The Boss has issued his orders.
The Yankees have won two in a row to begin the second half, they thumped the defending World Champs yesterday, and still, George Steinbrenner released the hounds after the Bombers’ 14-3 win against the White Sox in an effort to continue the search for reinforcements, more firepower, and more stars.
By no means – in Steinbrenner’s eyes, at least – are the Yankees a finished product.
The Boss wants GM Brian Cashman to go out and bag the elephant, to bring something big to the Bronx by the July 31 trading deadline.
“He knows what he’s doing,” Steinbrenner, wearing his trademark aviator sunglasses and Yankees parka, said of Cashman as he left Yankee Stadium following yesterday’s lopsided win.
Jovial and chatty on a sun-splashed afternoon, Steinbrenner playfully fielded questions from reporters stationed outside the Stadium. He was asked who he wants to see Cashman bring to town.
“There’s a guy that I prefer, but I’m not going to talk about it now,” Steinbrenner coyly said.
Could that guy be the Phillies’ Bobby Abreu?
“I like Bobby Abreu,” he roared with delight. “Everybody likes Bobby Abreu.”
According to published reports, both the Yankees and Mets have inquired about prying the right fielder away from Philadelphia. With an outfield depleted by the long-term injuries to Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui, it’s no secret the Yankees need a replacement for those two mighty bats.
The Yanks are in for a dogfight this season against the Red Sox with the potential of only one team from the AL East making the playoffs if AL Central powers the Tigers and the White Sox keep up their hot first-half paces. Steinbrenner isn’t about to sit on the sidelines at the trade deadline later this month.
Bernie Williams started in right field yesterday, going 2-for-4 and knocking in three runs. On Friday, Aaron Guiel started there and hit his first home run as a Yankee.
But the Boss wants to add muscle. He wants more power. And the ultra-competitive Steinbrenner, for whom there are never enough wins and never too steep a price to pay for them, made no secret of his burning desire to give his team a jolt for the second half. He wants more. And what the Boss wants, he normally gets.
“We’ll see what we get,” he said, beaming from the beat-down his team issued the White Sox for the second straight game.
Steinbrenner was walking on sunshine yesterday, said he was feeling “good,” and was asked one final question before being whisked away in his waiting Town Car.
What do you like most about the way your team is playing?
“Winning,” he said.
