IF YOU WIN, YOU WIN, IF YOU LOSE, YOU STILL WIN...

Bob Klapisch adds his two cents to the Jeter/George story, and notes that Jeter is playing into Steinbrenner's hand by stating his case to the media:

Make no mistake, Steinbrenner wants Jeter to succeed, because the Yankees need him. But George wants to look good, too, "Abso-[fuggin]-lutely" is what Reggie Jackson said when asked if The Boss is seeking to gain control over Jeter. He's even begun his campaign on Jason Giambi too, denying clubhouse and field-access this summer to Giambi's personal trainer, Bob Alejo.

Steinbrenner and Giambi will meet face to face Tuesday, and we'll learn in just a few days what it took us seven years to discover about Jeter. And that is, even the coolest and hippest sometimes can't resist Steinbrenner's bait.

If Giambi turns out to be as sensitive as Jeter, don't expect Steinbrenner to relent. And if that's the case, the entire Bronx summer has a chance to end up in the toilet.

My, how times have changed.

In his 1984 autobiography, aptly titled "Balls," former Yankee third baseman Craig Nettles had this bit of advice for young players:

Today [1983], my recommendation to a young ballplayer is, "Be controversial. Be as controversial as you can---if you can handle it." A lot of players can't. Reggie wsa one of the guys who could, and the more controversial he was, the better he played. Our kids, [Don] Mattingly and [Steve "Bye Bye"] Balboni, they will never be controversial. All the young kids coming up are quiet. But I tell them, "Being a good soilder is only going to cost you money in the long run."

Ah, the good ol' days...

Nettles was a sardonic, clubhouse wit, who incidentally had a lousy business acumen. He was traded to the Yankees from Cleveland just a month before Steinbrenner bought the team.

During his first season with New York, he played for "The Major," Ralph Houk:

Ralph said to me, "This owner is giving me a lot of trouble so far with all these phones calls, but one thing about him, he isn't afraid to spend some money and buy some players when we need them."...I like that aspect of George, that he wants to win so badly that he'll go out and do whatever he can to make us a winner. And that's all a player can ask for.

But Ralph kept complaining that George was calling him on the phone all the time. He'd call during the game, in the middle of the night. Things he's done to all his managers since...

Despite what Ralph told me about George, I didn't realize the problems were as bad as they were until the final day of the [1973] season. The final game didn't mean anything, and after the game, the guys were getting ready to go home. But the word was, "Stay around until the end of the game. Ralph is going to make an announcement." I didn't know what it was going to be. And at the end of the game, you could hear the fans outside in the stadium, tearing the stadium apart, because it was the last game in Yankee Stadium for two years while they renovated, and with all that noise going on outside, in the clubhouse underneath the stands, here was Ralph Houk telling us that he was leaving.

As we sat around on the stools by our lockers, Ralph cam out and said, "I got to tell you guys something. I've had enough. I'm quitting." And he broke down into tears.

I spoke to him afterward and Ralph said, "I have to quit before I hit the guy." Ralph said, "I don't want to leave the game of baseball by punching an owner. But if he keeps on bothering me like he does, I'll end up hitting him."

Maybe that's the answer. Jeter should just go up to George's office and punch him in the eye ball.

AROUND THE HORN

1. Nate Silver has a good article about the Yankees' 7-man rotation at Baseball
Prospectus.

2. Tom Verducci previews the 2003 season, with a couple of questions for each team.

3. Baseball Weekly has a feature on Bill James and the influence he may have on the Red Sox.

4. Last but not least, Jack Curry has a piece on the "cool and coy" new manager of the Texas Rangers, Buck Showalter.

Enjoy.