Via the AP -

Boston Red Sox owner John Henry renewed his call for a salary cap on Wednesday after an off-season in which the New York Yankees added three free agents for $423.5 million.

Or, as Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said, “the Yankees have spent like the U.S. Congress.” That drew a quick response from Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner.

“Along with a few other teams, we’re basically baseball’s stimulus package,” he said.

New York thinks it has the right to spend after paying at least $110 million in revenue sharing and luxury tax last year.

“As long as we’re doing that and giving all this money to other teams in revenue sharing, a staggering amount, we should be able to spend on salaries what we want to,” Steinbrenner said. “Because of revenue sharing and because of the popularity nationwide, the Yankees are critical to baseball.”

I doubt even those who are not too crazy about the Hankster can argue with that.

This must mean there’s only one week left to the Yankees winter. Via the AP -

Hank Steinbrenner is not guaranteeing that his New York Yankees will win the 2009 World Series. Still, the team co-chairman is optimistic heading into the start of spring training next week.

“Much more so than last year,” Steinbrenner said on Thursday. “I feel real confident going into this season.”

“The entire team is fired up with what we’ve done,” Steinbrenner said.

“The American League East is by far the best division in baseball,” Steinbrenner said. “The players can’t be thinking, `Look how good we are on paper.’ They’ve got to earn it in our division.”

The Yankees have been a focal point off the field this week after the release of former manager Joe Torre’s book “The Yankee Years.”

“I haven’t read it yet,” Steinbrenner said. “I’ll read it.”

Via the AP -

Joe Girardi said this week he’d enjoy showing free agents around the new Yankee Stadium. CC Sabathia is one of the players the New York manager has in mind for a tour of the spacious clubhouse, players lounge, indoor batting cage and underground hot tub.

Free-agent season opened Friday with the Yankees planning to give Sabathia a record offer for a pitcher.

Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner confirmed Friday night at the team’s spring training complex in Tampa, Fla., that an offer was made to Sabathia, and that proposals will be forthcoming for pitchers A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe.

“Yes,” Steinbrenner said when asked if an offer was made to Sabathia. “And we’re prepared to make offers to Burnett and Lowe.”

The Yankees formulated a proposal to the big lefty that would exceed Johan Santana’s $137.5 million, six-year contract with the New York Mets both in total and average, a baseball official familiar with the negotiations said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge details.

Steinbrenner declined to give details about the Sabathia offer.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Greg Genske, one of Sabathia’s agents, did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

Steinbrenner said he felt the Yankees will be successful in the free-agent market.

“I’m starting to become very optimistic,” Steinbrenner said. “I think it’s going to be mutually beneficial to us and for these particular players that we’re after for them to join the Yankees.”

Ah, when the music’s over…

The image of Hank Stein wearing leather pants and proclaiming himself to be the Lizard King is somewhat disturbing , no?

In any event, what happens if Sabathia, Burnett and Lowe all pass on those Yankee dollars?

Let’s just hope that the Yankees braintrust’s answer to that is not: Ooh, I never thought of that.

Via the AP –

Hank Steinbrenner said the Yankees will explore all options during the offseason, including the possibility of making an offer to free-agent slugger Manny Ramirez.

“There’s nothing we are not looking at,” Steinbrenner said today at the Yankees’ spring training complex. “And personally, I like Manny. He’s one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game. He’s a free spirit for sure, but he knows how to win. We like some of the other guys, too. We just don’t know yet.”

Ramirez was traded from Boston to the Dodgers on July 31, and Los Angeles is expected to attempt to re-sign the high-priced outfielder.

“I want to see who is the highest bidder,” Ramirez said when the Dodgers lost the NL championship series. “Gas is up and so am I.”

The Yankees’ priority is pitching, and CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett figure to be the top starters on the market.

“Every team in baseball wants Sabathia,” Steinbrenner said. “That’s the bottom line. It’s not a real secret. Pitching is in the forefront for everybody, not just us. That’s why starting pitching is at a premium.”

Hank’s throwing around more love than a 1981 version of Danny Elfman…

Via the AP -

Hank Steinbrenner says Joba Chamberlain likely will return to the New York Yankees’ rotation at the beginning of the 2009 season.

“The plan as of right now is Chamberlain is going to be a starter,” the Yankees co-chairman said Thursday after five hours of organizational meetings at the team’s spring training complex. “Everybody’s pretty much in agreement with that.”

Chamberlain began this year in the bullpen, joined the rotation on June 3, then was sidelined after his Aug. 4 start because of rotator cuff tendinitis that caused him to go on the disabled list. When he returned Sept. 2, he went back to the bullpen.

Also attending the meetings was co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner, team president Randy Levine, chief operating officer Lonn Trost, general manager Brian Cashman, assistant general manager Jean Afterman, vice presidents Mark Newman, Gene Michael and Felix Lopez, and advisers Reggie Jackson and Tino Martinez.

“It was a productive day,” Hank Steinbrenner said. “We didn’t make any decisions today. We just covered all the things we need to fix. Everything is open. We’re willing to do anything that will improve us. It was more of a summary and quite a lot of discussion.”

What could Jean Afterman and Felix Lopez possibly have to offer at these meetings? It scares the bejesus out of me, as a Yankees fan, that these two could have any input, whatsoever, on player personnel decisions.

The Yankees are making like Cory Daye and getting together down in Tampa tomorrow. Via the AP:

The New York Yankees will sort through their offseason plans when organizational meetings begin Thursday at the team’s spring training complex.

