In Praise of Brian Cashman, Briefly
by jscape2000 on Oct 5, 2009 1:54 PM EDT
in New York Yankees Analysis
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PrintBrian Cashman has been saying "The Yankees need to get younger and more athletic" for several years now.
Since 2005 he has been slowly re-molding the machine, re-invigorating the farm system and retooling the roster to fit his championship vision.
For 2 seasons we've watched the Eli Whitney approach to roster construction. Cash and Joe Girardi swapped out relievers like Edwar Ramirez, David Robertson, Jose Veras, Jon Albaledejo, and Billy Traber as they were overworked or ineffective. Shelley Duncan, Alberto Gonzalez, Cody Ransom, Francisco Cervelli, Ramiro Pena and Juan Miranda have all made their cases for spots on the bench as they were needed.
From down on the farm, Brett Gardner has pushed his way into the everyday lineup, at least equal to Melky Cabrera, and while Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain have struggled as major league starters, their development is something the Yankees haven't seen in a decade.
Meanwhile, the Royals are paying more to Kyle Farnsworth than all those players will earn combined.
All of these are the periphreal moves that (I believe) make championships possible- built around a core that finally includes several quality starters.
But I think the important moment of the season came in June when Cashman made a visit to the team before a game against the Braves.
Joe G. was going through the season mechanically pencilling in Arod at third, and Cash had to step in and lay down the law (as he did with Torre and the Joba Rules).
Arod came alive after that because he started getting the regular rest the doctors had ordered. He hit .322/.421/.572 the rest of the season. And the team came alive with Arod, riding a hot streak that carried them from 5 games back in Atlanta to tied for first within 2 weeks and uncatchable by the end of July.
Cash has a huge budget to work with and the largest (and most demanding) fan base in baseball, but resources are only valuable if they are deployed wisely. He's been doing that better and better since he restructured the organization, and now he's clearly added solid leadership to his bag of tricks.
The Yankees are in good hands.
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Betemit, Marquez, Nunez for Swisher + Texeira
Wilson Betemit: .200/.280/.311 in 20 games, DFA’d June 5
Jeff Marquez: 2-8 9.85 era 2.05 whip 45IP for AAA Charlotte
Jhonny Nunez: 5-0 2.55 era 1.17 whip 70 ip for AA Birmingham/AAA Charlotte* (Needed 40 man roster spot)
-——————————————————————————————————-
Nick Swisher: 249/.371/.498 150 games, 29 hr, 126 ops+ .9 OF UZR
Kanekoa Texiera 9-6, 2.84 era 1.31 whip 101 ip (did not need 40 man roster spot)
Advantage: Cashman
Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
Kanekoa was in AA Trenton.
Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
Swisher deal
Best deal the Yankees have made in a longtime. Lets not forget Jesus Montero and Austin Romine in the farm system talk. Those guys should get to the majors by the time Posada decides to retire to his beautiful wife
People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby
Unabashed love for Cash on PA??
Never thought I’d live to see the day. I quite agree though, John- everybody makes it seem that Cashman has the easiest job in baseball. But it’s not so easy to put a winner out there year in and year out when you’re expected too.
Of course, there have been head scratchers over the past few years- but overall I would say kudos to Cash.
Cashman
Couldn’t agree more with you. Additionally I would add that Cash has resisted pressure from the fan base to trade our future for Santana, and more recently any old starting pitcher beginning with Washburn.
We could have had them both but neither would be available this post season. We would have given up Joba or Hughes, Melky, Marquez and Cano for Santana. I have heard it mentioned that Austin jackson plus would have been the price for Washburn.
It should be noted that along with the unavailability of Santana and Washburn for the 2009 post season would be Swisher, Melky Joba Hughes and Cano. Though it is unlikely that the Yankees would have finished ahead of Toronto with all those missing pieces.
Good work Cash!!
Tito, get me another tissue ...
