A note from Chad Jennings: Jason Lane has an out in his contract that he can exercise on May 31. So the Yankees have a decision to make. Do you give Lane, who sports a .827 OPS at Scranton, a shot? Or do you let him walk? For what it’s worth, Jennings also notes that Lane was doing footwork at first base this week.

I’m personally of the mind that while the Ensberg experiment was a worthy one, it’s got to come to an end. Might as well plug in Lane and see what you’ve got there. Lane would take Ensberg’s 40- and 25-man roster spot, so there’s really no harm in this one. One experiment ends, another begins.

Wilson Betemit should be back soon, too. We could actually see the designation of Ensberg upon his return, with Lane taking the spot of Alberto Gonzalez. I actually like this a bit better. But in any case, there’s little chance Ensberg remains with the team past this week.

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Foes of Brian Cashman can take heart. In a Tyler Kepner piece in Tuesday’s Times, Hank Steinbrenner, the outspoken of the two brothers, shares his views on the current Yankee brain trust, and from his words, it seems that while Joe Girardi and his three-year contract are safe, Brian Cashman and his remaining five or six months may not be.

Hank on Girardi: “I think he’s doing fine. It’s pretty simple — he’s playing the hand that he was dealt, just like I am. He’s doing the best job he can. I have complete confidence in Joe.”

Hank on Cashman: “If Brian wants to be the G.M. next year, there’s a chance he will be. If he doesn’t want to, he won’t be. At this point, do I still want him to be the G.M.? Yeah, I do.”

Talk about hedging your bets: If Cashman wants to come back, says Hank, it’s not a given. There’s a chance that he’ll return which also means there’s a chance that he won’t return.

But within the same interview, Hank took what could be interpreted as a dig as father’s heavy-handed style of management. “Whether those cards work or not will determine what happens in the off-season, and I’m going to do whatever I have to do to win,” Hank said. “There’s been a lot of mistakes the last five to seven years that I had nothing to do with and Joe had nothing to do with — and quite a few things Brian had nothing to do with.”

There were indeed quite a few things Cashman had nothing to do with that have plagued the Yankee organization over the last ten years. The challenge for anyone — and it’s impossible task for those not in upper-level management positions in the Yankee organization — is to weed out the Cashman Moves and the George Moves. Hank probably knows the difference, and he, for now, sees something he likes in Cashman and the role Brian plays.

We’ve made our thoughts fairly clear on this issue. We think Cashman has done a great job. Of course, many Yankee fans judge success absolutely: Either the team wins the World Series and the season is a success or the team does not win the World Series and the season is a failure. While we can try to convince doubters that the playoffs — five-game and seven-game series — are in no way indicative of how good — the 2007 Red Sox — or how average and lucky — the 2006 Cardinals — a team is, Yankee fans are set in their ways.

If the Yanks are serious about pursuing a new path, they should let Cashman’s plan run its course, and that course is longer than the first quarter of the season. That course is probably two or three years long. If the Yanks were to dismiss Cashman now, the spoilers of his era — a highly regarded farm system and better international scouting — would continue to pay dividends well into the tenure of the next GM. And until the Yankees win four World Series in five years, we’ll forever be having the same debate we have now.

Cashman and his approach have gotten the Yanks into the playoffs every year of his tenure so far. Why change things now?

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While Hank Steinbrenner can shoot off his mouth all he wants these days, every now and then, a piece comes along that reminds us of the checks and balances in the Yankee organization. This time, we’ve got Kat O’Brien talking with a measured and calm Hal Steinbrenner. Hal, who noted that the season is a 162-game “marathon,” also said, “There’s nothing that makes me regret [not getting Santana].” Good thing, as BBTF notes, these two share equal power in the Yankee organization.

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Jim Baumbach tracked down one-time Yankee honcho Steve Swindal recently, and Swindal, now the head of a marine towing company in Florida, talked with the Newsday reporter. Swindal left the Yanks after a drunk driving incident and a subsequent divorce from George Steinbrenner’s daughter Jennifer. He says he still roots for the Yanks: “Honestly, I wish them the best. I’ll always be pulling for them, and I’d rather just leave it at that.” That’s a rueful quote if ever I heard one.

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Lost in all the hullabaloo over Hank Steinbrenner’s Joba comments was a piece from the tireless Ken Rosenthal. Kenny thinks that Brian Cashman should leave the Yankees after his contract is up this season because Hank Steinbrenner is too aggravating. Besides the fact that Cashman, a 22-year Yankee vet, is fiercely loyal to the Bombers, besides the fact that Hank is just one part of the Hank-and-Hal team leading the Yankees, Rosenthal misses the point. He’s simply validating Steinbrenner’s outbursts while Cashman’s handling of it this week was, in a word, masterful. Despite his flaws as GM, Cashman is and will remain the right man for the job. Hank knows this and so should Rosenthal.

