Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Hank is Back, and He's Talkin'

The quote machine took a little while off, but he's back with a vengeance.

On this year, and the future of the Yankees:

"This year, I think we have as much a chance to win it all as the other top three or four teams in the American League," a relaxed Steinbrenner told The Post yesterday on the eve of spring training as he sat in his office overlooking Legends Field. "I think we are all kind of together right now.

"I can honestly tell you I believe in my gut, and usually my first instinct is right, that we got a chance to be the best team in baseball, period, over the next several years and it could even be the next 10 years.

"That doesn't mean you win it every year, but we are going to have a tremendous chance to win it any particular year, barring bad injuries, for the next 10 years," said the new Boss. "We're going to be that tough. That's what we're building towards."

On Phil Hughes and the Santana deal:

"There's been a lot of pressure put on Phil Hughes, but the fact is that Hughes was not in the deal at the end, none of the three [Joba Chamberlain, Hughes or Ian Kennedy] were in the deal," Steinbrenner said. "There was a possibility we could have made the trade without them. Minnesota called us with some other possibilities."

Ummmm, what? You could have gotten Santana without giving up any of the 'big three'? Why is he not a Yankee? I'd love to know what the Twins asked for, but I'm afraid if I did know I'd want to find Cashman and beat him for not making the deal. Here's some more from Hank on Santana:

"In the end, I think we'll be fine. I feel good about our team and our future, but I would have felt very happy about this year if we had made the Santana deal. I think the Mets made a good trade, they really needed him."

On the playoffs:

"They do need to make the playoffs or let's face it, I'm going to be ticked off," Steinbrenner said. "And then once we get in the playoffs we'd better do well, but the fact of the matter is, as far as the next 10 years we could be in dynamite shape. We could have the best pitching staff since the Dodgers in the '60s and obviously we'll have some good hitters, too."

On Joe Torre:

"Despite all of Joe Torre's success sometimes in the end there just comes a time for change," Steinbrenner said. "I didn't really want the change, yet. I wanted Joe Torre to take the deal, but he didn't and maybe things will work out for the best. Joe Girardi is more my style of manager."
No need to take shots at Torre Hank. The man made the playoffs twelve times and won four rings, I don't care what type of person you are, that's my style of manager.

On the business of sports:
If you are going to be in the sports business you got to want to win. Otherwise, if you're looking just to make money, buy a bank."

4 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice comments in reply to Hank ;)

mitchclp said...

I'll tell you why Santana isn't a Yankee, cause of the $$$ we paid to Mo and Posada. Like I said, spending $30 million per year on those 2 (aging stars) was a HUGE reason why Santana isn't in pin stripes. Everyone thinks that the Yankess can spend at will, but that isn't always the case. Heading into 2008 with a $230 million dollar payroll probably wasn't very palatable to the yankees, especially when they are ponying up $1.5 billion for the new stadium.

Jason @ IIATMS said...

Yeah, we could have had Santana without giving up the Big 3, but the Twins asked for Melky and Wang. Um, no.

It'd be great if we got Santana for other parts but that wasn't happening.

I'm excited for the season to start but Hank's ramblings about the team 'better do well' is just lame and shortsighted. If he truly believes the team will be great for 10 years, let the team evolve and develop. You can't slap them and demand a win. That doesn't work. Players and time need to develop. Some do faster than others. Give the kids/Girardi/Cashman a chance, Hank!

And for the love of all things holy, just don't take every call you get. These proclamations from above are goofy.

Anonymous said...

Hankenstein is just mouthing off like he usually does. I don't really buy that he could've gotten Santana without breaking up the Holy Trinity...not because the Mets gave up so much for him, but because Hank loves the big spotlight moves, and would've made the trade if it wasn't too costly. The incident is good news for the Yanks as a whole, though, because it shows that Cashman still has some pull amongst the Yankee brass.