Hank Steinbrenner has his say about Rays

ROGER MOONEY
rmooney@bradenton.com

TAMPA – Hank Steinbrenner, the Yankees general partner, weighed in on the Rays-Yankees turmoil from Wednesday, telling a handful of reporter who cover the team he supports Yankee manager Joe Girardi and that teams should think twice about picking on the Yankees.

“There are going to be problems, especially if they go after our stars,” Steinbrenner was quoted in Saturday’s New York Post. “It's not going to be tolerated. We never have done it to them. It's just not going to happen anymore.”

He then took a shot at the Rays.

“I don't want these teams in general to forget who subsidizes a lot of them, and it's the Yankees, the Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets," Steinbrenner said. "I would prefer if teams want to target the Yankees that they at least start giving some of that revenue sharing and luxury tax money back. From an owner’s point of view, that's my point. Nobody likes the brawl-type garbage, it doesn't belong in sports. And I don't want to see anyone injured in a brawl.”

When asked Saturday what he thought of Steinbrenner’s comments, Rays manager Joe Maddon said:

“He’s the owner of the ball club and he has the right to say whatever he wants, so I don’t want to go back and forth with him. That’s his comments; that’s his perception on the situation, and I respect that. … I can’t not speak for how he wants to present things. That’s his right to say what he thinks and how he wants to say it, and, obviously, I don’t want to go anywhere near that. I’m the manager of this ball club. I’m concerned about the Tampa Bay Rays and that we do things right and appropriately, and so I just stand by everything I’ve said at this point, and in regard to whatever anybody else from the other side may want to say from the other side, I really have no comment on that. That’s their right to interpret things as they wish.”