Michael Ventre

It’s true that in baseball managers are hired to be fired, but the length of employment varies wildly according to the vagaries of fragile athletes and the whims of impatient owners. For a stretch of history, George Steinbrenner operated his Bronx guillotine at warp speed, eliminating skippers with the frequency of ousted contestants on a reality show.

Then Joe Torre was inked just before the 1996 season, and Steinbrenner put his Manager-O-Matic into storage. Torre led the Yanks to four world championships and all seemed well.

But now, in the wake of the Yankees’ shocking disintegration against the Tigers in the AL Division Series, Steinbrenner considered dusting off his blade and subjecting Torre to it. The rumored successor was going to be Lou Piniella, which would be like replacing a golden retriever with a Rottweiler.

In the end, it didn't happen. But it should have.

Something has to be done to roust these current Yankees from their chronic somnambulation. Watching them play is like watching old people dance: Although they are going through the required steps, ultimately it doesn’t amount to much.

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Torre has had an incredible run, one that will allow his name to be spoken in the same breath with pinstriped predecessors Casey Stengel, Joe McCarthy and Miller Huggins for decades to come.

Joe avoided Steinbrenner’s wrath in Ruthian proportions.

But all good things must end, especially when The Boss signs the checks. Torre seemed to have grown weary of the grind, and the performances of his players reflected that mental fatigue.

Hey, it’s as good an explanation as any for why a lineup of All-Stars that costs over $200 million got pushed around by a young, determined and inspired group of small-market zealots. In this series, the Tigers were ballplayers. The Yankees were museum pieces.

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Piniella is not only the most obvious choice — he’s fiery, he’s available, he’s a former Yankee — but he might just be ideal. Athletic teams that hit the skids need a change of climate. Sometimes it goes the other way: A volcanic presence wears out his welcome, and a more temperate personality takes his place. In this case, a man with a spark can only help.

Piniella would have been worth the effort and money just for what he could have done with Alex Rodriguez. The most tormented man in sports just can’t seem to find a way out of his funk. He just went 1 for 14 in the series against the Tigers. I’m sure Torre has had more than one heart-to-heart with A-Rod about the difficulties of playing in the New York fishbowl, about his relationship with the other Yankees, about his troubles at third base, maybe even about the best place in town to get veal marsala.

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Piniella would have taken a different tack with his highest-paid player. He would have gotten in his face. He would have challenged his manhood. He would have benched him. He would have blasted him in public to the media. This would either have caused A-Rod to dial up his agent and request a trade, or it would have sparked a fire in his belly. Either way, Piniella would not have allowed A-Rod to remain inert.

That isn’t to say Torre’s methods have been flawed. He worked his magic with that particular group of Yankees in the late ’90s. But it’s clear his effectiveness has expired.

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