Zell's Pinstripe Blog

Hal Steinbrenner has told GM Brian Cashman that the budget he gave him (less than $201 million) is set in concrete and won’t be changed. Cashman has said he would never close doors and Steinbrenner has said he would always listen.What has happened here is that Steinbrenner is now hard of hearing and Cashman is now standing in the door he swore never to slam close a very very cold man…

So at this point in time that means everyone can stop fantasizing about Matt Holliday or Jason Bay wearing pinstripes. This also makes sense why the Yankees didn’t really ‘pursue’ John Lackey like some of us thought they might.

Cashman at this point in time will continue looking for another starting pitcher as he found his new DH, Nick Johnson. One has to think that Cashman will look at Justin Duchscherer or Ben Sheets. At this point in time Ben Sheets’ asking price is a little high at $12MM, which I feel will come down quick as I don’t think anyone wants to spend that much money on a walking injury risk.

One has to wonder if George Steinbrenner was still in charge if he would have set his budget in concrete. Me? I don’t think so. George would be enamored with Bay after his exploits in Boston and would want to stick it to them much like when Damon left Boston for New York. Should be interesting this year if the Yankees are underachieving and if Hal calls for the Yankees to put on more payroll via trades in July or earlier…