Dead Yankees

Some think George Steinbrenner may have been the greatest villian in the history of baseball. The thought being his belief in the "star-system" and paying any price for the best talent turned baseball into a monstrosity played by multi-million dollar egomaniacs and the only person with a bigger ego was Steinnbrenner himself. He had all the money, a legendary temper and fired those who displeased him, the moment they fell out of favor.

But I think that guy represents many of our great game's realities. Professional baseball can be a dirty, greasy business played (on the field and in the front office) by hard men. Numbers measure success - all sorts of numbers. Runs, wins, percentages, dollar signs, attendance figures etc...

Steinbrenner wanted to win, no matter the cost. Hey, if that's your thing, go for it. Being part of a championship baseball team and being an ass in the process is better than most of the cumswillery put on the American public by its legion of famous douchebags.

Steinbrenner may have been as big a douche as anyone but at least he was famous for something cool like baseball rather than wearing a black t and jeans and criticizing people for not being able to sing shit songs on tv.

Unlike many of the idle and pointless celebrities, Steinbrenner made his mark on an American institution. His life has come and gone, the game of baseball goes on and generations of fans will have opinions about his place in baseball history as villain, hero or irritant. Baseball fans, for better or worse, have longer memories than those who follow the regular gristmill of fame. That's something, I guess.

And today in the great beyond, either the saints had to shave their beards, trim their sideburns and now wear pinstripes, or the guy in charge of Hell's air conditioning just got fired.

Ok, T'm watching the All Star game and Jeter is still using that weird ghost tape of the late Bob Sheppard to announce each plate appearance. I'm getting sick of these damned, dead Yankees already.