Friday’s Better Bits: Hal Steinbrenner & Santana, More Clemens Stuff

It appears as though Hal (no, not Hank) Steinbrenner’s name is finally becoming a point of discussion in the New York papers (whether he likes it or not).

A few days ago, I spoke on Hal’s emergence as the man in charge of the Yankees, economically and financially. He obviously keeps to himself regarding business matters (thus far) and seemingly prefers to work behind the scenes (unlike his brother). However, his presence is still being felt, particularly on the Santana front.

Earlier this week, I posted about some comments made by Joel Sherman (NY Post), which spoke of Hal’s reluctance to financially commit to Santana, as the monetary limitations of such a commitment would be tremendous for the Yankees (luxury tax, payroll, all would skyrocket and restrict fiscal flexibility). Hal, doesn’t like this scenario, and I cannot blame him one bit.

Today, Tyler Kepner (NY Times) also offered some similar insights on Hal’s direction for the club, stating that Hal is still holding out over the cost of Santana and that the financial implications of an extension for him remain an especially important factor in any potential Santana move.

Hal Steinbrenner’s primary responsibility is to oversee the Yankees’ finances, and he is reluctant to add another huge contract.

According to several people who have spoken to the brothers recently, that is the crux of the debate in the organization over whether to trade for Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins. Both Steinbrenners want the team to keep winning. Hal Steinbrenner would try to do it with the existing payroll of roughly $200 million. Hank is more inclined to add Santana, largely to keep him away from the rival Boston Red Sox.

I’ve always enjoyed the Steinbrenner philosophy that didn’t necessarily care about what it took to get a player as long as what it took was worth it for a championship in the Bronx. But, I must say that I also like Hal’s discipline on these matters, which simultaneously supports Brian Cashman’s focus on building around current youth (that is cheap and effective) instead of trading it away (although Hal’s drive appears to be strictly financial).

Kepner goes on to talk about what the actual economic consequences could be for trading (with the Twins) to get Johan Santana and signing him to a lucrative contract extension.

If the teams agreed on players, the Yankees would have to negotiate a contract extension with Santana, who would probably ask for seven years and $140 million.

For the Yankees, the $140 million figure would be compounded by an additional $56 million they would owe in luxury taxes, because they are still charged an extra 40 cents for every dollar they spend. Investing almost $200 million in Santana for seven years — and the prospects — is clearly too steep a price for General Manager Brian Cashman.

Yup, that’s a lot of dough, so you can understand where Hal’s reluctance comes from. You never thought you’d see the day when the Yankees would worry about money, but it’s going on now and it seems like it’ll actually benefit the GM.

Kepner does state, however, that the Yankees could still trade for Santana (Hank’s still hanging in there), since they do have a wealth of options and resources that are fairly unlimited (specifically, economic resources). Let’s face it, although they’re worrying about money, they practically print their own and are willing to spend it when they want to.

So, we’ll have to see how this plays out and which brother, Hank or Hal, will ultimately reign supreme (with Cashman sorting it all out afterwards).

In other news, news that his simply dominated all media outlets recently, Roger Clemens stated in his 60 Minutes’ interview (which airs on Sunday) that he did receive injections from trainer, Brian McNamee, yet he states that these injections were not of steroids, but of Vitamin B-12 and Lidocaine (which are legal). Feel free to make your own judgements about Roger’s explanation.

We’ve all wondered about Clemens’ interview on 60 Minutes, and I’m pretty sure that, even if it doesn’t deliver anything new or substantial, it will be the media spectacle it’s being billed as. I mean, CBS even leaked portions of the show today (in text) just to extend the hype. There’s no telling how many people are going to tune in to see what Clemens has to say or how they (and we) will eventually react to his appearance.

In fact, one could definitely characterize the Clemens Saga, not as a baseball story that could ultimately decide the fate of a man’s career or as a cautionary tale that will further challenge baseball’s steroid policies; instead, it has become simply an entertainment spectacle for television viewers (I guess we’re tired of Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith). 

Bob Raissman talks about that in his article, here. He also makes some interesting points about Wallace (Clemens’ interviewer) and the type of questions he’s going to employ when engaging Clemens (fastballs or soft stuff?).