Hank: We'd Better Win

From Kat O'Brien:

TAMPA, Fla. - Hank Steinbrenner told Newsday Sunday that if the decision not to trade for Johan Santana comes back to haunt the Yankees this season, someone will have to answer for it.

"It's clear that if we don't get the job done this year," Steinbrenner said in a phone interview, "if Santana could have made the difference for us and the young pitchers aren't ready, people have to be held accountable."

How many times is Hank going to threaten Cashman this offseason? This is the third or fourth time by my count.

Steinbrenner isn't concerned so much about the regular season; he believes the Yankees can reach the playoffs without Santana. He also believes they could win the World Series without Santana, but he knows the postseason is where Santana's absence might be most sorely felt.

Said Steinbrenner: "If we get to the playoffs and we're missing that kind of pitcher and that could have made a difference, I'm not going to be happy about it, and neither is my dad."

Steinbrenner also said that re-signing Andy Pettitte had little impact on acquiring Santana:

"I was thinking about getting Santana and Pettitte," Hank said. "Andy is a top-notch pitcher and a longtime Yankee, and that's important. Johan Santana, though, is one of the top two pitchers in baseball, him and Josh Beckett. That's not really a choice, and that's not Hal's end of the business."

As for an either/or scenario with Santana and Pettitte, he said: "No. Maybe I should have pulled the trigger and gotten [Santana] anyway, because I wanted him, and my dad wanted him, too. Now, of course, the ball's in their court, so we'd better win."

Hank also told the New York Post that Pettitte has "got to prove he's worth it," and "he's got to do the job." But he did sound confident that Pettitte will handle the situation. "I think he'll concentrate and do his job," Steinbrenner said. "I think he'll be fine in the end."