MLB

HANK: IT’S NOT GIRARDI’S FAULT

Life in the honeymoon suite sure is sweet.

Hank Steinbrenner today said the entire Yankee organization is at fault for the team’s unacceptable showing in the standings, with one notable exception: Joe Girardi isn’t part of the problem, according to the Baby Boss.

“As far as Girardi is concerned, who I think is brilliant, this is his first year and he’s had to play the hand he was dealt,” Steinbrenner said during the Yankees’ 3-2 victory over the Red Sox at the Stadium.

“Not only that, he lost a lot of his parts through injuries. Baseball managers can’t perform miracles. It’s easier for a football coach to do that. For a baseball manager it’s more leadership and having the parts, having the players.”

Steinbrenner said he hasn’t considered the notion the results would be any different this season if Joe Torre were still managing the Yankees. Torre’s Dodgers remain in the NL West title chase, albeit with a losing record.

“The Dodgers are in the easy division, the National League West,” Steinbrenner said. “If the Dodgers were in the American League East, they would be nowhere, that’s the bottom line. But Joe was a great manager and Joe Girardi is going to be a great manager. We try to avoid picking bad managers. Torre was great and Girardi is going to be great. So, no, it wouldn’t have made a difference.”

Steinbrenner seemed resigned to the fact the Yankees won’t extend their postseason streak to 14 straight appearances – even with today’s victory the Yanks trail Boston by six games in the wild card chase – and reiterated his belief that injuries have been the biggest factor in his team’s freefall.

When told the Red Sox have also dealt with injuries, Steinbrenner stuck to his guns.

“Nothing like [us],” Steinbrenner said of Boston’s walking wounded. “For now they are without [Josh] Beckett, but they would have had to go longer without Beckett or Beckett and [Daisuke] Matsuzaka or Beckett and [Jon] Lester to match what we’ve had with [Joba] Chamberlain and [Chien-Ming] Wang, plus everybody else. Even when we were healthy we weren’t hitting, and we’re trying to figure that out, still.

“Things are going to have to get a lot better next year. That’s the bottom line, whether we make the playoffs or not. Unless we win the World Series this year, things have got to change.”

mpuma@nypost.com