HANK Steinbrenner sent up his own Fourth of July fireworks yesterday, unloading on his unproductive Yankees hitters just in time for the big holiday weekend with the Red Sox coming to town tonight.
“Nobody is sacred . . . nobody is safe,” Steinbrenner told The Post. If players aren’t performing, they could be benched or sent to the minors. “I don’t care who they are or how much money they make,” he declared.
The Yankees then provided their own Stadium fireworks with Jason Giambi leading the way with a grand slam and two-run double in an 18-7 pounding of the Rangers. Interestingly enough, the one player Hank went out of his way to praise during our chat was Giambi, even though Giambi has been struggling with runners in scoring position.
Giambi has earned a spot on the AL squad. The home run was his 18th, which leads the team and he has 52 RBIs.
Some people don’t like to hear what Hank has to say, but he is one owner who is not afraid to put it on the players. On this night, the players responded, including Alex Rodriguez, who lined a three-run homer in the stunning nine-run seventh.
From Rodriguez to the 25th player, the Yankees have been put on notice.
“Maybe they make too much money,” Steinbrenner said. “Maybe they can’t hack it anymore. I expect performance. The hitting is getting ridiculous. It’s driving all of us nuts. I’m upset, Brian (Cashman) is upset, Joe (Girardi) is upset, all our baseball people are upset.”
No one makes more money than A-Rod, and no player finds himself more in the spotlight. Steinbrenner said Reggie Jackson, who knows something about being the straw that stirs the drink, will soon be having a helpful talk with Rodriguez.
“It’s about time they step up to the plate, literally,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s time to show some toughness.”
He said it’s time to wake up. The Yankees came into the game 13th in the AL with runners in scoring position with a .250 average, which was better than only Toronto (.240) and Seattle (.239). They were second in the league last year with a .293 average.
In the turn-around seventh, they were 6-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Rookie Brett Gardner started in place of Melky Cabrera in center and added life to the lineup.
Steinbrenner said the players have too many distractions. He said it’s time to refocus on the game. He is happy with the charity work of individual Yankees and that is essential, but the players have to make the game their No. 1 priority. He also made it clear he was not speaking about Rodriguez but the team as a whole.
“Our players are really good people, but at some point they do have to perform on the field,” Steinbrenner said. “Hank’s right,” noted Cashman, who talked with Hank earlier in the day. “The offense has underperformed. We’re better than this. . . . If the playoffs started today we’re not in, we got to put ourselves in a position to be one of those four teams.”
This explosion was only one game.
“It’s been like a yo-yo,” Steinbrenner said. He made sure to say that he does not pin the hitting woes on hitting coach Kevin Long.
Giambi came in batting .174 with runners in scoring position and Rodriguez was at .243.
“Hopefully we can put it all together,” Steinbrenner said. “We’ll see if they have any (guts).”
That’s what hitting in the clutch is all about. With the Red Sox coming to town for four then the Rays for two, it’s time these Yankees show what they are made of when they step into the batter’s box with men on base.
On this night, Hank got his fireworks.