That's the unspoken news from yesterday's George Steinbrenner sighting in Tampa. Right now, he's our Chairman Mao, circa 1976, bathing in the Yangtze River. (Or Yankee River?)
.
Any public appearance brings the real news: He's not dead.
.
OK. Hard to get a grip here. No long-time Yankee fan can forget the Boss-induced hell that was the 1980s. Unless you lived through it, you cannot understand how intensely Steinbrenner ruined the team and roiled our distaste.
.
But George always loved the Yankees. Nobody ever doubted that. And just as he kept bringing back Billy and Reggie, it has become a central tenet of Yankee theology that WE ALWAYS FORGIVE. (As proof, I submit one name: Javier Vazquez.) (By the way, that's what for 80 years separated us from Redsock fans, who never forgave. And they might be back into that chinzy mode, too.)
Long ago, we forgave George.
Clearly, his health is in decline, and every appearance in the Yangtze might be his last.
This week, the Yankees gave Haiti $500,000 -- half of what the entire organization of MLB donated. Some people acted as if it was merely the Yankees buying another free agent. But look around. Several owners have more money than the Steinbrenners. They were always able to sign players, please their fans and make big contributions to relief efforts, when the world seems on fire. They just don't.
And when they die, their fan-bases rejoice.
George needn't worry.
.
But George always loved the Yankees. Nobody ever doubted that. And just as he kept bringing back Billy and Reggie, it has become a central tenet of Yankee theology that WE ALWAYS FORGIVE. (As proof, I submit one name: Javier Vazquez.) (By the way, that's what for 80 years separated us from Redsock fans, who never forgave. And they might be back into that chinzy mode, too.)
Long ago, we forgave George.
Clearly, his health is in decline, and every appearance in the Yangtze might be his last.
This week, the Yankees gave Haiti $500,000 -- half of what the entire organization of MLB donated. Some people acted as if it was merely the Yankees buying another free agent. But look around. Several owners have more money than the Steinbrenners. They were always able to sign players, please their fans and make big contributions to relief efforts, when the world seems on fire. They just don't.
And when they die, their fan-bases rejoice.
George needn't worry.
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