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New York Yankees part owner and Senior Vice President Hank Steinbrenner needs to chill out. He is trying way too hard to be his father. It’s obvious by the way his players have responded to his recent comments that there’s not much respect going around the Yankee clubhouse for their co-owner.
That has been the case since Hank and his brother Hal took over for their late father in 2007. Recently, Hank Steinbrenner came out in the media and said that some of his players were “too busy building mansions” to focus on last year’s ALCS — presumably in response to shortstop Derek Jeter’s new home in Tampa Bay, Fla.
Steinbrenner would continue to spew by implying that the Yankees suffered a 2010 hangover by focusing too much on their 2009 title. It is ironic how his comments about last year’s team come on the eve of a fresh 2011 season.
Forced to respond, Jeter took the high road — although his comments carried plenty of annoyance — saying that he didn’t feel Steinbrenner was singling him out personally. This isn’t necessarily as true as it is politically correct. Actually, Jeter didn’t want to validate Steinbrenner’s idiocy with any legitimate response, instead worrying about a Boston Red Sox team that has reloaded in a big way this off-season. At least the people who matter for New York have their minds right.
George Steinbrenner was a man who built the Yankees into the modern dynasty they have become. It wasn’t necessarily in high favor all the time, but hard work eventually yielded a string of enduring success. This all came at the time Jeter entered the league, and he realized what Steinbrenner meant to the game and to the most storied franchise in sports. The two men had a deep mutual respect, and after the 2009 championship, Jeter’s first shout-out was dedicating the trophy to The Boss. Steinbrenner always did it his way and it worked.
Now, one half of Steinbrenner’s spawned-off co-owner duo seems to not quite grasp what that means. He surely is doing it like no other owner in the game, but that’s just because the other 29 guys choose not to criticize their own players weeks before the season starts. He doesn’t really do much heavy lifting behind the scenes. If the Yanks lure a free agent or make a savvy move, it’s because of his brother Hal and General Manager Brian Cashman.
Hank just provides the press clippings that give people like me something to write about. I actually can’t believe I fell into the trap.
Reports like this show just how desperate we all are for the season to finally begin. That way, people like Hank Steinbrenner can reluctantly be shoved back into their offices.
Maybe while he’s there he can stroll into his brother’s office to see how business is handled, so he can get over the square footage of his players’ homes and find a fifth start