This is hard for me, because following the Kei Igawa fiasco, Cashman was dead man walking to me. But even in my desire to see him go, I understood he was in a very difficult—if not impossible situation—trying to rebuild the Yankees while winning pennants. No one else has to endure that kind of pressure; and while he didn’t succeed, he kept the Yankees competitive in 2008, and provided fans with a glimmer of hope.
Oh, sure, Hughes and IPK bombed, but there were many positives—most notably Teixeira and CC were free agents.
All the added talent notwithstanding, Cashman has made some smart moves. I agree the Arod move was critical, as was acquiring Swisher. Even lesser moves like Hinske and Hairston made sense. Through it all, we didn’t jettison homegrown talent for a rental player. In fact, I believe our farm teams all did quite well—another bi-product of Cashman’s influence.
I still hate Kei Igawa, but I might have been alittle too quick to pull the plug on Cash.
"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will
Igawa was a bad move
No one wears a bigger Scarlet Kei around his neck than I do.
I thought that guy could have been something. Plus the scouts we sent to Japan liked him, and he has good swing and miss percentages. He wouldn’t have to be brilliant- as Andy Pettitte is proving once again, slightly above average and durable can be worth double digit wins with the Yankees’ offense.
The Igawa signing (like Jared Wright and Kevin Brown) was a direct result of too little focus on drafting and development and letting Andy go to Houston after ’03. A terrible move for the organization made worse because it appeared reactionary to losing the Dice-K bid.
"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
Letting Andy go was at the Boss' urging I believe
The team medical staff thought his left elbow was going to implode. I remember MSG (or YES) kept on showing in slo-mo video a bone protruding from Pettitte’s elbow right before his pitch release point. It’s ugly and had a lot of fans, including myself, convinced that it was going to inevitably happen.
by Scooby Snacks on Oct 5, 2009 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions
And it did, his second year in Houston.
"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
Sorry, The Jury Is Still Out On Cashman
Sorry but you just cant erase some of the bad moves, and there were lots of them. He has made some decent ones over the years too, but no titles since 2000 with that checkbook? Cashman and the team he “built” in 2004 is the reason we cant chant 1918 anymore.
The Yanks sold high on Lilly
He was supposed to be an injury risk much like Andy. They couldn’t trade Pettitte but they wanted to get something for Lilly before his career imploded. Weaver was looking like a young ace for Detroit. He was leading the league in CG’s and shutouts. He was the answer for Tim Hudson. Turned out Weaver was no ace and Lilly stayed healthy but hey, everydamnone makes decisions with the info available at the time that don’t work out. Everydamnone makes predictions that are wrong more often than not. Everydamnone. If one is not wrong more than one is right, one better be rich and running the world. Those that choose to point fingers are being self-righteous. Also, C-$$ did not have final say until recently. He gets blame/credit for moves that he didn’t make and we won’t know which ones until he writes his book that I won’t read. I like the recent direction of the organization and for that Cashman deserves the credit.
Because I don't care about that stuff
I pay attention to what goes on between the lines. Also, it’s the past that cannot change and no longer matters.
Lilly
Was a guy I’d seen pitch several times in the minors, and frankly, I would have whiffed on him as well. He didn’t throw terribly hard, had some early control issues, and if I’m not mistaken, only had two plus pitches. Really the only things in his favor was that he’s a lefty, and he won.
Letting Lilly go wasn’t a mistake in my opinion. Some guys just need extra time (especially lefties).
"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will
I don't care
for Cashman but the Weaver trade was the absolute right move at the time.His age ,the contract and not to mention the guys upside at the time was through the roof.He is not the only one who imploded in that time frame.Lily got bashed in a crucial playoff game against the Sox,remember Damon and the idiots spelled Lily on there coats.Someone look up there stats in the next couple yrs following the trade and im willing to bet there pretty similar.Lily was not great in oakland.So with close to the same stats im guessing the Yanks never resign him either.Im still pissed about the Kevin Brown game 7 thing but it was Arizona who backed out on the Johnson deal that deadline.Don’t say it wouldn’t have mattered Randy beat the Sox if it was all he did.
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