Hal Steinbrenner will have to spend more to get Yankees elusive World Series title No. 28

With Hal Steinbrenner saying Wednesday in Tampa that Aaron Boone will be back as manager, it’s surely only a matter of time before a new deal is announced for general manager Brian Cashman.

This was the likely outcome all along, despite the Yankees punctuating a 99-win season and AL East title with a four-game sweep by the Astros, who have made bouncing Hal’s team from the playoffs an October ritual on par with handing out KitKats on Halloween.

Only Boone, Cashman and Steinbrenner fully know to what extent the manager was responsible for the Yankees’ butt-fumble of a postseason. The Bronx operation is considered a collaborative effort between the front office and clubhouse lieutenants -- from rosters to lineups to in-game strategy -- so the percentage of blame that actually falls to Boone has got to be smaller than you might imagine.

To be fair, Boone does the hardest part: having to explain the group’s decisions, twice a day, with the microphone on and TV cameras running. During the home half of the ALCS, sandwiched between those sessions, he was booed by the Stadium fans (no, they weren’t yelling, “Booooooone”).

Then again, so was Aaron Judge. More than once. But with Boone’s approval ratings at an all-time low, dare we say dipping below that of plate-pinwheel Josh Donaldson, the Yankees could have sacrificed him to appease their disgruntled customer base and put a fresh face on the critical winter makeover coming up.

But Hal’s reign isn’t the “The Game of Thrones” that his Dad once lorded over. Hal is fine doing the status quo, especially with Boone having two more years left on his contract, and it’s not like Cashman was going to recommend axing Boone as he did with Joe GIrardi following the seven-game ALCS exit at the hands of the cheating Astros in 2017.

Boone fulfills Cashman’s vision of a modern manager as neither Girardi nor Joe Torre could (or would), and as long as the GM is staying on, there’s really no point in trying to find someone else to do the role tailored for the current guy in the chair. Did Boone have a lousy October? Judging by what we saw on the field, absolutely. But if he was just following the front office’s game plan, with admittedly a banged-up bullpen and down two leadoff hitters, then Cashman and Hal would have a different perspective on what the outside world viewed as the manager’s highly-questionable moves.

            “As far as Boone’s concerned, we just signed him and for all the same reasons I listed a year ago, I believe he is a very good manager," Steinbrenner told The Associated Press Wednesday at the Yankees’ player development complex in Tampa. "I don’t see a change there.”

            So with Boone back after going 0-for-5 in title tries in five playoff appearances and Cashman on a run of 13 straight Octobers without a World Series trip, it’s now up to Hal to be the difference-maker with his checkbook. That’s the only card left to play. The Boone/Cashman duo has piloted regular-season teams that have won 100, 103, 92 and 99 games but inevitably faceplant come October. Why is there reason to expect any subsequent years -- under their same brand of leadership -- to deliver that elusive No. 28 when the previous ones did not?

            That’s where the money comes in. And if Hal is signing off on the returns of both Boone and Cashman, then he’ll have to pony up this winter to change the doomed narrative surrounding their complicity in the Yankees’ repeated postseason failures. Those  were Steinbrenner’s two choices -- either change who is making the decisions for his team or give the existing regime the financial leeway to make swift upgrades.

            Steinbrenner basically confirmed he isn’t going the former route after making Wednesday’s comments. And what’s his appetite for the latter? Hal has long maintained that he shouldn’t need the sport’s highest payroll to win the World Series, but the Yankees came in at No. 3 this year ($260 million) and couldn’t even take a game off the Astros in the ALCS, never mind having a legit shot at the title. In Hal’s thinking, is that justification to give Cashman even more money to throw at the team’s deficiencies?

            “We didn’t get the job done ... it’s time to get it done,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday.

            That’s become a familiar refrain around the Yankees, probably because they keep ending up at the same place every October -- sitting around a Tampa conference room rather than playing in the World Series. As for bringing back Boone and seemingly Cashman, it only gets more difficult for Steinbrenner from here. He’ll probably have to come up with $300 million (or more) for Judge to keep him away from the Giants, and even if they hold on to the likely MVP, the Yankees can’t just run it back with the same ’22 crew.

            But that’s how it’s looking so far, with Steinbrenner endorsing Boone and Cashman’s next contract presumably in the works. Ultimately, the buck stops with Hal, and it can’t be more business as usual this winter if he truly winds up sticking with the status quo.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.