Yankees baseball blog

Baby boss: We'll make needed fixes

Hank Steinbrenner marveled at how Chien-Ming Wang pitched the Yankees to victory last night, beating the Mariners 5-1 at Yankee Stadium. But The New Boss knows it's going to take more than just Wang to take the Yankees where they want to go this season and beyond. "I'm upset about the way this thing is going," he told The Post last night from Tampa, citing the injuries the Yankees have had and their 15-16 start. "We have to find a way to right this ship."

Steinbrenner is as determined a Boss as his father, and to that end, he has talked to the front office about coming up with creative ideas to try to make a move to improve the club, such as adding a veteran starter, which is not easy to do this time of year. Continue

Cranky Hank Steinbrenner demands his way, then can't decide what it is

The quotes that came out of Hank Steinbrenner like exhaust out of a tail pipe were about Joba Chamberlain this time. All of a sudden Hank knows so much about Joba - who has a chance to be the first pitcher ever to be sent out to Monument Park after 30 innings in the big leagues - that you can only assume he's in a fantasy league.

It's not just Joba, either. Hank knows so much pitching now that he wants Mike Mussina to pitch more like Jamie Moyer. Why? Because he saw Moyer on television Saturday, that's why! Tim Wakefield hung in there and won for the Red Sox on Sunday. If Hank had caught that one on the dish, he might have been yelling for Mussina to start throwing knuckleballs. Continue

Hank won't miss first game

At least one member of the Yankees family wasn't too disappointed about yesterday's opening day rainout. Hank Steinbrenner had remained in Tampa to take care of personal business, but expects he will be at the Stadium for tonight's rescheduled opener against the Blue Jays. If Steinbrenner has any regret, it's the 7 p.m. starting time. "Opening day has always been a day game," Steinbrenner told The Post. "But it will be nice [tonight], too." Continue

Hank: We're not going to take it

Don't mess with the Yankees. That was Hank Steinbrenner's no-nonsense message yesterday. Steinbrenner made it clear that he is firmly in Joe Girardi's corner in the battle of aggressiveness with the Rays and that the 2008 Yankees will continue to play hard throughout the season and protect their players.

"Girardi has his players' back and I have his back and that's never going to change," Steinbrenner told the Post in the wake of suspensions and fines of Shelley Duncan and Melky Cabrera , and fines of Girardi and coaches Bobby Meacham and Kevin Long for the Shelley Spike Slide into second base Wednesday against the Rays and ensuing brawl. Continue

Hank Steinbrenner laughs off offer to join Red Sox Nation

Hank Steinbrenner said Sunday that he laughed when someone told him that Boston owner John Henry had officially enrolled him as a member of Red Sox Nation.

But Son of Boss said he would have to respectfully decline and, perhaps, another flareup in the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry was put to rest. "Obviously, I can't join," Steinbrenner said, chuckling as he passed up an offer that included an autographed David Ortiz hat. "But I'll make John an honorary member of our Bleacher Creatures at Yankee Stadium. Continue

Phantom nation

Hank Steinbrenner says he isn't adding gasoline to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry by saying the Red Sox take a backseat to his team when it comes to marketing their brand. "You can't create any controversy with fact," Steinbrenner said last night when reached for his reaction to an upcoming magazine story. "You can ask any marketing expert who is the No. 1 brand of any team in any sport in the country, and it's the Yankees. We are the No. 1 brand in the country."

In the article, Steinbrenner accuses ESPN as being an accomplice to spreading the "Red Sox Nation" propaganda because ESPN is "filled with Red Sox fans." Last night Steinbrenner was a tad contrite. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that about ESPN because I watch ESPN in the morning like everybody else," Steinbrenner said. "I like ESPN." Continue

Hank Steinbrenner must support GM Cashman

To hear Hank Steinbrenner yesterday, when he was gracious enough to give a few of us a few minutes at Legends Field, you'd nominate him for Mr. Big Picture of 2008. "Nobody's going to be as patient with the young pitchers as me," the junior Boss said." ... You don't throw them to the sharks when they're 22 years old. Otherwise, their arms fall off. I'm very confident in the next 10 years.

"Of course, this is the same guy who last week told Newsday, "It's clear that if we don't get the job done this year, if [Johan] Santana could have made the difference for us and the young pitchers aren't ready, people have to be held accountable." Continue

Hank: Focus too much on Yanks

The Yankees were once again in the center of the HGH storm yesterday as Andy Pettitte made his public televised apologies, but Hank Steinbrenner said the Yankees lefty should not be criticized too harshly in opposing ballparks.

Especially, when it comes to visiting Fenway Park, where life is never easy for the Yankees. "I don't think they would want to be hollering too loud at Andy up in Fenway," Steinbrenner told The Post. "They had plenty of players doing this stuff, too. It's just that those players weren't mentioned in the Mitchell Report. "That's my biggest problem with the Mitchell Report. We'll make sure we give Andy all the support he needs in Fenway and other ballparks." Continue

Boss Hank's state of Yanks

Hank Steinbrenner sat behind his desk and looked out at empty Legends Field, where all was quiet and calm. Over and over again, he emphasized his philosophy - the Yankees' new doctrine - of tolerance, of deliberation, of long-term planning. That, however, only goes so far. He is, after all, a Steinbrenner. "I will be patient with the young pitchers and players.

There's no question about that because I know how these players develop," he said. "But as far as missing the playoffs - if we miss the playoffs by the end of this year, I don't know how patient I'll be. But it won't be against the players. It won't be a matter of that. It will be a matter of maybe certain people in the organization could have done something else." Continue