Yankeetorial: Just how cheap are we going to be?

Today, the illegitimate sons of George Steinbrenner announced plans to castrate the Yankee payroll to a meager $189 million by 2014. This would have been nice to know five years ago, when the Yankees renegotiated Alex Rodriguez's contract by adding the state of Delaware. But oh well, that’s the plan as expressed by Hal and Hank, the sharecropper heirs.

The Yankees - the richest and most successful pro team in American sports - seem to be volunteering to ditch their inherent financial advantage and become just another team. The Steinboys will take all that money the team would spend on players and buy boats, houses, slaves, cigarettes, drugs — whatever. And they can blame Bud Selig. It's not our fault: Those damn MLB luxury taxes! They forced us to spend less and gouge more!

Insert sigh here. Where do you start?

First, never forget: Baseball owners are billionaires who are pretending to be millionaires, so we will feel sorry for them. Second, if baseball owners constantly oppose higher government taxes, why do they love luxury taxes to regulate their own spending?

But there is a payroll cap... and there are team expenses. The Steinbrothers could siphon all the money from payroll and get penile enlargements to compensate for finishing third. Or they can sink the money into player development. They can buy the best prospects. They can outbid for international free agents, players that, frankly, they didn't chase this winter.

Or will they? A 19-year-old Cuban outfielder named Jorge Soler is right now up for grabs. He is supposed to be the real deal. Signing him wouldn’t affect that 2014 payroll plan. He would be a much cheaper option than a free agent. So will we get him?

hat’s it going to be, Hal and Hank? Spend the money, or stash it?

Because if it’s the latter, we Yankee fans also should start thinking about shrinking our budgets, especially when it comes to attending games.