A Steinbrenner Statement, Minus the Bluster The Yankees' spectacular flop out of the American League Championship Series seemed to cry out for a classic Steinbrenner response, the kind that was part of the script in the years George Steinbrenner ruled the Yankees' empire with his trademark bluster. But since 2010, when Steinbrenner died - and actually before that because of his failing health in his final years - the two Steinbrenner sons have mostly shied away from trying to match their father's bombast. And nothing made that clearer than the statement released by Hal Steinbrenner on Friday. In it, he promises a thorough examination of the team for falling short of the franchise's World Series standard, but it does not exactly evoke the memory of his colorful father. Hal Steinbrenner's statement read: I want to thank our passionate fans for their support this season. We fell short of our singular and constant goal, which is a World Series Championship. However, I am proud of the accomplishments of this year's team. We earned the best record in the American League and were one of the four teams to advance to the League Championship Series, despite having to overcome and fight through a series of long-term injuries to a number of our key players. Make no mistake, this was a bitter end to our year, and we fully intend to examine our season in its totality, assess all of our strengths and weaknesses and take the necessary steps needed to maintain our sole focus of winning the World Series in 2013. Great teams - and organizations - use disappointment as a motivation for future improvements and success. In the days, weeks and months ahead, we plan to do what's necessary to return this franchise to the World Series. Nothing has changed. Nothing will change. My family - and our organization - has a long-standing commitment to provide all of our fans a championship-caliber team year after year. We may have fallen short yesterday but we never feel sorry for ourselves and never make excuses. We already are beginning the process to find a way to win our 28th World Championship. I want to congratulate Mike Ilitch, Dave Dombrowski, Jim Leyland, and the Detroit Tigers. They certainly proved worthy of representing the American League in the World Series, and are well deserving of this honor. Certainly, that's a far cry from 1981, when George was at his most Steinbrennerian after a loss to the Dodgers in the World Series. He drafted a letter to Yankees fans that said: "I want to sincerely apologize to the people of New York and to the fans of the New York Yankees everywhere for the performance of the Yankee team in the World Series. I also want to assure you that we will be at work immediately to prepare for 1982. I also want to extend my congratulations to Peter O'Malley and the Dodger organization - a fine team that didn't give up - and to my friend, Tommy Lasorda, who managed a superb season, playoffs and a brilliant World Series. Hal Steinbrenner also proved himself much wordier than George, who said after the Yankees lost to the Tigers in the 2006 playoffs: "I am deeply disappointed at our being eliminated so early in the playoffs," George's statement read. This result is absolutely not acceptable to me, nor to our great and loyal Yankee fans. I want to congratulate the Detroit Tigers organization and wish them well. Rest assured, we will go back to work immediately and try to right this sad failure and provide a championship for the Yankees, as is our goal every year. George had been far more poetic after a loss to the Angels in the division series in 2002: "There is an old Scottish proverb that says, 'I am wounded but I am not slain. I shall lay me down and bleed awhile, then I shall rise and fight again. That should be the feeling of all of the Yankees today. As for me, my chin is not on my chest. And I don't want anyone on my team to have his chin on his chest either. Particularly since Sept. 11, the Yankees have come to symbolize the spirit, strength and resilience of New York, and I am very proud of all we accomplished this year. We won 103 games during the regular season, and even I know that you're just not going to win it all every year. But our fans should be confident that we are already at work on improving our team for 2003. If there is one family resemblance, though, it does seem the Steinbrenners are fans of getting back to work quickly.