Archive for Brian Cashman
The Brian Cashman approach
Posted by: | CommentsWith the trade deadline a month away, talk will inevitably heat up over which Yankee prospects should go for what type of players. As Joe noted, anything we say is pretty meaningless, but we do have some insight into how Brian Cashman will approach the trade deadline.
In a nutshell, don’t expect anything major.
Early this week, Brian Cashman spoke a dinner in Scranton, and Chad Jenning was on hand to cover this event. He relates to us an anecdote about Cashman’s grabbing the reins of the Yankee organization from those who had turned it away from player development. I’m going to quote at length:
Cashman said that he was angry in 2005. “We got away from building from within,” he said. “There were a lot of players who wound up on our roster who I wasn’t in favor of. A lot of fighting between the cities (Tampa and New York).” The Yankees got off to a bad start that season, and Cashman told Steinbrenner he’d fix it, but he wanted to do it his way — “I needed to listen to one person, not 10 at once.”
That was the year he promoted Wang and Cano at the same time, claimed Al Leiter, brought up Aaron Small, etc., and they made the playoffs. “At the end of the year,” Cashman said. “I told the Boss I was done.”
He said the draft picks were gone, they were 24th of 30 clubs in quality of the minor league system and that “this all-veteran thing was not going to work. We were headed back to where we were in the ’80s.”
“I honestly didn’t think he was going to listen to me. Why would he? He hadn’t the last few years.”
Steinbrenner asked him to stay, and he would give him full authority to do what was right. He had job offers that were “easier jobs” for more money, but he stayed with the Yankees. “It was the opportunity of a lifetime. I’d be nothing without George Steinbrenner. There was a loyalty factor here. I couldn’t leave him when he asked me to stay.”
He told Steinbrenner his plan was to do two things: Rebuild the farm system and remain a contender while doing it.
Now, why is this relevant with July nearly upon us? Well, Brian Cashman’s plan is still a work in progress. He’s watching many of his draft picks and international signings make their ways through the farm system to great acclaim. He’s not about to move some of the Yanks’ top prospects for a rent-a-player, and he won’t land that impact player — think C.C. Sabathia or the oft-injured Rich Harden — without giving up those prospects.
Think of this as you will. I know many fans are dismayed at this approach, and they would rather win now with no regard for the future. Many others are fully on board, and still others are eying this plan skeptically while subscribing to it. The media won’t like it if the Yanks don’t make a push for C.C. Sabathia in July but tough.
What Brian Cashman is doing now has a chance to benefit the Yankees as an organization for the next five to ten years. Whether the Yankee brass and their fans have the patience to see it through will determine whether or not we get to enjoy the fruits of a rich farm system in the end. It’s a risk, but it should work better than the trade-now, sign-late approach we witnessed earlier this decade.
Hank supports Cash, says Cash
Posted by: | CommentsThe back-and-forth over Brian Cashman’s future continued today with Brian Cashman’s stating that Hank Steinbrenner supports him as GM and has already approached him about returning next season and beyond. In an interview with Newday’s Ken Davidoff, Cashman said he’s not looking to leave the Bronx and appreciates the support of the Yankee owners. “I appreciate the fact that is on board with everything we’re doing, 110 percent, to the point where he’s recognized that making the move for Santana would not have been the right move,” Cashman said.
Yanks won’t talk contract with Cash ’til November
Posted by: | CommentsDespite the news earlier this week that the Steinbrenners and Brian Cashman were set to talk contract this week in Tampa, the Yankees and Cashman are now saying that’s not true. According to Hal Steinbrenner, Cashman was in Tampa for draft business, and the GM’s contract status was not on the agenda. The team will wait to address that issue until after the season is over.
Cashman’s future on the agenda
Posted by: | CommentsBrian Cashman is heading down to Tampa this week for a bunch of meetings at the Yankee home office, and on the agenda will be a discussion about Cash’s Yankee future. Ed Price fills us in:
Cashman flew to Tampa yesterday for MLB’s First-Year Player Draft, which begins today. Asked if he wants to keep Cashman and if Cashman wants to stay, Steinbrenner said, “That’s the impression I get.”
Cashman, the team’s GM since 1998, likes to say he is focused only on this season and not his future, and some around baseball wonder if he wants to come back. Three years ago he deliberated for a couple of weeks before working out a new deal with increased authority.
At that time, two people who know Cashman well but asked not to be named because they were discussing his status, said Cashman was interested enough in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ GM opening to explore the housing market there.
When his contract is up after this season, one of the people said, the decision will be even harder for Cashman.
So Price presents something of a conflicting point of view. On the one hand, he has Hank Steinbrenner’s clearly stating that Brian Cashman is wanted by the Yanks and wants to stay with the Yanks. On the other, he has a few anonymous sources stating that Cashman could explore open GM opportunities in Philadelphia or Seattle.
While Cashman is as divisive a figure among Yankees today as anyone else, we would rather see Cashman stick with the team and continue his drive to build from within while investing in smart free agents. It’s a work in progress, and if the Yanks know what’s good for their long-term success, they should allow Cashman and his baseball ops team to stick together.
Hank speaks: Girardi safe; Cashman not as much
Posted by: | CommentsFoes of Brian Cashman can take heart. In a Tyler Kepner piece in Tuesday’s Times, Hank Steinbrenner, the outspoken of the two brothers, shares his views on the current Yankee brain trust, and from his words, it seems that while Joe Girardi and his three-year contract are safe, Brian Cashman and his remaining five or six months may not be.
Hank on Girardi: “I think he’s doing fine. It’s pretty simple — he’s playing the hand that he was dealt, just like I am. He’s doing the best job he can. I have complete confidence in Joe.”
