A sad ending to Hideki Irabu’s memorable career

It appears Hideki Irabu took his own life at his home in Los Angeles today, a shocking ending to one of the most peculiar lives for a baseball player.

Irabu pitched in an independent league in 2009, and last pitched in the majors in 2002 with the Rangers. His first two professional seasons were in pinstripes, posting a 4.80 ERA with a 29-20 record.

George Steinbrenner once called him a “fat pussy toad,” immortalizing him in Yankees history.

This news ruined my day.

Billy Martin and 1977 Yankees team Featured Card of the Week

 
Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Ron Guidry, Chris Chambliss, Willie Randolph, Roy White, Sparky Lyle, and Billy Martin. The 1977 Yankees: World Series champs.

The only guy missing from this picture is George Steinbrenner, unless he is that man wearing black standing in the upper-right part of the card.

Note: It’s too bad the card companies don’t put a lot of value into printing team cards any more. They’re pretty cool, I think.

Underlying Yankees storyline of 2010: They didn’t win

Bryan Hoch’s version of the Yankees’ top five storylines of 2010 didn’t include the fact that they lost. Winning is everything with the Yankees, and whether they won it all or not is always their top storyline.

Putting that aside, it’s tough to disagree with his top five.

5. Robinson Cano breaks out, chases his MVP dreams
4. A-Rod becomes baseball’s youngest to 600 homers
3. The Yankees miss out on Cliff Lee … twice
2. Iconic shortstop Derek Jeter and the Yankees ‘get messy’
1. The Yankees mourn the passing of ‘The Boss,’ George M. Steinbrenner

Hoch goes into more depth on each storyline here.

Steinbrenner to be honored tonight, E:60 tomorrow

The Yankees are dedicating a monument in honor of George M. Steinbrenner tonight. Notables to be in attendance include Joe Torre, Don Mattingly, Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson.

ESPN’s E:60 will air a documentary for Steinbrenner Tuesday night.

Steinbrenner was more than just one of the greatest owners in sports history. If you’ve seen the Yankeeography for him, I bet you’ve already learned a ton about him you didn’t expect.

If you have some time, check out my archive on The Boss here.

Link dump: Theeee Yankees win, Steinbrenner, Damon, Kuroda, Lee

It’s my last day of my internship! Below are a few Yankees headlines you need to see.

• Yanks give Jays taste of own medicine in 11-5 rout – Yankeeist
• Steinbrenner to get monument – ESPN New York
• Damon chooses to remain with Tigers – AP
• Yankees may have interest in Hiroki Kuroda – Ken Rosenthal
• Irate Lee: Yankees no sure thing to sign me – NY Post

Swish ends magical night with walk-off

On a night when George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard were remembered, Nick Swisher had a huge day with a homer and a walk-off single in the ninth to give the Yankees a 5-4 win.

Best of All: Along with Swish, Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada both had solo shots. Who was my player to watch? That would be Posada. That’s right, watch him.

CC Sabathia continued his dominant stretch of starts but the Yankees couldn’t get him enough support for his ninth straight win.

Worst of All: This game scared the you-know-what out of me.

Coming Up: Today is Old Timers Day. If you’re at the stadium, congrats! And I’m extremely jealous. Feel free to share your experience with me with pics if you’d like to be featured on the blog. Thanks!

Quoteworthy: Torre on Steinbrenner

“It’s only fitting that he went out as a world champ”

Just a fantastic quote from Joe Torre on the the guy who almost fired him so many times. Why the Yankees ever let Torre leave, I have no idea.

RIP, Mr. Steinbrenner.

Compilation of reactions to Steinbrenner’s passing

Below is a compilation of reactions from people throughout the Yankees organization and the rest of the world.

---
“He was an incredible and charitable man. First and foremost he was devoted to his entire family – his beloved wife, Joan; his sisters, Susan Norpell and Judy Kamm, his children, Hank, Jennifer, Jessica and Hal; and all of his grandchildren. He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again.” –Steinbrenner family statement

---
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the entire Steinbrenner family. This is a sad day not only for Yankee fans, but for our entire City, as few people have had a bigger impact on New York over the past four decades than George Steinbrenner. George had a deep love for New York, and his steely determination to succeed – combined with his deep respect and appreciation for talent and hard work – made him a quintessential New Yorker.

