The Captain's Blog

If the Yankees were going to win the rubber game of their weekend series against the Rays, it seemed a given that Andy Pettitte would have to go toe-to-toe with fellow All Star lefty David Price. So, when Pettitte surrendered a three run homerun to Carlos Pena in the first before departing with a groin injury in the third, it felt as if the game and series were all but lost.

Jorge Posada calls for the trainer after Andy Pettitte strained his left groin throwing a pitch in the third inning (Photo: AP).

Coming on the heels of AJ Burnett’s foolish confrontation with a clubhouse door, you probably couldn’t have blamed Joe Girardi if he was caught off guard by Pettitte’s sudden injury. Instead, Girardi correctly identified that the game was on the line and summoned David Robertson, his best relief option outside of Mariano Rivera. With runners on first and second and a 3-1 count on Kelly Shoppach,  Robertson threw the fourth ball to load the bases, but then responded by popping up Sean Rodriguez and retiring BJ Upton on a fly out to right.

After escaping the top of the third inning, the Yankees tied the score at three on Mark Teixeira’s RBI single, but still faced the specter of needing six more innings from the bullpen in order to beat the American League’s ERA leader.  Robertson chipped in with another shutout inning before turning the ball over to Chan Ho Park, who actually recorded four outs in the fifth when Jorge Posada’s throwing error allowed Shoppach to reach first on a strikeout.

The combined efforts of Robertson and Park bought the Yankees offense some time to mount another attack against Price, and that’s exactly what they did in the bottom of the fifth. As he has done so well for most of the season, Brett Gardner sparked the rally by leading off with a walk before stealing second and eventually scoring on Derek Jeter’s single up the middle. Then, with two outs, the Yankees added three more runs with big hits by Arod and Jorge Posada.

After watching their young stud surrender seven runs in five innings, the Rays looked a little shell shocked and never fully recovered. The Yankees tacked on a couple of extra runs, including one in the eighth on Arod’s 598th career home run, but the story of the game was the bullpen’s strong 5 2/3 innings of relief that was capped off by one out from Mariano Rivera.

After the game, the focus quickly shifted from the team’s impressive victory over Price to the status of Pettitte, who was diagnosed with a grade-one strain of his left groin. Even though the diagnosis was a “best case scenario”, Pettitte still could be headed for the disabled list.

Yankees starters only pitched 11 1/3 innings over the weekend, so coming away with two victories has to be seen as a major coup for the Yankees and a lost opportunity for the Rays. Unfortunately, the injuries to Burnett and Pettitte have the potential to hamper the Yankees going forward, which makes Brian Cashman’s pursuit of Cliff Lee seem rather prescient. For much of the season, the starting rotation has compensated for the inconsistencies of the bullpen and lineup.  So, if the Yankees are forced to fill in the gaps of a depleted rotation, those two segments of the team will need to keep performing as they did today.

• Carlos Pena’s first inning homerun was his sixth career long ball against Andy Pettitte, the most by any player against the Yankee lefty.
• The seven earned runs surrendered by David Price were the most in his young career. Price also saw his ERA jump from a league leading 2.42 to 2.84.
• Robinson Cano’s first inning triple was the Yankees’ 22nd three-base hit of the season, good for tops in the American League.
• Alex Rodriguez’ two RBIs increased his July leading total to 19. Teammate Mark Teixeira ranks second with 14.

As if the recent deaths of Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner weren’t enough to detract from the celebratory mood of the Yankees annual Old Timer’s Day festivities, the absence of Yogi Berra deprived the Stadium crowd of another chance to say hello to a legend during a week defined by too many goodbyes.

According to reports, Berra suffered bruises after falling near his home on Friday. Although not considered serious, his injuries were sufficient to keep him away from the Old Timer’s ceremonies, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1950 championship team that beat the Philadelphia Phillies

Along with Whitey Ford, Berra is one of the few remaining players of prominence from the 1950 team, so his absence left a void in the festivities. Even more significantly, the events of the week have shined a light on the mortality of both Yankees legends. Berra and Ford are the last links to the Yankee Dynasties of DiMaggio and Mantle, so each appearance that they make on the Stadium field should be cherished..

For years, DiMaggio and Mantle, pictured here on the last Old Timer's Day at the original Stadium, presided over the annual ceremonies, an honor that now belongs to Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford.

As legends like DiMaggio, Mantle, Rizzuto and Maris, to name just a few, have passed away, the heralded Old Timer’s Days of the 1970s and 1980s have begun to lose their luster. Great Yankees players from the 1970s like Reggie, Goose, Guidry and Nettles have replenished the day’s star power, but the barren era of the mid-1980s to early-1990s has left a void in the constellation, especially with Mattingly’s and Winfield’s other engagements frequently keeping them away from the ceremony. Fortunately for Yankees fans, guys like Cone, O’Neill, Tino are starting to enter the fold, while current stars like Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Pettitte and Arod will eventually provide the younger generations of fans a reason to celebrate the memories of their youths.

