Hal: Yanks Are Not For Sale

So earlier today there was a report in the Daily News that said there have been rumors that the Yankees might be looking to sell after the recent deal made to sell the Dodgers. Here's a little bit more from the article:

Rumors are flying in Major League Baseball and New York banking circles that the family that has owned Major League Baseball's premiere franchise since Cleveland shipbuilder George Steinbrenner purchased the club for $8.8 million in 1973 is exploring the possibility of selling the Yankees.

Multiple baseball and finance sources told the Daily News they are hearing that the team the Steinbrenner family has led to seven World Series titles could be put on the block in the wake of the record sale price of $2.175 billion the Los Angeles Dodgers went for in April.

"There has been chatter all around the banking and financial industries in the city for a couple of weeks now," one high-level baseball source told The News.

Yankee president Randy Levine adamantly denied the rumors: "I can say to you there is absolutely, positively nothing to this. The Steinbrenners are not selling the team." And managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, George's younger son, weighed in with his own denial Thursday morning, saying in a statement: "I just read the Daily News story. It is complete fiction. Me and my family have no intention to sell the Yankees and expect it to be in the family for years to come."

However, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation, the recent sale of the Dodgers to a group that includes NBA legend Magic Johnson is just one reason why the Steinbrenner family may be looking to sell the team, which experts estimate could be worth up to a stunning $3 billion.

Besides Levin's denials in the article, Hal Steinbrenner also responded to the rumors:

Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said on Thursday that his family has no intention of selling the storied franchise, responding to a published report in the New York Daily News.

"I just learned of the Daily News story. It is pure fiction," Steinbrenner said in a statement. "The Yankees are not for sale. I expect that the Yankees will be in my family for many years to come."

Honestly, at this point I don't really care what happens, especially if they are sold to an owner who is ready to spend money.

Sure, it would be nice to have the team remain in the Steinbrenner family, but unless your goal as a Yankees fan is to see higher ticket prices along with lower payroll I'm not sure how beneficial that would be.

When The Boss owned the team we as fans always knew that he'd do whatever it took to win, but now after a few years of Hal you can now longer say that. Instead the Yankees are in cost-cutting mode and just spent this past offseason ignoring the two best pitchers on the market (Darvish and Wilson), and instead decided to go the less expensive route and I don't think that's something we'd see from George.

What do you think? Does it matter if the team stays in the Steinbrenner's hands?

Levine to Rangers Owner: You're Delusional

First, here's what Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg said earlier in the week:

"We had three different meetings with Cliff and his wife and his agent in Little Rock," the owner said. "Even though Philadelphia was probably not in, they were always in the back of our mind...I think if we wouldn't have gone to Arkansas that last time, I think he was going to sign with the Yankees. We pried the door open a little bit to give ourselves another opportunity. And ultimately the Phillies were able to take advantage of that opportunity that we created."

Now here's more from Jon Heyman and Nathaniel Vinton:

The Yankees are again upset about comments made by Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg. This time, the Yankees believe Greenberg implied in remarks made to fans in Texas Thursday that he got one over on the storied franchise when he made his second trip to visit superstar pitcher Cliff Lee in Arkansas.

"Chuck's delusional. He's been in the game for a few minutes and yet he thinks he knows what everyone's thinking,'' Yankees president Randy Levine said. "I think he should let Cliff Lee speak for himself. "

"If he really wants to impress us then he can get the Rangers off of welfare and show how they can be revenue-sharing payors, rather than recipients for three years in row, without financing from Major League Baseball," Levine said Friday. "That would really be something."

I've never been a fan of Levine's, but I'll give him credit for speaking his mind, regardless of whether Greenberg's comment are accurate or not. Remember, Greenberg is the same yutz who had this to say about us Yankees fans after last year's ALCS:

"I thought Yankee fans, frankly, were awful. They were either violent or apathetic, neither of which is good. So I thought Yankee fans were by far the worst of any I've seen in the postseason. I thought they were an embarrassment."

Obviously this tool is trying to make a name for himself and get attention, and I guess he's accomplished that. He's also accomplished becoming the enemy of Yankees fans everywhere, which isn't necessarily the wisest of moves.

Olney Talks About the Yankees Front Office

We already heard what Tim Kurkjian had to say, now Buster Olney add his 2 cents.

A Little More On That "Rift" Between Ownership and Cashman

Jon Heyman has the info:

Buster Olney twat the same thing as well.

The Daily News also reported this morning that Cash was overruled by both Hank and Hal Steinbrenner. Mainly because they didn't like the idea of going into the season with a starting rotation full of question marks "and little protection for closer Mariano Rivera." They also weren't too fond of Cashman's plan to have Joba Chamberlain open the season as the Yanks main setup guy.

Olney: Soriano Signing Was Ownership-Driven

Earlier we heard that Mariano was also a big part in getting the Yanks to sign Soriano, but he wasn't the only factor in this decision. Apparently Randy Levine played a big role as well.

Gammons backs up Olney's report:

While I'm never a fan of ownership going over the head's of the baseball people to make a move, I still have very few problems with this move. Let's just hope this trend doesn't continue.

More About Patience From The Yankees Brass

This quote comes from Randy Levine via Andrew Marchand (hat-tip to WasWatching):

"Cliff Lee is one of the best pitchers there is in Major League Baseball," Levine said. "He made a decision for himself and his family that he wanted to be in Philadelphia, and that is what free agency is all about and we respect it.

"That is a lot of money we saved by not signing Cliff Lee. We have one of the best minor league systems in all of baseball. At this point in time, we are getting a lot of calls from a lot of people, agents and other teams and we are going to be patient about it. We have until spring training, until the end of March when the season opens to do the right thing, be careful and weigh our options. I've been around a long time, we have sometimes won the Hot Stove League in December and November and we haven't done too well in October. So hopefully, October is the main time that you have to perform and I'm confident we will have a championship team."

I'm glad someone is confident the Yankees will have a championship team come October, because I know very few fans actually feel that way.

Levine to Attanasio: Stop Whining

Yesterday, in the article from USA Today about team's payrolls, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio made this comment about the Yankees:

"We're struggling to sign [Fielder] and the Yankees infield is making more than our team,"

Today, Yankees President Randy Levine fired back:

"I'm sorry that my friend Mark continues to whine about his running the Brewers," Levine told ESPNNewYork.com in a phone interview Tuesday morning. "We play by all the rules and there doesn't seem to be any complaints when teams such as the Brewers receive hundreds of millions of dollars that they get from us in revenue sharing the last few years. Take some of that money that you get from us and use that to sign your players.

"The question that should be asked is: Where has the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue sharing gone?"

Nice job, Randy.