Hank Steinbrenner

As I watched Jacoby Ellsbury steal home against the Yankees Sunday night, I thought to myself: "This pretty much sums it up." An aging Andy Pettitte forgets to deliver from the stretch, letting a youthful Ellsbury elude another future Bingo regular, Jorge Posada's, tag at the plate. Would Justin Masterson have made the same error? The two ballclubs could not be headed in more opposite directions. Every year, the Red Sox seem to call up another hyped prospect, while the Yanks continue to overpay for limited talent, and shun their farm system.

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As I remarked in my blog when he was released, Sidney Ponson has brought his teams little but grief to go with his occasionally adequate pitching. When the Rangers released him, I’d hoped that would be the last of Sir Sidney.

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On the other hand, I think Hank Steinbrenner needs to get out more. Even the most casual of major league baseball observers would have to conclude that while Yankee fans are indeed, everywhere, so are the legions of fans who absolutely hate them. Personally, when I moved to New York, right around the time that the Bombers were winning championships in the mid-to-late 90s, I was absolutely dumbfounded at how many baseball fans in and around Yankee Stadium hated the Yankees as much as I did. While a lot of these folk were Mets fans, just as many of them weren’t. One of NYC’s most popular sports talk radio shows (Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN) features a die-hard Yankee fan (Mike Francesa) and a die-hard Yankee hater (Chris “Mad Dog” Russo; who follows the San Francisco Giants).

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I am thoroughly looking forward to the Hank Steinbrenner Era. It seems he is hell-bent on replacing his father as the most obnoxious loudmouth, know-nothing owner in baseball. After watching the display he put on this winter in the Johan Santana Sweepstakes and his recent comments about the existence of Red Sox Nation, I don’t believe there is a bigger blowhard in sports today. All we need is for him to revive the Billy Martin routine with Joe Girardi, a possibility that may not be that farfetched as it appears Girardi not necessarily that easy to get along with. Little Stein seems to be unpredictable and impatient and not only expects the team to win now, but to do so in spectacular fashion. Earlier this year, Hank implied that general manager Brian Cashman would be on the hot seat if the plan to hold on to their young pitching instead of going all in for Santana didn’t pan out. If Steinbrenner allows his arrogance and impetuousness to take over the organization, I envision a return of the Yankees to the "glory" years of the 1980's when George was the show.

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