In the meantime, Yogi and Whitey remain the centerpieces of the current Old Timer’s Day, and one can only hope that is true for many years to come.

Casey Stengel presides over the 1950 Yankees during Spring Training.

For the first time since October 4, 1972, the Yankees played a game without George M. Steinbrenner III as their principal owner and for much of the night looked like the mediocre team that he inherited from CBS. Throwing errors, misplayed fly balls, missing the cut off man and popping up on 3-1 counts all resulted from the team’s lackluster play. But, who could blame them? The long four day layoff combined with the emotion of the evening had to impact the team’s preparation and concentration. Of course, excuses were never the Steinbrenner way, so they certainly wouldn’t do on the night the Yankees bid farewell to their Boss.

The Yankees honored George Steinbrenner during a pre-game ceremony...

The pre-game ceremonies for both Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner were very simple. The scoreboard displayed a video tribute to the Boss, Mariano Rivera placed a bouquet of roses on home plate and Derek Jeter gave a short speech, all of which preceded the playing of taps and singing of the national anthem. Although the ceremonies seemed ideal for the elegant and understated Sheppard, they lacked the pomp and circumstance more associated with the Boss. Regardless, the Stadium crowd didn’t need an elaborate ceremony to show their appreciation for Steinbrenner…a long standing ovation did that just fine.

Lost amid all the distractions was the Yankees were opening up an important series against the Rays, who entered the game only two games behind in the standings. In fact, this was precisely the kind of series (especially being against Tampa no less) that the Boss would deem a must win. So, when the Yankees trailed late into the game, you could just imagine Steinbrenner throwing his hands up in disgust while watching from his box.

While the offense sputtered in the early going, CC Sabathia battled valiantly to keep the game close, despite not having his best stuff. If the Boss were still around, he would have called Sabathia a warrior for his efforts. Meanwhile, the Yankees bats were as silent as the public address system, which was dormant during the game in honor of Sheppard. A flurry of late inning homeruns would eventually send the game into the ninth inning tied at four, setting the stage for more of the drama that defined the Steinbrenner era.

When Derek Jeter strolled to the plate with the winning run on second in the bottom of the ninth, it seemed as if the game really was going according to a script, but the Captain, who admitted to pressing in the moment, struck out feebly on a curveball in the dirt. The Boss wouldn’t be denied his proper sendoff, however, as Nick Swisher lined a single to right that drove in the winning run and set off a scene that evoked memories of another fateful walk-off hit. In a game that also ended 5-4, Bobby Murcer’s ninth inning double plated the winning runs against the Baltimore Orioles on August 6, 1979, the same day Murcer eulogized his friend and fallen Yankee Captain Thurman Munson.

...but the most fitting tribute was a walk off win.

In between innings throughout the game, the Stadium scoreboard displayed video of former Yankees sharing their poignant memories of the Boss. After the game, Swisher commented about how those tributes, as heartfelt as they were, seemed insufficient for a man of Steinbrenner’s magnitude. Of course, no ceremony or commemoration could fully capture the legacy of the Boss. However, with New York, New York blaring over the loud speakers as a happy crowd of fans exited a beautiful new Stadium after watching another dramatic victory by a great team, the real tribute to Steinbrenner was crystal clear. The Yankees are Steinbrenner’s monument. Nothing else needs to be said.

Click here for an updated version of the list below (as of March 28, 2019).

When the Yankees take the field tonight, their uniforms will be emblazoned with two patches honoring the recent deaths of long-time public address announcer Bob Sheppard and principal owner George Steinbrenner. Unlike in the past when the team has used either a black armband or number to honor a fallen team legend, this time around the Yankees have opted to be more descriptive.

The Sheppard patch, in particular, uses the image of microphone enclosed by a diamond along with an apt inscription to evoke the memory of “the voice of Yankee Stadium”. It will be worn on the left sleeve, following tradition.

The Steinbrenner patch is ironically more understated, offering only a collage of his name, initials and “The Boss” moniker. It would have been nice to have an image incorporated into the tribute (maybe a turtle neck?), but then again, the Boss always provided his own embellishment anyway. What is unique, however, is the positioning of the patch, which will be worn just above the heart (i.e., the interlocking NY on the home uniform and “York” portion of the road uniform). The Yankees have never worn a memorial patch on the front of their uniform, but if anyone deserves such a distinction, it is the Boss.

