The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Steinbrenner wonders ‘what if?’ Feels cheated by Astros
ORLANDO, Fla. — New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner understands why his players feel cheated by the Houston Astros.
If Houston had not been using a video camera to steal opposing catcher’s signs in 2017, maybe the Yankees would have won the AL Championship Series instead of losing to the Astros in seven games.
“When the report came out, I was as upset as anyone,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday at the baseball owners meeting. “Clearly, there were direct implications to my organization, our team, our 2017 team. But at some point I think we all for the sake of the game and the good of the game, need to move on.”
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred issued a report on Jan. 13 that concluded the Astros broke rules against electronic sign stealing in 2017, including during the postseason. Houston won all four home games against the Yankees in the playoffs, when Astros players had the advantage of the sign-stealing system, and lost all three in the Bronx. The scores of the first two games were both 2-1.
Steinbrenner is among the Yankees who wondered: what if?
“I think enough people have brought that to my attention and I’m a reasonably smart guy. I’ve certainly thought that,” Steinbrenner said.
Three days after Manfred issued his report, CC Sabathia vented his anger on his R2C2 podcast. Sabathia won Game 3 at home against the Astros in 2017 and lost Game 7 on the road.
“There’s no way that you can tell me that we weren’t better than them,“Sabathia said, mixing in profanities. “I cried like a baby. … Forever in my mind now, in ‘17, we won the World Series.”
Houston went on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.
“We would have whooped the Dodgers’ (behind),” Sabathia said.
After the report in The Athletic last November in which former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers revealed the signstealing system, Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge tweeted: “Wait… what….?“Judge later deleted his November 2017 Instagram post after Houston’s Jose Altuve won the AL MVP award, a message that read: “Nobody more deserving than you!! Congrats on an unforgettable 2017!!”
Turning attention ahead, Steinbrenner sees the Yankees as annual contenders with an offense led by Judge, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, a rotation headed by Gerrit Cole and one of the strongest bullpens. New York has not won the World Series since 2009.
“I think we’ve got a very, very good group of young players, and it’s going to be that way for the next two or three years,” he said. “We’ll see what happens when some of these guys hit free agency. But we’ve got a good solid base here for a good three years.”
Because the Yankees will be paying luxury tax for the second straight season, New York may wait until after opening day to reach long-term contracts with some of those players. Last year, Luis Severino agreed to a $40 million, four-year contract and Aaron Hicks to a $70 million, seven-year deal.
“It’s important to show the other players and our fans what we believe, and our belief is especially the kids that come up through our system or that we get at a young age … wanting them to be in the pinstripes for a very long time.”
PAXTON HAS BACK SURGERY, OUT 3-4 MONTHS
Yankees left-hander James Paxton had back surgery Wednesday and is expected to be sidelined until May or June.
New York said Dr. Andrew Dossett in Dallas performed a microscopic lumbar discectomy, in which a herniated disk is repaired, and removed a peridiscal cyst. The Yankees estimated Paxton’s timeline to pitch in a major league game is three to four months.
Paxton left his final regular-season start, at Texas in Sept. 27, after one inning with what the Yankees said was a tight left glute muscle. That ended Paxton’s career-best streak of victories in 10 consecutive starts. He was 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA in three postseason starts, allowing five runs in 13 innings.
Paxton’s injury weakens a Yankees rotation already missing right-hander Domingo German, who must serve the final 63 games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. He is eligible to return June 5, barring any postponements.
After agreeing to a $324 million, nine-year contract. right-hander Gerrit Cole heads a rotation that includes righties Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka and lefty J.A. Happ. Lefty Jordan Montgomery, who returned in September from Tommy John surgery, is the most likely candidate to replace Paxton in the rotation at the start of the season.