Co-chairmen Hank and Hal Steinbrenner were to participate in the sessions along with team president Randy Levine, chief operating officer Lonn Trost and general manager Brian Cashman.

“It’s to set our offseason priorities, certainly, and what we need to try and do,” Hank Steinbrenner said Wednesday. “This year, we definitely are all pretty much on the same page. We know what we have to do, and it’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of effort. Hopefully we can get as much done as we hope.”

Whether [Joba] Chamberlain will start 2009 in the rotation or bullpen will be discussed.

The Yankees are thought to be interested in free agent pitchers CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Ben Sheets, and first baseman Mark Teixeira. Also, exploring a trade for San Diego pitcher Jake Peavy is possible.

“Our goal is to win the World Series,” Steinbrenner said. “This year was a little strange because the American League East was so powerful. We finished third because of the division we’re in. But, is it acceptable for us to be with what we ended up with? No, it’s not. So we’re going to do what we can to correct that.”

…This year, we definitely are all pretty much on the same page…

Wow. Too bad they were a bifurcated bunch last year. I wonder what changed between then and now?

Via George King -

Sitting behind his desk at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Hank Steinbrenner yesterday spit on the notion he has taken a step back in running the Yankees.

“There is one very important point here,” Steinbrenner told The Post during an exclusive half-hour session. “The most important thing to remember is this: If you didn’t get it from me or my brother [Hal], it doesn’t mean [anything]. I don’t care about some piss-ant employee. If you don’t get it from me or Hal, it’s meaningless. I have a lot of things [in Tampa] and Hal is in New York, which is good.”

Asked if he has taken a step back, Steinbrenner emphatically said, “No.”

Since The Boss turned over the day-to-day operations to his sons, Hank has one regret.

“I should have pushed harder for the [Johan] Santana deal,” said Hank, who was talked out of signing Santana by Hal and GM Brian Cashman because they believed the Yankees’ talent (Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera) and the money (Santana signed a six-year, $137.5 million extension with the Mets) was too costly.

“My dad wanted to do that,” Hank said. “But that doesn’t mean we would have won if we got into the playoffs, because [Chien-Ming] Wang was hurt.”

…I don’t care about some piss-ant employee. If you don’t get it from me or Hal, it’s meaningless…

Who’s Hank calling a piss-ant here?

Via Mark Feinsand -

“The biggest problem is the divisional setup in major league baseball. I didn’t like it in the 1970s, and I hate it now,” Steinbrenner wrote. “Baseball went to a multidivision setup to create more races, rivalries and excitement. But it isn’t fair. You see it this season, with plenty of people in the media pointing out that Joe Torre and the Dodgers are going to the playoffs while we’re not.

“This is by no means a knock on Torre – let me make that clear-but look at the division they’re in. If L.A. were in the AL East, it wouldn’t be in the playoff discussion. The AL East is never weak.”

“I’m happy for Joe, but you have to compare the divisions and the competition,” Steinbrenner wrote. “What if the Yankees finish the season with more wins than the Dodgers but the Dodgers make the playoffs? Does that make the Dodgers a better team? No.”

Steinbrenner also questioned the legitimacy of the Cardinals’ 2006 title, noting that their 83 regular-season victories were two less than the Phillies’ total, but because of the system, St. Louis reached the playoffs as NL Central champs while Philadelphia lost the wild card race to the Dodgers, who had 88 wins.

“People will say the Cardinals were the best team because they won the World Series,” Steinbrenner wrote. “Well, no, they weren’t. They just got hot at the right time. They didn’t even belong in the playoffs. And neither does a team from the N.L. West this season.”

Call me crazy, but, I’m guessing that Hank and Torre will not be exchanging X-mas cards this holiday season.

Via Pete Caldera -

“Suffice to say, there’s not going to be any more, on my part, of trying to keep everybody happy. If I want somebody, I’m going to go after him,” [Hank] Steinbrenner told The Record by phone this afternoon.

“Just as my dad would have,” he said, adding that George Steinbrenner has equally been dismayed by the Yankees’ fourth-place standing. “It’s been a very disappointing year for both of us.

“Other people might tend to look at [the Yankees] more like a business, and as long as business-wise [the club is profitable] everybody’s happy. But we don’t see it like that.”

To restore the Yankees into a World Series contender, “We’ve got major work to do, there’s no question,” Hank Steinbrenner said.

Asked if general manager Brian Cashman would continue to spearhead the baseball operation beyond his contract expiration next month, Steinbrenner said, “I think both parties still have to decide.

“I don’t think any of us expected this to happen this year,” Steinbrenner said of a 77-69 club that — barring a baseball miracle — will become the first Yankees team to miss the playoffs since 1993.

“Even besides injuries, certain players didn’t perform. Certain things didn’t get done,” Steinbrenner said. “It was somewhat the result of things that had been done over the last five years, and now I plan on fixing them.

“I’m very disappointed in this team. But at the same time, there’s no question injuries were a huge factor.”

Because of those injuries, the major league roster “might not be as difficult to fix as you’d think,” said Steinbrenner, whose chief concern is at the root level.

“The biggest mission, for myself, is making sure the farm system is stronger than it’s been the last few years,” Steinbrenner said. When it comes to prospects, “I want more.”

“The Mets did it with Santana, and I came damn close to doing it with Santana,” Steinbrenner said of the trade he advocated last winter with Minnesota. “You look at it on a player-to-player basis, and you look at the market.”

