tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Hank: Shut the Hell Up!!!

Well he's at it again.  Hank Steinbrenner decided he needed to become Boss Jr. again by delivering a shot at his Captain by stating that the reason for the Yankees not winning last year was because they were too busy resting on their laurels and building mansions.  Since Jeter was the only player who was building a mansion (it's 30,875 square feet!!!) it is evident that Hankenstein was taking a shot at Jeter.  The question is: why???

Does Hankenstein really believe that Jeter needs more motivation to bounce back from a bad 2010???  I'm not sure that there isn't a baseball player who is more motivated than Jeter every year, particularly after coming off of an abnormal season.  Jeter has plenty of pride and if you don't think he wants to prove his critics, his GM and ownership wrong then you are off the mark.

For Hankenstein to believe that his pot shots are somehow going to motivate these guys is really laughable.  These guys are millionaires.  Do you think they really care what this spoiled rich kid thinks???  If Hankenstein is looking for answers as to why the Yankees didn't win in 2010 he needs to look at what happened to his pitching rotation after Petitte got hurt, Arod's hip issues, Texiera's slow start, Jeter's struggles,  the reluctance on the part of Cashman to include Eduardo Nunez in the Lee/Seattle deal and the decision by Cashman & Girardi to take their foot off the gas pedal at the end of the season to qualify as a wild card.

Hank was on a roll yesterday as he was squawking about Major League Baseball's revenue sharing arrangement.  Once again, Hankenstein speaks without thinking.  Does he honestly believe that the current arrangement is going to change??  From a Yankee perspective, it could only change for the worse: a hard salary cap.  In other words, no more luxury tax.  You only can spend so much, similar to the NHL.  So then Hank you won't have to worry about the tax and spreading the wealth and moving teams from minor markets (his term not mine).  Then Hank you will have to rely on your farm system, something that this organization can't do because of the market which you have created.

Hopefully we have heard the last of Hankenstein this spring.  Unfortunately, I doubt it.