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Until today, the Steinbrenner family had varying degrees of power within the Yankee Front Office. Hal was the General Partner, Hank a Senior Vice President and Jennifer Swindal the Senior Vice President for New Stadium Public Affairs.

This afternoon, the Yanks announced a little organizational reorganization, and now, all of the Steinbrenners — including two not previously on the Front Office masthead — all carry some form of chairperson in their official titles. Said George via his press guru Howard Rubenstein:

“I am excited to announce these titles. I am pleased to work with my two sons, Hal and Hank. With me, they will jointly oversee the club on a day to day basis. I am also gratified to recognize the leadership of my daughter Jenny in the club’s charitable endeavors and her involvement with new stadium matters; as well as the contributions of my wife Joan and daughter Jessica in assisting me.

“Together with my executive team, the New York Yankees are prepared for the future and the exciting challenges the next several years will bring.”

While this move is mostly semantics, it helps solidify family control over the team. George Steinbrenner has looked frail recently, and with the stadium’s dedication in Tampa, the Yankees are in full honorific mode. Perhaps the family knows what the rumors have long said about George’s health.

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The Dodgers and Yankees both sit at 4-4 a few games behind their respective division leaders. Despite the 3000 miles separating New York from Los Angeles, though, these teams this year will be linked by Joe Torre.

Today, Rick A., a new contributor at My Baseball Bias, waxes nostalgically about Joe Torre. With the Yankees seemingly struggling at 4-4 in the early goes, Rick wonders, “In hindsight, was it a bad move to essentially get rid of Torre?” He equivocates on the answer and ends by reaffirming something upon which all Yankees agree: We will always look back fondly on the Joe Torre Era.

I’d like to take a short stab though at answering the question posed by Rick. I think the answer is a resounding no. To me, Joe Torre and the Yankees will forever be linked. He was named the manager of the team before my 13th birthday and served in his role until I was 24. I doubt any Yankee manager will last as long as Torre did during my lifetime, and my high school years are filled with memories of the Yankees winning the World Series year after year.

Then, for me, along came college and with it, Joe Torre’s magic touch disappeared. I watched the Yankees lose two World Series, lose one divisional series in four games and lose historically to the Red Sox in 2004. It was, in fact, after that momentous ALCS that I believe Torre and the Yanks should have parted company.

Hindsight aside, during those last four games, we saw the Yankees outmaneuvered and out-managed. Torre showed his proclivity for his guys when he went with Bernie Williams over Kenny Lofton even in obvious situations. He showed his tendencies toward bullpen abuse. He showed a lack of creative strategy when he didn’t steal off of the Wakefield-Varitek battery or bunt off of Curt Schilling.

But the Yanks let Joe linger, and the last three seasons for Torre seemed more like a battle than anything prior had. It wouldn’t have been a kneejerk reaction to dismiss Torre in 2004, and it wasn’t a bad move to let him go in 2007.

So far, I have no qualms with Joe Girardi. I think he’s done a great job of managing the bullpen through the first eight games, and the players seem to respect him as they did Torre. He might not deliver four World Series championship in his first five seasons as manager, but who can? I’ll miss Torre for what he represented; I don’t miss him for his managing quite yet.

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As we well know by now, Hank Steinbrenner has become the new Voice of the Yankees. He’s not shy with his opinions, and he often, according to some fans, may be speaking too much. While Hank may be the outspoken guy who enjoys getting his name in the papers, the truth is far more complex: The two Steinbrenner brothers share duties, and they seem to know what they’re doing.

This weekend, Newsday’s Kat O’Brien, often the Official Beat Writer of Hank Steinbrenner, sat down with the other Steinbrenner son. Hal, not known for sharing much with the press, agreed to an interview, and the resulting piece further illuminates the balance of power within the Yankee organization.

Hal on Hank:

“That’s what Hank’s for. He’s perfect. He’s everything you guys want. How many more papers can you sell?…Nobody’s going to have my cell phone number. Nobody’s going to be calling me at night. That’s just not going to happen.”

It’s a telling quote. Hank is the de facto face of the Yankees, but who’s pulling the strings? Considering the postmortem news we’ve continued to hear about the lack of firm offers for Johan Santana, it’s certainly believable that Hanks’ schtick is just that. It’s an act designed to get teams to question whether or not the Yankees are involved in negotiations. It certainly kept Santana out of Boston.

