"Not long ago, a humbling weekend for a stumbling Yankees team could have provoked the principal owner, George Steinbrenner, into criticizing the manager. Times have changed, but only to a point. Hank Steinbrenner, who is co-chairman of the Yankees with his brother, Hal, praised Manager Joe Girardi in a wide-ranging telephone interview on Monday. But with the last-place Yankees sputtering along at 20-24, the architect of the team, General Manager Brian Cashman, received only measured support...“If Brian wants to be the G.M. next year, there’s a chance he will be,” Steinbrenner said."