In an interview that will run tomorrow in a glossy portion of The New York Times, Hank said this:
"Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of (expletive) that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans," he said. "Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order."Of course I find this funny, but you just know it's going to light the fuse again. What I found funniest was a few years ago, during this whole creation of (Insert Team Name) Nation. By 2006, the Yankees said, "OK, we'll jump on board...but we ain't gonna create no stinking nation. We rule the universe!"
And Yankees Universe was born. And better yet - the money goes to charity.
UPDATE!!! And the Sox respond...via Dan Shaughnessy:
Red Sox owner John Henry, responding by e-mail to Steinbrenner's comment, wrote: "A wise man once said, 'Don't poke the bear!' "Oh, but there's more...
And Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino - no stranger to pie tossing with the Yankees - cackled when he heard the statement.
"I don't deny there are Yankee fans everywhere," said Lucchino. "But it's blind of him not to see the phenomenon that is Red Sox Nation. I expect he will become more aware of the passion and breadth of Red Sox Nation as long as he is actively involved in baseball. I do appreciate that he has picked up on the Star Wars metaphor, though. He said he was happy to be Darth Vader and we are happy to be the Rebel Alliance."
The Boss's son got off to a rocking start a few weeks ago when he came to the defense of HGH-using Andy Pettitte, telling the New York Post, "I don't think they would want to be hollering too loud at Andy up in Fenway. They [the Red Sox] had plenty of players doing that stuff, too. It's just that those players weren't mentioned in the Mitchell Report. That's my biggest problem with the Mitchell Report . . . "I have a lot fo respect for John Henry, because he seems to have class and, for the most part, lays low (Hank, can you get the hint?) As for Lucchino, we've long known that he's an ass-hat.
Hank's not-so-thinly-veiled remark is a broadside at the SS Red Sox, which still features the name of former Senator George Mitchell on the company masthead. Mitchell is listed as "director" of the Red Sox. His is the sixth name from the top, directly below Lucchino's. It's a hideous conflict, recklessly allowed by Mitchell, the Sox, and Selig. Hank, God bless him, wasn't afraid to call the Sox on it.
Lucchino was not amused when reminded of Hank's steroid scandal salvo.
"I don't think there's any point to be made reacting to comments of the Yankees that I thought were gratuitous and reckless accusations," said Lucchino.
Sorry.
I've tried to not overdo the bias angle of the Mitchell Report, but one has to see what a HUGE New York slant there is to it, and the continued obvious fact that Mitchell's name sits near the top of the Red Sox organization. That is a very bad conflict. But it is what it is - and it doesn't excuse the fact that Clemens, Pettitte, et al are all guilty as sin. But where oh where are the Sox names? You can't tell me - sorry, you can't - that there isn't ONE Boston player that wasn't getting a bit juicy.
Come on, are you all that naive?
So Larry, shut up. Same for you, Hank.
Geez, it's only March 1st...
Oh, before we lay this to rest, I have to add my .02 to the Worldwide/Universal Yankees appeal. I've traveled quite a bit - including two trips to the United Kingdom. The sports logo that I saw the most of - by far - was the interlocking NY. No, I don't mean the Mets. I mean the Yankees, and I'm not kidding when I say that it outnumbered everybody else by 10 to 1. I saw one Red Sox hat in two trips.
So you can have that - for what it's worth.
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