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The Boss May Need a Room at Bellevue

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Times Staff Writer

Sometimes it is difficult to figure out exactly what is going on in George Steinbrenner’s mind. The New York Yankee owner released a weird, convoluted statement to the New York media Monday.

In part, it read: “One thing we hold dear: A quitter never wins, and a winner never quits. For us, winning isn’t the only thing. It’s second to breathing. As [Gen. Douglas] MacArthur said: ‘Victory is essential.’ ”

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Going nuts: The New York Post on Tuesday ran several stories on Steinbrenner’s statement under a bold headline that read: “Giddy George Getting Goofy.”

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The Post’s Mike Vaccaro suggested these movie titles: “One Flew Over the Owner’s Box,” or “Really, Really, Really Nuts.”

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Different perspective: The Post’s extensive coverage of Steinbrenner’s statement included a doctored photo that showed “the Boss” holding a book, “Pinstripe Poetry,” by George.

The New York Times, meanwhile, used one line from the statement at the end of Tyler Kepner’s “Inside Pitch” baseball notes. The coverage in the New York Daily News and Newsday was somewhere in between.

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Trivia time: The Yankees won the World Series in 1996, then won three in a row from 1998 to 2000. Who got the winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series that ended the Yankees’ streak?

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Few fish fans: Chicago Cub fans are everywhere. As for Florida Marlin fans, Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune writes: “I have never met a Florida baseball fan north of South Florida. I have never seen a Marlin cap west of Key West. I have seen more actual marlins in my life than Marlin caps.”

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Prospective politician: Soccer’s David Beckham, in a taped interview for tonight’s edition of Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” says he might eventually move to the United States.

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“I’ve always said the one thing I love about America is that they are so patriotic about their sports, their people, their country,” he says.

Beckham also says celebrities are treated with more respect in America “than anywhere else in the world.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1956, the Yankees’ Don Larsen pitched his perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series. The loser in the 2-0 Yankee victory, Sal Maglie, gave up five hits.

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In need of a hand: The San Francisco Giants lost to the Florida Marlins on Saturday when J.T. Snow was thrown out at home plate. Said Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Maybe little Darren Baker was watching on TV and thinking, ‘Wish I could have been there to pick him up.’ ”

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Trivia answer: Luis Gonzalez of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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And finally: Reader Fritz Griffin of South Pasadena offers this about the Athletics: “What do you call it when you lose nine straight games that would have clinched division series? The Curse of the Bam-Beane-O.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.

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