Hank: "If you don't get it from me or Hal, it's meaningless"

From George A. King III:
New York Yankees

Sitting behind his desk at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Hank Steinbrenner yesterday spit on the notion he has taken a step back in running the Yankees.

"There is one very important point here," Steinbrenner told The Post during an exclusive half-hour session. "The most important thing to remember is this: If you didn't get it from me or my brother [Hal], it doesn't mean [anything]. I don't care about some piss-ant employee. If you don't get it from me or Hal, it's meaningless. I have a lot of things [in Tampa] and Hal is in New York, which is good."

Asked if he has taken a step back, Steinbrenner emphatically said, "No."

He obviously is taking a page out of his father's book with this one. OK Hank we get it, you're in charge, great. Now be a man and explain which piss-ant employee you're referring to.

He then went on to once again bitch and moan about not getting Johan Santana last winter:

"I should have pushed harder for the [Johan] Santana deal," said Hank, who was talked out of signing Santana by Hal and GM Brian Cashman because they believed the Yankees' talent (Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera) and the money (Santana signed a six-year, $137.5 million extension with the Mets) was too costly.

"My dad wanted to do that," Hank said. "But that doesn't mean we would have won if we got into the playoffs, because [Chien-Ming] Wang was hurt."

Did Hank ever consider that his brother and Cashman don't care what he thinks, and maybe that no matter how hard he pushed for the deal, it wasn't going to happen?

He was then asked if he was going to be more assertive during the upcoming off-season when the Yankees are chasing free agents:

"I would likely say, 'Go do it,' " Steinbrenner said. "But that won't be necessary, because we are all on the same page." Asked if the emphasis will be on pitching, Steinbrenner said, "Anything we can get to improve our situation, pitcher or position player. We are going to do everything we can and try our hardest.

"We are going to look at everything, and we are interested in everything, pitchers and position players. Whatever fits for us, whatever we need the most. To say we aren't interested in somebody would be ridiculous. Teixeira is a quality player."

Sounds like Tex is no. 1 on Hank's list, I'm assuming Sabathia is 1-a.

Hank is still confident in Cashman, and he feels that the Yankees (at least the big league team) can turn this around next year:

"I talked to him [Cashman] during the [June] draft and told him I wanted him back and I am glad he did," Steinbrenner said. "He is just like me, he wants to finish the job and get this thing turned around."

"Possibly with the major-league team, but longer than that in the farm system," Steinbrenner said. "We have the pitchers there, but position players, we still have some work to do. We can fix the major-league team quicker."

Why is every Hank interview the same? He starts off by acting like a power hungry idiot for the first half of the interview, And then as the interview goes on he makes sure we all know that everyone is on the same page, and that he still has faith in the team and the other people running it. If you ask me this routine is getting old.