Is Hank Steinbrenner Trying to Make a Name for Himself?After a columnist labeled George Steinbrenner “The Boss” years back, the cranky Yankees owner started using the term to describe himself. He’d refer to himself in the third person by the name. Now that his sons are taking over control of the team, one has to wonder if they’ll try the same tactic. It seems like Hank, at least, has started to try to make one stick for himself this week.
• On new manager Joe Girardi’s last firing. When asked if the club looked into it, he said: “I don’t want to get too much into that, but we’re not stupid.” [10/22]
• On Brian Cashman’s recommendations: ”The baseball people we have are the smartest guys in the game,” he said. ”I’m not stupid. It’s not like I’m not going to pay attention to what they say.” [10/29]
• On A-Rod’s contract: “I really believe that in his heart, [A-Rod] wants to be a Yankee, and we’re going to let him know he’s wanted. But we’re not going to be stupid.” [10/27]
• On prospects: “We want to win the World Series every year,” Hank Steinbrenner said. “We’re not stupid enough to think we can do it.” [10/25]
Oh, Hank. Nicknames have to make sense for them to stick.
in other news
Hello, Blankfein
This morning we learned that Merrill’s Lynch’s soon-to-be-deposed CEO Stan O’Neal had a serious stick up his butt when it came to Goldman Sachs, and that whenever Goldman reported profits O’Neal would “grill his executives” “to the point where you didn’t want to be in the office,” on Goldman earnings days, one former Merrill executive told the Wall Street Journal. Now on DealBook, Andrew Sorkin has done a thoughtful analysis of why Goldman has soared of late while Merrill has tanked, and includes a telling little nugget of info.
The new high illustrates how Goldman and Merrill — whose chief executives own apartments in the same Park Avenue co-op in New York — have been on opposite trajectories of late. Shares of Goldman are up—
Wait a second. Hold up. Stan O’Neal and Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein live in the same building? Google: Yes! 941 Park Avenue, the plush-but-not-too-plush building at 81st Street that was also home to Tom Brokaw and Claude Arpels. No wonder the dude was all salty about Goldman. Blankfein is clearly the Newman to O’Neal’s Jerry! Look at him smiling like that! Oh, the humanity.
As Merrill Reels, Goldman Glitters [DealBook/NYT]
it just happened
It’s Time to Party for Joe Girardi!It looks like Fox broadcaster and former Yankees catcher Joe Girardi is going to be the next manager of the Yankees, according to ESPN.
“The Yankees have offered Joe the opportunity to become their next manager. Discussions are ongoing.” Steve Mandell, Girardi’s agent, said.
Girardi beat out Steinbrenner favorite Don Mattingly and Yankees coach Tony Pena for the contract — reportedly $6 million for three years — after a ten-hour interview in which he apparently charmed the pants off the Steinbrenner family. But not everyone thinks he’s so sweet. “There remain concerns about Girardi’s aggressive style of handling people,” George King and Joel Sherman of the Post wrote in an article that appears on the Fox News Website. “He isn’t afraid to bruise feelings.” Aw, did someone at News Corp., perhaps, get his feelings hurt?
Yanks Offer Job to Giardi [Fox]
Yanks Officially Offer Skipper Job to Giardi [ESPN]