“If George (Steinbrenner) were alive, he’d do something!” That has been a rallying cry for Yankees fans since Steinbrenner passed away 15 years ago. Well, George isn’t alive, and the urge for a championship has flamed out.
Steinbrenner’s son Hal preaches fiscal responsibility, and he’s at it again, whining about how expensive it is to build a championship team. He wasn’t happy with last year’s spending that didn’t yield a championship, and this year, he seems committed to doing relatively little.
Hal Steinbrenner (photo, NJ.com)
The Yankees signed Amed Rosario to a one-year, $2.5 million deal. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed free-agent Edwin Diaz as their closer—big difference.
The Yankees could use a closer, too. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver signed with the Mets. So, Diaz would have been excellent for them. He knows how to close in New York. He is made to pitch in that market.
The Mets lost Pete Alonso to the Orioles. But think about this? With that short porch in right field, don’t you think Pete would flourish playing at Yankee Stadium? Imagine him hitting behind Judge.
But here’s the problem. It would have cost a lot of cash to bring both, let alone just one, to the Bronx.
Hal has his accounting cap on. George viewed winning as something close to breaking.
The Yankees have lost their sense of urgency. They were underwhelming in the postseason last year. Now it’s reasonable to speculate they may not even make the playoffs in ’26. “The Bronx Bombers” (an archaic moniker) are nowhere close to winning a championship, let alone being the best team in the division.
The Toronto Blue Jays should be the odds-on favorite to win the AL East based on what they did this year in getting to the World Series. They improved their chances of getting back to the Fall Classic by signing Dylan Cease as a free agent. The Baltimore Orioles should be better by signing Alonso. The Boston Red Sox have young talent that will get better.
Boone and Cashman (photo courtesy FOX News)
As for the Yankees…. The starting pitching doesn’t have much depth. The bullpen is in flux. The offense is Judge, and that’s it. Oh, and the Yankees still struggle to run the bases and field. They are also poorly managed.
Then there is the team culture. The Yankees have been run like a country club. Players don’t have to deal with consequences, and that includes Yankees manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman.
All they are doing is wasting another year of Aaron Judge’s career by doing nothing to improve his chances of winning a championship. If fans are upset that Steinbrenner isn’t investing in winning a tournament, imagine how a generational talent like Judge feels.
So, unless things change dramatically, it’s hard to even take the Yankees seriously as a championship threat anymore.
They are just another team. They certainly are not in the Dodgers’ league. Shoot, they are not even in the Blue Jays’ league at this point.
If only George were alive …
