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August 1, 2002
Ryan Real
Yanks-Suck.Com
Steinbrenner Chokes on Own Foot
In a recent ESPN.com list, New York Yankees owner/convicted felon George Steinbrenner was labeled the greediest owner in sports. I can't argue with that. He is. Part of the reason baseball's going in the tank, labor situation aside, is because of the Yankees. They have to have more championships, money, All-Stars, sponsorships, publicity, talent, and fans than any other team. And they do. The Yankees have it better than anyone else. So you'd think Steinbrenner would be content to just count his money and win his championship rings. Right?
Wrong. If there is a camera or a tape recorder, he'll find it and immediately begin to babble on mindlessly about how hard it is to run the most successful sports franchise in history. Case in point: On July 13th, Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens pulled his groin for the 156th time in his career, landing him on the disabled list. His first rehab stint was in single-A Tampa last Saturday. Clemens showed the stuff legends are made of, giving up three runs in five innings. But according to Steinbrenner, something was up. There must have been more to it. There was no way an old, washed-up, injury-plagued starter could have actually given up three legal runs to a bunch of raggedy minor leaguers. It must have been the umpire's fault! Why? Because she's a woman! Said Steinbrenner, "It was tough, you had a second-string catcher, which was a mistake, a kid that didn't belong catching him. Our regular catcher is hurt. And you've got a female umpire, that's a tough thing to cover. Nothing against females, but I mean for Roger, I think she was probably as excited as anybody in the stands." Yes, that's right, Ria Cortesia, the home plate umpire for the game, could not do her job because she was so entranced by Clemens's portly build and declining skills. Here's the real thing I find hard to believe about this whole situation: Who gives a flying you-know-what about what Steinbrenner thinks about anything, especially about the performance of a female umpire in a minor-league Florida hellhole?
Steinbrenner's ridiculously idiotic musings do not stop there. In a recent New York Post (here’s a paper with integrity) article, “The Boss” was quoted as saying, “If Major League Baseball owns Montreal and they get [Floyd] and [three] weeks later they trade him to our biggest competitor, that's hard to believe, what's that say?” He also added, in a thought process that reeks of stupidity, “It's a helluva deal for the Red Sox, but what's the difference between what they did and what we did? They still owe a lot on the team. It's a very good move. I don't know how smart it is but certainly a good deal." Just what, may I inquire, are the Red Sox supposed to do? I’m not a Red Sox fan (I’m a sympathizer), but even I can tell that the Sox have a much better chance this year than they’ve had in a while. Are they just supposed to sit on their hands and let the Yankees win again? Yes, the Expos are owned by Major League Baseball. So what? Steinbrenner’s hinting that Major League Baseball is trying to stop the Yanks from winning another World Series. Seriously, if they were, I think they would’ve taken more drastic measures than just trading Clifford Floyd to the Boston Red Sox. Where has the Major League Baseball “Stop the Yankees” SWAT team been the other 26 times New York has won it all? Steinbrenner also rambles on about how "[Tom] Yawkey used to say, ‘You can't buy a pennant' ". News flash, George, you can buy a pennant. You’ve done it time and time again.
George Steinbrenner has been sticking his foot in his mouth for almost half a century, and he shows no signs of stopping now. He’s got most of the Eastern media in the palm of his hand, his Yankees have won more championships than any other team, his franchise is one of the most lucrative in the world, and the Yankee fans are still coming out to the ballpark. Despite all of this, he still feels the need to bitch and moan about how bad it is for the Yankees. Please. It’s easy enough to hate them for everything else they do, the last thing we need is another thousand quotes from one of sport’s richest men complaining about the sad state of baseball. That’s what Bud Selig is for.
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Ryan Real.
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