Steinbrenner On Payroll, Cano, Girardi

Hal Steinbrenner sat down with Joel Sherman of the New York Post and gave interviews to ESPN Radio and WFAN earlier today about the offseason ahead.  Here's a look at some of the highlights..

• The Yankees are shooting to get under the $189MM threshold, but winning is still the priority.  “It is something to shoot for, but not at the expense of having a championship-caliber team,” Steinbrenner told Sherman. “It is not. It never has been and never will be. It has always been my contention you don’t need a $230MM payroll to field a championship-level team. We are going to get to that [under $189MM] at some point. That is the goal: We believe you can win a championship at $189MM payroll because plenty of teams have.”
• When asked on ESPN Radio if the team would consider a ten-year contract for second baseman Robinson Cano, Steinbrenner all but shot down the possibility, writes Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger.
• Steinbrenner hinted at changes in the team's drafting and development personnel and procedures in his chat on WFAN, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  The Yanks owner also acknowledged that he is hoping to get Joe Girardi's situation resolved sooner rather than later.