“You look at what [Mussina] did, and if everybody else had been healthy … you get an idea of what we could have had,” Steinbrenner said.

A part of Steinbrenner still wonders whether he should’ve insisted on Santana, too.

“[Would] Santana have made enough of a difference with all our injuries [this year]? I don’t know,” Steinbrenner said. “It certainly would have made us a lot closer.”

No such thing as an off-day, in Yankeeland, is there?

Me? I don’t know what to make of all this…

On one hand, I like an owner who is invested in his team beyond the dollars and cents. However, on the other hand, you can’t do what Hank is saying that he will do, here, and be operating out of Tampa (when your team plays in New York). You’re going to need to be there, if you want to be on top of things and seeing things with your own eyes and hearing them with your own ears. And, this season, Hank has been to…what…two games? That’s not going to cut it…in my book.

Via Ed Price -

Hank Steinbrenner believes Brian Cashman will be back as Yankees general manager next season, but Steinbrenner said not everything will be the same.

“I’m not the least bit pleased about what’s happened this year,” he said.

“There were still mistakes made the last five, six years, and that’s what I want to fix. I have to consider everything. That’s what my dad (chairperson George Steinbrenner) would have done, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Steinbrenner said the Yankees have already been planning a busy fall and winter.

The free-agent class includes pitchers A.J. Burnett, who is expected to opt out of his contract with Toronto, Ryan Dempster, Jon Garland, CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets.

Steinbrenner placed some of the blame for this year’s disappointing record on underperforming players, but mostly on injuries.

“The Patriots lose (Tom) Brady and everyone’s crying for them,” he said. ” We’ve lost (Joba) Chamberlain and (Chien-Ming) Wang, two of the very best starting pitchers in baseball, and (Jorge) Posada as well. It doesn’t matter (to people). It’s, ‘They’re the Yankees. So what?”‘

Ryan Dempster? Please, say that’s not going to happen.

I’ve never shared this before here – because I was afraid if I wrote it…it might come true. But, I have this strong fear that the Yankees are going to go out and sign Oliver Perez this off-season. It’s partly because of the way Perez pitches against the Yankees and partly because Scott Boras is his agent and I suspect that he could get A-Rod to lobby for Perez. And, in my opinion, signing Perez would be a disaster.

Add the signing of Ryan Dempster to that potential disaster list. Please, just don’t do it.

Via the AP -

The New York Yankees plan to retain Joe Girardi as manager next year.

“Joe will be back,” co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said Monday at the club’s spring training complex. “He’s done everything he could. That’s the bottom line.”

Girardi is in his first season managing the Yankees after agreeing to a three-year contract last October. The team is likely to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993, but Girardi wasn’t expected to be fired.

I’m not sure what the point of this AP Report is? After all, two weeks ago, the Post had this story:

Hank Steinbrenner today said the entire Yankee organization is at fault for the team’s unacceptable showing in the standings, with one notable exception: Joe Girardi isn’t part of the problem, according to the Baby Boss.

“As far as Girardi is concerned, who I think is brilliant, this is his first year and he’s had to play the hand he was dealt,” Steinbrenner said during the Yankees’ 3-2 victory over the Red Sox at the Stadium.

“Not only that, he lost a lot of his parts through injuries. Baseball managers can’t perform miracles. It’s easier for a football coach to do that. For a baseball manager it’s more leadership and having the parts, having the players.”

Steinbrenner said he hasn’t considered the notion the results would be any different this season if Joe Torre were still managing the Yankees. Torre’s Dodgers remain in the NL West title chase, albeit with a losing record.

“The Dodgers are in the easy division, the National League West,” Steinbrenner said. “If the Dodgers were in the American League East, they would be nowhere, that’s the bottom line. But Joe was a great manager and Joe Girardi is going to be a great manager. We try to avoid picking bad managers. Torre was great and Girardi is going to be great. So, no, it wouldn’t have made a difference.”

Seems like the AP is trying to make a story out of nothing here, to me.

Hank Stein showed up at Yankee Stadium last night. This is what he had to say before and after the game:

Before, via ESPN.com -

New York Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner made only his second appearance at Yankee Stadium this season on Wednesday and decided to weigh in on his team.

He defended Alex Rodriguez, while offering a remedy for A-Rod’s problems hitting with runners in scoring position.

“I’m not concerned,” Steinbrenner said, speaking to a small group of reporters outside Yankee Stadium prior to last night’s game between Boston and New York. “He is still young enough. He is going to have a lot of good years ahead of him. He just has to quit pressing.”

“When he has a night like that, he is going to hear it from the crowd,” Steinbrenner said. “That’s the way it works. I’d rather have him than not have him.”

After, via Newsday -

Hank Steinbrenner once again proved he is his father’s son, ripping the Yankees last night after their 11-3 loss to the Red Sox.

“The bottom line is, they sucked.”

This marked only the second home game Steinbrenner has attended this season, and he expressed his extreme displeasure in what he witnessed during a brief interview on his way out.

Mere minutes after the blowout loss was official, Steinbrenner emerged with various family members and security guards, stopped by the parking lot and said: “It’s very disappointing.”

Told that this was the type of loss his father would have gone bonkers about as recently as a couple years ago, Steinbrenner waited for the question to finish, nodded and said: “Even without having our two best pitchers, so forth and so on, they still stunk. That’s the bottom line.”

“I don’t know,” Steinbrenner said when asked if the Yankees are done. “All I can think about is this game at this point. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Before the game Steinbrenner vowed a busy offseason after this disappointing season, saying, “There’s going to be a lot going on this offseason. I promise you that.”

