Mike Lupica is the type of high-grade A-Hole who shows up at a funeral to make himself be heard blowing hard at the departed. Today’s column, designed to be a gruff but fair obituary but unintentionally veering headlong into the toll booth of Lupica’s poison soul, is just the latest in a long line of amateurish crap that Lupica has somehow foisted upon the NYC sports community for years. Lupica, thinking himself the court jester of NY sports but showing himself to be a physical and mental midget that the big boys were loath to acknowledge, couldn’t even be heard in the NY media upon George’s passing and, in true form, appeared on Boston radio to call the man “a bully”. Finally, two days later, his NY Daily News column appears, which I will NOT link and will only reprint here with my special commentary:
This isn’t about the scorecard being kept now, like the one you keep at the ballpark, putting all the good George Steinbrenner did against the bad, trying to come up with some kind of final score on the man now that he is gone.
This isn’t about how for every Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson and Goose Gossage he brought to Yankee Stadium in the 1970s, there came a Dave Collins and Steve Kemp and Steve Trout in the 1980s – “I just won you the pennant!” Steinbrenner told Lou Piniella once. “I got you Steve Trout!” – and how by the end of that decade Steinbrenner looked dumber than Dolan.
This isn’t about trying to balance the Steinbrenner who gave so much money to charity and helped so many people against the one who insulted Yogi Berra enough that Yogi stayed away from the Yankees and Yankee Stadium for 14 years.
This isn’t even about the money, though talking about Steinbrenner without talking about Yankee money is like talking about the Yankees and leaving out the part about Mickey Mantle. Or pinstripes.
Instead, this is about the real reason why people are talking about George Steinbrenner all over again:
He was the only owner people came to watch own.
Others have tried since George Steinbrenner came to town, you know they have, tried way too hard, the way Mark Cuban does. Or Danny Snyder of the Redskins. Jerry Jones makes you watch him, but mostly because Jones is down on the sideline trying to look like the coach of the team. Steinbrenner? He was hardly ever on the field at Yankee Stadium. Try to remember seeing him out there before he made that last trip around the field at the All-Star Game of 2008.
Still, when he had his chops, when he was at the top of his voice – whether the Yankees were at the top of baseball or not – he went against everything you ever heard about how nobody comes to watch a manager manage. Or a coach coach his team.
Or an owner own.
It’s like Reggie Jackson, the real game-changer for Steinbrenner, a star made for him and New York, the first free agent in sports worth talking about, says:
“George made owning his team feel like a contact sport.”
Didn’t he, though?
Reggie found out firsthand, getting romanced by Steinbrenner on his way into town, practically getting driven to the city limits when Steinbrenner got tired of him, when Steinbrenner decided that he loved Dave Winfield more. Like some old fool falling for a younger woman.
Reggie went with the Angels. He came back to Yankee Stadium the first time as an Angel and hit a home run – of course – and then the fans down close to the field were turning toward Steinbrenner’s box and pointing and chanting, “Steinbrenner Sucks.” Like it was the owner of the team who had thrown the pitch that Reggie had hit over the wall.
When the game was over that night, Reggie was in the lobby at the old Stadium with some friends. The elevator door opened. Steinbrenner. He saw Reggie standing there.
He let the door close without saying a word.
Reggie stayed a while longer, not wanting to leave. It had been a big night for him, he was back at the Stadium, he had hit one out against Ron Guidry. The elevator came back down to the lobby a few minutes later. Doors opened. Steinbrenner. Again.
He let the door close again.
After all the winning they’d done together, and as close as they would be much later in Steinbrenner’s life, now had come this night when it was as if Reggie had won and the owner of the Yankees had lost.
Another night when it was as if Steinbrenner, even upstairs, made people think he was down there in the middle of the ring. You had to be there. You did. You saw guys come to the Yankees and buckle under the pressure of playing for an owner who would call them out in the papers, or to their faces. When that happened, there was an expression for it from the veterans in the Yankee clubhouse.
