This year’s fall meeting of Yankee upper-management is getting more media coverage than a Conclave of Cardinals to pick a new Pope, but, still, the Steinbrenner clan is leaving Joe Torre twisting in the wind:
A day of discussion about the position of Yankees manager brought no resolution yesterday. Joe Torre has held the job for 12 years and clings to it even after a third consecutive first-round playoff defeat that was presumed to spell the end of his tenure.
George Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ principal owner, is seeking a consensus on whether to replace Torre, whose contract expires at the end of the month, and he does not have it yet. Steinbrenner met yesterday afternoon at his home in Tampa, Fla., with his sons, Hank and Hal, and his son-in-law, Felix Lopez.
Earlier in the day, the sons and Lopez had met with the three highest-ranking team officials based in New York: the team president, Randy Levine; the chief operating officer, Lonn Trost; and the general manager, Brian Cashman. The Yankees have many unanswered questions about the makeup of their team, and while some were discussed, Torre was the theme of the day.
Don Mattingly, the bench coach and the favorite of George Steinbrenner to succeed Torre, made it clear through his agent that he would be ready for the job if asked. But Torre could return to help Mattingly make the eventual transition.
There was no official word from the Yankees with details of the meeting. A group of about 25 reporters waited outside Steinbrenner’s gated home, but Hank Steinbrenner and Lopez drove by without commenting.
Shortly after 4:30 p.m., Steinbrenner’s spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, issued a statement that said that the meetings were adjourned and that they would resume today. “There have been no decisions made, nor will there be any comment today,” the statement said.
At this point, I wouldn’t blame Torre for telling King George to take his job and shove it. Good season or not, he doesn’t deserve to be treated like this after 12 years of some of the best baseball the Yankees have played since the 1950s.