Get used to this “A-Rod’s pressing. We suck. Changes coming.” routine. We could be hearing that a lot over the next nine years in Yankeeland – unless, indeed, changes are made.

Via George King -

Sweep dreams? How about sweep and still weep?

What Yankees fans have conveniently forgotten is the Red Sox are not the only other team in the AL wild-card hunt. Boston led the Yankees by five games and the Twins by 1½ after Minnesota’s 4-2 loss at Seattle last night. The Twins also are one game behind the White Sox in the AL Central.

Five games back with 32 left means the Yankees have to sweep three from the Red Sox, then negotiate a brutal schedule across the final 29 games that ends with three games at Fenway Park.

In other words, don’t cancel that order for pinstriped coffins – although Hank Steinbrenner, who last week admitted the Yankees were looking to next year, now believes in his team.

“If we put on a run here, there’s no question we can make it,” Steinbrenner said yesterday in Tampa. “There’s no question with the number of games we have left, it’s possible.”

Yet, do the math. And leave the AL East-leading Rays out of the equation, because the Yankees aren’t catching them.

The Red Sox, Twins and Yankees had 32 games remaining after Sunday; the White Sox had 31. If the Red Sox finish 16-16, they would have 91 wins. For the Yankees to win 91, they would have to go 21-11. If the Twins post a 16-16 record, they would get to 90 wins. If the White Sox go 16-15, they also would have 90 wins. For the Yankees to match that, they would have to go 20-12.

On the surface, the Yankees have a chance to post those numbers, but remember, the other clubs have to play .500 for the math to work. And it starts tonight against Boston.

An exclusive WasWatching.com photo of Hank Stein – shortly after he made those comments to George King:

First, Hank…via the Post -

Now it’s the media’s fault.

Hank Steinbrenner, who has gone out of his way to emphasize how much injuries have hurt the Yankees this season, told the new Sporting News magazine that he had to do it because, “Most of the national media is full of Yankee haters.”

“That’s why I have to point out the injuries,” Steinbrenner writes in his column in the magazine’s relauch issue, dated Sept. 1. “Because the media sweep that under the rug and say we’re playing poorly.

“But next year, in a new stadium, we’ll be much better.”

Next, Hal…via Kat O’Brien -

Most weeks that the Yankees are at home, team co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner meets with general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi at Yankee Stadium. Last Friday, Steinbrenner added one to the invite list: captain Derek Jeter.

With time running short for the Yankees to get back in playoff position, Steinbrenner wanted to be sure the players got the message that ownership continues to have every confidence in this team. And he knew that Jeter could deliver that to his teammates.

“I just wanted to let [the players know] that ownership absolutely believes that we’re in this,” Steinbrenner said in a phone interview yesterday. “We absolutely believe we’re in this fight, and that we’ll be in it until the end. Winning takes determination, courage and heart, and it’s time to bring that into the open in a big way. I just told Derek, ‘It’s got to start with you. You’re the captain.’ And he knows that. It was a good meeting. Very positive.”

“I’m optimistic, and I’m going to stay optimistic until the end,” Steinbrenner said. “I just wanted them all to know that George, Hank and I all believe that we are in this thing 100 percent.”

“I can only speak for myself – I know we’ve got a good team,” Steinbrenner said. “I know we’ve got a good team, and I wanted to convey that to Derek so he could convey that to his teammates. He knows he’s the captain. He knows it has to start with him. It’s like that in any sport, in anything in life.”

I was really into the “Hank Stein” thing when he first came out of the shadows. But, now, I’m beginning to side with the camp that believes he’s all bluster and excuses. And, it seems like Hal is more involved in the day-to-day running of the team.

When you read quotes like these…if seems like Hal is more like Jimmy Carter whereas Hank is more like Billy Carter. I just hope that…having two of them working at the same time…doesn’t lead to a future full of conflict for the Yankees front office.

First of all, I would like to publicly thank Hank Stein for picking up my white glove. Thank you Hank. In any event, here’s what he had to say today about the current state of the Yankees:

“I’m not writing off this season,” the team’s co-chairman said Tuesday. “They’re trying hard to win. There’s only so much you can do. They’re not supermen.”

“I think it’s very simple, we’ve been devastated by injuries. No team I’ve ever seen in baseball has been decimated like this. It would kill any team,” Steinbrenner said. “Imagine the Red Sox without (Josh) Beckett and (Jon) Lester. Pitching is 70 per cent of the game. Wang won 19 games two straight years. Chamberlain became the most dominating pitcher in baseball. You can’t lose two guys like that.”

“It’s not making excuses. It’s reality. That’s part of the game. That’s clearly our problem,” Steinbrenner said.

“We’re going to win it next year,” he said. “If we need to add a top veteran pitcher, we’ll do that. We’ll do whatever we need to do. Next year we’ll be extremely dangerous.”

OK, here’s my rub here. Yes, losing Wang hurts. However…no one expected Mussina to be the ace that he is this season. So, yeah, the Yankees lost an ace in Wang – but they gained an ace in Mussina. Basically, the “reasonable expectation from Wang and Mussina” and the “actual production from Wang and Mussina” are a push this season – with most of the heavy lifting coming from Mussina (instead of Wang, as expected).

And, yes, losing Chamberlain hurts too. However…if Hughes and Kennedy were not as bad as they have been this season, the Yankees would not have been so reliant on Joba (in the rotation). So, it’s not the injury to Chamberlain that was the problem – it was the bad judgement to count on Kennedy and Hughes to be 40% of your rotation that was the problem.

