke AP columnist

Dear George:

Nobody tells a guy who spent $200 million on the hired help what he can or cannot do. So go ahead, fire Joe Torre if it makes you feel better. Just ask yourself something first. What would Lou Piniella or any other manager have done differently?

Scream more? Hit and run less? Use the hook on one pitcher a little earlier or another a little later? Because even if Torre — or Piniella, or the ghost of Connie Mack, for that matter — had done any or all of those things, the result would have been the same.

If you’re compiling a list of the people who let you down the past half-dozen seasons, his name doesn’t even make the top 10.

This doesn’t mean you have to stand pat. Just the opposite. The best thing about your stewardship is that the Yankees’ glass never looks half full. If you’re not happy, then nobody else in the organization is going to be, either. Sure, it’s a miserable, nerve-racking way to run one of the greatest franchises in sports. But no one is ever going to utter your name and the word “complacent” in the same sentence.

So get general manager Brian Cashman on the phone, tell him to pull out a copy of the roster and a red pen. Start by having him draw a line through the third baseman’s name, because everybody in New York already has.

Adding Alex Rodriguez was wonderful in theory, but, like communism, not so wonderful in practice. He’s tried adapting, agreeing to move from shortstop, where he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, to the far side of the diamond to give Derek Jeter plenty of space.

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He tried being cocky, because A-Rod thought that’s what the town wanted, then humbled himself when pity seemed like the quickest way back into its heart. He’s always the first ballplayer to show up for extra practice, and often the last to leave. That might have endeared him to the coaching staff, but A-Rod will forever be dragging his price tag behind him like a ball and chain. Cut him loose, cut your losses while you still can, and ship him to the Angels, Dodgers or Cubs for one of those young arms that have been so effective against your lineup the last few postseasons.

And while we’re on the subject of pitchers, it’s time to stop thinking of your staff as a way station for AARP millionaires. Grabbing Roger Clemens a few years ago was a stroke of genius, but he was the exception and not the rule. Remember Kevin Brown, whose name rhymes with “broken down”? Well, Randy Johnson is already 43 and Mike Mussina turns 38 in December and they’re eating up $35 million annually.

The good news is that Mussina is in his option year, the better news is that Gary Sheffield is, too. Cut them loose and use the money for another young arm. It seems like ancient history now, especially because a lineup card glittering with All-Stars is hard to see past, but the bedrock of those four World Series titles in five years at the start of Torre’s tenure was strength up the middle and pitching.