Hal Speaks, Says All Jobs Are Safe

From Wallace Matthews:

Even with the New York Yankees having relinquished a 10-game lead in the AL East, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said neither manager Joe Girardi's job, nor anyone else's, is in danger.

"Jobs are not riding on this," Steinbrenner said, speaking to a small group of reporters in the corridors of Yankee Stadium.

Steinbrenner said the team examines everything in the offseason, but he seemed to be satisfied with Girardi and all of the Yankees' personnel.

....

Steinbrenner reiterated that he plans on cutting the Yankees' payroll by 2014. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the Yankees could save tens of millions of dollars if they lower their payroll -- now around $200 million -- to $189 million.

"I've made it clear that is very important to me, for several reasons," Steinbrenner said. "You are talking about a 10 percent reduction in payroll. I don't see that as an outrageous concept. I never have."

...

Right now, Steinbrenner said he is "tense."

"I'm excited," Steinbrenner said. "I think we would all like a bit more breathing room. Right now, we have zero breathing room. We have had a few good weeks. They have been playing tough. We have (Mark Teixeira) back tonight, which could only help and be a boost."

Hal also told a little story about how he always felt--even when the Yanks were up 10 games--that this would get closer as the season wore on. Which might be true, but really at this point, who cares.

I'm not saying anyone should necessarily be fired for this, although there are valid arguments on that side of the aisle, but it's times like these that I miss George the most. Even if nobody would end up losing their job, at least the newspapers would be interesting to read.

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Hal Frustrated As Yankees Fall Into 1st Place Tie

From Ken Davidoff:

When Hal Steinbrenner attends a Yankees game, his presence doesn’t set flares around a 10-mile radius, as was the case with his late father. He flashed a smile Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, even as his ballclub continued the sort of meltdown we haven’t seen in this franchise’s rich history.

But don’t confuse Hal Steinbrenner’s relatively easygoing nature with a lack of competitive spirit, or with a lack of a desire to see a strong return on his family’s massive investment.

...

“We’re all frustrated,” Steinbrenner repeated. “The fans are frustrated. I know that. We all expect great things out of these guys. We’ve had injuries all year long. We’re not the only team, but we’ve had our share. Each time, they push through.

“The fans and my family, we expect them to push through now. I’m sure they will. But it’s a little frustrating, no doubt.”

...

Given that the worst-case scenario — missing the playoffs altogether — becomes a greater reality with each passing day, I asked Steinbrenner whether the jobs of general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi were at stake.

“No, not at all,” he said. “Look, you start to get back into it, and someone else gets hurt. [Aug. 27], when Tex [Mark Teixeira] goes down [with a left calf injury], look, that’s got to be hard. They’re looking forward to Alex [Rodriguez] coming back, and then boom, Teixeira goes down.

“And then a few days ago, [Curtis] Granderson, we were worried [about his right hamstring]. He’s back. They’ve got to keep grinding. They’ve got to keep pushing. They will. They know what’s expected of them.”

So here the Yankees sit, a frustrated owner, a frustrated fan base, and a tie with the freaking Orioles atop the AL East. Not a great time for us Yankees fans.

Still, with plenty of games left on the schedule, a handful against the Orioles and Rays, the Yankees will have every chance they need to put this ugly stretch behind them and win their division. If they can't, than I think we can all agree that they don't deserve to be in the playoffs anyway.

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Hal: Yanks Are Not For Sale

So earlier today there was a report in the Daily News that said there have been rumors that the Yankees might be looking to sell after the recent deal made to sell the Dodgers. Here's a little bit more from the article:

Rumors are flying in Major League Baseball and New York banking circles that the family that has owned Major League Baseball's premiere franchise since Cleveland shipbuilder George Steinbrenner purchased the club for $8.8 million in 1973 is exploring the possibility of selling the Yankees.

Multiple baseball and finance sources told the Daily News they are hearing that the team the Steinbrenner family has led to seven World Series titles could be put on the block in the wake of the record sale price of $2.175 billion the Los Angeles Dodgers went for in April.

"There has been chatter all around the banking and financial industries in the city for a couple of weeks now," one high-level baseball source told The News.

Yankee president Randy Levine adamantly denied the rumors: "I can say to you there is absolutely, positively nothing to this. The Steinbrenners are not selling the team." And managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, George's younger son, weighed in with his own denial Thursday morning, saying in a statement: "I just read the Daily News story. It is complete fiction. Me and my family have no intention to sell the Yankees and expect it to be in the family for years to come."

However, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation, the recent sale of the Dodgers to a group that includes NBA legend Magic Johnson is just one reason why the Steinbrenner family may be looking to sell the team, which experts estimate could be worth up to a stunning $3 billion.

Besides Levin's denials in the article, Hal Steinbrenner also responded to the rumors:

Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said on Thursday that his family has no intention of selling the storied franchise, responding to a published report in the New York Daily News.

"I just learned of the Daily News story. It is pure fiction," Steinbrenner said in a statement. "The Yankees are not for sale. I expect that the Yankees will be in my family for many years to come."

