Results tagged ‘ Hank Steinbrenner ’
How will Jeter respond?
At some point today, there will be a circle of reporters around Derek Jeter’s locker, seeking a response to the comments made yesterday by Hank Steinbrenner about players building mansions and losing their hunger to win a championship.
“Two years ago, ’09, I saw that hunger. Nobody (is held accountable). Sometimes it’s an actual thing. The Steelers won the Super Bowl two years ago, last year they didn’t get it done. This year they at least got back to the Super Bowl. I think maybe they celebrated a little bit too much last year. Some of the players are too busy building mansions and other things and not concentrating on winning. I have no problem saying that. I think they’ve come into this spring with a new hunger. That’s what it takes, man. That’s what it takes to win.”
“I’m not singling anybody out. Maybe they were riding the wave of ’09 a little too much. That happens. Psychologically, that happens. This year, in spring so far, from what I’ve seen and from what I’ve been told by everyone that’s down there with them – our coaches and so forth – they’ve come in with a real new drive and determination, the kind they had in ’09.”
Hank: Yanks can repeat
Hank Steinbrenner believes the Yankees are in position to repeat as World Series champions after adding pitcher Javier Vazquez and outfielder Curtis Granderson during the offseason.
The Yankees co-chairman spoke with the Associated Press on Thursday in Tampa, Fla., speaking highly of general manager’s Brian Cashman’s offseason moves to bolstered the rotation and change the appearance of New York’s outfield.
“The two trades that Brian did I was really pleased with and very proud of,” Steinbrenner told the AP. “I think that is going to make a big difference for us.”
Acquired from the Braves, Vazquez will slide into a rotation that already includes CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte, with the fifth starter still yet to be decided.
The hope is that Vazquez solves an issue the Yankees had last October, when they had to lean on a three-man rotation to get through the playoffs and World Series.
“We needed another top-notch starter and got one,” Steinbrenner said.
Headed north of the border
Well, Jason Giambi didn’t get in through the All-Star Game Final Vote. That’s a shame — I thought he would have been a phenomenal contender in the Home Run Derby on Monday. He’ll just have to make do with his second prize … four days and three nights in fabulous Las Vegas.
First, the Yankees will have to get through the next three days, heading north of the border after last night’s unproductive detour in Pittsburgh. More troubling than the loss, we’d say, is the fact that Jorge Posada was once again out of the lineup with Jose Molina catching. Posada is very proud about the fact that he’s a catcher, not a first baseman, and he is insistent that he signed with the Yankees to catch all four years of his contract.
Now, we can debate about whether Posada can legitimately expect to catch in 2011. But I don’t think anyone saw it coming that he’d be pushed off to the side in 2008 — obviously, the right shoulder is a major concern for Joe Girardi, even though he won’t publicly say it. I asked Brian Cashman the same question in New York last week and he said that there’s health, and that nobody works harder than Posada. Then why not play him?
Assorted notes and quotes: Mariano Rivera will not start the All-Star Game, it seems. Good. His place belongs in the ninth inning if the American League has a lead. … Hank Steinbrenner tells USA Today that he plans to hire Lou Piniella as an advisor once Sweet Lou’s managing days are through. … The FanFest opens today at the Javits Center. Since I’m in town for the festivities and not in Toronto, I may have time to check it out. If so, I’ll post a report. … Don Larsen’s perfect game was screened last night at BB King’s in midtown. Wish I’d been there. …. Who, exactly, is paying to watch Jose Canseco fight in Atlantic City? …
Yankees not interested in Sabathia
With the trade deadline more than three weeks away, the Yankees do not
appear primed to make a major move, though they also will not be
sellers at the deadline. The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger reported Saturday
that the Yankees will not pursue a major shakeup, specifically
mentioning the Indians’ C.C. Sabathia as someone the club will not go
after.
“We’re looking into different things,” Yankees co-chairperson Hank
Steinbrenner told the Star-Ledger. “I think we all had more
confidence in what we could do with what we have than what we’ve shown
lately.
“I don’t think there’s going to be any — for
most teams in baseball, 90 percent of the teams in baseball — there’s
not going to be anything major that’s going to happen.”
Hal Steinbrenner sits down with MLB.com
While Hank Steinbrenner was spurring the Yankees on to their biggest offensive showing of the season, delivering the wake-up equivalent of a Starbucks doubleshot espresso, Hal Steinbrenner was calmly and coolly sitting down with MLB.com in Tampa.
Here’s a snippet concerning pricing at the new Stadium, where they’ll be 53,000 seats pointed toward the action in 2009:
“I see in the papers all the time about the 180 Legends Seats that are
so expensive,” he said. “But they don’t talk about the fact that half
of the seats in the stadium are $45 or less; that the entire top level
is $20-$25 seats, and the bleacher seats are $12. We wanted to make
sure that the average family can afford to go there and that’s the way
it’s going to be.”
Also, Hal says that the Yankees’ baseball engine has not been a money-maker in recent years. That’s believable, since the club has been subject to large revenue sharing spillage, but the organization’s other ventures like the YES Network have been quite lucrative.
The full article can be found here.
