Thank You Mr. Steinbrenner

To George Steinbrenner, wherever you may be.

Heaven can only be so lucky to have someone like you. You were great at what you did. You brought a team back to its past glory not just once, but twice. The New York Yankees can only hope that your sons can do as great a job as you did.

The numbers speak for themselves. 7 World Championships. 11 American League Championships. 16 Division Titles. A .566 win percentage. All of these numbers lead the Major Leagues since 1973, the year you took over.

Can I take a moment to say that the 8 million dollars you invested in the Yankees is clearly the best 8 million dollars ever spent? The team is now worth more than 1 billion dollars. That's a phenomanal profit.

You turned millions of people into Yankee fans, myself included. Everybody knows that championsips build a fanbase. And you got a championship as I was becoming a fan. I thank you for that. Being a Yankee Fan has been the best experience of my life.

Was it all easy? No. You were suspended several times, including once for making illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon. But you always came back with a vengence and won in the few years coming back.

We're all your decisions brilliant? No. But the great ones were great. Reggie and Catfish are just a couple of the ones that come to mind. While you may have wanted to trade off Bernie Williams, you didn't. That turned out well, didn't it?

You are now hearing Bob Sheppard saying, as only he could, "Now entering Heaven, Number 27, George Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner. Number 27."

So, have a great time with Bob Sheppard, Bobby Murcer and your favorite, Billy Martin. You're in a better place now and you will be greatly missed by Yankee fans, new and old.

Yours Truly,

Mike

Here's what some Tweeters had to say about Steinbrenner.

@michaelianblack

Somewhere in heaven, Billy Martin just got fired. RIP George Steinbrenner.

@str8edgeracer: To Yankee fans- don't mourn the Boss, celebrate his legacy. He revitalized the franchise and at times the entire industry

@Smokey_14

[sigh] Well, guess the only way to honor saying goodbye to The Boss is to win Championship #28.

Other stuff:

Cliff Lee 2011. Change We Don't Need, But Can Still Believe In.

Good Luck to Jeter, Swisher, Pettite, Mo, A-Rod and Tex in the All Star Game tonight.

David Ortiz must've juice up for the Home-Run Derby.

Trivia contest on Twitter tomorrow night?

RIP Bob Sheppard

A final farewell to one of the finest voices in all of baseball. Bob Sheppard, long time Yankees PA announcer, has passed away at the age of 99. He will surely be missed.

Something just doesn't seem right when I go to the new Yankee Stadium. No offense intended towards the new PA announcer, but you're no Bob Sheppard. While you still get the experience of a Sheppard announcement of "Now Batting. Number Two. Der-Rek Jet-er. Jet-er. Number two.", there is just something missing.

No longer will we here the signature "Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to Yankee Stadium" in his signature voice. No more games with Bob Sheppard behind the microphone, speaking like the voice of God in the cathedral known as Yankee Stadium.

I think it's great that Jeter has requested that Sheppard's recording be played before he bats. It's a legacy. A tradition that needn't be broken. I feel bad for the new players, like CC, AJ and Tex who never had the chance to hear a cheer after Sheppard announced their name.

I think his son said it best. "The Yankees and Bob Sheppard were a marriage made in heaven. I know St. Peter will now recruit him. If you’re lucky enough to go to heaven, you’ll be greeted by a voice, saying, ‘Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to heaven!’ ”

Bob, if you're reading this, please know that you are greatly missed. Your accomplishments are beyond all plausible recongition.

Other notes:

Yanks looked good today. Solid victory over the M's.

Yanks looked good on Saturday, but Joba "The Pizza Hut" Chamberlain blew it (as usual)

Shockingly, AJ has looked better. Dave Eiland, never leave again.

Saw parts of the game in 3D today. It was pretty nifty.

The Classy Award of the day goes to the Seatle Mariners for the moment of silence for Sheppard. That was a high class maneuver by the upper management of the M's.

Spain won. Fortunatly, David Villa didn't score.

The Knicks got the ultimate consolation prize in free agency: Raymond Felton. He can shoot.