Boss: Giambi 'should have kept his mouth shut'
Yankees owner also says Torre's job is safe, but Cashman 'on a big hook'
 Robert F. Bukaty / AP New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is shown in a file photo from last year. |
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NEW YORK - With his New York Yankees struggling, George Steinbrenner says Joe Torre is safe for now, general manager Brian Cashman “is on a big hook” and Jason Giambi “should have kept his mouth shut.”
In a rare interview Thursday night from his office in Tampa, Fla., the Boss praised Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter and said he was encouraged by the Yankees’ performance this week in taking two out of three games from AL East-leading Boston.
Cashman, given increased duties when he re-signed after the 2005 season, is apparently being held largely responsible for the team’s play.
“He’s on a big hook,” a spirited Steinbrenner said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “He wanted sole authority. He got it. Now he’s got to deliver.”
New York entered Friday 21-24 and trailed the Red Sox by 9½ games.
“The boss is the boss,” Cashman said before Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. “There are no surprises here. He’s said this to me privately.”
Cashman agreed with Steinbrenner’s assessment.
“I’m on the hook. You can’t describe it any better than that,” Cashman said. “It’s my job to figure it out.
“So far, it’s been a long, short season. We’ve got to fight through this,” he said, adding the results at this point are “not acceptable.”
The Yankees, with the highest payroll in the majors, haven’t reached the World Series since 2003.
“We hope we have turned it around,” Steinbrenner said emphatically. “We just have to get out there and compete, compete hard, and win.”
Torre, Steinbrenner’s manager since 1996, appears to be safe for now.
“We are not considering a change,” Steinbrenner said.
Torre, like Steinbrenner, is displeased with the Yankees’ start.
“When he says something, you understand it’s his team and he has the right to be unhappy,” Torre said. “He’s stirred the pot here for a lot of years, and it’s paid off.”
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Steinbrenner was less generous toward Giambi, whose recent comments to USA Today that he was “wrong for doing that stuff” were interpreted by some as an admission of steroid use. Giambi told a federal grand jury that he used steroids from 2001-3 and human growth hormone in 2003, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
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Giambi was called into the commissioner’s office Wednesday to discuss his remarks.
“He should have kept his mouth shut,” Steinbrenner said. “The matter is in the hands of the baseball commissioner.”
Said Giambi: “He has that right. He’s the boss. I’m going to worry about playing baseball.”
This wasn’t the first time, of course, that Steinbrenner’s barbs hit one of his players.
“It’s what goes on here, and I think Jason has been here long enough to understand that,” Torre said.
Commissioner Bud Selig likely will decide within two weeks whether to discipline Giambi.
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On another topic, Steinbrenner said he was impressed with Torre’s bench coach, ex-Yankees great Don Mattingly, and that he “could possibly” become manager someday.
“Mattingly is a good one,” Steinbrenner said. “He is very thorough guy. He understands what it is to be a Yankee.”
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