Put Up or Shut Up

Hank Steinbrenner is in the news, talking trash on RedSox Nation, and second-guessing his front office over their failure to sign Santana. That’s one of the great things about the whole Evil Empire business; the Yankees have so many guys trying to play the Darth Vader role. And really, who is Hank Steinbrenner, and what are his accomplishments? Aside from having the good fortune to have been born into the Steinbrenner clan, and to have inherited the role of the Boss, what gives Hank Steinbrenner the credibility to say anything about anything? Even Mike Lupica seems to think that Hank is a jerk, although he stops short of name calling. Still, Lupica takes Steinbrenner Jr. to task for his series of front office gaffes. The signing of A-Rod for megabucks, after having promised that the Yankees would not negotiate if A-Rod opted out; and especially after A-Rod had painted himself into a corner, leaving the Yankees with all the negotiating leverage, and A-Rod with little or no hope of matching the Yankees’ dollars anywhere else. So after that savvy performance, and after having passed on Santana, or having been scared off by Theo’s posturing, Hank’s only response was to chew out the front office belatedly. Lupica asks, with good cause, if Santana was so essential, where was Hank Steinbrenner when the front office was letting him slip away?

Anyway, Hank has demonstrated that he has one quality characteristic of the Steinbrenner family, a big mouth. Worse than that, however, he has a big mouth with not much to say. Most people of substance speak when they have something to offer, but otherwise keep their mouths shut. Not the Steinbrenners, who are always ready to blab themselves into the news, regardless of whether they have anything to say. I hate to sound old-fashioned, or worse sexist, but really, isn’t that just like a woman? To prattle on all day without having anything to say? I can perhaps offer that opinion seeing that I have no female readers, and anyways, it’s the internet, and aren’t we expected to have crazy opinions?

So Hank, here’s the bottom line. This year it’s time to put up or shut up. Since Dave Roberts stole second base in Game Four, 2004, the Yankees have won a total of four games in post-season play. Four. In that same time-frame, eight other Major League baseball teams have won more post-season games. The Sox, of course, have won the most, which is only to be expected, as they have won the World Series twice since that night. (Hank, the World Series is the competition that determines the baseball championship.) The Cardinals have won almost as many games, having made it to the series twice, and having won in 2006. But the Tigers in 2006, and the Indians in 2007 each won more than four post-season games. As did the Mets, the Rockies, the Astros, and the White Sox. Even the Angels, who get swept every time they play the Sox, have managed four post-season wins since the 2004 ALCS. In short, each October, ever since Game Four, and the most beloved stolen base in the history of baseball, the Yankees have sucked every fall. I know we all like to say that for the fun of it -- the Yankees suck. I was watching film of the game last April when the Sox went back-to-back-to-back-to-back. And by the time Tek came to bat, after three home runs in a row, and after the game had been tied up, you could hear the Fenway crowd chanting that – Yankees suck – just as Tek hammered another one above the monster. But forget about the fun part, in October, since 2003, it’s been a fact. The Yankees have sucked. So Hank, if you want to shoot your mouth off, how about you wait until you’ve got something to crow about? Until then, when you’re running your big mouth, you need to know that everyone thinks you’re just a bitch.