TAMPA – Sitting behind his desk at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Hank Steinbrenner yesterday spit on the notion he has taken a step back in running the Yankees.
“There is one very important point here,” Steinbrenner told The Post during an exclusive half-hour session. “The most important thing to remember is this: If you didn’t get it from me or my brother [Hal], it doesn’t mean [anything]. I don’t care about some piss-ant employee. If you don’t get it from me or Hal, it’s meaningless. I have a lot of things [in Tampa] and Hal is in New York, which is good.”
Asked if he has taken a step back, Steinbrenner emphatically said, “No.”
Since The Boss turned over the day-to-day operations to his sons, Hank has one regret.
“I should have pushed harder for the [Johan] Santana deal,” said Hank, who was talked out of signing Santana by Hal and GM Brian Cashman because they believed the Yankees’ talent (Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera) and the money (Santana signed a six-year, $137.5 million extension with the Mets) was too costly.
“My dad wanted to do that,” Hank said. “But that doesn’t mean we would have won if we got into the playoffs, because [Chien-Ming] Wang was hurt.”
So, with multiple holes in the rotation, center field and first base, will Steinbrenner be more assertive this offseason when the Yankees chase free-agent pitchers C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe and first baseman Mark Teixeira?
“I would likely say, ‘Go do it,’ ” Steinbrenner said. “But that won’t be necessary, because we are all on the same page.” Asked if the emphasis will be on pitching, Steinbrenner said, “Anything we can get to improve our situation, pitcher or position player. We are going to do everything we can and try our hardest.
“We are going to look at everything, and we are interested in everything, pitchers and position players. Whatever fits for us, whatever we need the most. To say we aren’t interested in somebody would be ridiculous. Teixeira is a quality player.”
One area Steinbrenner has drifted away from is dealing with the media. Too many people had his cell-phone number, so he changed it. Media criticism took its toll, and there have been whispers that others in the organization nudged him toward not being so outgoing.
“I said that if you treat me fair and honest, I would treat you fair and honest,” Steinbrenner said. “Those days are over. I told Hal, if you live by the press, you die by the press. I didn’t live by my own words.”
Despite the Yankees missing the playoffs, Steinbrenner said he believes Joe Girardi is still the right manager, and is happy Cashman re-upped for three years.
“I talked to him [Cashman] during the [June] draft and told him I wanted him back and I am glad he did,” Steinbrenner said. “He is just like me, he wants to finish the job and get this thing turned around.”
Can the Yankees turn around this season’s disaster in one year?
“Possibly with the major-league team, but longer than that in the farm system,” Steinbrenner said. “We have the pitchers there, but position players, we still have some work to do. We can fix the major-league team quicker.”
Because his Tampa home is 20 minutes from Tropicana Field, where the Rays and Red Sox – the Yankees’ biggest AL rivals – opened the ALCS last night, Steinbrenner was asked if he was going to attend.
“I was thinking about it, but it’s a great indication how strong the AL East is,” Steinbrenner said of the division in which his club finished third. “The AL East is unbelievable. Hopefully we will be better than them next year.”