I never want to hear Hank Steinbrenner try to talk tough about the players ever again.
It's like hearing Julian Lennon. You kind of look like your dad and sound like him... but you aren't the real thing.
He tried to talk tough about Jeter and his contract and how they don't owe him anything.
And guess what? The Yankees caved.
Was ANYONE ELSE offering Jeter a contract remotely close to what he signed? Of course not.
Does the contract make sense in terms of his market value? Not a chance.
Was he already generously paid over a 10 year contract as an elite player? You bet.
But the Yankees, bidding against nobody and holding all sorts of contract leverage folded like a tent.
You think George in his hey day would have stood for this?
Hank is all bark.
Jeter knew this from the start and knew that he was going to get a sweetheart deal even if nobody else in baseball would offer him HALF of that contract.
Now the love fest will begin and Jeter is indeed a great Yankee... and like any great Yankee, he squeezed every last dime out of the franchise while people praised his loyalty.
