"Great to see ya, Tommy"
The Secret is Out- Steinbrenner is a Zombie
As loyal readers and friends of the Daily Skew know we’ve been insisting The Boss is “dead”. Here more proof, as reported by the Daily News, AS IF YOU NEEDED IT:
George Steinbrenner “looks dreadful,” his “body is bloated” and “his skin looks as if a dry-cleaner bag has been stretched over it,” according to a lengthy article about The Boss coming out in the September issue of the magazine Conde Nast Portfolio.
“He doesn’t look all right. In fact, he looks dreadful,” Franz Lidz, the author of the piece, writes in the story, which hits newsstands Aug.15. “Steinbrenner’s face, pale and swollen, has a curiously undefined look.”
But, according to team officials and Steinbrenner’s personal spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, the Boss is still active in the Yankee decision-making process and recently he was involved in organizational meetings near the trade deadline.
Steinbrenner was seen often by reporters during spring training, but at times walked unsteadily in the hallways at Legends Field.
Lidz recounts a visit to Steinbrenner’s home in Tampa with Tom McEwen, a longtime Steinbrenner pal, in which, according to Lidz, Steinbrenner answers a series of different questions, including inquiries about his wife, Joan, by saying, “Great to see ya, Tommy.”
Lidz writes:
“McEwen asks about his sons, Hank and Hal. ‘Great to see ya, Tommy,’ he says.
McEwen asks about his daughters, Jennifer and Jessica.
‘Great to see ya, Tommy,’ he says.
McEwen asks about his health.
Steinbrenner sighs heavily and mutters, ‘Oh, I’m all right.’”
Rubenstein said that Lidz and McEwen “came in under false pretenses” and that Steinbrenner didn’t know Lidz was there to report a story. Lidz writes that McEwen “introduces me as a writer working on a story.”
Asked about Steinbrenner’s health yesterday, Rubenstein said, “I’m not going to go beyond saying that I talk to George almost every day….He’s OK and he’s still an active participant in every decision.”
DAMIAN SAYS: I guess Spokesman Howard Rubenstein considers sitting propped up in a chair at a meeting as being an “active participant”. If The Boss was truly an “active participant” these last 3 years, half the team would have been fired already.
Boss reminds me of Driq, the Green Lantern who was long-dead, but kept animated by his POWER RING. The Boss’s POWER RING is his World Series Ring….
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Glad the truth is coming out in a national magazine. It’s time for this charade to end — Steinbrenner is no longer running the Yankees.
“Great to see ya, Tommy.”
I wonder what conversation from the past George is replaying in the present.
Maybe he ran into Tommy Lasorda at an awards dinner after the 1981 World Series … or maybe he was chatting with Tommy John at an Old-Timer’s game.
Having witnessed first-hand the debilitating effects of age on memory, I know that people like George will think that some event from 1973 happened yesterday. Time stops having a linear quality … it’s almost like you enter the 4th dimension mentally, and you lose contact with the 3rd dimension.
Dr. Manhattan would be proud.
I have to say, based on personal experience, it sounds like Steinbrenner has a mildly advanced case of Alzheimers. Unfortunately, it gets much worse than this.
It’s funny how time, perspective, and the Yankees’ resurgence in the late 1990’s have completely altered the way we look at George Steinbrenner.
I remember when I was growing up how my father – a New Yorker and Yankees fan since the day he was born – would tell me how he had forsworn the Yanks out of disgust with Steinbrenner. My dad’s always been a pretty ethics-oriented guy, and his disdain for George was borne not merely out of the Yanks’ losing ways in the ’80s but also Steinbrenner’s legal problems.
I forwarded him this article and spoke with him today, and he’s genuinely saddened about it.
How depressing. I feel sorry for The Boss….
I absolutely hated Steinbrenner in the 80s and early 90s. The first time I remember feeling a soft spot was when he was bawling after the the ‘96 Series, seeming so genuinely overcome by winning. And now, when there seems to be such a dichotomy between what different owners will do for their teams (or at least, I’m more aware of it), I actually find myself worrying about the post-Steinbrenner Yankees.
the only thing to hate Steinbrenner about is John Sterling.
It’s much easier to like a sleaze who’s passionate about winning and will pull out all the stops to do it than it is to like an owners who leeches of taxpayers, revenue sharing etc. and doesn’t even try to compete lest it hurt profits.
Not only has time eased the collective hatred of Steinbrenner but the fact that most of the other current owners (Loria, Pohlad, Selig, Glass etc.)are sleaze has also created a more favorable viewpoint of George.
