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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When Hal Steinbrenner attends a Yankees game, his presence doesn’t set flares around a 10-mile radius, as was the case with his late father. He flashed a smile Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, even as his ballclub continued the sort of meltdown we haven’t seen in this franchise’s rich history.
But don’t confuse Hal Steinbrenner’s relatively easygoing nature with a lack of competitive spirit, or with a lack of a desire to see a strong return on his family’s massive investment.
“We’re all frustrated,” Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ managing general partner, told The Post Tuesday night, during the Yankees’ 5-2 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field that — combined with Baltimore’s 12-0 thumping of Toronto — dropped the Yankees into a first-place AL East tie with the Orioles.
“We’re all frustrated,” Steinbrenner repeated. “The fans are frustrated. I know that. We all expect great things out of these guys. We’ve had injuries all year long. We’re not the only team, but we’ve had our share. Each time, they push through.
“The fans and my family, we expect them to push through now. I’m sure they will. But it’s a little frustrating, no doubt.”
The Yankees are 19-25 since July 18, when they held a 10-game lead over the Orioles. Their descent has been ugly, replete with poor starting pitching, an inability of relievers to keep deficits close and a lineup beset by injuries and displaying its advanced age.
Given that the worst-case scenario — missing the playoffs altogether — becomes a greater reality with each passing day, I asked Steinbrenner whether the jobs of general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi were at stake.
“No, not at all,” he said. “Look, you start to get back into it, and someone else gets hurt. [Aug. 27], when Tex [Mark Teixeira] goes down [with a left calf injury], look, that’s got to be hard. They’re looking forward to Alex [Rodriguez] coming back, and then boom, Teixeira goes down.
“And then a few days ago, [Curtis] Granderson, we were worried [about his right hamstring]. He’s back. They’ve got to keep grinding. They’ve got to keep pushing. They will. They know what’s expected of them.”
Steinbrenner said he spoke with Girardi by phone earlier this week and with Cashman, who planned to attend Wednesday night’s game, yesterday. He obviously isn’t as hands-on as was George Steinbrenner, but Hal Steinbrenner sees enough and stays in touch enough to know his team’s status. The Tampa resident spent Saturday and Sunday at Yankee Stadium, watching his team eke out a 4-3 victory over the Orioles then suffer a painful, 8-3 loss to Baltimore, then he showed up last night.
“I was in The Bronx, where I belong. That was rough,” he said. “It was rough. We got a lead, and we gave it up. So it is what it is. But we’ll keep grinding. They know what’s expected of them.
“But we’re all frustrated. That would be my word.”
Steinbrenner has established himself as an owner who doesn’t panic. For the most part, he lets people do their assigned jobs, which his employees correctly interpret as trust. If there’s anything irrational about his leadership, he hides it exceptionally well.
Which is why, if the Yankees don’t grind and push and survive this maelstrom, Steinbrenner and his family will have every right to be very upset. For a payroll of about $200 million, the Steinbrenners should expect a 40-man roster with the depth to complete the 162-game marathon. They should expect a manager who remains tranquil in tough times, projects that tranquility to the public through his news conferences and keeps his players calm.
Hal Steinbrenner isn’t a Boss with a capital B. Nevertheless, as he said repeatedly, the expectations surrounding the Yankees remain enormous. As do the payrolls. Therefore, if these Yankees can’t halt this epic slide, there will be something far greater than frustration emanating from ownership.
kdavidoff@nypost.com