Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Blog Archive » Yankee Fans Should Thank Chuck Greenberg

Yankee Fans Should Thank Chuck Greenberg


By Frank Russo ~ November 2nd, 2010. Filed under: New York Yankees.

Yankee fans should be extremely happy with the vituperative comments made Monday by Rangers CEO Charles “Chucky Schmucky” Greenberg. That’s right, happy. Why you ask? Well, before I go any further, I want to let everyone know that I have not lost my mind, and no, I am not on drugs. The simple truth is that, by running his mouth off, Greenberg gave the Yankees even more incentive to sign Cliff Lee.

I spoke with my main Yankees source down in Tampa on Tuesday, who told me the following. “I can only tell you what I know, and what I know is this….Yankee management is “incensed” by what he said, and are more determined than ever to sign Cliffy.”

‘The organization as a whole feels that his (Greenberg’s) apology was nothing more than a disingenuous, ”half-assed” effort, and that his original comments reflected his true feelings.”

I spoke with a friend of mine, and NL executive, who told me the following. “This guy (Greenberg) needs to get over himself. Who the hell is he? He’s owned the team for basically three months and suddenly he’s an expert on fans, especially Yankee fans? Seriously, the guy needs to shut up and stop acting like a complete clown. I’m pretty sure that Hank, Hal and Brian were not amused at all by what that idiot said.” Getting into a war with the Yankee is a no-win situation.”

On that point, my main Yankees source whole heartedly agreed. “Greenberg should have let sleeping dogs lie, but he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut.” You never should kick an enemy when he’s down. It’s just not smart.”

Only time will tell, but my personal opinion, (as well that of many baseball executives) is that all Greenberg did was ”awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve”.

Passing Thoughts

I have finally come to the conclusion that my good friend Mike Silva has finally lost his mind. His attacks on Yankee fans have become predictable, redundant and damn right boring. Not surprisingly, Silva agrees with Chuck Greenberg in regards to Yankee fans. Silva’s attitude toward Yankees Stadium crowds comes as no surprise to this columnist. What is a surprise is how surly Silva has become lately.

Mike, seriously, do us all a favor. Stop acting as if someone pissed in your corn flakes and get back to being the same guy I came to know and like when I first started writing for this website back in 2007.

Frank is a resident of East Brunswick, NJ and former radio announcer. He is a 4th generation Republican and Yankees Fan. He also enjoys listening to talk radio. His favorite announcer is Shawn Hannity of “Hannity” on FOX and enjoys reading about military history. In addition to rooting for the Yankees, he also has a passion for the New York Islanders. You can enjoy Frank’s work at The Dead Ball Era and his book “Bury My Heart at Cooperstown”. Check out his “Rants and Raves” on New York Baseball Digest.
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12 Responses to Yankee Fans Should Thank Chuck Greenberg

  1. Sam
    November 2nd, 2010 at 4:07 pm

    “What is a surprise is how surly Silva has become lately. Mike, seriously, do us all a favor. Stop acting as if someone pissed in your corn flakes and get back to being the same guy I came to know and like when I first started writing for this website back in 2007.”

    Awk-waaaaaaard

  2. Joe
    November 2nd, 2010 at 4:49 pm

    Love the criticism Frank! Silva is extremely bias..it’s borderline ridiculous. Every post he does praises the Mets and berades the Yankees. The website should be called NY Mets Digest

  3. Viper
    November 2nd, 2010 at 5:00 pm

    This really doesn’t make any difference at all.

    It was very clear the Yanks wanted Cliff Lee badly before he ever became a Texas Ranger. Hell, they almost traded their top prospect for him in July.

    Whether Greenberg made his comments or not, the Yanks were going hard after Cliff Lee this offseason regardless.

    The only difference now is that Hal and Cashman will have bigger smiles on their faces when they flip off Greenberg during Lee’s press conference at the Stadium.

  4. Frank Russo
    November 2nd, 2010 at 5:09 pm

    Viper,

    I think we are in agreement here. All I am saying here is, before Greenberg shot his mouth off, the Yankees might have drwan a certain line in the sand when it came to money for Lee. Now there is no line, thanks to good old Chucky Boy!

  5. TT
    November 2nd, 2010 at 5:26 pm

    Best post this site has had all year. Finally someone tells it like it is in regards to Mike. Don’t worry Silva. I’m sure u can write 20 more posts about how much u hate Joba

  6. Yankee1010
    November 2nd, 2010 at 5:41 pm

    It’s come to this for Silva – the writers on his own site can’t even hide their contempt for him.