Since the tragic death of Indians’ shortstop Ray Chapman, who was beaned in the head by Yankees pitcher Carl Mays, the Yankees have used their uniform as a means of offering tribute to the passing of legendary figures or commemorating tragic events. Below is a list of such honors:

Even when George Steinbrenner was still in his prime as the Boss, he often talked about “letting the young elephants into the tent”. That was George’s way of acknowledging his mortality even though he really had no intention of pulling back on the reigns. At various times during his tenure, Steinbrenner has had his sons, daughters and in-laws involved in some aspect of the team, but for the most part, their involvement was more in a cameo role than as an understudy.

After years of worrying about a successor, the hand off of the Yankees from the Boss to his son Hal has been seamless.

As Steinbrenner’s health began to noticeably decline, that all changed. After Steinbrenner’s fainting spell in 2003 while at the funeral of football legend and long-time friend Otto Graham, the question of succession could no longer be avoided. Despite remaining somewhat visible and still in charge, Steinbrenner not only began delegating more responsibility to his executives, such as Brain Cashman, Randy Levine and Lonn Trost, but it also seemed as if he was started to groom a successor. Over the next few years, son-in-law Steve Swindall, the husband of daughter Jennifer, arose to prominence in the Yankees organization, eventually reaching the level of general partner and chairman of Yankee Global Enterprises LLC. For much of the next four years, it seemed as if Swindall was actually in line to take over for the Boss. Unfortunately, in the winter of 2007, a DUI arrest and divorce effectively removed Swindall from the scene and once again threw open the question of who would succeed Steinbrenner.

Swindall’s removal from the family couldn’t have come at a worse time because it was during 2007 that Steinbrenner’s health seemed to really be decline. His appearances were few and far between and his statements were all crafted by his long-time PR man Howard Rubenstein. Now, with the family business in need of new leadership, Steinbrenner’s two sons finally came to he forefront. At first, Hank seemed to not only be the likely successor, but it appeared as if he planned on doing so in typical George style. Hank immediately became a media darling, blasting off criticisms of the Red Sox, Joe Torre, Arod and whomever else happened to be on his mind. Like his dad, Hank was a quote machine and the New York media seemed to welcome his ascension to the throne.

Apparently, the Yankees executive brain trust was not as thrilled with Hank’s outspokenness because Hal started to emerge as the favored son. All of a sudden, Hank dropped off the radar and Hal began calling all the shots. Eventually, that informal arrangement was codified when Hal was officially named managing general partner in November 2008. Since then, the Yankees have been run with George’s same big vision and grandeur, but without all the bombast and confrontation.

In the end, the young elephants did eventually return to the tent, and like their father, seem dedicated to orchestrating what has been the greatest show in sports. Along with support from Hank, Jennifer, Jessica and brother-in-law Felix Lopez, Hal seems committed to keeping the Yankees as the Steinbrenner family business. Despite speculation that the retroactive enforcement of a punitive estate tax could force the family to sell, early indications are that the team will remain in the hands of the family name that has become as synonymous with the Yankees as the brand itself. Throughout his long tenure as Yankees’ owner, Steinbrenner continually resisted the temptation to sell his Mona Lisa at a massive profit, opting instead to make the team a larger part of his business and family life.  As a result, it now seems as if his children have not only inherited an incredibly valuable asset, but the same level of commitment to owning the team. Perhaps the greatest testament to the influence of the Boss is that even though the Yankees would go on without a Steinbrenner in charge, it seems incomprehensible to think of the two being apart.

For the last 37 years, the ball team from the Bronx has been Steinbrenner’s Yankees…and it should continue to be for some time to come.

Fay Vincent is a bitter man. Most baseball fans probably already knew that, but the former commissioner reached a new low this morning by using the occasion of George Steinbrenner’s death to justify his unscrupulous conduct during the investigation that eventually led to the Boss’ temporary lifetime ban from the game.

In both an OpEd piece for the New York Times and an article for Fox Sports, Vincent mixes a few complements with both nasty criticism and a revisionist defense of his own past transgressions. Instead of paying tribute to a former adversary, or saying nothing at all, Vincent took the low road, one he traveled often during his career.

For those unfamiliar with the background, George Steinbrenner paid “known gambler” Howie Spira $40,000 for information pertaining to a misappropriation of funds by Dave Winfield’s charitable foundation. Although the Winfield foundation was found to have improperly used its donations and Spira was eventually convicted of extorting Steinbrenner, the Boss’ actions were far from ethical. As a result, in 1990, then Commissioner Fay Vincent decided to conduct an investigation.

