Sad to see end of Steinbrenner era
Posted: Monday, October 15, 2007 1:45 PM
On Saturday, Oct. 6, George Steinbrenner answered his own office phone and told columnist Ian O’Connor of The Record of Hackensack, N.J., that if the Yankees lost to Cleveland in the ALDS, Joe Torre had as much chance of returning as manager as Britney Spears has of being named Mother of the Year.
It seems the statement was The Boss’ last public act as the Yankees’ owner. One week after he spoke to a reporter at length and on the record for the first time in a year or more, word came down from the Yankee bunker in Tampa that Steinbrenner was no longer running the team. His sons, Hank and Hal, would take over; George would become “like the chairman of a major corporation,’ The Post reported, quoting team President Randy Levine.
It is as likely that the two events are unrelated as it is that human activity has had something to do with climate change. You’ll find some people who will argue that one had nothing to do with the other, but most experts will agree that the evidence points strongly to a connection.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that one reason for the move was that the Yankees didn’t feel that it was a good idea to have Steinbrenner, who is widely rumored to be in diminishing possession of all his faculties, speaking for the team. In other words, they don’t want him picking up the phone anymore and offering his opinions.
That’s all he has anymore -- opinions. Once, his word was law. No longer. The baseball decisions are made by Brian Cashman, the general manager, and Levine, the president. The old Steinbrenner would have fired Torre seven times over the last seven years -- once for every season without a World Series trophy. In 2004, when he lost a 3-0 lead in games to the Red Sox in the ALCS, he would have fired Torre three or four times -- just to make sure.
But despite Steinbrenner’s declaration that Torre was toast, the Yankees still haven’t decided on his future as manager; that’s supposed to be on the table Tuesday, when the team’s management team will meet to discuss the matter.
In the old days, Steinbrenner didn’t call meetings a week after the fact to decide on a course of action. He fired managers for breakfast and rehired them for lunch only to fire them again before dinner. And he didn’t need no stinkin’ committee to help him pull the trigger.
On Torre, Yankee spokesmen say that Steinbrenner will have the final say, but that’s probably just a case of keeping the myth going. The reality is that he hasn’t made a decision in a long time.
We knew that, but until the Yankees officially said that Hank and Hal were taking over for their 77-year-old living legend of a father, we could continue the fantasy. We could also keep waiting for the day when the Boss would roar again, just like he used to in the old days when he was the Mad Shipbuilder and his team was the Bronx Zoo.
The wait’s over. Once Torre’s fate is determined, not in a fit of rage but around a conference table, a press release will quote something Steinbrenner allegedly said, but the words won’t be his. None of the statements issued in his name by the team sound any more like him than a squeeze toy sounds like a locomotive whistle.
The Yankees may be better run without Steinbrenner calling the shots, but they’ll never be a better show.