Therefore, in the end, it’s weak to play the injury card here.

Further, this “If we need to add a top veteran pitcher, we’ll do that. We’ll do whatever we need to do. Next year we’ll be extremely dangerous” line is insulting. The Yankees had a chance to “add a top veteran pitcher” last off-season (Johan Santana) and passed. So, why will this winter be any different?

Unless, of course…this means that Cashman will be out or over-ruled this time? Hmmm…

Via the AP -

Barry Bonds in pinstripes? If nothing else, the New York Yankees talked about it.

High-ranking Yankees officials gathered for meetings at their spring training complex Thursday, a day off for the team before it begins an important three-game series Friday night in Boston.

Missing injured sluggers Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada, the Yankees discussed ways to improve for the stretch run as next Thursday’s trade deadline approaches. After a three-hour meeting, co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner confirmed that one of the topics was the indicted home run king.

“We covered everything, including Bonds,” Steinbrenner said.

Hank Steinbrenner declined to get into specifics about potential trades, but said “there’s a couple things that might be promising.”

“We’re playing great. That’s the key thing,” Hank Steinbrenner said. “Considering we’re not 100 percent because of the injuries, it’s pretty impressive. Where we can add, we’ll look into it.”

I wonder if Hank asked Cashman if the Yankees should look into trading for Brett Favre too?

Seriously, I wouldn’t mind the Yankees picking up someone like Casey Blake. The last few seasons, he’s hit LHP pretty well. He can DH, play third, or first – even a little outfield. And, he always seemed like a gamer to me. Right now, give me Blake over Bonds…for the Yankees this season. Then again, I’ve heard zero rumors about Blake coming to the Bronx.

Bob Nightengale recently sat down with Hank Steinbrenner. (Hat tip to Peter Abraham.) Some great quotes from Hank in this one:

“I’m not worried about developing a legacy,” says Hank Steinbrenner, who has taken over his father’s franchise at a time when the club is building a new palace to replace historic Yankee Stadium, which is hosting the All-Star Game on Tuesday.

“Let’s see how long I do this,” he says. “I just want to win. That’s all I give a crap about, is winning. And that’s all I want my players to care about. I’m like my dad in that respect, I guess. But I’m more patient than he was. That’s for sure.”

“There’s a lot of excitement around here from the Rays fans, but almost to a point of arrogance,” he says. “They better be careful. They’ll learn this (expletive) can change real quick.”

The Yankees have been subsidizing the Rays and other teams with their revenue-sharing and luxury-tax payments, Steinbrenner says, so they should be thanking the Yankees.

“People in baseball know it, whether they want to admit it or not,” Steinbrenner says. “It helps everyone when the Yankees are good. The Red Sox, whether they’re good or not, doesn’t necessarily matter, nationally. … Let’s face it: The Yankees are baseball history. You’re talking about 26 championships.”

“I want to get back (to the World Series) again. We have to play the cards we were dealt. But if this hand doesn’t work out, we’ll do what we can in the offseason to get thing shaped up.

“We’ll be back.”

We’ll be back…

Attaboy Hankinator!

Via the AP -

“With what we’ve got in place right now, we still should be able to make a run,” team co-chairman Steinbrenner said Monday night. “We’re without Wang, our 19-game winner. That’s the biggest blow. We’re without Damon for a little while, but he’ll be back. Matsui wlll probably be back. It’s been a bad year for injuries. The fans got to remember that. Don’t get discouraged. Injuries do happen.”

“We have been decimated by injuries,” Steinbrenner said. “I don’t remember a year this bad as far as injuries. It’s had a huge affect, it really has. Nobody wants to make excuses, but it’s reality.

“In any sport, I don’t care what it is. Soccer, baseball, basketball, football, there’s only two things that come under the heading of luck. Injuries and bad officiating,” Steinbrenner said. “You just hope you don’t get the injuries, and we’ve had them this year.”

Then again, you can be prepared for potential injuries by having a 40-man roster populated with some players who are ready and able to make a contribution to the big league team. That’s been the problem for the Yankees this season…the last five or six players on the 25-man roster and the bottom half of the 40-man roster are guys who cannot make a positive contribution to the major league team (today) when pressed into duty.

Granted, yes, there’s no team in baseball with a 40-man roster that’s stocked full with players of immediate big league ability. But, the Yankees bench this season has been a waste. And, their pool of available pitchers to replace Wang, Kennedy and Hughes has been embarrassing. And, this is why injuries have hurt the Yankees – because there’s been nothing there to call on when they happened.

Via Ed Price:

Yankees co-chairperson Hank Steinbrenner, who earlier in the week told The Associated Press the hitters have “got to start waking up,” today said he is still concerned.

“The players just have to buck up,” Steinbrenner said by phone.

Asked how the Yankees can turn things around, Steinbrenner said, “I don’t know. I don’t know.

“We have to get it going, and it’s still not too late.”

…the players just have to buck up…

Wasn’t Hank just saying the same thing, thereabouts, two months ago?

Hey, if it didn’t happen over that period of time, why would it happen now?

Via the Post -

With Alex Rodriguez’s budding friendship with Madonna making headlines, Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner is hinting that “outside distractions” are causing the team’s offense to break his heart.

Steinbrenner told The Associated Press today, “We’ve got to start hitting. It’s getting ridiculous.”

