There's been a ton of talk recently about the rift between ownership and GM Brian Cashman. This morning Hal Steinbrenner spoke to
Joel Sherman and had nothing but good things to say about Cash:
"[Cashman] and I have a great working relationship," Steinbrenner said by phone, "There is no problem, right now. I think we have had a bunch of drummed-up drama."
As for the Soriano matter, Steinbrenner said he listened to Cashman, but decided to authorize the signing because he felt the club needed an "impact" move this offseason. However, he blessed Cashman's behavior at the press conference.
"I value his opinion and his advice," Steinbrenner said. "That does not mean I am always going to go with that advice and all of my VPs know that I might go a different way. There are no hard feelings between Cash and I. There never was. Reasonable men can differ in opinions.
"I keep reading about dissension and discord. We are a well-functioning company. The bosses have a decision to make. Sometimes people don't agree with those decisions. So I told him, 'You are always honest with the media, be honest now. Tell them what you have to tell them.' I was already onto the next decision. I told him, 'You and I are fine. Answer in any way you want.' We are not always going to be on the same page. It is my job to think what is best for the family, partners and company."
Steinbrenner also said he had no issues with any of the statements attributed to Cashman from the breakfast get-together with fans, even the remark that the Red Sox are currently better than the Yankees.
"My understanding was he was asked in an objective way about the different areas of the team and said our hitting was on par with the Red Sox, our bullpen is better and their starting pitching, right now, is a little stronger," Steinbrenner said.
"Really, there are no problems at all," Steinbrenner said. "Brian calls me on my cell phone more often than I would even like. He and I talk on a daily basis multiple times. There is not much that he does without consulting me first. This has been a very good relationship."
Obviously this could all be lies and a PR move to make everything look like it's running smoothly, but is it that hard to believe that this is yet another time that the NY media blew something completely out of proportion to sell a few extra papers?