    Perhaps a fair, balanced and rational take would suit you well, Silva. Of course, everyone knows that will never happen. You and Steve Lombardi have too much fun spewing lunacy.

  7. EdC
    November 2nd, 2010 at 7:14 pm

    It’s remarkable that to some, everything Yankee is sacrosanct (or needs to be). Chuck Greenberg is not the first, nor will he be the last, to make some sort of observation about the insouciance and self-entitlement exhibited by many NYY fans. Not very nice of him, but who’s to disagree? I guess when you go from smug to offended, it’s worth some noise. And that’s all it is … noise. The good news is, Russo treats his clarinet like a tuba. The bad news is, it’s whining.

    This from a long time baseball fan who realizes that for every jerk in Yankees fandom, there are two or three or ten genuine, earnest, fair minded baseball fans. Is a mouse roaring?

  8. BeisbolFan
    November 2nd, 2010 at 9:00 pm

    Here’s a thought. If you don’t want people having poor opinions of Yankee fans, how about not throwing beer, cursing at and spitting on the visiting team’s families in the ALCS???

  9. Frank Russo
    November 2nd, 2010 at 10:09 pm

    EDc,

    Actually, I never played the Clarinet or Tuba. I played the bass guitar and drums.

  10. Death To Red Sox Nation
    November 2nd, 2010 at 10:14 pm

    EdC,

    Frank was telling the truth about Silva. All he does is whine about the Yankees and in particular, Joba. If you actually read some of his past articles, then you would know he has an agenda against the Yankees.

    BTW BeisbolFan,

    Kristin Lee was never spit on. Yankee Haters act like only Yankee Fans are bad. Please.

  11. Docta Mark
    November 3rd, 2010 at 6:42 am

    To Frank & The Yankee Beans –

    Please…I know the peaceful tip of the cap everyone gave Texas on that fateful FRI, OCT 22nd is a distant memory now, but the one thing that I took from all this is nothing’s changed…

    No one is qualified to ever be critical of the ‘Yankees’. Oh, except the true Yankee fans who spent the better part of a week grilling Girardi and the underachieving lineup, bullpen and coaching staff that got them to a Game 6 of the ALCS. When I heard Hal all po’d on both 1050 and then with the Pope on TUES, he had no problem calling the words of a new owner ‘stupid’. Foot in mouth maybe, but is that taking the high road? I never hear a peep out of the Philly ownership, and their fans take PRIDE in being Neanderthals.

    Drop the BS. This is all over Cliff Lee. Forget the media wars over whatver happened to his wife during the ALCS. And I’m sorry, but if you look at the Yankee fans from a non-NY viewpoint, what do you see on TV? A jackass in a Jeter shirt mocking Cruz with his buddy after a “homerun”. You see endless shots of disinterested TBS celebrities in the moat and bored and miserable Yankee fans filing out of two lopsided games late. And the few shots of the Texas WAG’s I saw had them painted like a nervous/happy little cheering section that had “boo us” written all over it. But SFW!

    Like I told Frank and Mike the night of the Game 6 loss, relax, get a football fix in, and somewhere between TG and Xmas the carving board will come out and you’ll have Cliff Lee here and the
    Texas owner’s “I hate NY” sound bytes won’t hurt your ears…

    As far as Silva’s ‘anti-Yankee’ agenda, please find Earth soon. He’s waaaaaaaaaay more critical of the Mets and it’s only from late SEPT to the end of the season that there’s really anything to talk about re: Yankee moves/player performance etc…Again, if it’s coming from people Yankee fans respect, it’s tolerated.

    So please, while we’re on a timeout here, can you submit a list of the names Yankee fans, beat writers, TV reporters, etc…who are able to say anything critical of them, justified or not. When your ownership, upper management, team, fans and YES network voices walk around ‘expecting’ championships every year, you
    become bullies. So when you lose, you act like bullies who lose.

    If anyone is predictable it’s the Yankees and their ‘loyal fans’…

    All the love, MRF 11.03

  12. BeisbolFan
    November 3rd, 2010 at 12:01 pm

    Oh, you’re right. It was Misty May-Treanor that said she was spit on. Kristin Lee was just cursed at while the rest of the section had beer poured on them. So much better.

    As for other fans, yes everyone has knuckleheads. The Yankees just have more than the rest. Ask the Giants fans at the Ballpark if they were spit on, cursed at and doused with beer during the World Series.

    If the people who attend games at Yankee Stadium would show some class, perhaps they would get some respect.

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