Though he did not mention Rodriguez by name, Steinbrenner said, “We all know they’re better than that. I don’t know. Maybe a little less outside distractions and a little more concentrating and they’ll start hitting better.”

Since a 9-0 win over the Mets on Friday, the Yankees have scored seven runs in losing three of four games.

Rodriguez, whose visits to Madonna’s apartment came to light Tuesday amid rumors of her possible divorce, is 2-for-17 (.118) in his past five games.

Steinbrenner, the team’s co-chairman, said he has been surprised by the inconsistent offense, but noted that it’s been an area of concern for general manager Brian Cashman.

“Even when I was worried about the pitching earlier – starting pitching is the most important thing of all – but Brian would keep telling me, ‘Yes, but I worried about the hitting,’” Steinbrenner said. “That was Brian’s biggest concern even as we were reconstructing the pitching. … I thought they would go on a consistent tear, and it hasn’t happened yet.”

“Not just this one series, but maybe the next couple series is going to be pivotal,” Steinbrenner said.

“We can definitely still make a run at it,” Steinbrenner said.

I’m having Big Stein & Reggie flashbacks as I read this one. Maybe Hank thinks he can get A-Rod going the way Mussina went on a roll after the “Jamie Moyer” thing (from Hank)? I dunno. Alex is a lot of things…but, he’s not Reggie Jackson.

The bigger and hotter the situation, the better it was for Reggie. It doesn’t work that way with A-Rod. He tries too hard. If anything, it’s probably a better approach to try and take some of the pressure off Alex…than to try and prod him by applying more heat.

Via the Post – with a hat tip to MetsBlog:

Willie Randolph won’t have to look far if he wants another job in baseball – he just needs to call Hank Steinbrenner.

“There’s certainly some stuff I can think of for one of the greatest infielders I’ve ever seen,” Steinbrenner told The Post yesterday.

Steinbrenner would love seeing Randolph work with the Yankees’ young infielders. But Steinbrenner mentioned that the job of manager in the foreseeable future isn’t an option for Randolph – The Baby Boss is happy with Joe Girardi.

Steinbrenner made it clear that he considers Randolph a Yankee and holds no ill-will toward him for leaving the organization to manage the Mets , who fired him last week.

“If he had left to take over the Red Sox maybe I would have had a problem with that,” Steinbrenner said. “He’s a Yankee. He’ll always be a Yankee. Even the Mets never completely accepted him because they thought he was a Yankee.”

Steinbrenner said he didn’t want to comment on the manner in which Randolph was fired because he’s not “one of those talk-radio types” who spews on subjects he knows little about.

Still, Steinbrenner couldn’t resist one jab at the Mets.

“They probably could have handled it a little differently than 3 o’clock in the morning,” Steinbrenner said, referring to the timing of the press release announcing Randolph’s firing.

“But the bottom line is he’s a Yankee and he’ll always be a Yankee,” Steinbrenner said. “He’s always welcomed with our organization. He knows that.”

Back in 1993, Randolph was the Yankees assistant G.M. – working with General Manager Gene Michael – evaluating major and minor league talent on a full-time basis. I would not mind seeing Willie come back, in that capacity again, with the Yankees.

Yes, I know that Tino Martinez has a role with the Yankees now that’s close to this job description. But, why not have two guys as assistants? Never hurts to have some different opinions.

Via the Daily News yesterday -

Asked if the Yankees need to make a deal for a pitcher given Monday’s news that Wang has a partially torn tendon and a sprain of the Lisfranc ligament in his right foot, [Hank] Steinbrenner said, “It doesn’t matter. Nobody’s in a hurry to come to the rescue of the Yankees. I learned that 30 years ago.

“There’s really nothing out there, I don’t think, for anybody. We’re going to look within first.”

Asked later if the Yankees would balk at trading youngsters for a pitcher, Steinbrenner acknowledged, “It depends on who it is. But all our top pitchers who we like, our top prospects? No chance.”

But all our top pitchers who we like, our top prospects? No chance.

So, if the Yankees do trade one of their young pitchers for some help this season, does this mean that the guy they trade was someone who they really weren’t all that crazy about?

Hank Stein reacts to Wang’s injury. Via the AP -

“My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century,” [Hank] Steinbrenner said in Tampa, Fla. “They need to grow up and join the 21st century.

“Am I (mad) about it? Yes,” Steinbrenner added. “I’ve got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He’s going to be out. I don’t like that, and it’s about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s.”

“This is always a concern of American League teams when their pitchers have to run the bases and they’re not used to doing it,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s not just us. It’s everybody. It probably should be a concern for National League owners, general managers and managers when their pitchers run the bases. Pitchers have enough to do without having to do that.”

Another instant classic from Hank.

Via Newsday -

On April 20, Hank Steinbrenner was quoted as saying Mike Mussina “just needs to learn how to pitch like Jamie Moyer.”

So, Hank, what do you think of Mussina’s turnaround? Do we score one for the Baby Boss’ motivational skills?

“I’m not going to take credit for that,” Steinbrenner said in a telephone interview Sunday morning. “He’s smart enough to figure that stuff out himself. He’s been playing baseball a long time.”

“I don’t think it was necessary for me to say anything, truthfully, at that point,” he said. “He was going to figure it out himself. He’s the ultimate pro veteran and a very smart guy. He made the changes he thought he had to make. He’s still him, though. It’s still his pitches. He’s throwing them differently, different speeds. He’s approaching it different, but he figured out what he had to do and he did it. He’s done it.”

