This was supposed to be the year when, with age and health forcing George Steinbrenner's retreat, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was finally going to have free rein to run the ballclub without ownership meddling. Instead, the 77-year-old Boss turned those reins over to his son Hank. And Hank appears to be a meddlesome chip off the old block, with less smarts than his old man. Heck, he may even have less class.

In his rush to be the new face and, even more so, the new mouth of the team, Hank has hardly shut up since taking the helm in October. He trashed Joe Torre as an ingrate just as the former Yankee skipper was leaving town. He warned Alex Rodriguez that he would not be welcome back if he opted for free agency—then embraced the prodigal son with a record contract. And he has made so many pronouncements about trade possibilities involving Minnesota pitching ace Johan Santana that Twins management reportedly considered tampering charges. His latest was headlined in the New York Post Wednesday—"Hank Yanks Their Offer"—and it is a measure of the impact of his short tenure that when he says "a deadline is a deadline," nobody believes him.

Hank never appeared destined to step into the Boss's role. The son-in-law had been the heir apparent. But after a drunk-driving arrest and a marital breakup, he was out and Hank and his brother Hal, who is keeping a low profile while handling the new stadium project, were in. Hank is the latest of that class of sports team owners, usually described in the press as "Thanks, Dad." And given his penchant for bluster and his apparent taste for seeing himself in the press, he would have to be considered an excellent candidate for class clown. However, that post is already being filled just down the street by Cablevision scion Jimmy Dolan, who has transformed the New York Knicks into the NBA's laughingstock.

Now, it is possible that this is just the heady early days of transition and that no matter how many times Hank says "I," in his heart he really means "we." And it is also possible that Cashman, never one to pursue the limelight, is totally in accord with all the team's decisions, perhaps even calling the shots. Somebody deserves credit for passing over Yankee legend Don Mattingly as manager to hire Joe Girardi, who will bring more edge to the job and usher a little more urgency into the Yankee clubhouse. But since then the Yankees have stood pat, spending more than $400 million to bring back four veterans who didn't quite get the job done last year. While the blame for the Yankees' disappointing season hardly lies with A-Rod, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, there were questions about each decision, except the resigning of Pettitte.

Despite A-Rod's two MVP awards in his four years in New York, he has not delivered a championship there or anywhere else he has played. The gone today/here tomorrow act was a reminder of the emotional baggage he carries with him. And his new $310 million contract, with its bonus structure for passing Barry Bonds as baseball's all-time home run king, suggests his lack of clarity about the paramount goal. It's hard to say anything bad about Posada, who had his best year ever and has improved defensively with age, or Rivera, a beloved Yankee and the greatest reliever in the game's history. Still, a four-year contract for a catcher who will turn 37 this season flies in the face of baseball conventional wisdom. And Rivera, at 38, is finally showing the wear and tear of all those seasons and postseasons. Three years and $45 million—with Joba Chamberlain seemingly ready for the closer's job—is sweet sentimentality, but hardly shrewd budgeting.

Still, the strangest move or nonmove is the Yankees' apparent reluctance to pony up their top prospects for Santana, arguably the best pitcher in the game. Santana is the rarest commodity in baseball—a true #1A starter who, at just 28 years of age, is in his prime. That is something the Yankees have lacked for a long time, some would say since Ron Guidry peaked more than a quarter-century ago. They've had former #1As, like David Cone, Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson, who joined the Yankees past their prime and won loads of games, but without dominating as they once had. They've had gamers like Pettitte, David Wells and "El Duque" who came up big at critical times but weren't Hall of Fame-caliber. They've had some solid #1Bs or #2As like Jimmy Key, Mike Mussina and now Chien-Ming Wang. And they've had guys hyped as potential #1As, like Jose Contreras, Javier Vasquez and Carl Pavano, who turned out to be busts.

It is that hole at the top of the rotation, more even than A-Rod's postseason shortcomings, that accounts for the Yankees' recent championship shortfall. And it is why, at this moment, they are regarded as less of a World Series threat than not just the Red Sox (with Josh Beckett in the number one pitching slot), but also the Indians (C. C. Sabathia), the Tigers (Justin Verlander) and the Angels (John Lackey). So it is hard to believe that they would pass on a shot at Santana because they don't want to part with both Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy, two highly promising but unproven pitchers.

These days top prospects are always available to rich teams in the annual draft, as each year some of the most ballyhooed players slip to the Yankees or Red Sox because so few organizations can and will pay the extortionate signing prices. That's how, in 2005, the Red Sox landed Craig Hansen right out of St. John's—at a Major League price of $4 million for four years. Hansen was regarded as every bit the sure thing that Hughes and Kennedy now appear to be. Just two months later Hansen was in the majors with Boston for a cameo, and he was back the next season, where, in 38 appearances, he was lit up to the tune of a 6.63 ERA. Last season he never made it out of Pawtucket, where he surrendered 58 hits and 32 walks in little more than 51 innings. So little is thought of Hansen now that he doesn't even rate a mention as one of the three, four or dozen prospects the Twins want from Boston in return for Santana.

The Yankees are always many millions ahead of their competition—and will be even further ahead next year with the added revenues from the new digs as well as major mistakes like Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano finally off the payroll. Still, they remain at least one giant step behind the sharper management teams. For years, as "Moneyball" concepts of player development were gaining currency everywhere else around the league, the Yankees plundered their minor league system in return for the most expensive players. And when new measures, like the luxury tax, forced even the Yankees to cap their payroll, the team got caught short.

Now that "win now" seems to be the reigning ethic and most of their competitors are willing to deal away elite prospects, particularly for frontline pitching, the Yankees are clinging to their kids. A prospect couldn't have worked out any better than Hanley Ramirez has at shortstop for the Florida Marlins; all he has done in two seasons is win NL Rookie of the Year in 2006, then follow it up with Hall of Fame numbers: .332, 29 home runs, 81 RBIs and 51 stolen bases. Does anyone think the Red Sox made a mistake trading him for Beckett and World Series MVP Mike Lowell? Apparently the Tigers don't. They just reprised the Boston deal, trading their two best prospects—including a young pitcher, Andrew Miller, regarded as highly as any of the Yankee youngsters—to the Marlins for a very talented starter, Dontrelle Willis, and a slugging third basemen, Miguel Cabrera.

There is certainly some bad history in baseball with giving rich, long-term contracts to supposed pitching aces. And the Yankee kids could, in a few years, turn out to be everything they're cracked up to be. But if Santana goes to the Red Sox, it may not much matter. With Boston's rotation of twentysomethings—Beckett, Santana, Daiskuke Matsuzaka and top pitching prospect Clay Buchholz—the Yankees could be competing for a wild-card spot for the foreseeable future.

The Santanas should never be confused with the Pavanos and other pretenders that have disappointed the Yankees in the past. Santana is a rare bird—think Clemens, Randy, Pedro Martinez—and exactly what the Yankees need to propel them back to the top. That why I and everybody else I know here in Boston hope this time Hank Steinbrenner was telling the truth.