"He spit the bit." Would George Steinbrenner say that about son Hal?

"you've been cracking under the pressure. Can't cope, can't stand the heat. Spit the bit." - George Steinbrenner, speaking to George Costanza on "Seinfeld". urbandictionary.com

From the Talk of the Town to Hardly Talking

By MURRAY CHASS APRIL 12, 2006 nytimes.com

Jim Beattie was "scared stiff"; "he spit the bit." ...

... Ken Clay? ...

"He spit the bit," Steinbrenner barked, using horse racing language. "He's a morning glory."

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George Steinbrenner 2008 by New York Yankees and MLB
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Hal Steinbrenner runs the Yankees now. His father George died July 13, 2010 and left the team to his four adult children, the Steinbrenner Kids. Initially the oldest, Hank, ran the team. Then the youngest, Hal, took over. Neither wanted any part of it while George was in command of his wits. It couldn't have been easy growing up with such a father.

But the Kids could have sold the team. They still can. While they do own the Yankees, they should be held accountable.

Hal Steinbrenner allowed general manage Brian Cashman to make a series of bad decisions in recent years and delude Steinbrenner, the media and the fans into thinking that the team had a solid foundation and was of championship caliber. The Yankees made a lot of money based on all that.

Now Steinbrenner has allowed Cashman to reverse course and tank the 2016 season with the team, though weak and old, still with a reasonable chance to qualify for the tournament. Steinbrenner approved the trading of valuable players for young unproven minor league players, who despite the unresearched assurances of lazy media people, only have likely value as trading chips for established veterans.

Yesterday Steinbrenner apparently did interviews in which he described how difficult all this has been but that the Yankees were still competitive because the rest of the teams were not that much better.

We're hearing from his media apologists that Steinbrenner may have even showed up at his office for a couple of days to learn the names of the minor league players now being touted. Steinbrenner has been fed pablum by Cashman, which exonerates Cashman and commends Cashman's acumen.

Perhaps most appalling is that the Magnificent Seven minor league players acquired for relief pitchers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller could have been flipped right away to get two under 30 veterans, already signed for modest amounts, who would fill immediate needs and also be valuable in the coming rebuilding years. Both were just traded at the deadline, one to the New York Mets, right under Steinbrenner's nose.

Jay Bruce (OF, 25 home runs, 80 RBI), 29, signed through 2013:

• August 1, 2016: Traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the New York Mets for Max Wotell (minors) and Dilson Herrera.

Matt Moore (lefty starter), 27, signed through 2019:

• August 1, 2016: Traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to the San Francisco Giants for Lucius Fox (minors), Michael Santos (minors) and Matt Duffy.

Aren't they the type of major league players that the Yankees need? How would either of them have been bad acquisitions? Would both have substantially bolstered the Yankees this season? Isn't that what a team on the tournament bubble is supposed to do? How have media people missed this? How did Cashman not have this as his plan? How did Hal Steinbrenner not make this his priority?

The bitter truth for Yankee fans is that Yankee owner Hal Steinbrenner spit the bit.