Hank Steinbrenner has made no secret about his plans to buy his way back into contention this winter, preferably by picking up a big-name pitcher. But there's a difference between saying you want to sign "a pitcher" and actually naming names -- especially when it's still August and the players in question are under another team's employ. From the New York Daily News:

"Everybody is looking at Sabathia and Burnett, not just us," Steinbrenner said Thursday. "We'll see. I mean, our main concern is, are their arms going to be okay after this season?"

On the one hand, nothing he's saying is revolutionary -- everybody knows CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett will hot items this winter. On the other, each of those two now have even less reason to sign an extension before testing the open market since they know Hank's wallet will be out.

Make no mistake, this isn't the first time Hank has toed the line. He raised the ire of the Twins this past winter by talking about how much he wanted Johan Santana, and if the Twins didn't file a complaint with the commissioner's office, it was probably only because they were holding out hope the Yanks would up the ante and top the Mets' offer. But talking up Sabathia and Burnett while in the same breath suggesting they might be damaged goods? That's not going to make anybody happy.

(Though, really, should we be surprised? It took Hank's dad 14 years [Dave Winfield in 1990; Randy Johnson in 2004] before he finally understood the rule)