Tamperin’ Hank

Here’s another Hank quotable (a Hankable) that hasn’t really gotten picked up (maybe it’s because Hank’s involvement with the team seems to end with these comments).

From Newsday (August 29th):

A day after promising that the Yankees will be busy in the offseason addressing their needs, Hank Steinbrenner yesterday named two pitchers in whom the Yankees have interest.

“Everybody’s looking at [CC] Sabathia and [A.J.] Burnett, not just us,” Steinbrenner said during yesterday’s game against the Red Sox. “We’ll see. The main concern is, are their arms going to be OK after this season?”

Once again, Steinbrenner predicted a flurry of offseason activity to make improvements to a Yankees team that could miss the postseason for the first time in other than strike years since 1993.

“It’s very frustrating. We haven’t given up on this year, but we’re definitely going to be better next year,” Steinbrenner said. “That I can promise.”

Typical Hank, but what he has done here isn’t exactly helpful–at least, not from the Blue Jay’s perspective. As Jon Heyman notes, Hank is blatantly tampering through this statement. Everyone knows CC Sabathia will get his payday after this season, but AJ Burnett is sort of a different story. Burnett control his own destiny, as he has a players’ option and could choose to stay with the Jays or he could choose to part with the team and pursue a new deal elsewhere. The thing is, Burnett hasn’t made that decision yet, because, you know, the season isn’t actually over. However, in light of Hank’s comments, why wouldn’t he exercise his opt-out and head for free agency (A-Rod style)? Clearly, as Hank said, teams (“not just us”) are interested in his services, so it seems very likely that Burnett will pursue a new paycheck. With tampering, Heyman also notes that it’s basically impossible to enforce, therefore there’s no real “disciplinary” issue for Hank, but that doesn’t mean his statement won’t effect the Yankees.

Hank has become accustomed to blurting out whatever it is that he thinks in regards to other players (that aren’t on his team) and by confirming not only that you have an interest in a player but that OTHER teams also have a genuine interest in that player, you are effectively sabotaging any form of leverage that you may have had. You’re basically saying, “hey, I want you but other teams also want you, let’s start a bidding war.” Hank is hurting his own wallet with these statements (and those pesky Blue Jays, but who cares about them). I’m sure this sort of thing bothers not only GM Brian Cashman, but also Hank’s reserved brother, Hal, who is the financial brain behind this operation. I guess, the good thing about Hanks’s statement is that it’ll further convince AJ Burnett to head towards free agency, which would then help the Yankees since he could possibly end up in the National League (thanks Hank!).

UPDATE – The Red Sox are also said to be interested in Burnett (which would be terrible for the Yankees), however Larry Luchino has failed to make a public statement…… (Props to RAB & MLBTR who channeled Ken Rosenthal).