Big George arrives in Heaven....
The Boss arrives in Heaven and what do you know, he right away hears Bob Sheppard's voice, which He himself has chosen to be Heaven's Announcer, utter "Angels and Saints, all Souls in Heaven, welcome Mr. George Steinbrenner, Boss of all bosses, Mr. Steinbrenner!" George could not believe how great this reception was, for although he had given many retired Yankees their Day at the Stadium, this was the ultimate. He looked around and the first soul he sees is that O Billy himself. Next to him, the Scooter was saying, "Holy Cow, if it isn't the Boss himself! We have all been waiting for you, but we needed Mr. Sheppard to welcome you, and so God so fit that he got Mr. Sheppard to be the one who fittingly so, welcome you to join this Celestial Festivity. So George, welcome to Heaven. Baseball is surely played here. Just look around and you'll see St. Ruth, St. Gehrig, St. JoeD., St Murcer, St. Mickey. St. Maris, and all the other greats, mostly Yankees. They already have their Uniforms on today and will play against others who also played down there with other ML clubs. This game will be dedicated to you, George, only that you won't be able to "touch" anything, "move" anything, sign anyone. Here you will rest from all that, enjoy this for eternity, as this is your gift for all that you did, all those that you helped. Welcome, George!"

Within a 48 hour period, the Yankee family has lost two icons - and neither of them donned pinstripes with bat or glove. Sunday the Voice of Yankee Stadium passed - funeral services are Thursday (I think) on Long Island. While we still adjust to the loss of Bob Shepperd, the news we have dreaded for the past several years - the passing of George M. Steinbrenner III. Mr Steinbrenner meant different things to many people:husband, father, grandfather, businessman/entrepeneur, partner, Boss, and those lucky enough to count him as a Friend.

As a Yankee fan since 1950, I have many memories - some of the greatest are courtesy of The Boss. It was little things about him that endeared him to me. True George could be a controversial figure but he always had the best interest of the Yankees and their fans at heart. He had no qualms about investing and reinvesting to field a winning team - he enforced a dress code shirt & tie on planes; haircuts neat & trim; no beards; mustaches were trimmed. The Yankees exuded class and that tradition was carried on through George. We know the success, the history that George Steinbrenner created with his purchase of the New York Yankees in 1973.

It is so hard writing about your passing, which I sadly heard an hour ago, but there are a few things out of many that I would like to express. First of all, thank you for everything that you did to make the Yankees the Franchise of franchises, for all the success it has had since you took it away from CBS before any more damage could be inflicted on the most famous team, not only in Baseball but in any sport.
That you were rude, sure, but could you have gotten the same positive results if you hadn't? You were instrumental in bringing respectability to the Yankees and no matter what has been said about how you went about running the Yankees, you always put aside the money factor just as long as it meant winning. That is what separated you from all of the other owners. You preffered to win, even if it took your last penny. Winning was always more important to you, that's why you brought the best talent.
It's amazing how time has elapsed, for it was just the other day that you were having your famous battles with Billy the Kid, were winning all those championships, and now you are gone. The passing of Bob Sheppard must have been a giant of a shock to your already weak heart, I imagine. You will be with him, Mickey, Billy, Roger, Bobby, Elston, and I am sure that you will have the last word, as you always had, for that's the way it always was.

It is being reported that Bob Sheppard, 99, has passed away. May he rest in peace this giant of a broadcaster and although he was not active due to his age and health, he will always be in our hearts as we "listen" to his "now batting, number 7, Mickey Mantle, no. 7." I have problems remembering any other name he may have mentioned, and they were thousands, but the announcement of the Mick and today, Jeter, will always be in my head, in my thoughts. As long as Jeter is still active, we wil still hear his name being announced by Sheppard, but once Jeter has retired, it will go off. Sad, but true, but we were expecting this any moment. That is why we must make every effort to have our other great one, George Steinbrenner, get elected into the HOF. They have been two icons, especially Yankee ones, and now that Bob has left us, never to be replaced with another one like him, we must also appreciate in full what George has meant to us. Rest in peace Bob Sheppard, as I hope one day to hear you announce the players names "up there," for I am sure that Baseball must be played in Heaven. Only that He needed a mortal Voice, and has called you up.

