Hal Steinbrenner does not want to be disappointed by Alex Rodriguez again, and last night admitted the offensively challenged Yankees need the steroid-stained slugger and most of all need him to act like a Yankee.
It was good to hear Steinbrenner voice a strong opinion on Rodriguez.
When Steinbrenner was asked by The Post if he has been disappointed in A-Rod, he said, “There have no doubt been times we’ve been disappointed in him and we’ve conveyed that to him.
“He understands that,’’ Steinbrenner told reporters on a night the Yankees beat the Indians, 7-4 at Yankee Stadium for only their second win in nine games. “Everybody’s human. Everybody makes mistakes. If you got a guy over the course of 10 years, there are gonna be times any of us makes mistakes in a decade, right?
“We all hope he is going to act like a Yankee and do the best he can to live up to it.’’
The injury-riddled Yankees need help, and as much as some people want A-Rod to just go away, that is not happening. The Yankees signed him to that $275 million deal through 2017 and they want to get some bang for their big bucks — if that is possible from the aging and injured player. A-Rod, 37, is out at least until the All-Star break, rehabbing from hip surgery.
This comes on the heels of Brian Cashman saying in an ESPN interview that life with A-Rod has been “complicated.’’ Cashman noted, “It’s kind of like the Clint Eastwood movie ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.’ ’’
Asked about his GM’s comments, Steinbrenner said, “Well, it’s a big contract to live up to. I didn’t see Brian’s comments, to be honest with you. We just hope he comes back healthy as he did in ’09 after the surgery and we hope he contributes in a big way. He’s a heck of an athlete, and if the surgery has fixed the problem you may see good things out of him. We hope so.’’
Has A-Rod acted like a Yankee?
“Well, we’ll see. We’ll find out when he comes back,’’ Steinbrenner said. “I know he’s been working hard to come back. He knows what it means to be a Yankee. He knows what we expect of him. He knows what his teammates expect of him, without a doubt. We just hope he comes back strong. We need all the help we can get.’’
The help for the offense last night came in the form of a Mark Teixeira grand slam in the third inning in just his 10th at-bat since returning from wrist woes. Brett Gardner broke a 4-4 tie with a two-run single in the sixth and Travis Hafner added a solo homer in the seventh to beat Cleveland ace Justin Masterson and pick up Andy Pettitte, who did not make it through the fifth.
Joe Girardi, looking for offense, started Lyle Overbay in right field, the first time the first baseman played the outfield after 1,375 games in the majors.
Hal’s dad, George Steinbrenner, despised losing to the Mets. Hal was upset by last week’s four-game Subway Series sweep, but was not going over the cliff.
“They are the crosstown rivals, no doubt about that,” he explained. “I concern myself more with the teams in our division. You have to. But does it feel good, no. Does it sting? Yes, absolutely.’’
Steinbrenner made it clear he was proud of what the Replacement Yankees have accomplished.
“A lot of people expected the doomsday scenario,” he said. “I don’t think anybody felt we would be three games out of first place in the American League East, so I think the team has done well. The last week has hurt, no doubt about it, it’s not a fun place to be when you’re slumping, but let’s try to keep this in perspective that we are still very much in this fight. … They’re in the fight of their lives.’’
Interesting words from the managing general partner and co-chairman.
Hal Steinbrenner wants his team to act like Yankees. A-Rod has role models.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com