(Who is better with the media?)

When Art Howe meets with the media, it seems he is punching a time card.

While conducting his shift with a smile, Howe forsakes insight in favor of obvious points. He leans on the phrase, “We battled,” as the cure-all answer to almost any curious query.

For TV and radio purposes, the cordial Howe does provide easy-to-digest sound bites, which say little, but fill time.

Torre is improving in the media game. In the past, Torre offered just enough spice to get into a story, but rarely enough to carry one. This year, that’s changed.

With George Steinbrenner looming on Torre’s nerves, Torre has unloaded the entire spice rack on some days, making him a very enticing quote and the runaway Subway Series Matchup winner.

Howe, it should be added, battled.