Hal Steinbrenner: 'Anything Would Be On The Table' If Yankees Miss Playoffs
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Hal Steinbrenner says he'd consider all options if the New York Yankees don't qualify for the postseason in 2015.
Does that mean he'd go full-blown Boss? Could there be an organizational shakeup?
"It would be horrible not to make the playoffs three years in a row," Steinbrenner told the New York Post. "We'd be embarrassed. So anything (firings, etc.) would be on the table, yes."
In a separate article quoting Steinbrenner, the so-called Baby Boss told the newspaper that neither manager Joe Girardi nor general manager Brian Cashman "is on a hot seat right now." But a lot could change between spring training and the last pitch of Game 162.
Cashman kept the Yankees competitive in 2014 thanks to a slew of minor midseason moves and was rewarded with a three-year extension after finishing second in the AL East at 84-78. Girardi signed a four-year extension in October 2013.
"I like their approach to things and how they come up with decisions and recommend things," Steinbrenner said. "I am comfortable with that. I think when you lose four out of five starters by the All-Star break it is going to affect 90 percent of the teams out there and we were one of them (last season). I don't blame anyone for that."
Hal showed flashes of his father's feistiness in his responses to the Post, and disputed the notion that he's unwilling to open his wallet like the late George Steinbrenner.
"Our payroll is at $235 (million)," he said. "That is about as high as it has ever been. And on top of that add the roughly $30 million we spent last (July) when we saw a pretty good foreign market, one of the best there has been and we got six or seven of the top 10 or 11 guys. So there is money spent for not just now, but the future."
In the two Post articles, Steinbrenner also said the Yankees made "a hell of an offer" to Yoan Moncada that may have escalated had the Cuban prospect not agreed with the Red Sox on a $31.5-million deal. When it comes to PED-tainted slugger Alex Rodriguez, Steinbrenner said he's "not a grudge holder" and won't "dwell on the past."
As for the rumor that just won't go away, Steinbrenner said the Yankees are not and will not be for sale -- period.
"The family is not selling the team," he told the Post. "We have no intentions of selling the team. You can quote me on that. I am not sure why everyone continues to ask that. The Steinbrenner family is not selling a majority stake in the New York Yankees. We are not going anywhere."