They said that player had been “Georged.”
So in addition to everything else he was in the old days, Steinbrenner was also a verb.
That’s a fun game, let me try…Lupica’d!
Steinbrenner was present even when he wasn’t.
That makes sense.
It was why part of the sadness of these last years was reading these ridiculous press releases from him. It was seeing people running down to the field, giddy, with some quote they got off him on his way to the car, this aging man who didn’t always recognize old friends, or faces, at the old Stadium even when he was still showing up.
He was still the owner, just in name only. Even as there was all this coverage about The Boss of old, instead of an old Boss. As if he were still calling his manager during games, as if he were still the guy Dallas Green finally called “Manager George,” Green’s way of getting himself fired, he’d had enough of Steinbrenner’s meddling.
Jerry Jones is right there on the sideline. The thing about Steinbrenner was he never needed to be. Somehow he was right there for you anyway, even when the television cameras couldn’t find him anywhere. He fired people and bullied people and made you think he’d lost his mind sometimes. It’s all there on the scorecard.
If you saw it all, you know. Of course you weren’t buying your ticket to watch him own. With this owner, it just felt that way sometimes.
I liked when Joe pointed for the HP ump to get back behind the plate
That was pretty classic.
couple hard hit balls there in the top of the 1st
Gameday calling Javy’s 88mph fastball a “changeup”.
ouch
More hustle from Tex.
Paulie said that RBI belonged to Tex and not Al and he was 100% right.
Tex hustling to second prevents the DP on the ARod grounder, absolutely.
QUESTION: if the classic becomes a “keeper” league next year, how many do you think we keep from this season?
I guess everybody would need to be involved in that discussion. I liked your number3 a while back. Maybe 2 position players and a pitcher?
oldest OFs to play more than 50 games this year.
Ibanez
Ichy
Mag. Ordonez
Abreu
Hunter
Of course, getting the ball rolling in the discussion but should include everyone on the same page.
Hoping for a big day from Tex today.
Jeter=unmired
Afternoon, Grunts.
Here’s a good chance for Tex
To be honest, I would rather we get a few more teams so that not everybody is stacked. I think that would open things up for trades and things like that.
Hey Slam,.
Good call jrz
Al off the end of the bat Lib. Just missed it
Cano didn’t miss
BOOM!
better yet, CABOOM!
What’s up Slammer.
It looks like Yankee bats finally giving Vazquez a little cushion and the lead
If we get more players, then of course we won’t have keepers. Also I would like to make sure that each team has a DL/bench.
long out?
3 for 3
Big Tex at .258
Yeah, the one Al got off the end of the bat was a long out. Just missed it.
C’MON CARMEN!!!!!
I was all set to break out the “Home Juan”
Now this is the way I like to see the Yankees, Jeter 3for3 , Tex 3for3, Swisher and Cano there usual, nice game
1yank, 1 fer 3 with a walk will get ya into the HOF
what a play by the ball boy!
Javy was under 40 pitches thru 4 innings
How do you go from being that sharp to not being able to get an out so quickly?
60 pitches might feel like 100 or so..it’s 100 fucking degrees with 60% humidity
I wish the humidity was 60% down here. I have a 5:26 tee time and it will still be 95+ and 90%
come on Retardi who gives a fuck if he dont win the game!!! Get him out of there
Off to the donut shop. Later.
Retardi is an A S S H O L E ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Vasquez should have been out of this game about 6 batters ago
Retardi should have never let Vazquez pitch to Matsui, Matsui loves Yankee Stadium, short right porch
UFO sighting
here we go
Babe – I forgot what UFO stands for – It has landed !!!! Let’s hold our breath
How the fuck do you let the tying run to steel a base uncontested – defensive indifference WTF!!!!
not that it makes a difference with a UFO on the mound
every fuckin thing is going LA’s way
even when he makes a pitch he cant catch a break.
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