On an otherwise grand night, Hal Steinbrenner sounds the alarm on excessive Yankee spending

By now, you surely know the Yankees won last night behind four HRs - two from Juan Soto - a solid start from Nasty Nestor Cortes and the successful return of Tommy Kahnle. Hooray. This morning, you might wonder how anyone, anywhere, could fling a bucket of ice-water onto this glorious jubilee.

Well, people, it's simple: 

The Yankee budget is out of control.

We cannot afford the runaway entitlements that bloat the Yankee payroll.

It's time to change our frivolous ways.

We must cut spending. Now!

Fortunately, Hal Steinbrenner realizes the problem. Yesterday, he called the Yankee $300 million payroll "unsustainable," giving us hope for a stripped-down austerity plan, where the franchise lives within its means. We cannot continue to lavish money on players who intend to hold the Yankees for ransom, by winning games.  

It doesn't grow on trees, people. 

We cannot continue to spend, spend, spend. That means Soto - and his fixer, Scott Boras - will need to find another money-bagging chump next winter, because the Yanks will not comply with their unscrupulous dictates. The fans know Hal. The fans trust Hal. The fans love Hal. And more than anything, they want a cap on payroll.

Free agency is not free, people. 

Yesterday, Hal threw down a refreshing gauntlet to Soto & Boras, the grinders of greed. In doing so, the owner reminds us that baseball is not a cold, calculating, ruthless business, run by deep state front offices. It's a whimsical, wonderful child's game, played for fun by grown-ups who should be lucky to make $15-per-hour. As Yank fans, we should consider ourselves blessed to root for a team that regularly notches a wild card, reaching the post-season. 

Let the Dodgers, Mets, Cubs and Phillies go hog-wild on spending. They'll only ruin the fun. But Hal - secure in his membership among the owners' secret club- will never betray the cause of frugality. He will not spend good money on needless players, who might not even speak English, merely because they can hit. 

Of course, Hal would be first to recognize the work of Soto. He's a fine young man. If the season ended today, Soto could be the MVP. A few more games like last night, and he might even win a Triple Crown. 

Let's just hope that he doesn't expect to ruin the season by demanding too much money. We're on to him. He's not going to wreck this season by holding us for ransom.  

Let's hope Hal has the courage to tell Soto-Boras that the Yankees will not budge in their drive towards austerity. Today, Yank fans everywhere are united in saying, Hold the line, Hal! We demand fiscal integrity!