“George invested his heart and soul into the Yankees, and his competitive fire helped usher in new eras of Yankee greatness, reclaiming the team’s long tradition of excellence and its position as the most successful franchise in the history of American sports. He was a champion who made New York a better place, and who always gave back to the city he loved. He has left an indelible legacy on the Yankees, on baseball, and on our city, and he leaves us in the only way that would be appropriate: as a reigning world champion.” – Mayor Mike Bloomberg

---
George M. Steinbrenner III, the most visible, vilified and successful baseball owner of the free-agency era, died on Tuesday morning following a massive heart attack.

In his heyday he was known as many things — most notably, as a bad loser — but there is no denying that he made the Yankees into a winner. He was the shipbuilding magnate who bought the ball club for a relative pittance ($10 million in 1973) from CBS and restored the Yankee brand to its former glory. During his reign as owner, Steinbrenner’s Yankees won 11 American League pennants and seven world championships, more than any other team in that span. The franchise’s value soared into more than a billion as it became the staple product of its own cable network while still leading the big leagues in attendance year after year.

Along the way he exerted his will in an indomitable fashion, displaying legendary impatience and volatility. He bought out his 13 limited partners by the end of his first decade as owner, prompting John McMullen, who later owned the Houston Astros, to say, “Nothing is more limited than being a limited partner of George’s.” During his first 20 years with the Yankees, Steinbrenner hired and fired 21 managers, including Billy Martin five times. Before the 1982 season, Steinbrenner announced that manager Bob Lemon should feel secure in his job; Lemon was fired 14 games into the season. Two years later, Steinbrenner talked about his manager, Yogi Berra, before the season again and said “Yogi will be the manager the entire season, win or lose.” After 16 games, Berra was fired. He would not return to Yankee Stadium for 14 years.

…One former employee of the Yankees told Steinbrenner biographer Dick Schaap, “George Steinbrenner doesn’t want to be loved, and he doesn’t want to be hated, George Steinbrenner wants to be feared.”

“Sometimes,” Steinbrenner once told a reporter, “as much as I don’t want to — I have to inflict pain. But I also inflict some joy.” – Alex Belth.

---
“The news of the passing of George Steinbrenner was very saddening," Lyle said this morning. "I admired the man tremendously. He was the one who brought the Yankees back to prominence. All the little things that went on during his first years of ownership were growing pains for him and he is one of those guys that will be missed a lot.” – Sparky Lyle

---
“This is a very sad day for me and Carmen and all of baseball.  My sympathies go out to the Steinbrenner family.

“George was The Boss, make no mistake.  He built the Yankees into  champions and that’s something nobody can ever deny.  He was a very  generous, caring, passionate man.  George and I had our differences, but who didn’t? We became great friends over the last decade and I will miss him very much.” – Yogi Berra

---
“There’s not question that the passing of George leaves a tremendous void for the Yankees and for baseball. He really changed things in the order of baseball after he bought the Yankees in 1973, and basically it’s turned out so great for baseball. His vision was to spend money to make money.

“I’ve heard one million George Steinbrenner stories of things he did for people that would bring a tear to your eye. So he was a combination. Was he a tough boss? Boy, you bet he was. But he also had the softest side to him. In my own way, I really loved him. He took care of so many people in so many ways. I’m really very sad today, but he did phenomenal things for the Yankees.” – John Sterling

---
“Anybody who knows what the Yankees were like before there was a George Steinbrenner certainly knows what he did on the field. He was a remarkable man. He had one thing in mind always and that was building a team and bringing championships to the city of New York.

“His legacy is going to be something that is so far reaching, and you’re going to read in the coming days about what he was like. I don’t think we’re ever going to see a person like this again.” – Suzyn Waldman

---
“On behalf of Baseball, I am very saddened by the passing this morning of George Steinbrenner. George was a giant of the game and his devotion to baseball was surpassed only by his devotion to his family and his beloved New York Yankees. He was and always will be as much of a New York Yankee as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and all of the other Yankee legends.” – Bud Selig

---
“I am deeply saddened to hear the news of George Steinbrenner’s passing. His vision, passion and commitment to winning, recharged the New York Yankees and revolutionized the game. I remember a man driven to succeed. He was the owner, “The Boss” and number one fan of the Yankees. Our relationship was built on mutual respect. I will never forget and always be grateful for how he treated me and my family both during my playing days and after I retired. I will miss him very much and extend my deepest condolences to his wife, Joan, and all the members of the Steinbrenner family.” – Don Mattingly

---
“We lost a great person, a great leader and a great American. There will never be anyone like George Steinbrenner...” – Randy Levine

---
“It’s only fitting that he went out as a world champ.” – Joe Torre

---
I’ll continue to update this post as more reactions become available. In the mean time, check out more reactions compiled by the New York Times, reactions compiled by the Daily News, a timeline of his life.

