masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgBrian Roberts has singled and walked in three plate appearances as the Gulf Coast League Orioles’ designated hitter. He’s 4-for-5 in the first two games of his injury rehab assignment.

I know the Yankees don’t elicit much sympathy around here, but it’s been a rough week with the passing of Bob Sheppard, the team’s revered public address announcer, and owner George Steinbrenner within the past three days.

Steinbrenner died early this morning in Tampa after suffering a massive heart…Brian Roberts has singled and walked in three plate appearances as the Gulf Coast League Orioles’ designated hitter. He’s 4-for-5 in the first two games of his injury rehab assignment.

I know the Yankees don’t elicit much sympathy around here, but it’s been a rough week with the passing of Bob Sheppard, the team’s revered public address announcer, and owner George Steinbrenner within the past three days.

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Steinbrenner died early this morning in Tampa after suffering a massive heart attack. He celebrated his 80th birthday on the Fourth of July.

You can read more about it here.

Steinbrenner’s firings and rehirings of manager Billy Martin, and his feuds with various superstars on his team, kept me wildly entertained as a kid. But for all his faults as an owner, and you could use the list to wallpaper Times Square, he hoisted the World Series trophy six times during his 37 years.

He also was smart enough to hire Joe Torre, a decision that was widely criticized throughout baseball, and stay out of his way.

Sheppard, who was 99, had been the PA announcer at Yankee Stadium from 1951 to 2007.

I used to glance over at him from my seat in the press box at the old stadium and notice that he was reading a book, pausing only to introduce the next batter. And he was flawless.

I always wanted that voice as the outgoing message on my cell phone. He fielded that request more often than Derek Jeter fields ground balls.

RIP.

The following is a statement from Orioles owner Peter Angelos regarding Steinbrenner’s passing:

“The Orioles are saddened to learn of the passing of George Steinbrenner. As an active participant in the organizational direction and operations of the New York Yankees, his name is as synonymous with that franchise as any of the legendary athletes who have played in pinstripes. On behalf of the Orioles organization, I extend my deepest condolences to his wife, Joan, and the members of his family.”