King George rules with a soiled hand

Is he a dolt or just colorful, and determined to win at all costs? The boss of the Yankees is all that and less.

Bryce Martin
3/27/2003

Integrity? The New York Yankees?

"One's a liar, the other's convicted" - Billy Martin.

The "convicted" was Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, the "liar," Reggie Jackson. Just another Yankee airing some dirty linen.

And how about former Yanks infielder Martin? Brawling, belligerent and boozy. Booze, however, and Mickey Mantle were synonymous. No, wait that was the Babe.

Yankees GM and sycophant, Brian Cashman, handed out a $100,000 team fine to pitcher David Wells, because Georgie did not like comments Wells made about the storied franchise in his recent biography. It was reported this spring that Steinbrenner was treating Wells as if he did not exist on the planet.

Was there not a book or two in the past with titles by former Yankees, namely "Ball Four" and "Bronx Zoo," edging none too kind to the boys in pinstripes? Was not Wells just exercising his option to do his part in covering each decade?

Steinbrenner, to borrow from Rosco of the Dukes of Hazard, is a "dipstick."

Sure, he wants to win and all that. I get sick of the apologists who use that tired line. That does not make him a less blathering and bloated figure. Boss Tweed with an odious reputation.

Onetime Yankee Jim Spencer once said his boss knew nothing about baseball. That has always been painfully clear.

One example, or maybe 17: Steinbrenner has made 17 managerial changes in 17 seasons. What does that say for the person who hired them?

In addition, such comments from the top as "integrity of the team" regarding Wells' overtures rings hollow. In 1974, Steinbrenner was ousted from baseball for two years after being convicted of making illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon and cronies. Okay, he was just doing his patriotic duty. More: In 1990, headlines beamed his banishment from daily operations of the Yankees for life, a little matter of paying a gambler to get some damning information on Dave Winfield. That may have been a harsh judgment meted out. Reinstatement came in 1993.

Those are just the lowlights. A picture of sleaze, power gone haywire, and, well, a guy who does not know baseball - except he has the money to put the best you can buy on the field -

Steinbrenner, the man, is still a joke. He needs the spotlight. He has to have it. Too bad he is such a poor actor. We would all be laughing if only he was less pathetic.
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