Unfortunately, Vincent’s conduct during the matter made Steinbrenner’s actions look admirable. Vincent and his investigator, the infamous John Dowd, broke every major league baseball rule pertaining to due process and effectively orchestrated a Kangaroo Court that helped the commissioner remove an adversary from the game.

Vincent can justify his actions until he is blue in the face, but the record his clear. Eventually, Vincent’s abuse of power (which included a unilateral abolition of due process as well as cowardly threats levied against Gene Michael and Buck Showalter during the Steve Howe suspension hearings) led to his being fired as commissioner.

In addition to rearguing his side to an old story, Vincent also engaged in a despicable revision of history. In both pieces, Vincent suggests that he “allowed” Steinbrenner back into the game out of some kindness in his heart, when the reality is he was forced to lift his lifetime ban because of pressure being placed upon him. Vincent’s decision to reinstate the Boss was more an attempt to alleviate some of the growing concern about his dictatorial behavior than to extend compassion. His suggestion to the contrary is deplorable.

Sadly, Vincent has not been able to come to grips with his own demons. Instead, he decided that the death of a monumental figure was worthy of throwing stones. When Vincent dies, there won’t be the same outpouring, but despite his own bitterness, one can only hope he won’t be treated with the same disrespect he displayed to Steinbrenner today.

The Boss has passed away. For years now, the patriarch of the Yankee family has suffered from a myriad of illnesses that all but rendered him a figment of the past, but still, the passing of George M. Steinbrenner III has hit the baseball world with a great emotional impact.

A young Steinbrenner pauses for a moment of reflection.

At the heart of Steinbrenner’s years captaining the Yankees ship was a great love for the historic franchise that he “rescued” from the rocks of neglect in 1973. On July 13, 2010, that heart finally gave out. Only days after the passing of Bob Sheppard marked another symbolic end to an era, the entire curtain has finally come down. The old elephant has finally left the tent.

Over the next several days, weeks and months, the life and times of Steinbrenner will be rehashed, and the final assessment of his legacy will begin. There will be highs and lows to weigh as well as contradictions to reconcile, but through it all, most will agree that there will never be another owner like him.

In a recent biography of Steinbrenner, The Last Lion of Baseball, Bill Madden provided a glimpse into the childhood of Steinbrenner and the often cold relationship he shared with his father. Throughout his childhood and much of his adult life, Steinbrenner strived for his father’s approval, but never found it to be forthcoming. As a result, Steinbrenner adopted his father’s unrelenting and demanding ways, but mollified them with equal parts generosity and sympathy. It was that perverse dichotomy that allowed Steinbrenner to fire an employee one day, and then rehire him with a raise the next. By combining his father’s tough love with the warmth he so often sought, Steinbrenner did more than just build a sports empire, he also built a family.

Steinbrenner seated with his arm around two "sons" from the Yankee family: Billy Martin and Lou Piniella.

As the members of that family have passed, the Yankees have almost retreated back to the corporate structure implemented by Colonels Ruppert and Huston during the early days of the team’s ascension to baseball royalty. Although that structure is probably best suited to maintaining the team’s success on the field, the family approach will be missed.

What will always be remembered, however, is the larger than life presence of the Boss, who will take his rightful place alongside the Babe, Larupin’ Lou, Joe D., the Mick and every other legend in Yankees’ history. In fact, the unveiling of a new monument honoring Steinbrenner should be the team’s next course of action. The old Yankee Stadium was the House that Ruth Built, but the new one was undoubtedly the House that Steinbrenner built. Two Georges…two less than perfect men…two larger than life figures…two legends.

Life without the Boss has been a reality for some time now, but still, it feels as if things will never be the same. Hopefully, a posthumous enshrinement in the Hall of Fame will be forthcoming, but that really isn’t necessary to cement his legacy. As a fan growing up in the 1980s, George M. Steinbrenner’s prominence was undeniable. Even when his meddling and short temper worked to the detriment of the team, Yankees fans always knew that he loved the team and, above all else, wanted to win. In that sense, he was more than just the owner…even more than just the Boss…he was a tried and true, die hard Yankee fan. More than any other honor bestowed upon him, that designation seems most fitting, and is probably the one the Boss would welcome most.

With the All Star Game tonight, it seems likely that a large part of the festivities will include a celebration of Steinbrenner’s life. Similarly, the two day break after the game should give the Yankees the chance to send the Boss off with the pomp and circumstances he deserves. No word has been issued about whether he will lay in state at Yankee Stadium, but before the great Bob Sheppard gets the chance to announce his arrival in heaven, Yankees fans should get one last chance to say goodbye.

Rest in peace, Boss, and thanks for taking care of our Mona Lisa.

A fan places flowers outside of Yankee Stadium in memory of the Boss (Photo: AP).