Hank Steinbrenner may be new to the baseball business, but the eldest son of George Steinbrenner knows one thing: if you don't want to be a Yankee, the Yankees don't want you. That was Steinbrenner's message to Alex Rodriguez last night after he learned that the third baseman had opted out of the final three years of his contract, electing to become a free agent before the Yankees even had a chance to offer him an extension. "It's clear he didn't want to be a Yankee," Hank Steinbrenner told the Daily News last night. "He doesn't understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field." "I don't want anybody on my team that doesn't want to be a Yankee." The Yankees have said time and time again that they will not pursue Rodriguez as a free agent because of the money they would now no longer receive from the Rangers. Last night, Steinbrenner made it clear that his team had no intention of changing its tune on that stance. "We're not going to back down," Steinbrenner said. "It's goodbye."