Food Stamps Hal Steinbrenner says nothing about everything... until he hits the sorest subjects to Yankee fans

Yesterday, for the better part of 30 minutes, Hal Steinbrenner performed a spirited impersonation of a U.S. Supreme Court nominee. Grilled by his talk radio employee, Michael Kay, the man known on this site as "Food Stamps Hal" said - over and over, again and again - basically... zilch. 

The Yankee owner - who in the manner of Eric Trump, remains most known for simply being his father's son - danced and curtsied around nearly every puffball question that floated his way. Paraphrasing...

The need to resign DJ LeMahieu: It's important, and it needs to happen, if the money is right!

Next year's payroll: Always a big issue! We'll have to see how spending goes!

Letting fans into games next year:  Jeepers, we sure hope so! It'll depend on how the virus goes!

Avoiding injuries next year: All for it! 

Future of Gary Sanchez: We'll have to see! It sure will be interesting! 

Then came two matters that dislodged Hal from his verbal quagmire of innocence and vapidity. Quoting... 

Aaron Boone: "He has the respect of the players. Aaron Boone will be back next year. That's just a fact.''

Brian Cashman: "The people that work under him respect him, and Boone respects him, and it's been good. We're just going to have to keep plugging away.''

In other words, next year, nothing will change. The Yankees will use the same analytics to make decisions in the executive suite and the dugout. 

At this point, a favor: Let's avoid the knee-jerk rage that often erupts here when we discuss Boone and Cashmere. Frankly, neither is the worst at his craft, nor the worst we've endured as Yankee fans. In fact, if either were to be kicked upstairs or maintained as consultants, it wouldn't bother me. I wish them both happy lives. Neither has ever embarrassed the Yankees - (okay, with the exception of when Boone fanned with the winning run on third in the 2003 World Series, and there was that matter of Cashman's concubine blackmailer.) But in this age of tweet storms and toxic masculinity, I think both qualify as decent, honest, smart people. That's not nothing. 

But here's the deal: The Yankees are stagnating. They once had a reputation as the heroes of October. Now, they are known as the team runs up the score on weak opponents, and then strikes out  18 times against good pitching. We are the team known for failing in the playoffs.

Both men had a rotten 2020. Boone nearly mismanaged the Yankees into missing the playoffs altogether. The roller coaster ride came much too close to a complete debacle. And Cashman - who boasted early on about the depth in pitching - watched the staff fall apart. (For more than 20 years now, pitching has always been his weakness; the list of Yankee failures - from Kevin Brown to Sonny Gray - is terrifying.) 

It's impossible to know what would have happened over a normal season. A two-month year is nothing. I realize that it's difficult to judge players and management over such a short term. 

But other teams put the onus on results. Boston is now bringing in Billy Beane, as it brought in Chaim Bloom, as it brought in Dave Dombrowski, as it brought in Bill James, as it brought in Ben Cherington, as it brought in Theo Epstein... with each incarnation, new ideas, new blood, new ways. 

And in this millennium, they have four rings. I don't think Yankee fans want bad things to happen to their ownership or their leadership. But I do think they want change.