Nobody Beats Him in Blame Game

The New York Yankees lost to the Angels in the first round of the American League playoffs last season, and guess who isn’t happy about it?

George Steinbrenner, that’s who.

The Yankees’ owner blamed four-time All-Star Derek Jeter’s declining production on the shortstop’s numerous off-field activities and said he’s not quite ready to be the team’s first captain since Don Mattingly.

In an interview with the New York Daily News printed Sunday, Steinbrenner also said he is holding Manager Joe Torre and his coaching staff accountable for the team’s early playoff exit.

Of Jeter, Steinbrenner said: “As far as trying and being a warrior, I wouldn’t put anyone ahead of him. But how much better would he be if he didn’t have all his other activities?

“I tell him this all the time. I say, ‘Jetes, you can’t be everything to everybody. You’ve got to focus on what’s important.’ I want to see Jetes truly focused.”

As for Torre and his staff:

“I just want his coaches to understand that just being a friend of Joe Torre’s is not enough. They’ve got to produce for him. Joe Torre and his staff have heard the bugle.

“Joe is the greatest friend I’ve ever had as a manager.... I don’t want to destroy that, but I will tell you this: I want his whole staff to understand that they have got to do better this year.”

More from George: Steinbrenner also believes baseball, and Commissioner Bud Selig, targeted his team in the new collective bargaining agreement, which features a luxury tax on high-payroll teams -- such as the Yankees.

“I am a Bud Selig man. I consider him a good friend,” Steinbrenner said, before adding: “But while I’m loyal to Bud Selig, the biggest beneficiaries in this whole plan are the Milwaukee Brewers.

“That doesn’t seem quite right. I don’t know how he sleeps at night sometimes.”

Trivia time: Who holds the Pacific 10 Conference bowl record for the longest run from scrimmage?

Irish wake: Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post commenting on Carson Palmer’s performance against Notre Dame: “He completed 32 of 46 passes for 425 yards and four touchdowns. The last time Notre Dame got its bell rung like that was by the Hunchback.”

Comedy team? Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes that Redskin Coach Steve Spurrier has flipped-flopped his quarterbacks so many times, “they might as well have Larry, Moe and Curly on their jerseys.”

Shrinking man: Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle on the Golden State Warriors’ signing of diminutive Earl Boykins:

“They’d better utilize him fast. Boykins was listed as 5 feet 8 in high school, 5-7 in college and now he’s 5-5. If the trend continues, bobblehead dolls will be posting this guy up.”

Trivia answer: Dwight Ford of USC, 94 yards against Texas A&M; in the 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl.

And finally: Frank Fitzpatrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer, on Cincinnati conducting a raffle in which the winners pushed the button to implode Cinergy Field: “One suspects the contest would attract considerably more attention if the Bengals’ offices were still there.”

-- Mal Florence