Said Steinbrenner: “Everybody was talking about, ‘Well, he didn’t realize he was a righty and Moyer’s a lefty.’ I realized. I’ve been watching both of them for freaking 15-20 years. The fact is that I was talking about a style of pitching and it doesn’t matter what hand you throw with.”

I’m surprised that Newsday got through to Hank. I figured that, after the injury to Wang yesterday, David Wells could be calling Hank every other five minutes to remind him that he’d love to return to New York. Then again, sure, there’s always call waiting…

Via the Daily News -

Do your own jobs, and stop worrying about Joba.

That was Hank Steinbrenner’s strongly worded message Friday for Johnny Damon or any other veteran Yankee who wants to see Joba Chamberlain switched back to the bullpen.

“I love Johnny Damon as a player and a person, and he’s really doing the job right now. But let’s be honest here, he’s not Branch Rickey,” Steinbrenner told the Daily News in a telephone interview before Friday night’s game against the Royals, referring to the legendary baseball executive. “Johnny is a player, and as players, they all need to let the brain trust do the thinking and do the talking.

“The players just need to play and to worry about winning games.”

“I think so much of the media and a lot of fans are really missing the point on Joba, I really do,” Steinbrenner said. “Everyone’s worried about the eighth inning, and I agree it’s important, but (shoot), we haven’t even been getting to the eighth inning most (games).

“I think even (Chien-Ming) Wang’s slump shows how fragile starting pitching can be. We’ll get Wang straightened out and Joba will help us get our starting pitching in order, and then we’ll concentrate on doing something about the bullpen.”

“Every baseball expert I’ve talked to or read (their quotes) agrees with us, that Joba was wasting away out there (in the pen),” Steinbrenner said. “The kid is 22 and he’s going to have a long and productive career. We believe, as do all the experts, that it’s going to be at the front of our rotation for the next 10 years or so. Pitching, that’s the only way to build.”

To that end, Steinbrenner acknowledged he is “very happy” with the Yankees’ approach to this week’s entry draft, especially with the addition of high-school fireballer Gerrit Cole in the first round and college pitchers Jeremy Bleich and Joseph Bittle with their next two picks.

“We’re building for the next 10-15 years to be a power, and the way you do that is with arms,” he said. “(Cole) was by far the best available pitcher where we were picking (28th), and we are happy to add him.”

Asked if he expects the Yanks to have trouble signing Cole, Steinbrenner added: “Some people are a little scared away by (agent Scott) Boras, but I’m not. One thing you can say about Boras and his people, is they’re pretty damn good scouts, too. They always seem to come up with top talent to represent, every year.

“We don’t shy away from his guys, because he usually signs and represents some of the best ones. … So we look forward to getting him in the fold with our other young pitchers as soon as we can.”

For the record, the report in the News had no mention as to whether or not Hank was stripped to the waist and eating a block of cheese the size of a car battery when he made these comments.

From Kat O’Brien -

[Hank] Steinbrenner said by phone: “I want to make this very clear, for anybody who hasn’t been paying attention – a top reliever, a great reliever, whether a setup man or a closer, does you absolutely no good if you can’t get to him. He’s doing you no good if you don’t have the lead.”

“Obviously, I think he can be an ace starter,” Steinbrenner said. “That’s why he was drafted. That’s what they thought of him when he was drafted. He can also obviously be an ace closer, but we’ve got [Mariano] Rivera for that, and he’s having one of his best years.”

The other concern is how to fill Chamberlain’s setup spot. Asked Steinbrenner: “Can we fill that other role? People seem to think so. We have some other capable arms. Not like Joba, obviously. There’s been no more dominant pitcher in baseball, really, except Rivera.”

There’s been no more dominant pitcher in baseball, really, except Rivera.

Betcha Joba wishes he had that quote from Hank before the Yankees renewed his contract for this season – at the big league minimum of $390,000.

Via Kevin Kernan –

The Yankees are dead last in the AL East and the Subway Series was a disaster, but Hank Steinbrenner said yesterday it would be a mistake to count out Joe Girardi’s club, especially with Alex Rodriguez due to come back to the lineup tonight against the Orioles.

“A huge mistake, abso-freakin’-lutely,” Steinbrenner colorfully told The Post.

“I think we’re just about ready to go on a tear. We’re too good a team. And getting A-Rod back is big. The hitters are going to start hitting soon.

“This is a mirage,” he said of the hitting woes. “This team hasn’t forgotten how to hit. They’re going to start hitting at some point.”

Boss Jr. also said the Yankees want to get back to more hands-on scouting, like they do in the amateur market, and get away from relying too much on computers.

“Statistics are important to a degree,” he said, “but we have to get away from relying too much on that computer stuff, that’s gotten out of hand. We’ve got to get back to doing a little bit more of the old-fashioned scouting like the Yankees and Dodgers did.”

Well, even if Hank doesn’t want to see the stats, I’ll share the current ones here – via the CBE:

Player		PA	RCAA	OWP	RC/G	SEC
Bobby Abreu	180	0	.499	4.7	.268
Johnny Damon	179	3	.554	5.3	.353
Robinson Cano	168	-12	.209	2.3	.172
Derek Jeter	167	2	.549	5.2	.167
Hideki Matsui	167	7	.650	6.6	.277
Melky Cabrera	162	-1	.478	4.5	.276
Jason Giambi	143	4	.588	5.7	.500
Alex Rodriguez	99	3	.614	6.0	.286
Jose Molina	87	-7	.158	1.9	.134
Morgan Ensberg	76	-5	.229	2.4	.129
Jorge Posada	66	0	.482	4.5	.222
Alberto Gonzalez	44	-3	.235	2.5	.158
Shelley Duncan	41	-2	.280	2.8	.194
Chad Moeller	41	0	.513	4.8	.243
Wilson Betemit	27	1	.589	5.7	.192
Chris Stewart	3	-1	.000	0.0	.000

Well, if anything, there’s a lot of room for improvement in there – for sure.