Steinbrenner passes at age 80 [Video]

George Steinbrenner, The Boss, died this morning at age 80 after suffering a massive heart attack in Florida. Here’s the first part of the statement issued by his family:

“It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing,” the Steinbrenner family in a statement said. “He passed away this morning in Tampa, Fla., at age 80.

This is just an awful week for Yankees fans. First Bob Sheppard, now The Boss. Just awful.

Be sure to watch the Steinbrenner Yankeeography on YES. I bet you’ll learn a few things about him that you’d never expect.

Like Sheppard, Steinbrenner will also get a compilation of reactions post. Stay tuned.

George Steinbrenner tribute video from the Washington Post.

Compilation of reactions to Sheppard’s passing

Reactions from the Yankees and all around baseball on the legendary Bob Sheppard’s death this morning:

---
“Bob Sheppard was, in person, exactly as you imagined him to be: Distinguished, precise in his manner and in his words.

“He also was a former athlete, a winner of seven varsity letters at St. John's in football and baseball, and he was really, really fast, and competitive, even in his '90s.

“Sheppard used to read books between announcing hitters, and after introducing the final would-be out of every game, Sheppard used to leave his booth and stand at the back of the press box, preparing for his departure. If the hitter reached base, he would return to the booth and introduce the next batter.

“If the final out was registered, however, Sheppard would rush out the door, carrying a book in the crook of his elbow like a football, and he would race down the loge runway, moving swiftly and with determination, to make it to elevator that would carry him to the street level. Bob Sheppard would beat the crowd out of the park on most nights. I know this, because when I was the New York Times' writer on the Yankees beat, he usually out-raced me to the elevator.” – Buster Olney

---
“I am deeply saddened by the death today of Bob Sheppard, a good friend and fine man whose voice set the gold standard for America’s sports announcers. For over a half century, fans were thrilled to hear his unforgettable voice and players were thrilled to hear his majestic enunciation of their names. Bob Sheppard was a great member of the Yankees family and his death leaves a lasting silence. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Mary, and their family.” – George Steinbrenner

---
“Bob Sheppard's voice was the only voice you can think of coming out of the grandest sports cathedral in our country. His stentorian tone was the embodiment of class and represented everything that the Yankees and Yankee Stadium stood for. Yankee Stadium will never sound the same because no one will ever come close to the 'Voice of God.' He will be greatly missed. He was a gentleman of epic proportions, and an absolute joy to be around. My thoughts go out to his wife Mary and his family.” – Michael Kay

---
“Bob Sheppard was an institution, as much a part of Yankees lore as all of the Hall of Fame players. You know you made it in the Majors when you heard Bob Sheppard announce your name at Yankee Stadium. It was always a thrill to hear his voice, regardless of whether I was with the Yankees or with another team. My thoughts go out to his family.” – John Flaherty

---
“I remember walking in from the bullpen at Yankee Stadium during my major league debut (1987) and hearing Bob announce my name. I thought it was the greatest thing. Three years out of high school, and I'm in Yankee Stadium with Bob Sheppard announcing my name. I had arrived! He was a legend who went about his job with a quiet sense of dignity, and we will never see someone of his stature again.” – Al Leiter

---
“The most polite man I think I’ve ever met.” – Gene Monahan

---
“He's as much a part of this organization as any player. Players change year in & year out, but he was the one constant.” – Derek Jeter

---
“Irreplaceable. You can't replace that.” – Mariano Rivera on Sheppard’s voice

---
“He was obviously a legend; a tradition with the Yankees. When you think of the Yankees, you think of him announcing. When you think about the Yankees and the old stadium, there's no doubt you think about him.” – Andy Pettitte

---
“That first at-bat at Yankee Stadium, you don’t forget it. And he’s part of that.” – Jorge Posada

---
“It’s extremely sad. I think of Bob Sheppard, you think of all the tradition with the Yankees. You think about Ruth and Gehrig and Yogi and Joe D. and Mantle and I think you mention Bob Sheppard. That’s how important he was to this franchise. It’s very sad. First time I ever heard him was 1996, first time I ever walked out in Yankee Stadium and you realized that you hit the big lights when Bob Sheppard announces your name.” – Joe Girardi

