Running a major league franchise is like running a horse-breeding operation, but with a lot less hay to bale.

Hank Steinbrenner ran Kinsman Farm before assuming the helm of the Yankees, taking over for his aging father. His management philosophy appears to be dead opposite of the Boss George ran things.

“I think my breeding background has absolutely had a bearing on my approach to baseball,” Steinbrenner told ESPN The Magazine. “Building through scouting and the draft, then having the patience to see it through, to see the young talent reach its potential, without panicking. While I was at Kinsman going over all of that data about the horses, I was also getting the scouting reports and minor league stats for the Yankees.

“Way back in the 1970s, I can remember seeing LaMarr Hoyt’s numbers in Double-A and thinking, Wow! Then Dad traded him to the White Sox for a quick fix. He also traded Scott McGregor, José Rijo and Doug Drabek, and he wanted to trade Ron Guidry before they stopped him. We basically provided most of baseball’s Cy Young Award winners, and it drove me nuts. I was sitting at the farm thinking, If I ever run the team, I won’t be doing things that way.”

And now you know why Steinbrenner wouldn’t trade a chunk of the Yankees farm system to Minnesota to get Johan Santana.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while wondering if the Cards will regret not chasing Bartolo Colon harder:

• Is Brian Barton the real deal? And if he is, who will become the odd men out of the outfield?
• Who could have guessed that Moises Alou would end up on the Mets’ disabled list?
• Does injured Rockets center Yao Ming have mixed feelings about this team’s 16-game winning streak? Does he wonder why the team is 4-0 without him?

FLEA WOULD BECOME A HOG

The Lakers’ celebrity bandwagon is bulging this season as the team streaks toward playoff glory. One of the most excited fans is Flea, bass player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The Los Angeles Times spotted this entry in his blog: “If they win a championship I might do something crazy. I am a vegetarian but if they win I’m going to get a bunch of those free taco coupons and eat 100 tacos like Paul Newman eats eggs in ‘Cool Hand Luke.’”

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “The Iditarod dog sled race has begun in Alaska. This is where ‘mushers’ are lavished with heroic praise for standing on a sled with a whip while teams of dogs do all the grueling work, sometimes exerted to the point of death. (Cannot confirm rumors the race was invented by Michael Vick.)”

Jerry Greene, Orlando Sentinel: “You know that just before RB Michael Turner was about to sign a lucrative contract with the Atlanta Falcons, somebody from the team had one final question: ‘Are you fond of dogs, Mr. Turner?’”

Steve Rosenbloom, Chicago Tribune: “Alfonso Soriano is going to be out longer than the Cubs first said. Isn’t everyone out longer than the Cubs first say? Sounds like a new drinking game for the bleachers: a beer for every game that a player is actually out compared to whatever laughable number the Cubs first announce.”

Mark Kriegel, FoxSports.com: “I thought you needed dental records to locate the St. John’s basketball program. Then I read that coach Norm Roberts will be back for another season, despite the fact that this will be the third time in the last four years that his team failed to qualify for the Big East tournament. Let’s not be too harsh, though. The Big East only takes the first 12 teams.”

Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle: “Fearing rain during Opening Ceremonies in Beijing, Chinese officials will seed the clouds with silver iodide. Peachy. The city already has deadly smog, so why not use rocket launchers to bombard the air with more chemicals?”

Bill Simmons, ESPN.com, on the implosion of the Chicago Bulls: “The John Paxson era is starting to resemble the Britney Spears era: Tons of promise, tons of hype, a startling turn, and now he’s a bad move away from chain-smoking in a hospital gown while speaking with a British accent.”

MEGAPHONE

“We need a change in the city and I believe we need a change now. As I went out the last month and talked to people around the city, folks have said to me they believe city government is nonresponsive, tired, uninspired and bureaucratic. They want something different in Sacramento. [They're] clamoring for change.”

Former NBA star Kevin Johnson, on his decision to run for mayor of Sacramento.