Family Business

Swindal was everything his father-in-law was not - a reasonable man who took long-term considerations into account when making decisions. Commissioner Bud Selig was said to be thrilled with Swindal's rise. Team employees welcomed his low-key approach and he quickly became a friend and confidante of manager Joe Torre.

The people happiest with Swindal's rise were Steinbrenner's sons, Hank and Hal. Neither seemed remotely interested in team affairs beyond being in line to get their share of the vast profits.

Hank, 50, had an office at Yankee Stadium 20 years ago but quickly tired of working for his father and drifted away to run the family's profitable and respected horse racing business, Kinsman Stable. According to the team's media guide in 2006, he did not have any position within the hierarchy of the team.

Hal Steinbrenner, 38, ran his family's chain of six hotels. Elected a general partner of the Yankees in 1996, he rarely attended games in person.

When his name came up last month, Torre admitted he knew little about him. Outside of organizing the team's involvement in a charity luncheon held every March, Hal Steinbrenner had almost no duties with the Yankees.

But sometime today in the fourth-floor conference room at Legends Field, Hank and Hal Steinbrenner will make decisions that could change the look of the franchise they will inherit for years to come.

George Steinbrenner said earlier this month in a rare interview that Torre would not be asked back as manager if Cleveland defeated the Yankees in the division series. The Yankees were eliminated two days later, but Steinbrenner has not spoken publicly since.

Whether he sticks by that threat should become clear today. But it could fall to his sons to decide whether Torre will be offered a contract extension.

In August, Hal Steinbrenner told reporters he thought Torre was, "doing a good job." But last week, Hank Steinbrenner praised the manager with the caveat that "nothing lasts forever."

General manager Brian Cashman threw his support behind Torre last season when Steinbrenner wanted to fire him after a first-round loss. But Cashman has been more reticent this time, saying only that he needed to consult with ownership first.

The Yankees also need to determine how to proceed with their free agents and third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who will almost certainly opt out of his contract unless he is given a lucrative extension.

New to the family business, the Steinbrenner sons have a full plate of issues.

Hal Steinbrenner was named the chairman of the board of Yankee Global Enterprises in September, assuming a title once held by Swindal. That seemed to stamp him as his father's successor. But Hank Steinbrenner has stepped forward in recent weeks, saying that he also would make decisions.

Hal Steinbrenner predicted such a scenario two month ago.

"We're all down there in Tampa, we're all sharing the duties - baseball operations, finances, the new stadium," he said. "We're going to figure it out. Hank and I are going to figure out where our abilities each lie and split things up as we need to."

One of the items on the agenda this week will be determining a title for Hank Steinbrenner. Any official move for one of his sons to replace Steinbrenner as principal owner would have to be approved by Major League Baseball. Officials yesterday said the Yankees have requested no such action.

Cashman, team president Randy Levine and chief operating officer Lonn Trost arrived in Tampa last night. Torre was not invited. He has told friends he is eager for a resolution. A compromise of sorts - Torre is invited back at a salary less than the $7.5 million he was paid this season - could be brokered.

"Nothing has been settled," Cashman said. "There's a lot of transition going on within the organization. We'll see how it shakes out."