Via Tyler Kepner -

Hank Steinbrenner, who is co-chairman of the Yankees with his brother, Hal, praised Manager Joe Girardi in a wide-ranging telephone interview on Monday. But with the last-place Yankees sputtering along at 20-24, the architect of the team, General Manager Brian Cashman, received only measured support.

Speaking of Girardi, Steinbrenner said: “I think he’s doing fine. It’s pretty simple — he’s playing the hand that he was dealt, just like I am. He’s doing the best job he can. I have complete confidence in Joe.”

The way the season plays out from here could determine Cashman’s future.

“If Brian wants to be the G.M. next year, there’s a chance he will be,” Steinbrenner said. “If he doesn’t want to, he won’t be. At this point, do I still want him to be the G.M.? Yeah, I do.”

[Hank] made several references on Monday to the next off-season, stressing that he was determined to make any moves necessary.

“My job is to win, and I’m going to do everything I can to win,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s not like I just came in off the farm, like some people claim. I’ve been around the game for 35 years, but this is my first year, along with my brother, in running the team, and I have to play with the cards I was dealt, just like Joe does.

“Whether those cards work or not will determine what happens in the off-season, and I’m going to do whatever I have to do to win,” he continued. “There’s been a lot of mistakes the last five to seven years that I had nothing to do with and Joe had nothing to do with — and quite a few things Brian had nothing to do with.”

That last part is interesting. “Quite a few” implies that there are, still, some things that Hank views as being Cashman’s fault. I’m growing more and more convinced that, if the Yankees don’t make the post-season this year, Cashman will not be back in 2009.

I would be remiss if I didn’t link to the latest Hank Stein quotes via Bill Madden. Here’s the big one for me:

This is what the new “Hammerin’ Hank” had to say to me Wednesday when I reached him in Tampa with the greeting: “How ’bout those Rays!”:

“They’re a great story down here right now,” he said, “although it’s terrible that they’re only drawing only 16,000 a game. They’re playing a lot better than us, that’s for sure. I know we’re gonna come on at some point in this season, but right now, other than (Chien-Ming) Wang, (Mariano) Rivera, (Derek) Jeter, (Hideki) Matsui, (Johnny) Damon and (Mike) Mussina, after I got on him a little, we’re not doing jack (bleep).

“What bothers me is that these guys are all working for me and my brother and they’re all making more money than we are. That’s what makes me mad. But while I’m confident they’ll come around, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens this year. And if they don’t come around then changes will have to be made. I’ve just got to clean up the mistakes of the last five years and make us what we should be.”

Hank has got to be kidding with the “they’re all making more money than we are” line. Please, dude, stop…really.

In any event, what do you think of that last line: “I’ve just got to clean up the mistakes of the last five years and make us what we should be.”

As a Yankees fan, do you agree that the team has made mistakes since 2003? If so, what were those mistakes? Tony Womack? Jeff Weaver? Miguel Cairo? Esteban Loaiza? Enrique Wilson? Kevin Brown? Wil Nieves? Randy Johnson? Bubba Crosby? Jaret Wright? Doug Mientkiewicz? Javier Vazquez?

Heck, they’re all gone already. What’s to clean-up? Kei Igawa? Carl Pavano? Jason Giambi?

Well, agreed, these are current problems. But, the should be done soon too.

Or, is Hank just saying, here, that the last five years have been, somewhat, wasted time in that the Yankees have been getting fooled with the Pavanos, Igawas, Weavers, etc.? And, now, it’s time to stop making bad decisions and time to start making smart ones?

What do you think?

Via Kevin Kernan -

HANK Steinbrenner had a message yesterday for his Yankees: Gentlemen, it’s time to get your act together.

“We’ve got to forget about all the injuries and start playing our butts off,” Steinbrenner told The Post. The Yankees were buried by the Rays on Monday. These are difficult days for Joe Girardi’s club.

“The bottom line is that the team is not playing the way it is capable of playing,” Steinbrenner said. “These players are being paid a lot of money and they had better decide for themselves to earn that money.”

“We have good professional hitters and I have a lot of faith in them,” Steinbrenner said from Tampa. As for the team in general, he noted, “I’m not saying they are not giving the effort, but they need to be playing harder.”

He then paid the much-improved Rays a compliment, saying, the Yankees have “got to start playing the way the Rays are playing. (The Yankees) need to start treating it like when they were younger players and going after that big contract, like they’re in (Triple-A) and trying to make the majors. That’s the kind of attitude and fire the players have to have.

“There’s no question we need to turn it around and we have the talent to turn it around. We’ve got the team in place, and now they just have to go out and do it.

“This is going to get turned around,” Steinbrenner said. “If it’s not turned around this year, then it will be turned around next year, by force if we have too.”

…I’m not saying they are not giving the effort, but they need to be playing harder…

…need to start treating it like when they were younger players and going after that big contract, like they’re in (Triple-A) and trying to make the majors. That’s the kind of attitude and fire the players have to have…

What’s that line about this game of baseball being only one-half skill?