When all of the flak started flying in the aftermath of that messy divorce in New York — you might have heard that Joe Torre and the Yankees called it quits — it served as a reminder as to how relatively peaceful the baseball breakups have been around here.

The Orioles have gone through the managerial-change maneuver 16 times in their 54 seasons (as many, incidentally, as George Steinbrenner experienced in his first 16 years as owner of the Yankees), and for the most part they’ve been little more than a rather informal changing of the guard.

Yeah, we know all about the flap when Davey Johnson exited, but he basically fired himself when he issued the “either-I-get-an-extension-or-I-quit” ultimatum, and Peter Angelos, the relatively new owner on the block, said “OK,” meaning he accepted his manager’s resignation.

Except for that confrontation, O’s managers have left quietly. Jimmy Dykes, the very first manager here, took a parting shot on his way out the door when he barked: “Not all of the crabs around here are in the Chesapeake Bay.” I’m not sure, but I think Jimmy had a little thing going with Rodger H. Pippen, sports editor of The News-Post, when he made that reference. And I’m not sure he didn’t steal the line from Nick Cullop, who managed the minor-league Orioles in 1950-51 and who vented a little bit when he left.

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Of the 16 managers who preceded Dave Trembley, two were actually able to leave on their own terms. Paul Richards, who replaced Dykes, left in 1961 after almost seven years to take over front-office control of the then-Houston Colt 45s. And Earl Weaver managed to leave twice on his own — although his move after the dreadful 1986 season (seventh in the AL East) might be better classified as an escape than a departure.

Luman Harris was only a one-month fill-in for Richards and was never seriously considered as a permanent replacement. Billy Hitchcock was here for two years, and it seemed like nobody even noticed when he left, which was the day after the 1963 season ended and the day before the announcement that he wasn’t being invited back. Call it a clean split.

Hank Bauer, with his gruff voice and easygoing style, breezed into town, was named Manager of the Year in his first year, won a World Series title in his third year, and was gone before he finished his fifth. He got the news while relaxing at his Kansas home during the All-Star break and wasn’t spotted in Baltimore again until he showed up as manager of the Oakland A’s. Another almost squeaky-clean dismissal.

After Weaver’s triumphant run ended in 1982, Joe Altobelli arrived in time to win a World Series, but he was already feeling the heat a year later during a postseason tour of Japan. “I feel like I’m fighting World War III — in more ways than one,” he said, referring to the O’s early struggles in Japan after a disappointing 85-win season and his always shaky relationship with owner Edward Bennett Williams.

Altobelli was destined to survive only until EBW could lure Weaver back with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Unlike the “insulting” one Torre got from the Steinbrenner clan, Earl got $1 million for most of the 1985 season (Altobelli was let go in May) and all of the 1986 season, which padded his retirement fund but left a scar on his Hall of Fame credentials.

After Weaver left, the managerial merry-go-round started for the Orioles, who previously had only six skippers in 33 years. Cal Ripken Sr., Frank Robinson, Johnny Oates (fired after going 63-49 in the shortened 1994 season) and Phil Regan (whose one-season stint ties Dykes’ for the shortest) led up to Johnson’s successful two-year run, which in turn preceded the current 10-year drought that cast its spell over

Ray Miller, Mike Hargrove, Lee Mazzilli, Sam Perlozzo and now Trembley.

By contrast, the Yankees have been in the playoffs 13 straight years, and, after maintaining a one-per-year managerial pace for the first half of Steinbrenner’s run, they are now in the process of making only their second change since 1992. And all it took to seal the deal was a $5 million one-year offer that left both sides sniping — Torre saying he was “insulted” and the Steinbrenners saying their ex-manager owes all his success to daddy.

And so, while the Yankees forego continuity for a new look, the Orioles embrace a new look in search of continuity — again.

A Baltimore native who has covered the local and national sports scene for more than 40 years, Jim Henneman is a past president of the Baseball Writers Association of America and an active voter for baseball's Hall Of Fame. His column also appears weekly in Press Box. He can be reached at sportscoper@aol.com.