I know! So maybe he couldn't just call Dick and say something like "Hey, I'm working on a new kid and it would awesome if you could put him through the ringer for me," but it seems more than a little short-sighted and unreasonably cruel to both boys to deliberately pit them against each other, seemingly with the insinuation that only one of them can have his respect and affection. It's really no wonder why the Batfamily could never quite come back together during Jason's time as Robin. And you're absolutely right, his motivation through the situation with Steph was quite similar.