Hank Steinbrenner - so much worse than his father

Hank Steinbrenner, as aptly put by Michael Wilbon, "has all the bad characteristics of his father and none of the good ones". His forté seems to be making threats through the media that have no credibility and then backing down from then, all the while looking like a total buffoon. After A-Rod opted out of his contract, he publicly stated that A-Rod would not be welcome back with the Yankees. Well, we all know how that one ended. Now he is continuing to play this game that he doesn't understand. In reference to the potential Johan Santana deal, Steinbrenner recently had this to say:

"It's still something that we can't do," Steinbrenner said Tuesday morning. "As far as I'm concerned, it's probably off."

This came after Steinbrenner said yesterday that Monday was the deadline to get a deal done.
Now, let's teach Hank a basic negotitating tactic - non-credible threats are the equivalent of not saying anything at all except that when you back down from them, you look like an idiot. This is the most basic game theory lesson imaginable and it is something that even someone without any formal training in the discipline should understand.
Hank wants Santana and knows that the Red Sox want him too. There is no way that he backs out of the trade because some stupid deadline that he set passed. I'm not saying that the Yankess are going to get their coveted pitcher but if they fail to acquire him, it will have nothing to do with the comments made by Steinbrenner. The guy really needs to get some PR training and learn to shut his mouth until that time.