ARLINGTON, Texas — Chuck Greenberg was in damage control late yesterday afternoon after the Rangers owner ripped Yankees fans on a Dallas radio station earlier in the day.
Asked about Rangers fans during the postseason, the neophyte owner used the question to call Yankees fans “awful” and “embarrassing” during the Rangers-Yankees ALCS.
Yesterday’s rant was a clear indication Greenberg is hell-bent on keeping free agent Cliff Lee from leaving Texas for The Bronx.
Greenberg phoned Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner last night to apologize for his remarks.
Because Greenberg issued a statement, and the fact he is a new owner, having taken control of the franchise in August, Major League Baseball didn’t have any plans to discipline him. MLB frowns on teams causing stirs during the World Series.
Respecting MLB’s rule, the Yankees refused to comment on Greenberg’s words. Before Greenberg contacted Steinbrenner, the Yankees had plans to address the situation after the World Series ended, which it did last night with the Giants’ 3-1 win.
Prior to the phone call, the Yankees were disturbed with Greenberg for his comments about their fans.
“I think our fans have been great,” Greenberg said on 103.3 KESN. “I think particularly in Game 3 of the World Series they just blew away anything I’ve seen in any venue during the postseason. I thought Yankee fans, frankly, were awful. They were either violent or apathetic, neither of which is good. So I thought Yankee fans were by far the worst of any I’ve seen in the postseason. I thought they were an embarrassment.”
With Greenberg’s team was on the cusp of losing the World Series, the timing was odd. And tardy; the Rangers last played in The Bronx on Oct. 20.
Greenberg is not shy about taking on the Yankees. He firmly believes the Rangers beating the Yankees in the ALCS will keep Lee in Texas. And an influx of TV money — some estimates have it at $3 billion — gives the Rangers the financial muscle to compete with the Yankees for Lee.
Considering he went out of his way to rip Yankees fans, Greenberg’s words can be taken as a tool to give Lee pause about leaving.
Lee, who will be the best free-agent pitcher in a very shallow pool, said his wife, Kristin, was spat upon during the ALCS at Yankee Stadium but didn’t group all Yankees fans while addressing the issue before Game 1 of the World Series in San Francisco.
It sounded as if it wouldn’t impact his decision to sign or not sign with the Yankees.
“You can’t control 50,000 people and what they are going to do,” Lee said. “There were some people spitting off the balcony on the family section and things like that. That’s kind of weak, but what can you do? Some people get a little alcohol in them and act inappropriate, but it is what it is.
“I know it’s been made into a big deal but that’s really all it is, just two or three or four people acting like fools. You can’t group them all together. There is always going to be a couple of goofballs who think they have the right to do that stuff.”