Posted: 3:03 am
August 15, 2008
THANK goodness the Yankees have Hank Steinbrenner around for comic distraction or else our full attention would be honed on just what an unmotivated, undisciplined and mostly unwatchable group this former dynasty has become.
There are actually people who think Steinbrenner's whiny surrender speech was designed to inspire the Yankees. What nonsense. Remember, this is not Knute Rockne, but Nut Rockne. Besides, not one player on the Yankees would listen attentively to what Hank had to say. Nor should they.
I will try this one last time: Hank Steinbrenner is the owner of the Yankees by DNA accident. He blabs a lot, but does nothing that actually demonstrates leadership. By the accounting of people in the know, Hank has been to one game at Yankee Stadium this year, the home opener. He did not attend the All-Star Game, at which his father George was honored. He did not attend Bobby Murcer's memorial service in Oklahoma.
You know who has been to the Stadium a lot? Who was sitting in the car of honor with George at the Mid-Summer Classic? Who was at the Murcer ceremony? That would be Hal Steinbrenner. And because Hal controls the money and seems involved heavily in the day-to-day running of the team, I am going to listen to him on those rare occasions when he speaks rather than what Yammerin' Hank has to say.
And if you haven't dismissed Hank yet, you should now based on his ludicrous rant the other day.
"I think it's very simple, we've been devastated by injuries," he said. "No team I've ever seen has been decimated like this. It would kill any team."
