I know that maybe that is a far stretch but it is the truth. Cliff Lee was THE X FACTOR regarding pitching this offseason and he decided to eat Philly Cheesesteaks over New York Kinishes. 

I know in my last entry, I was trying to keep a stiff upper lip but I had to tell my own personal thoughts and reflections and let my feelings flow.

My pals Althea and Judi (both are Red Sox fans) reached out to me via email regarding Steinbrenner’s passing. My emotions are still raw and uncut for me rehash them again on this blog but I did send and email back to them. Even though I tried to keep it brief, all of my feelings to a degree just poured out of me.

Here’s my personal email in it’s entirety below….Peace, Pride, Power and Pinstripes y’all. =)

to “Althea L. O’Donnell”

date Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 7:08 AM
subject Re: thinking of you…

Hi Althea and Judi,

Thanks for the concern. It has been a tough week for all of us Yankee folk. First Bob Sheppard and now The Boss all in a 36 to 48 hour span.. Whether you loved him or hated him, you had to respect him. If it wasn’t for Cleveland Indians owner Vernon Stoeffer telling Steinbrenner to take a hike after he tried to buy the team from him in the early seventies who knows what baseball would’ve been like.

Baseball history (and I think personally, sports history) was literally (…and figuratively) forever shaped by that one decision. Crazy huh?

I did make my pilgrimage to the stadium as soon as I did my evening workout on Wednesday. I went into meditiation chant and prayer for a good ten minutes at the vigil that was created at the stadium outside of Gate 4 where the big interlocking “ny” was. Very appropriately placed if you asked me.=)

When I got the news of him passing away, I was nothing short of shocked but at the same time his health was declining and it was only a matter of time. I think initially I was numb for the rest of Tuesday and most of Wednesday and it wasn’t until I got to the stadium that all of my feeling and emotions raced to the surface and hit me all at once and the tears began to flow.

It was at that moment I truly realized that we lost a huge voice…we lost an owner who literally would defend the team and us [fans] every step of the way. And when I mean every step…I MEAN EVE-RY STEP…PERIOD. No matter what the circumstances or consequences. The only other people he cared about outside of his family, the players and staff are the Yankees fans and he has said it time and time and time again…interview after interview…without missing a beat.

I know there will be no other owner like him…even his sons Hal and Hank will NEVER be able to fill his father’s shoes even though the team will remain in the Steinbrenner family. Now if they were to ever sell the team donw the road…you might think I’m crazy for saying this but Derek Jeter always said he wanted to own a baseball team…hini, hint. To be quite frank, he would be the PERFECT FIT…not to mention, he would carry on that Steinbrenner legacy after all the two were very close. He named him Captain of the team…it would be very fitting he would be Captain of the Organization. He would be a more mellower but stern version of The Boss.and like him would demand perfection and nothing but the best from everyone who worked or played for him. To own the team you rooted for as a kid and then played for in your adult years….whew! Talk about your blood being Pinstripe Postive! =) Just food for thought.

Well, I won’t rant anymore as I have to get ready for work. Thanks for reaching out to me during the dark yet somber time in our Yankee Universe. I know you two root for the arch nemesis but the friendship we have is paramount before any baseball team.. Hugs to you both. Bloomberg and NYC is going to pull out all the stops for a rocking memorial/final salute to Steinbrenner in the next few days or so…don’t know exactly when but we’ll find out very soon. I’m definitely going. I’ll give you the details. =)

Take care,
T

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Steinbrenner altered the sport of baseball forever whether you like it or not. He was volatile…a hothead, changed managers left and right even made the catchphrase..”You’re Fired,” fashionable way before Donald Trump branded and marketed it in The Apprentice but in the end….as long as my Beloved Bombers won….that was all that mattered to him.

Regardless of the consequences…
Regardless of the cost….

He did whatever it took to built a championship team after all he compared them to the Mona Lisa. They were his most prized possession…his baby…his “hope diamond” to put it quite frank.

I’m already seeing the claws come out on the blog boards from detractors and opposition regarding the Evil Empire is Dead….now back to REAL baseball…etc. However, his passing as well as Bob Sheppard’s on Sunday gives all the more reason why this season is going to be all the more sweeter. If this doesn’t give my Beloved Bombers, the Brass Management and Fellow Bombers and Lady Bombers out there a reason to pull together and win a 28th title (…and counting) in his honor and memory, I don’t know what will.

This is where his quote “winning is the most important thing to me as breathing…breathing first…winning second.” should ring that much louder and clearer because as far as I’m concerned, to win WS title #28 is the most fitting tribute and honor to an owner who was always about winning….AND NOTHING LESS IS ACCEPTABLE.

That is the vision he always had about the pinstripes and that legacy MUST CONTINUE…PERIOD.

Thank you George for all you have done….

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His voice is irreplaceable…..he is part of a dying breed of announcers at a time where today’s announcers try to be entertaining and cute. There was Ernie Harwell (Detroit Tigers), Jack Buck (St. Louis Cardinals), Harry Kalas (Philadelphia Phillies) and now Bob Sheppard.

Always made sure that every ball players name was correctly pronounced and he took his work seriously. He loved what he did and became part of the Yankee interwoven fabric.

At least I can take comfort and solace in knowing that anytime Jeter comes up to bat, you’ll always hear that elegant iconic voice so in my eyes, the ‘Voice Of God” hasn’t been silenced. He will always be with us….even if it’s for a small brief moment.

This is why I have such an issue with unpires and their botched calls. Armando Galarraga was ROBBED of a perfect game by Jim Joyce and his decrepid eyesight.

HE WAS CLEARLY OUT BY A LONG MILE! AND WAS CALLED SAFE! To make matters worse Selig upheld the call!!! WTF?!?!?