---
“To have your name come out of those lips, you're in the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium. I mean, Bob announces your name in the lineup, or announces that you are coming up, it's something that you always dream about.” – Chipper Jones

---
“He had the most distinctive voice I've ever heard and he announced my name in my first game. It was special when he made the lineup announcement.” – Bobby Cox

---
“We are very proud of the fact that he was the voice of the Giants for so many years. Bob was a true gentleman and the consummate professional. There will never be another one like him.” – New York Giants CEO John Mara

Lineup vs. Pirates, list of early cuts

The Yankees will play the Pirates at 1:05 p.m. today on the MLB Network. Here's the lineup:

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Marcus Thames LF
Brett Gardner CF
Randy Winn DH
Francisco Cervelli C
Jorge Vazquez 3B

Note: Joe Girardi reiterated that Nick Johnson fits the role of a high on-base guy to hit second in the lineup. I've already said to chalk up this debate.

In other news, George Steinbrenner is expected to attend the home opener at Yankee Stadium to witness the championship ceremony.

Here's a list of the first set of cuts from Girardi (also via LoHud):

RHP Andrew Brackman
RHP D.J. Mitchell
RHP Christian Garcia
RHP Kevin Whelan
LHP Wilkins Arias
LHP Kei Igawa
LHP Wilkin De La Rosa
LHP Jeremy Bleich
C Kyle Higashioka

Steinbrenner: No contract extensions

While I was stewing over tons of articles today, I found one that linked back to a statement Hal Steinbrenner made on contract extensions for players (and presumably coaches too).

"I don't do extensions," Steinbrenner told FanHouse. "It's a policy I have, one I've always had."

This is perplexing to me. George Steinbrenner had his facial hair policy, which is still in order today, but, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think he passed down this extension policy to Hal. At least Joe Girardi, whose contract expires after this season, doesn't appear to be angry.

"I don't worry about my contract," Girardi said. "I worry about this year. I wouldn't expect them to talk to me about it till it's over."

If I'm Girardi, I'd be a little upset the Steinbrenners won't negotiate an extension before his contract expires. It's a matter of job security, and I think a World Series championship in his second year warrants some green flowing Girardi's way. Dare I say it, it's almost unclassy not to extend his contract or at least reach a verbal agreement.

People can argue the Series wasn't won by the team, rather than Girardi. Well, he didn't do anything to screw it up, and that's an accomplishment when you have one of the most scrutinized jobs in New York.

---
Here's a small link dump for the articles I found amusing or worth your time:

• Kung-Fu Panda gained weight (he's probably my favorite NL player)
• Brett Gardner's not just fast, but the fastest in MLB
• The Yankee U has another post with a picture worth a click
• Although the text is a little hard to read, an interview with Chad Jennings is worth copying and pasting into a Word document
• Missing the football Giants? This may cheer you up

'The Bronx is Burning' is back

If you didn't catch the ESPN mini-series "The Bronx is Burning" in the summer of  2007, those of you who have MSG will get a second chance.

Yankees legend Reggie Jackson plus many more share their memories of playing in New York in MSG’s The Bronx is Burning!!! Tune in to MSG's special presentation of The Bronx is Burning Sundays at 9pm starting April 5, followed by an exclusive look back at the Summer of ‘77.

Watch a clip right now:

http://www.msg.com/summerof77/

I am one of those who did see it in 2007 and I thought it was a good representation of the 1977 Yankees season.  Although I wasn't around back then, my dad said the show featured an accurate portrayal of George Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson.

"The Yankee Years" - Excerpt 1

I just got Joe Torre's book this past weekend, unfortunately I haven't had a lot of time to get very far in it. This will be one of many excerpts chosen by me that I will display for your viewing pleasure. You will also get my take on it, of course.

My first quote is about the 1996 season. Torre is talking about what George Steinbrenner's mentality was like on an everyday basis.

"I was so excited to be managing a club that had a chance to win that whatever he dealt out to me, I was in a great frame of mind with it," Torre said. "We'd be winning games and he'd be semi-embarrassed because we'd win on a squeeze bunt or a base hit. He wanted to mutilate people." - Page 14

This book shares a lot of inside information like this that really fascinates me. I love hearing about the specifics of what really went on in the clubhouse.

Just before this quote, the book enlightened me of how good the Yankees bullpen was in '96. "They were 70-3 when they led after six innings." 70-3..........? That's absurd. Mariano Rivera six, John Wetteland three - every time.