Hank on Cashman: “If Brian wants to be the G.M. next year, there’s a chance he will be. If he doesn’t want to, he won’t be. At this point, do I still want him to be the G.M.? Yeah, I do.”
Talk about hedging your bets: If Cashman wants to come back, says Hank, it’s not a given. There’s a chance that he’ll return which also means there’s a chance that he won’t return.
But within the same interview, Hank took what could be interpreted as a dig as father’s heavy-handed style of management. “Whether those cards work or not will determine what happens in the off-season, and I’m going to do whatever I have to do to win,” Hank said. “There’s been a lot of mistakes the last five to seven years that I had nothing to do with and Joe had nothing to do with — and quite a few things Brian had nothing to do with.”
There were indeed quite a few things Cashman had nothing to do with that have plagued the Yankee organization over the last ten years. The challenge for anyone — and it’s impossible task for those not in upper-level management positions in the Yankee organization — is to weed out the Cashman Moves and the George Moves. Hank probably knows the difference, and he, for now, sees something he likes in Cashman and the role Brian plays.
We’ve made our thoughts fairly clear on this issue. We think Cashman has done a great job. Of course, many Yankee fans judge success absolutely: Either the team wins the World Series and the season is a success or the team does not win the World Series and the season is a failure. While we can try to convince doubters that the playoffs — five-game and seven-game series — are in no way indicative of how good — the 2007 Red Sox — or how average and lucky — the 2006 Cardinals — a team is, Yankee fans are set in their ways.
If the Yanks are serious about pursuing a new path, they should let Cashman’s plan run its course, and that course is longer than the first quarter of the season. That course is probably two or three years long. If the Yanks were to dismiss Cashman now, the spoilers of his era — a highly regarded farm system and better international scouting — would continue to pay dividends well into the tenure of the next GM. And until the Yankees win four World Series in five years, we’ll forever be having the same debate we have now.
Cashman and his approach have gotten the Yanks into the playoffs every year of his tenure so far. Why change things now?
The Philadelphia speculation begins
Posted by: | CommentsStop me if you’re heard this one before: Jim Salisbury of The Philadelphia Inquirer opines on Brian Cashman’s future today. With a GM vacancy in Philadelphia probably opening up after the season, Salisbury believes that, if Cashman’s Yanks fail to make the playoffs, he could be out in the Bronx and in in Philadelphia. I think Salisbury is getting too far ahead of himself. As things stand today, the Yanks are 1.5 games out of a playoff spot and 3 games out of first. Meanwhile, the youth movement won’t happen in one month, and the Steinbrenners, despite Hank’s public comments, seem to understand that. I know a good number of Yankee fans don’t think highly of Cashman, but getting rid of him won’t be as easy or as quick as Salisbury seems to think.
Rosenthal: Cashman should leave
Posted by: | CommentsLost in all the hullabaloo over Hank Steinbrenner’s Joba comments was a piece from the tireless Ken Rosenthal. Kenny thinks that Brian Cashman should leave the Yankees after his contract is up this season because Hank Steinbrenner is too aggravating. Besides the fact that Cashman, a 22-year Yankee vet, is fiercely loyal to the Bombers, besides the fact that Hank is just one part of the Hank-and-Hal team leading the Yankees, Rosenthal misses the point. He’s simply validating Steinbrenner’s outbursts while Cashman’s handling of it this week was, in a word, masterful. Despite his flaws as GM, Cashman is and will remain the right man for the job. Hank knows this and so should Rosenthal.
Hank, Cashman clear the Joba-filled air
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to PeteAbe, the whole much ado about Joba has been resolved, and Hank and Cashman are on the same page. Cashman explained that Joba’s move to the pen was spurred on last year by the youngster’s innings cap, and he reiterated the plan to move Joba into the rotation later this season. While this whole kiss-and-make-up thing is nice, I’m glad this drama played itself out today. What else would we have done with this off-day?
Joba staying in bullpen for now
Posted by: | CommentsDespite Hank Steinbrenner’s demand that Joba be inserted into the rotation, that move will not happen any time soon. Not that we didn’t know that. His innings cap will keep him in a limited role until at least mid-June, and at latest until the All-Star break. From the GM himself:
“Joba’s staying in the bullpen right now,” The Yankee GM told Newsday in a telephone conversation this morning. “That’s where we’re at. [Putting him in the rotation is] not something that’s going to happen here early on, and [Hank] knows that. We’ve talked about it. I don’t know what set him off.”
I’m fairly certain that the recent performances from Hughes and IPK are what set him off. I can’t blame him one bit. During each of their last outings, I found myself tossing things across the room (pillows, thankfully), and screaming “throw strikes!!!!,” much to the chagrin of my neighbors. It’s frustrating. But it can certainly turn around.
I have faith that the kids will grow into their roles and perform well this season. It’s not like Hughes and IPK are guys with suspect control, and who are now being exploited in the majors. They’re two guys with good control (superb in Kennedy’s case) who just aren’t getting it done. They’re going to have to get back to the basics for a bit. And unfortunately, that could mean a few games where they get bombed. But I’d far rather see that than to see them racking up enormous pitch counts early in games.
Joba to the rotation is going to happen. All signs point to it. We just have to be patient. I know that’s a tall order on the Bronx, but it’s what’s required at this point. I’m very surprised more people didn’t learn that after last season.
Finally, a non-Hank quote
Posted by: | CommentsBrian Cashman, in reference to young centerfield prospects Brett Gardner and Austin Jackson:
“We need athleticism like that, especially when you have a bunch of these old farts filling the roster out. Those young burst-of-energy, athletic guys really stand out on a team like ours.”
That’s awesome.