Thanks for nothing Jim!! You will forever be infamous in the eyes of not only Detroit Tiger fans but all baseball purists who love this sport regardless of the team they root for. Even the commentators were besides themselves when this call was made.

Frankly ALL UMPIRES should have MANDATORY YEARLY EYE EXAMS (in some cases EVERY SIX MONTHS) to prevent idiotic calls like this from happening again but I know that won’t happen.

I love this Carlin skit..it’s been two years since his passing but I wanted to play this. His comparisons are hilarious but at the same time SO TRUE…LMAO…RIP George. Miss you tons..

(1937-2008)

I know that I haven’t been on this site for quite sometime but I do have something to say regarding the recent turn of events regarding Arizona and the national fury over its controversial immigration law.

I have been doing some research into it as well as the backers, writers, and supporters of the bill when it was initially introduced and I have to say…you can’t expect to cover a huge pile of horse maneurer with a beautiul bed of roses and expect it to still not smell like horse maneurer. It’s like someone tellimg me the sky is green yet it’s blue.

That the owners of the D-Backs are huge Republican backers as well as backed SB1070 really breaks my heart. I have no hatred against it’s players by any means but knowing what I know about the owners supporting such racist legislation, I refuse from this point on going forward until this blasphemous law is abolished, I cannot in good conscience support this team or any other teams based out of AZ for that matter.

Arizona as far as I’m concerned doesn’t exist and I refuse to support any businessess that are in support of this regressive law. I hate to have to say that but I can’t support D-Backs from this point on and I truly hope that Commissioner Selig will move the All-Star Game out of Phoenix come 2011 otherwise, I know I will not be watching the -All-Star Game that year.

Keep up the brave fight in all who oppose this measure.

Well, after soaking in the wonderful reality of my beloveds clinching #27, it is now Hot Stove Time. However I do want to send a huge Congrats to Zach Greinke and Tim “The Freak” Lincecum for snatching up their Cy Youngs this year.

The talks about lovely “Halladay” greetings started to brew yet again but I don’t hink they are going to risk losing their top prospects nor cut into their core championship team to get him here…..as much as I would love to have him in the rotation.

Nady may get the ax as well as Wang…largely in part due to him being constantly injured. It’s sad because he had two amazing 19 game winning seasons and then the following getting the foot injury and he hasn’t been the same since. I don’t hate the guy but he definitely got areally bad break.

Then there is Damon and Matsui…..talk about a difficult decision. They both were instrumental in helping the Bombers win it all this year. I don’t want neither of them to go but The Brass has the final say as to who stays and who goes.

Well, I’m getting sleepy and I’m ready to hit the sack and sleep on more thoughts and will be back next time. See ya soon.

27th Heaven….

A girls best friends……both are diamonds.

My way of celebrating the moment…….(no I don’t smoke but I do love incense….the ambiance of it all). I would love to have my own “man cave” but with a woman’s touch. Anyway….enough of that for now.

I know in the beginning of the season, I was very critical of my boys in the early stages especially regarding the relief pitching. To see Joba in the bullpen was an absolute joy and I still feel he should he is much more effective as a reliever than a starter…I don’t care what anyone says. His velocity much higher, location….spot on and had more command on his pitches. It was like seeing an old friend you hadn’t seen in a long time who hasn’t changed a bit.

They even exorcised some demons in the Angels because every time they met up in the playoffs they would always eliminate my Bombers. That was finally conquered after all these years.

Then there were the Phillies….the National League equivalent of the Red Sox (particularly their fan base). No, not all are like that but a very high percentage are without a doubt. No my fellow Bomber fans are far from perfect and I don’t claim them to be. I loved it when Werth and Rollins guaranteed a World Series back in Philly and I’m thnking…..’Man, you’re not playing the Tampa Bay Rays (don’t mean to disrespect the folks down in St. Pete)…..hope you know that.’ Then again, I don’t think they did. My beloveds are known to GRIND OUT series and I don’t mean ending them in five games either like the Phillies have in back to back LCS and World Series Championships.

I’m surprised that not a single sports commentator or journalist had touched on that fact….that minus the Division Series, they finishes both the LCS and World Series ’08 in five games. My question at that time was did they have enough in the tank for Games 6 and 7?

Apparently not.

New Stadium……Shiny Trophy……Yankee Dynasty and Order is restored once again. Without question, I had my doubts….especially when things got tough but I refuse to jump ship….and I’m glad I stayed through it all this year. Most of all, I’m happy for Hideki. MVP Honors plus being that this may be his last year in pinstripes it’s as if everything is now come full circle for him. He finally got what he came here for. If you do have to leave the Bronx, it was wonderful to have had you grace the pinstripes….and your consistent professionalism and focus. I don’t know about anyone else but I’ll miss you without a doubt.

Thanks for helping us cross the finish line….

It really sucks that even though I’m following the playoffs and I’m happy that my boys are going far this postseason and yet I can’t even blog on it due to limited access to computers at the moment.

I’m so upset that we didn’t clinch the pennant last night but hey maybe it’s better that we do clinch at home and I know I will be in the Bronx at Yankee Tavern pulling for my babies tomorrow regardless if it’s rain, sleet, snow or shine…not to mention I’ll have my lucky Yankee rally bear Elston (and yes he’s named after Elston Howard) with me for this one but he always come with me to home games. I got him the day before Aaron Boone hit his homerun so better believe he won’t be staying home….now if I have to go to work that’s a bit different….I’m not that crazy to take Elston with me wherever I go.

Well, since I have limited time, I gotta cut this short…UGH!

I llove the Angels and I love Mikey but I gotta back my Bombers….they’re my heart and my passion.

GOOOOOOOO BOMBERS!!!!!!