Hoping to avert the sweep
Sidney Ponson will be on the mound tonight as the Yankees complete their three-game series with the Texas Rangers, playing on after Hank Steinbrenner publicly called the team out for its lackadaisical offense. We just grabbed Brian Cashman on the field and he wasn’t taken by surprise when Hank unloaded, speaking to the Associated Press:
”He’s right,” Cashman said. “The offense has underperformed and we’ve got to figure it out. The strength of this team, more than anything, is supposed to be the offense. It’s a weakness for us right now and we’ve got to fight our way through it and get guys going in the right direction. It’s simple as that.”
They’ll get their first chance tonight — the Yankees’ 388 runs scored are their fewest since 1992, when they had 374 runs and a 42-42 record after 84 games. In case you’re wondering — and I was — the ’92 Yanks lost that 85th game too, with Scott Sanderson allowing four runs over 7 2/3 innings. They fell to the Mariners, 5-2, when Dave Fleming threw a gem, making one mistake over eight innings — a two-run Danny Tartabull home run.
Imagine if this blog was around then?
Back in 2008, Melky Cabrera isn’t in the lineup, with the Yankees hoping to get his head right after a 0-for-19 drought. It’s looking like Hideki Matsui won’t be back before the All-Star Break; meanwhile, Chris Britton (strained left ribcage) threw a scoreless inning on rehab with the GCL Yankees on Tuesday. Humberto Sanchez (Tommy John surgery rehab) also appeared in the game, throwing a scoreless inning in his third rehab appearance.
All-Star Moose?
Mike Mussina, an All-Star? I wouldn’t have believed it myself, but consider the fact that Mussina once again has a share of the American League lead with nine victories — including eight in his last nine starts. Sure, he’s been lucky at times, but any pitcher who’s winning nine of 13 games is off to a heck of a run for a season.
Not too shabby for a guy who many were looking at as a fifth starter and potential weak link to the rotation. Remember when Hank Steinbrenner said that Moose should pitch more like Jamie Moyer? Looks like maybe Hank knew what he was talking about – that directly coincided with the beginning of this 8-of-9 run.
Derek Jeter had his own milestone moment last night, moving into third place on the Yankees’ all-time hit list and passing Mickey Mantle. Jeter’s in some pretty select company there — Lou Gehrig is first and Babe Ruth second. He says he doesn’t belong there, but Joe Girardi (among others) disagrees. Someday you’ll be visiting the new Yankee Stadium and looking at Jeter’s plaque in Monument Park, there’s just no doubt about it.
Don’t count on Jason Giambi being in the lineup today after having treatment all during Wednesday’s game. He’s still pretty sore, from all accounts. The Yankees will try to “sleep fast” with a somewhat-later report time to get to the Stadium on Thursday afternoon for what used to be known as a Businessman’s Delight. I’m not sure how many people come to ballgames wearing shirts and ties anymore. Seems that’s gone the way of the three-martini lunch. More likely, you’d just blow off work altogether and call in sick.
Lots of 2008 First Year Player Draft coverage on tap for Thursday. In case you haven’t noticed, the Draft is kind of a big deal here at MLB.com. The Yankees are up 28th and then have a Joba Chamberlain Compensation Pick at 44 for losing Luis Vizcaino to the Rockies. Their second round pick is 75.
From the press box at U.S. Cellular Field
Hello everyone, from the South Side of Chicago. Joe Girardi was just down in the batting cage showing Jorge Posada and Chad Moeller a thing or two about footwork, jumping out and getting better release times on throws to second base. Posada was zipping throws down to second base pretty decently, so maybe he’s not too far off. We’ll definitely find out.
This is a great city and it’s pretty baseball crazy right now with the Yankees in town to play the White Sox and the Mets playing the Cubs over at Wrigley. Walking the Magnificent Mile this morning, you could see caps of all four teams wandering the streets. Most important for Chicago commerce, all the fans appeared to be spending money. Anthony DiComo is in town and will be blogging about going to both games today at dicomo.mlblogs.com.
Here’s something I don’t need to tell you about Hank Steinbrenner – everyone has an opinion. When Steinbrenner said Sunday that he wants Joba Chamberlain in the rotation as soon as possible, it generated the most e-mails I’ve received about any single story in the two years I’ve been covering the Yankees for MLB.com. Love him or hate him, agree or disagree, Hank gets a reaction. I would share some of them but they’re not all G-rated.
He’s got to know that, and you know what? It’s not only good for the news media, but it’s actually good for baseball. It makes it interesting. The Yankees since 1973 have been marked by a loud voice coming from the owner’s suite and letting the fans know what’s going on. Hank is filling the void left when George began to lean on type-written missives and statements, and he’s doing it quite well.
Here’s what we’re looking at:
Tuesday: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (3-0, 3.81) vs. RHP Jose Contreras (1-1, 4.34), 8:11 ET, YES
Wednesday: RHP Mike Mussina (1-3, 5.75) vs. RHP Javier Vazquez (3-1, 3.20), 8:11 ET, YES
Thursday: RHP Phil Hughes (0-3, 8.82) vs. RHP Gavin Floyd (2-0, 1.40), 8:11 ET, YES
Bryan Hoch
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