Results tagged “hanksteinbrenner”

Alex Rodriguez is probably wishing right now that having a "Single White Female-like obsession" was the worst verbal jab that was thrown at him this off-season. Instead reports of his positive steroid results turned today into "Christmas for Yankee haters" as they found a new nickname for him across the covers of local papers: A-Roid.

The Yankees are showing no hesitation in spending some serious dollars to put together a respectable starting rotation when they move into their new stadium this spring. After the big signing of CC Sabathia earlier this week, the Yanks have now inked former Blue Jays starter AJ Burnett to a 5-year, $82.5 million contract. That makes the total shelled out on the two pitchers this week over $240 million. Some think that the move is a bit of a roll of the dice as Burnett is coming off a career year after struggling with injuries in the past. But don't tell that to Hank Steinbrenner! He bragged to the press, "A rising tide lifts all boats, and the confidence and the excitement right now among the team and the organization is contagious." The team now needs to fill its fifth starter role by either bringing back Andy Pettitte or potentially signing another arm such as Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe, who they already made a $64 million offer to.

George Steinbrenner, one of the most notorious owners in professional sports, has officially relinquished control of the Yankees, naming his son Hal as head of the organization. The announcement came from Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig following owners' meetings where Hal Steinbrenner was unanimously approved as new owner. Hal, who runs the financial side of the Yankees, will continue to share the role of chairman with his brother Hank, who oversees the baseball operations. Hank Steinbrenner tends to lead like his father did--drawing headlines for putting down former manager Joe Torre and calling the Red Sox Nation "a bunch of bullshit." The two sons have been running the organization for over a year with their father in fragile health.

Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain issued an apology last night for his DUI arrest over the weekend, where he was found with a blood alcohol level of 0.134--well over the 0.08 limit in Nebraska. In his statement to the Yankees and the fans, he said, “I want to apologize to the New York Yankees and the fans for an error in judgment and for putting myself in a difficult situation. I intend to properly resolve this situation, and do not intend to be in such a situation again. My goal is to focus on pitching for the Yankees in the 2009 season.”

Hank Steinbrenner won’t like it, but Don Mattingly thinks the Yankees missed Joe Torre this year. Mattingly told reporters, "You listen to them talk, and I don't think they realized what Joe did for them for so long [12 playoff appearances], how special he is at what he does." Mattingly also added, "I think they sort of took him for granted, didn't realize all the things he brings to the table as a manager. You've seen it here with the Dodgers this year.” Of course, adding Manny Ramirez at the trading deadline probably helped the Dodgers make the playoffs too. For his part, Torre handled the issue of the Yankees missing the playoffs with his typical class, "I don't take satisfaction in the Yankees being eliminated.” It’s impossible to say if the season would have turned out differently with Torre in charge, but Yankees’ fans will have plenty of time to see him in the playoffs.

Hank "Boss Lite" Steinbrenner was asked about the Yankees' 11-3 loss to the Red Sox last night and he didn't mince words. Newsday, which also has video, reported that he said, "It's very disappointing... Even without having our two best pitchers, so forth and so on, they still stunk... The bottom line is, they sucked." Johnny Damon said, "We just dug ourselves a deeper hole," about being eight games out of the wild card slot, as did Derek Jeter who said, "A lot of people are counting us out. It's our job to prove those people wrong."

For all the noise of this Yankees offseason, as far as the team on the field goes, all it amounted to was the status quo. Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera are all back -- and richer. Young pitchers Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and center fielder Melky Cabrera didn't go to the Twins for Johan Santana. The 2008 Yankees will be a slightly older albeit considerably more expensive version of the 2007 team. And most fans are fine with that.

A Historic Collapse: The Mets held a seven-game lead with 17 to play and were caught looking ahead to the playoffs. What followed was among the worst collapses in history and one that revealed the weaknesses of the players, the manager and the general manager. Jose Reyes and his questionable -- and downright poor -- play summed up the the performance on the field. Manager Willie Randolph's mismanagement of the bullpen came to light more down the stretch. So did Omar Minaya's complete neglect of the roster's periphery. The Mets trotted out inexperienced and ineffective pitchers down the stretch, and the bullpen that Randolph had to deal with wasn't that good to begin with thanks to some questionable trades. What this means for the 2008 season remains to be seen, but it cost the Mets fans Lastings Milledge, another symbol of the collapse. He was dumped dealt to the Nationals for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider.

The wedding date hasn’t been announced, but it seems like all the plans have been made. Alex Rodriguez is about to sign the richest contract in sports history- again. The framework of the deal is a 10 year/$275 million contract. In addition, A-Rod and the Yankees are working on a revenue sharing agreement if A-Rod breaks the home run record. One thing you won’t find in the contract is an opt-out clause, so this really...

The Yankees have offered Joe Girardi the job of manager, further emphasizing the fact that the Steinbrenner boys, and not their father, are now in control. According to reports, Girardi has been offered a three-year deal worth approximately $2-million a season. Negotiations are described as “ongoing” currently. As a side note, Don Mattingly has apparently turned down an offer to coach on his staff. Assuming Girardi accepts the offer, he will take control of a...

While divorce these days is all too common, divorce papers filed by Jennifer Swindal on Tuesday in Hillsborough County Circuit Court involve a less than common family. Jennifer Swindal, the daughter of Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner, cited irreconcilable differences when she filed for divorce from Steve Swindal after 23 years of marriage. Is the reason truly irreconcilable differences, or are Steve Swindal's February 15th arrest for driving under the influence and The Boss' incessant meddling the real reasons for the divorce? Steve Swindal has pleaded not guilty in his D.U.I. case.