COMMENTARY : Tartabull Needs to Wake Up and Grow Up

At a time when the Yankees need Danny Tartabull’s bat more than ever, when they desperately need wins to hold on to their season, Tartabull announces he doesn’t care to play here any longer.

He said last Sunday he doesn’t care to play at all. Tartabull needs to wake up, and grow up. If he wants to get out of town this badly, he should try hitting his way out.

Tartabull seems to think he is under fire because George Steinbrenner has made some remarks, and because he has heard some boos at Yankee Stadium. He has no idea what others have gone through here. None.

After three years as a Yankee, after already cashing checks from Steinbrenner worth $15 million, he somehow has no idea where he works, or for whom he works. Maybe he always thought it would be a free ride for him here. Maybe he thought there would always be someone to take the heat off him, on the field and off.

Tartabull seems to be another athlete who thinks the big jobs and the big money come without strings attached. And that is not the way it works, certainly not around here. Not only should Tartabull wake up, but he should do it fast. If not, he is stuck with the Yankees and they are stuck with him.

“The contract is bigger than the player right now,” Yankees general manager Gene Michael said.

Tartabull did not start last Sunday’s game against the Mariners. He was hurt. This means hurt feelings, no matter what anybody around the Yankees is saying. The hurt feelings these days have nothing to do with the Yankees’ record. Tartabull is mostly concerned about Tartabull. Steinbrenner said some things, now Tartabull doesn’t want to work for him anymore. Tartabull makes approximately $35,000 a game in this shortened season and has decided he would like to make it someplace else.

His agent, Dennis Gilbert, tells Tartabull there is a big market out there for his services. No market exists at this time. Tartabull is hitting .220, with three home runs. At $35,000 a game and $5 million a season, he is almost impossible to move.

But the agent tells Tartabull the Yankees aren’t trying hard enough, and this causes Tartabull to brood even more.

Last Sunday, Tartabull was in the first draft of Buck Showalter’s lineup. Tartabull went out to take batting practice and when he was finished with his own swings, he left the field. Showalter saw that and went after him. The two had a conversation. Showalter then removed Tartabull’s name from the lineup.

This had nothing to do with Tartabull’s physical condition. So this was about Tartabull’s attitude, which is about as good lately as the Yankees’ record. What he basically told Showalter was this: I’m just not into it today.

At a time when that record could get Showalter fired, when another bad road trip could put the Yankees a dozen games under .500 and back in last place with fewer than 100 games to play, it has become clear that Danny Tartabull is not too concerned whether he plays or not. He finally made an appearance in the eighth inning of last Sunday’s game as a pinch-hitter, drawing the walk that started a rally. The Yankees won the game. They were not swept by the Mariners. They finished their home stand with a 3-7 record, not 2-8.

After last Sunday’s game, Showalter made it clear that Tartabull did not ask out of the lineup. But it is obvious that Tartabull did not bust his way in, either. It is obvious that whatever questions Showalter asked, he was given indifferent responses. Tartabull is healthy. A Seattle left-hander with real soft stuff named Dave Fleming was pitching for the Mariners. Tartabull shrugged and went to the bench anyway. He does the same thing every time his name does not end up on the official lineup card.

Maybe this is why Dennis Gilbert and Tartabull think they have had to put extra phone lines into Yankee Stadium, just to handle all the offers they are getting for Tartabull’s services.

“Buck knows I want to be in there every day,” Tartabull said.

Not everyone around the Yankee clubhouse is so sure about that one. Don’t worry, it is a fact. Steinbrenner is not the only one who wonders about Tartabull. So the Yankees now have a reluctant $5-million player who publicly has declared his intention to leave them at a time when they are fighting for their season.

Tartabull has put up some numbers in New York. Two years ago he hit 31 home runs for the Yankees and knocked in 100 runs. And he mostly has been left alone here, even though Steinbrenner doesn’t want him and would love to get rid of him. Until the last couple of weeks, Showalter has been able to keep the owner away from Tartabull.

Showalter has protected him, and never has questioned the back spasms Tartabull talks about before he really does take himself out of the lineup.

Tartabull repays him with indifference at a time when he should be doing everything he can to help Showalter keep his job. Because if Showalter goes, the next manager probably isn’t going to hold Tartabull’s hand, or act as his blocking back. There will be no one between Tartabull and Steinbrenner.

“There are obviously some things going on right now with Danny that aren’t real conducive to a good mental attitude,” Showalter said from Detroit Tuesday. “But he’s going to have to get over them.” Showalter paused and said, “If he’s going through a tough time these days, well, he’s like everybody else around here. I mean, get in line.”

Tartabull is acting like a baby. Steinbrenner really hasn’t marked him up and the media hasn’t and neither have Yankee fans. If Tartabull thinks he is under fire, he should pick up the phone today and ask Dave Winfield what it was like to have Steinbrenner after him, month after month and year after year.

If he doesn’t want to ask Winfield, he should ask Reggie Jackson, once forced to take a physical when he was in a batting slump. Tartabull isn’t in that league, in any way. Most of the time, no one has noticed him, which appears to be the way he likes it. “The best thing for Danny to do is what (Winfield and Reggie) used to do,” Michael said. “Which means produce.”

No one likes being criticized, in New York or anywhere else. There hasn’t ever been a Yankee player or manager who liked it when Steinbrenner went after them. But it is part of the deal. Tartabull’s deal has been in place for more than three seasons. At these prices, even George Steinbrenner deserves better than this guy.