The Boss is thrown for a loss

It pains me to defend George Steinbrenner, the New York Yankees' abrasive owner.

Especially as a Mets fan.

But the avalanche of negative press regarding his treatment of his manager, Joe Torre, has done what I once thought was impossible: Turned the big blowhard whom Larry David famously ridiculed in "Seinfeld" episodes into a sympathetic figure.

And the media hit a new low this past week when - sheez, how shocking - The New York Post printed a cover photograph that made Steinbrenner look like Charles Foster Kane muttering "Rosebud" under his breath.

This is a man who, if we are to believe other press reports, is suffering from some form of diminished mental capacity. The "Boss Fog" headline is a typical tabloid media labeling of mental disorders that trivializes - and even ridicules - their meaning.

But the lack of sympathy isn't the only reason why the press is failing, once again, to present a fair representation of potential mental disorders. Even if Steinbrenner is suffering from dementia, it doesn't mean he's incapable of making decisions that make sense.

If we are to assume that firing Joe Torre is nothing more than the product of a demented decision-making process, then we probably can assume that anyone suffering from some form of mental disorder is potentially incapable of making good decisions.

The interesting thing about this situation is that firing Joe Torre probably does make sense. We're talking about a team with a payroll that exceeds $200 million, by far the biggest in baseball. But the Yankees haven't won a World Series in seven years, and haven't advance past the first round in three years - despite having the most talented team in the major leagues.

I love Joe Torre - in fact, I wish he was still managing the Mets. I've always told people that he was one of the best managers the Mets ever had. He managed from 1977 to 1981, and despite presiding over one of the worst teams in baseball history - particularly in 1979 - he never lost 100 games.

But managers have a shelf-life. Eventually, their style and their strategies get old. It happened to Casey Stengel, who was fired after the 1960 season. In 1961, the Yankees won 109 games and won the World Series.

The "fog" that hangs over the Yankees has been lifted. It's time for Torre to go. The boss is right, for once.