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Yankees out. A cranky boss. Time for Torre to go?

Much like any business, pressure mounts when the manager can't deliver the goods.

By Ron Scherer | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the October 10, 2007 edition

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New York - It's a classic Harvard Business School case study: A demanding owner of a company is ready to replace his operations manager despite a dozen loyal and successful years.

Harvard MBAs: Welcome to Yankee Stadium.

Owner George Steinbrenner, not content with making baseball's postseason, and perhaps sore over a $200 million payroll and no World Series ring since 2000, has already said his manager Joe Torre could be out if the Yankees did not beat the Cleveland Indians.

Unfortunately for Mr. Torre, Cleveland whacked the Yankees around on Monday night, winning 6 to 4, and will now play the Boston Red Sox, starting on Friday. In the National League the Colorado Rockies will take on the Arizona Diamondbacks starting Thursday.

But New York likes him

If Steinbrenner does not renew Torre's contract – the most expensive for a manager in baseball – the decision is likely to be debated beyond baseball circles. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already come out in favor of Torre as someone who can manage anything. And, presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani, known to don his Yankees cap often, is a friend of Torre's.

"It would probably be one of the most controversial changes," says Andrew Zimbalist, a professor at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and author of several books on the sport. "The players love him, most of the fans like him a great deal, but he's made some questionable decisions and he is paid $7 million a year."

Exactly when Steinbrenner might make his move is not certain. In the past, he has met with his "brain trust" in Tampa, Fla., shortly after the Yankee's season ends. From those discussions, the Yankees organization makes announcements which could come at any time.

A company is a company

In some respects Torre's predicament is similar to tens of thousands of executives around the world. They face scrutiny from senior management and investors. So far this year, according to Challenger, Gray, & Christmas, Inc. in Chicago, some 1,043 CEOs have lost their jobs. "They are changing like baseball managers," quips John Challenger, CEO of the outplacement firm. "It's all about 'What did you do for me today?'"

Torre's tenure at the Yankees is actually somewhat better than that of the average CEO. This year, managers are being replaced after they've run their companies for a little over nine years.

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