Leave it to the Yankees to hold a suedo-secluded-super-serious meeting of their top officials, and have them come up with a big, fat “no comment” after Day One. Joe Torre’s future with the team is still very much in doubt. According to the Post:

How tough is it to fire somebody?” [former Yankee coach, and current enemy of George Steinbrenner, Don] Zimmer asked. “If you want to fire somebody, you can do it the right way. But to let somebody hang is wrong.”

Joe’s older brother, Frank, isn’t thrilled about how things are playing out, but for now, he’s curbed that famous temper of his.

Although I like Torre, I understand why the Yankees would want to move on. That said, I agree with Zimmer. There is a right way and a wrong way to handle these things. Unfortunately, in baseball, they are generally handled the wrong way.

Pete Abraham hit the nail on the head yesterday when he wrote:

It’s always amusing to me when team executives act like they’re determining the course of the free world.

That was the case in Tampa today as the Yankees played cloak-and-dagger with the media and then refused comment as to what happened. There were literally black cars with grim-faced men behind the wheel zooming past reporters.

We’re talking about who is going to manage a baseball team next season. I understand this is big business. But it’s baseball, not life and death. If the Joint Chiefs of Staff want to keep their feelings private, that’s OK. Not the people who run a baseball team.

…If they were going to get rid of Joe Torre, wouldn’t they have done that by now? If they let Torre go [today], it amounts to unprofessional behavior on their part. Why would you treat one of your best, most loyal employees that way?

They would treat Torre like step-child because they can, because, in some ways, he’s allowed it, but mostly because in an organization like the Yankees, the level of insecurity and jealousy is off-the-charts. This is about power, and Torre’s popularity and fame does not sit well with some of the higher ups.

The Yankee executives may simply not agree on what they should do yet. I’d believe that. In the meantime, Joe, as he has always done, waits it out. Mum’s the word. Either he’s noble or a sap. Which one of these?