Friday, August 3rd 2007, 2:54 PM
George Steinbrenner making an appearance at Yankees spring training camp
earlier this year. There has been much speculation about Steinbrenner’s
health in recent months.
George
Steinbrenner “looks dreadful,” his “body is bloated” and “his skin
looks as if a dry-cleaner bag has been stretched over it,” according to
a lengthy article about The Boss coming out in the September issue of
the magazine Conde Nast Portfolio.
“He doesn’t look all right. In fact, he looks dreadful,” Franz Lidz,
the author of the piece, writes in the story, which hits newsstands
Aug.15. “Steinbrenner’s face, pale and swollen, has a curiously
undefined look.”
There has been much speculation about Steinbrenner’s health in
recent months, and The Boss rarely makes public appearances – he’s been
at only one Yankee game this season, the April2 opener. But, according
to team officials and Steinbrenner’s personal spokesman, Howard
Rubenstein, the Boss is still active in the Yankee decision-making
process and recently he was involved in organizational meetings near
the trade deadline.
Steinbrenner was seen often by reporters during spring training, but
at times walked unsteadily in the hallways at Legends Field. In a
recent interview with The Associated Press, in which he said GM Brian
Cashman was “on a big hook” this year, Steinbrenner’s responses seemed
lucid.
But the Conde Nast story seemingly paints a different picture. Lidz
recounts a visit to Steinbrenner’s home in Tampa with Tom McEwen, a
longtime Steinbrenner pal, in which, according to Lidz, Steinbrenner
answers a series of different questions, including inquiries about his
wife, Joan, by saying, “Great to see ya, Tommy.”
Lidz writes:
“McEwen asks about his sons, Hank and Hal. ‘Great to see ya, Tommy,’ he says.
McEwen asks about his daughters, Jennifer and Jessica.
‘Great to see ya, Tommy,’ he says.
McEwen asks about his health.
Steinbrenner sighs heavily and mutters, ‘Oh, I’m all right.'”
Rubenstein said that Lidz and McEwen “came in under false pretenses”
and that Steinbrenner didn’t know Lidz was there to report a story.
Lidz writes that McEwen “introduces me as a writer working on a story.”
“George was better off saying, as a gentleman would, ‘Nice to see
you, nice to see you,’ rather than something harsh,” Rubenstein said.
“George remained a gentleman and they really shouldn’t have come in
under false pretenses.”
Asked about Steinbrenner’s health yesterday, Rubenstein said, “I’m
not going to go beyond saying that I talk to George almost every
day….He’s OK and he’s still an active participant in every decision.”
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