Yes, Andy has made it look easy so far this season. He is 11-2 with an E.R.A. of 2.70 and right now has got to be considered the top candidate for the Cy Young, even if there are others that have won as many, including his teammates CC and Hughes. He has looked like a young Andy despite being 38 years old this past June. He twice has won 21 games in his career (21-8 in both cases) and this year appears to be another 20 game winner. He has the club to do it with as the Yankees are the most talented team in the Majors, but it is his pitching that has won his games. If he had the record that he has with an E.R.A of over 4 runs, you could say that the Yankee offense has picked him up, but by his E.R.A. you can say that he has been stingy, that it has been mainly his pitching that has gotten him to where he is right now. I say that he is making it hard and by that I mean, retiring? How can you think about hanging it up, go out a winner, as did Moose, when you are pitching great and not embarrasing yourself nor your teammates?

The day Mo retires, with him will go a living legend, a once in a lifetime player, a once in a lifetime man. He has never won a Cy Young, although he should have, but sometimes the best award comes not from a group of "selectors," but from players, coaches, opposing batters, and above all, the fans. I know that even in Red Sox Land, or Nation as they call it, even there those "Enemy" fans have nothing but praise for this specimen of a reliever, this man who has no enemies. Sure, in the heat of the battle, of the eternal Sox-Yankee confrontations, they must have hated when he came in, probably booed him, but at the same time they know that Mo is Royalty, he is class, he has been who all others have made him out to be, simply the best of the best. Mariano, being human, is already feeling the aches and pains that are the signs that the end may be near. He is already 40 years old, although the hitters he faces will tell you that's a lie, only that in his case he is not saying he is younger, they are the ones who say he probably is about 32 by the way he still pitches, but the reality is that he being the greatest closer, is himself being closed by Father Time. I will forever miss this man, this #42, when he hangs it up. It will have to be one of the saddest days in my Yankee life as well as that of any Yankee fan or player out there.

We say farewell to interleague play on a good note - taking 2/3 against Joe Torre and the Dodgers. We did get to see some good young talent in the NL but also when left on his own, Joe T still "abuses" his relievers. Jonathan Broxton has become a solid powerhouse closer -. This weekend his talent was overused to the Yankee benefit. Closing Saturday night on 19 pitches, he was brought in last night with a 4 run lead (not a save) - after whiffing Tex, Broxton's velocity or location faltered. Alex, Robbie, Jorge, Curtis followed by youngsters Chad Hoffman and Colin Curtis took full advantage to tie the game - Grandy scoring the tying run on a grounder which Loney made the wrong play by getting the out at first then throwing home-unable to beat the Speedy Grandy. Why Torre left Jonathan in the game - except because he thought the game that important-to throw 48 pitches in one inning (that's 4 innings worth for some starters).

The Yankees/Dodgers, a rivalry separated by an entire country. To those who experienced the the Bronx/Brooklyn version with constant Subway Series for the WS before the Walter O'Malley packed up his team for sunny California, it's not the same. Last night game 1 in this interleague series lived up to the media hype-a classic pitching duel between CC and Vicente Padilla.

CC struggled a bit during the first three innings before he found his groove and really took charge. In the first inning he gave up an rbi hit to Manny giving the Dodgers an early lea, one of only four in his eight innings. In top of the 2nd Alex led off with a double to right, scoring on Jorge's rbi single. The score remained tied until the 6th when ALex went yard with what was to be the game winner.

Having the MLB Extra Innings Package has allowed me to listen to other broadcasters besides our YES ones. Not one of them has not had nice things to say about our Robbie Cano. All you hear is how great he is, how he will win this year's Gold Glove, how he should have won it last year, and how great he is, always making sure to say how he will win batting titles, especially this year. I have been watching baseball since 1960 and one guy I always enjoyed watching hit was Rod Carew. Well, Robbie has always been compared to him, by the way he goes with the pitch, only that he is a stronger Carew, with more power. Much has been said, written about Cano, but I tell you he is a beautiful "thing" to watch. You just enjoy his fielding and when he comes up to hit, even his practice swings, those that he has before stepping to the plate. It is just perfect, a beauty of swing and when he goes to Left Field with an outside pitch, simply undescribable, elegancy at its best. It is often said that there are sometimes trades that are great, others that are great because they are not carried out. A couple of years back when he had that tough season in 2008, many teams asked for Cano in trades, but for some reason, he stayed put. It would have been one of the sorriest, worse trades we ever would have made, for he is proving that he is right now the best second baseman in Baseball, not only by spraying all fields with hits, many of them power hits, but by also playing a second base with an ease and beauty that makes you remember the days of another Robbie, Alomar. Nobody makes the pivot like Cano does, nobody has the arm that he has. Again, much has been written, much has been said about Cano, but there is still a lot about him to be written and said, for he is still quite young. Robbie Cano is the closest thing to Poetry In Motion. He is some player. Let us enjoy his play for years to come...