I became a baseball fan in the mid-1970s (I’m 40 now), growing up in the Bronx. My view of George has changed over time, from really strongly disliking him to just plain disliking him. That evolution has nothing to do with the Yankees’ record from 1995 to the present, and everything to do with his mellowing since the suspension and, to a lesser extent, my maturing into a person who cares less about the tabloids’ back pages.
May I kick his zombified, rotting corpse?
This is Belated Justice.
George has always been the worst kind of clown. One measure of his character: without the money, he’s just the dickhead at the end of the bar who never shuts up.
Venerable old lion? Ha!
My perception of him hasn’t changed. I’m concerned about the nice old guy who volunteers at my local library and is having an operation in a few days.
As for George? George was an attention seeking, corrupt, dishonest fool who didn’t care who he hurt or how boorishly he acted.
His zombie face now? The face he deserves, I suspect.
Thanks, Dave.
Just because someone is older, sickly, or “mellower” does not mean all the previous things he or she did should be so easily forgotten or forgiven.
It’s like when an elderly Nazi is captured or an 80-year old child molester is found…there is a tendency for people to “feel bad” for the older person.
Oh, and yes, I am comparing The Boss to a Nazi and a child molester. For someone who calls himself The Boss, he had no respect for his employees, and was unethical; he was the worst authority figure on can imagine.
Just for the record — I will not shed a tear when Steinbrenner finally moves on. Sympathy Zero.
Anyone worried about the Yankees future presumes that George is the reason they had success under his ownership. Let’s be clear — they won DESPITE him, not BECAUSE of him.
I can’t take my eyes off the picture of Driq. I want to read that comic. Sounds like a great tale.
Driq is free now, Tony. He’s free to take the eternal slumber that was rightfully his.
It was a GREAT storyline- the end of Green Lantern Corps (the first time). I have the issues.
I believe he teamed with Sinestro and other outcasts to stop an evil force that took over the giant lantern.
Wow! I am just shocked at you guys for jumped on old George. I thought you guys were the nicest and balanced guys I had ever met.
Sure the Boss is a mean crazy guy, but you guys are merciless! Give him a break!
I wish Tom Hicks had the dedication to win like old George does!
I just listened to the WFAN interview with Franz Lidz, the writer of the article.
I didn’t realize that the golfing buddy’s name was Tommy, so George was at least aware of who was in his presence.
At any rate, it didn’t sound like George had any plan of succession for when he passes. I can’t say that I’m surprised, based on other people who exhibit personality type 8. Unhealthy 8’s never take into consideration the fact that they are mortals, or that it would be nice for their families and business partners if they had plans in place in the event of their deaths! See Sumner Redstone, CEO of Viacom/CBS, for example.
Since there is no plan, I predict the Yankees and YES network will be sold after his death (unless he dies in 2010 — more on that in a moment). The reason is based on what happened to the Miami Dolphins after Joe Robbie died — he left the team to his children. His children got KILLED with estate taxes and were forced to sell the team. I read in the paper about a year ago that one of the kids owns a Pop Warner team in Weston, something like that.
Now, the only way around the Estate Tax issue is if George happens to die in 2010. In that year, there is no Estate Tax. In 2011, unless Congress acts, the Estate Tax will return.
In one of my tax classes, our professor joked about rich executives who might want to commit suicide for the tax benefit.
At any rate, unless he dies in 2010, I’m certain the Steinbrenner era ends when George dies.
If his wife inherits the team at the time of George’s death, then she would not pay any estate taxes.
Supposedly, she has no interest in running the team. So, one has to wonder if she would sell at that point.
If there is no will, the following would occur if he died in 2007 (http://www.mystatewill.com/states/NY/NYintcalc.htm):
PRE-TAX SHARES:
Your spouse will receive $600,025,000.00
Each of your four children will receive $149,993,750.00
FEDERAL ESTATE TAX:
During 2007 $2,000,000 is tax exempt, with the remainder taxed at 45%. This results in a tax of $269,088,750.00
(This assumes your spouse is a US citizen, which exempts amounts given to the spouse from the federal estate tax.)
The calculations for Florida were virtually identical.
Just for the record, when the wife passes away, the children will get hit with another $269 million tax bill (not including an increase in value of the estate) … unless death occurs in 2010.
So, an over $500 million dollar tax bill is looming in the future for Steinbrenner’s children….
I can’t wait for Damian to write George’s Hall of Fame Induction speech.
I can’t wait to read the “Heart of Gold” eulogy!