Yankees Owner Hal Steinbrenner Cries Poor And Says "It's Difficult For Us Owners To Be Able To Do The Kinds of Things They’re Doing" When Talking About The Dodgers

Dustin Satloff. Getty Images.

Sometimes I just wish Hal Steinbrenner would say different things. Sure he has moments where he flexes his muscles and channels characteristics that his dad used to display. He just can't help but stray from that personality unfortunately.  

Let's talk facts. The Dodgers are a well oiled machine at this point. They operate with the brains of the Rays while also possessing the wallet of Bill Gates. As I've mentioned previously, the Shohei Ohtani unicorn signing allowed them to unlock a new level of spending. Now they have Japan's revenue stream flowing through them while their bottom line soars into the black for pretty much the rest of time. They'll continue to have Shohei and thus the incoming best players from Japan because it's the easiest landing spot for them entering a new country. Winning will never escape them as well as an enormous, continuous money printer that goes brrrrrrr. The scariest part is that their enormous payroll will be justified when you look at the money coming in. 

While all that is true, hearing Hal Steinbrenner bitch and moan about it is beyond infuriating. If the Rays or Reds owner wants to complain I'll hear it before asking their owners to sell. The Yankees are a global brand that prints money hand over fist.

You know what else the Yankees do? They invest less than 50% of their revenue back into their upcoming payroll. That slots them at middle of the pack in the league. 

This is the team complaining that they can't do what the Dodgers are doing? How stupid do they think we are?  If they went up for sale right this second you'd have a ten billion dollar offer before you could check the time. They're the fucking Yankees. Is it nice to have a Japan revenue stream on top of your American revenue stream? Obviously, but that shouldn't stop the Yankees from doing a single thing. 

For the most part I've liked the Yankees' pivot this offseason after Juan Soto. Aside from a Kyle Tucker trade, which I don't think Houston was ever doing with New York, they plugged a lot of holes and improved in areas that were a big need. Pitching and defense will be their emphasis and that's a good direction to head. One need remains and that is 3rd base. 

Here's the frustrating part of the offseason. Jazz Chisholm Jr. will be moving back to second which opens up 3rd as hole to address. The current options available are Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera, and the ghost of DJ LeMahieu. Aka they need a real guy to put there if they want to be taken seriously. There are a few options out there right now, but Hal is hellbent on staying under the Cohen tax. It's the worst kept secret in baseball that the Yankees are trying to trade Marcus Stroman and his contract. Yesterday he unfollowed the Yankees on IG. It seems impossible that Stroman will be on the team when the team reports to Tampa in two weeks. They have called everyone to take on his contract. Maybe even non-MLB teams.. As of right now no takers, so right now the Yankees are telling us DJ LeMahieu, a guy they wanted to DFA at the end of the year but kept only because Aaron Judge wouldn't allow it, is gonna be their starting 3rd baseman. All because they won't go to the Cohen tax. I'm not even asking the Yankees to blindly throw a 7 years, $200M deal at Alex Bregman. In fact that's the last thing I want, but refusing to upgrade the position at all because of Marcus Stroman's contract is fucking ridiculous. 

It's worth noting MLB revenues have never been higher. 

It's amazing that Hal thinks he can just say those things and no one will check him on it. I strive to be that oblivious to the outside world. And this blog isn't all about the Yankees. There are more than a handful of billionaire owners in baseball who can spend way more than they do right now….*cough cough John Henry. They'd just rather pocket the revenue money for themselves and put out the bare minimum when it comes to satisfying the fans. Sure, the Japan rev stream that the Dodgers now have is not a luxury anyone else works with, but the payroll numbers across the league are an embarrassment. Just spend more or sell your team.