Hal on George:

“Working for George was not the easiest thing in the world, and one would get the impression that you really weren’t needed sometimes.”

If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about George Steinbrenner’s current position within the organization, nothing well. For all intents and purposes, George Steinbrenner is not in charge of the Yankees. He may still be the Principal Owner in title, but in practice, it doesn’t sound as though Hal, the team’s General Partner, is working for his dad anymore. We have truly entered the post-George Era, and the transition seems rather seamless.

Meanwhile, fans who like the Steinbrenner’s invest-to-win approach can breathe easy; the family has now reiterated their position to hold on to the their $1-billion asset. They won’t be selling the team anytime soon.

But as far as I’m concerned, the money came in O’Brien’s outtakes. Hal on the new Stadium:

“I think the exciting thing about this stadium is it looks more like the original stadium than the stadium we’re in now, much more like the original stadium than the one we’re in now. So I think when you walk into that stadium, walk into the great hall and walk in gate four … it’s going to be nostalgic even when it’s brand new. It’s going to take you back.”

That is an intriguing take on a stadium chock full of martini bars, premium seating experiences, steakhouses and state-of-the-art museums. But in a way, Hal is tapping into the sentiments of the fans who didn’t try to save Yankee Stadium; the renovations in the 1970s destroyed the heart and soul of the old Yankee Stadium.

Of course, to me, the new Yankee Stadium will always seem like some other ballpark. It will be this new place across the street that the Yankees play in, and the only nostalgia I’ll feel is for the memories I have of the House that Ruth Built.

It’s a new era for the Yankees; it’s the era of the Steinbrenner sons and daughters and a new Stadium. Right now, everyone is saying the right things. How long this peace can last, no one really knows.

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At a Tampa ceremony honoring George Steinbrenner yesterday, Yankee great Reggie Jackson expressed his belief that Steinbrenner belongs in the Hall of Fame.

“Personally, when it comes to the game and its history, I think I certainly have a case for The Boss, George Steinbrenner,” Jackson said. “With his ten pennants and six world championships, I would give him my nod to one day be elected to the Hall of Fame.”

As anyone who knows Yankee history is sure to understand, it’s only a little ironic to hear Reggie Jackson of all people proclaiming George’s Hall of Fame destiny. But then again, Reggie and George seemed to have each other’s backs in the 1970s.

Meanwhile, as much as we don’t want to admit it, Jackson is right: George Steinbrenner belongs in the Hall of Fame. He’s been suspended from baseball twice; he’s one of the most abrasive owners in the game; but his contributions to the game and his legacy will live on long after he passes away. Forget the pennants; forget the World Championships. Just look at baseball’s current financial structure, and you will understand why George belongs in the Hall.

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My line of work is basically all Internet, so I stumble across some strange things. Today, it was a Wall Street Journal article about how baseball teams are using the wisdom of fans to make decisions. We know, thanks to Peter Gammons, that front offices read blogs. This piece goes a little deeper, citing a few specific instances of teams using the aid of fans for strategic advantage.

The first is of a Cardinals program called One for the Birds, wherein fans send in bios of lesser-known college players. The powers-that-be then review these fan submissions and send scouts to check out the most interesting of the crop. This is absolutely free for the Cardinals to try out. While they’ll have to spend the money to actually scout the players, they’ll have a decent idea of who’s worth it and who’s not. The pay-off for a real discovery by these means would be astronomical.

And then there’s the infamous Internet story of U.S.S. Mariner’s open letter to M’s pitching coach Rafael Chavez, urging him to fix Felix Hernandez’s pitch selection. Through a simple analysis, Dave Cameron, the site’s author, determined that King Felix was far too reliant on the fastball. The letter was penned on June 27th, the day after Felix got lit up by the Red Sox for five runs in 5.2 innings–a far cry from his near-no-hitter back in April. He ended up tossing 16 innings over his next two starts, allowing just two runs, both in the first bout. The funny thing is that he struck out only seven over those two starts, which isn’t usually Felix’s game. However, he only walked three, which surely aided in his success.

This actually plays right into the philosophy espoused in the book Wikinomics, which, coincidentally, I’m in the middle of reading. It’s about harnessing the awesome power of mass collaboration. Which is really what we do here on baseball blogs. We talk, you comment, and we’re all a bit more knowledgeable as a result. While some baseball front offices tend to shun blogs, some are embracing them as source of collective knowledge. We at RAB — Mike, Ben, myself, the commenters, hell, even the lurkers — might not have more knowledge than Damon Oppenheimer and Brian Cashman. But because we’re all working together, we might think of something that the two of them couldn’t. And that, my friends, is how we’re all doing part to help our beloved Yankees.

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