Checking in on Cashman

by jscape2000 on May 16, 2008 4:18 PM EDT in Analysis Comment 3 comments

Quite an article from Jon Heyman. Some highlights:

It wasn't just Cashman, though, who stumped for Hughes (who's 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA) and Kennedy (0-3, 8.48), and Hank knows that. Of the Yankees' expansive baseball department, only ex-GM Gene Michael favored trading the kids for Santana (who is 4-2 with a 3.10 ERA), according to people familiar with their internal votes.

Cashman and his other underlings argued it would be better in the long run to save the highly regarded Hughes, keep outfielder Melky Cabrera and hold onto the loot it would take to sign Santana. And Hank eventually deferred to the baseball department. But Hank can't get it out of his head; he keeps wondering why Hughes and Kennedy were so highly regarded.

Meanwhile, Hank has been suggesting publicly that they aren't discussing an extension for Cashman, and that is technically true. But what Hank fails to mention is that Cashman, whose three-year, $5.4 million contract expires after this season, rebuffed the club's efforts to lock him up early in the winter. Cashman is in his 11th season as Yankees GM and tells people close to him that he enjoys the job and would love to continue in the right circumstances.

Maybe Hank won't be driving Cash away at all- Cash is largely in control of his own fate. And there are quite a few teams (and teams with budgets and playoff hopes) that would give a long look at Cash's resume if Hank is making life miserable.

There are a lot of National League teams that are just a move or two away from the pennant, and with the Rays on the rise, powerhouses in NY and Boston, ownerships willing to spend a little in Detroit, Cleveland, and Los Angeles, maybe the NL is the best place for a GM to be.

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Sigh

I’m so tired of Hank for so many reasons. It’s a shame Hal alone can’t be the guy in charge.

Hank has been an embarrassment since Day 1.

by anaconda on May 16, 2008 5:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I just saw this.....

Contrast Hank’s antics reported by Heyman and Hal’s words reported by Kat O’Brien. Hank needs to go home and run the horse ranches and restaurants:

In a phone interview that took place shortly after the Yankees-Rays game began yesterday afternoon – a game that the Yankees would lose to fall into last place at 20-22 – Steinbrenner said of his team: “I’ve been discouraged at times. We knew with the young pitching that we might go through some growing pains. We knew we would have to be patient there. What’s more disappointing to me is the hitting. The hitting and the injuries, which are nobody’s fault. You can’t win many games if you only score one or two runs.”

Hank Steinbrenner, Hal’s older brother and fellow team co-chairman, singled out some players he was unhappy with the other day, but Hal Steinbrenner did not name names. He said anyone perusing the statistics can figure out who has underperformed.

Steinbrenner said he is looking forward to Alex Rodriguez’s return to action within the next week and Jorge Posada’s return, likely next month. When they get back in the lineup, he believes the Yankees still will be in position to make a run.

“It’s certainly discouraging at times,” Steinbrenner said, “but we’ve got a great team and I believe we’ll be fine. We just need to get a little lucky with the injuries and start hitting again.”

With Rodriguez and Posada still out, Steinbrenner said: “The other guys need to step up.”

It wasn’t quite the harsh calling out that Hank Steinbrenner had issued when he said the Yankees must improve their energy and effort level and begin earning their pay. Hal Steinbrenner instead talked about the season being a “marathon” and the need to be patient over 162 games.

“We need to just stay in the hunt,” he said of surviving the injury bug. ” ... I absolutely feel we have a great team. I believe we have as good a chance as anybody this year.”

by anaconda on May 16, 2008 7:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ignorance

Hank has proven to be all the annoyance, arogance and niavety of his father without any leadership qualities. This is just another example of the shortsighted thinking that has started a downward trend- wasting money and aquiring over the hill talent. It was no surprise that when cashman regained control, the yanks farm system reloaded and youngsters started coming up and producing (wang, cano, melky), but with hank flexing his ego and vying for power, this smart brand of baseball is being threatened…cashman is one of the wise voices who knows that championships cannot be bought and the real ingredients are a cohesive home grown team, clutch performers, young pitching and a reliable bullpen. Nobody who is attracted to names, stats and pricetags should be scouting the future of the yankees and for this reason hank must be shut-up immediately.

by eykurland on May 16, 2008 5:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs