Why does direct reporting indicate Ballmer is taking a more direct role in Windows management rather than indicating that both Larson-Greene and Reller have been given a degree of authority equivalent to that Sinofsky had?

Sinofsky was reporting directly to Ballmer before his resignation. If he was fired, of course Ballmer fired him himself. Sinofsky was his direct report.

People only report directly to the CEO because they are seen as capable of acting largely with autonomy. It's a sign of trust, not incompetence.

The conclusion that Ballmer would micromanage Larson-Greene is absurd. He doesn't have the technical chops. The suggestion that he would do so with Reller, ignores her demonstrated professional competence.

The most likely case is that Sinofsky is gone so that they could be promoted. This probably wasn't a crisis, but something brewing for a long time. The issues with Office under Windows 8 RT were due to structural issues with Sinofsky's management approach.

It's the "Clearly" that makes it sexist.