Honestly, at this point I don't really care what happens, especially if they are sold to an owner who is ready to spend money.

Sure, it would be nice to have the team remain in the Steinbrenner family, but unless your goal as a Yankees fan is to see higher ticket prices along with lower payroll I'm not sure how beneficial that would be.

When The Boss owned the team we as fans always knew that he'd do whatever it took to win, but now after a few years of Hal you can now longer say that. Instead the Yankees are in cost-cutting mode and just spent this past offseason ignoring the two best pitchers on the market (Darvish and Wilson), and instead decided to go the less expensive route and I don't think that's something we'd see from George.

What do you think? Does it matter if the team stays in the Steinbrenner's hands?

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Hal: $189 Million is the Target

From Wallace Matthews:

Hal Steinbrenner got accosted on his way to the elevator by the Yankees' beat crew, and confirmed what GM Brian Cashman has been saying all winter:

The Yankees are in the process of "streamlining'' the payroll, and the magic number is $189 million, which will be the new luxury-tax threshold for the 2014 season as established by the recently ratified CBA.

"I'm looking at is as a goal," Steinbrenner said, "and my goals are normally considered a requirement.''

The only good that can come out of this, besides the Steinbrenner family saving some extra dough, is that fans around the country might slow down a bit with the whole "the Yankees buy their championships" thing. That said, I never cared about those fans or their opinions in the first place.

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Marchand: Yanks "Strongly Considering Adding Payroll"

From Andrew Marchand:

After the slumber of their quiet offseason, the Yankees are strongly considering adding payroll in a deal to bring in a starting pitcher via free agency or a trade, a baseball official with knowledge of the team’s thinking told ESPN New York.

The official said that with prices coming down as spring training approaches, the odds were “60-40” that the Yankees will become more aggressive and add to a roster that has been unchanged from last year’s club. A source predicted that things will heat up next week.

Adding payroll is fine, and it's something I thought they'd have to do if they wanted to improve. But I would have rather seen them come to this conclusion earlier in the offseason so they could have at least known this before 95% of the FA market was taken off the board.

Nothing has changed regarding free agent targets, they're still eyeing Jackson & Kuroda:

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner met with agent Scott Boras to discuss starter Edwin Jackson, but he is not the only free agent on the team’s radar. Hiroki Kuroda may turn out to be their top choice over Jackson. Roy Oswalt seems more unlikely, but can’t be completely ruled out.

The key to any contract will be the length. The Yankees are looking to make a one-year deal. A source said that while Boras is no longer looking for five years for Jackson, he is still asking for a multi-year contract. If Boras doesn’t come down further, it seems highly unlikely the Yankees will sign Jackson.

A source termed a two-year offer unlikely, but didn’t completely rule it out. The Yankees will not go three years because they want to get beneath the $189 million luxury tax number by 2014. This would cut their payroll tax more than half, down to 17 percent, if they were able to do so.

Kuroda, who turns 37 next month, has been a pitcher the Yankees have had interest in dealing for, but he has been hesitant to leave Los Angeles. However, with the Dodgers not having room for him, he may be more open-minded about coming to the east coast. Kuroda may also return to Japan.

Marchand also mentioned and earlier Buster Olney report that said the Yanks were "quietly shopping Nick Swisher" and could deal the right fielder to free up some salary.

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Heyman: Yanks Met With Boras To Talk About Jackson

I'm not a big fan of the idea of signing Jackson since I'm not too sure he's better than any of the Yankees in-house options for the rotation. Plus, all Boras clients end up getting more than they're worth which is never good.

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Igawa Won't Stop Yanks From Going After Darvish

From Mark Feinsand:

After wasting $46 million on Kei Igawa over the past five years, would the Yankees be willing to roll the dice on another Japanese pitcher if Yu Darvish becomes available?

It’s very possible.

Hal Steinbrenner said Wednesday that the Igawa disaster wouldn’t stop the Yankees from signing another Japanese pitcher if that’s the move they believe makes the most sense.

“Every person is different; every player is different,” Steinbrenner said. “We’re going to look at every single one. We’re going to look at every single option, and we’re going to analyze it. It will be a go or no-go, but we look at each person as an individual.”

...

“It’s difficult when you don’t have as much film on a player to watch, and you don’t have as many scouts who have laid eyes on that player before,” Steinbrenner said of the risk associated with signing players from places such as Japan or Cuba. “There’s no doubt it’s difficult, but I had never heard of El Duque until he came here.

“There have certainly been players that came out of those countries that have been great. But there’s less intel and there’s less to go on, so you’ve really got to rely on the guys that have seen him down there, and the scouts that are down there on a full-time basis. But there’s no doubt it’s a more difficult decision.”

Glad to see the Yankees aren't going to let the Igawa mistake stop them from taking a real look at Darvish. From everything I've seen and read, he looks like the best pitcher to come out of Japan, and at least appears to have the biggest upside.

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