Open Letter to George: Don't Listen to This Guy!

"But as the boys of summer get back to work, let's be honest and admit that baseball's in trouble. The steroid scandal is getting worse."

Baseball is not in trouble, and neither are the Yankees. The NHL is in trouble.

If Michael Goodwin doesn't believe that, he should go to Ticketmaster and try to buy a ticket to a mid-week game at Yankee Stadium vs. the Detroit Tigers. He will be sitting in the left-field bleachers with the Con Ed Kids.

As for the notion that the steroid scandal is "getting worse," at least I give Goodwin credit for keeping his nose to the grindstone. Most writers took the weak-ass revised labor agreement and are ready to declare the end of the "steroid era." So are most fans.

Most fans just don't want to hear about it. We're ready to be swept away by 6-4-3 double plays and really long homeruns. The game itself is just too good, it's not going anywhere. Here we are now, entertain us.


"It's time, Boss, to step up to the plate and hit it out of the park. Do the one thing that will make clear what the Yankees stand for and what baseball should stand for.

Kick Jason Giambi off the Yankees. Tell him, and the world, there is no place in pinstripes for cheaters."

Be careful when you start deciding what baseball world should stand for. Sure, it should stand for puppy dogs and sunny Saturdays. Nobody should cheat, lie, or steal. But we've got the judiciary system to take care of criminals.

When we earnestly start sliding down this particular slippery slope, Sheffield is off the team for sure, and probably several others. Clemens won a Cy Young in NY while on steroids. Randy Velarde was also mentioned in the BALCO case, and he was a Yankee ... even if he wasn't any good.

Every team is affected by steroids. It's not just LaRussa and Giambi who are guilty of the big Cover Up. Baseball's past does not change one bit if Jason Giambi is hit by a bus tomorrow. Even if the Yankees offered up Giambi as a sacrifice, then a lot of cheaters are just getting away with it.


"Fans are basically amoral - if you play well, they love you. That's the beauty of sports. What happens on the field is all that counts. Normally."

Yup. But then why is the sport in trouble?


"Not to be corny, but children have been denied a piece of our heritage - the right to look up to baseball players. We must restore the game's integrity so it can reclaim its honored place in American life."

Ever notice when somebody says "not to be" something, then they immediately are that something?

Nobody should look up to baseball players. If there was a period in this country when little children looked up to baseball players, they were looking up to racists, scoundrels, alcoholics, wife beaters, cheats, and drug addicts.

Not to be cynical, Michael, but Bobby Thomson stole the sign.


"Well, baseball needs saving again. We face the possibility that some of the sacred stats in the record books are fraudulent. Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Giambi and other Popeye druggies have corrupted history."

McGwire? Briefly held the single-season HR record. Check.

Bonds? Currenty holds the single-season HR record and is about to pass Ruth and possibly even Aaron. Check.

Canseco? He was the first player to have a 40/40 season. I'm not sure how "sacred" that one is. Oh, and Greenwell wants his MVP, damn it.

Giambi? He did hit that game-winning grand slam against Minnesota. Maybe they want that game back, damn it.


"Okay, let's say you're stuck with the bum. Then tell Torre under no circumstances is Giambi to play. He can sit and watch 162 games. All you lose is money. The important thing is that his name never again appear in a Yankees box score."

Giambi can sit and watch 162 games? All the Yankees lose is money?

Is this article a practical joke after all?

Was I just Punk'd?