Cashman's moves

by Travis G on Nov 9, 2009 11:00 AM EST in Analysis Comment 12 comments

More photos » Paul J. Bereswill - AP

Can we finally give some credit to Brian Cashman? After an eight year drought, he finally put the Yankees back on top of the baseball world.

After acquiring underachiever after underachiever, Cash built a team based on healthy and dependable stars. In years past, we'd seen the likes of Jaret Wright, Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Jeff Weaver and Carl Pavano don the pinstripes, only to watch them either underperform or not perform at all. None of the aforementioned lived up to their billing, either through injury or ineffectiveness.

Carl Pavano started 26 games for the Yankees over four seasons. A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia started 67 games this season alone. Mark Teixeira played 156 games, only sitting out a few times to 'freshen up.'

Not to denigrate George III, but his 'interference' only seemed to hurt the club. He's better when he stands back and lets his 'baseball people' run the team. The last dynasty began when he was barred from baseball. The one that is (hopefully) beginning now began when he ceded control to his sons (about 2007), who were far less 'hands on' than their dad. They in turn handed control over to Brian Cashman, a smart move considering he is the general manager.

Since the change in management, we've seen a marked improvement in the farm system: the '09 bullpen consisted almost entirely of former-Yankee farmhands: Rivera, Hughes, Joba, Coke, Robertson, Aceves. In fact, 13 of the 25 players (more than half) on the World Series roster were from the Yanks farm system.

Next year we're going to see the likely addition of several more: Frankie Cervelli looks to be the BUC, Mark Melancon and Austin Jackson may join the team around mid-season, Jesus Montero has an outside chance at playing a contributing role, as does Zach McAllister.

The money the Yankees save by using the likes of Hughes and Joba instead of Kyle Farnsworth and Tom Gordon can be used to acquire elite free agents (Tex, CC), not just good or over-the-hill ones (RJ, Sheff). Hughes and Joba were worth $17 million combined this year. They were paid about $1 million. Think about it this way: that $16 million difference basically paid for A.J. Burnett's whole season.

Instead of Big Stein forcing Cash to go after the likes of Sheffield and RJ (by all accounts, Cash wanted Beltran and/or Vlad Guerrero), he was able to sign quality in-their-prime players like CC and Tex.

Cashman was against trading for Johan Santana (at the price the Twins were asking), despite the apparent pressure put on him by other members of the front office. Future injuries and ineffectiveness were suspected, and he asked the most vital of questions: why pay twice for one player? Why give up prospects and money when, if the Yankees could be patient, a pitcher at least as good would be available for just money? (Imagine if this had happened when the Yanks were preparing for the stretch run, or if Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera had been traded.)

I was admittedly against the Nady/Marte trade. Nady was coming off a career half-year while Cashman sold low on high-ceiling prospect Jose Tabata. To add injury to insult, both Nady and Marte missed the majority of 2009 (they combined to play only 28 games). Well, whatever happens with Tabata in the future, we'll know that that trade helped us win a World Series. Marte was essential to the playoff run, summoning the spirit of Graeme Lloyd: 4 ip, 0.00 ERA, 5 k, 0 bb, 2 h (and both hits were in one game!).

I'll talk about one more move: Nick Swisher. Any team could've had this guy, but that the Yanks got him for almost nothing (Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez, are you kidding me?), and that he was superior to not only Bobby Abreu but to every other Yankee OFer made the trade even more extraordinary.

Some skeptics will say Cashman is only a product of the highest payroll in MLB. But as we've learned first-hand this decade, spending the most money is anything but a sure way to win the World Series. Not only has Brian Cashman given the Yankees their 27th title, but has put them in a position to continue supplying the club with good, cheap talent.

PS: To the fans/readers of PA - thank you for an incredible season. The four of us fed off your incredible energy and enthusiasm. We hope to see you all throughout the off-season and 2010.

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Marte, Swisher and not trading Hughes obviously are the

moves that a good GM makes. For this Cash is a B+ in my book.

The idea that the other FA, namely CC, AJ and Tex makes Cash a good GM…I don’t think so. I think its more of the “throw crap against the wall and hope it sticks” mode of thinking.

Yea, CC AJ and Tex are all 100x better fits than guys like Brown and Wright (not Giambi…I’m sure they liked the Bino…).

But these moves looked exactly like those moves of years past.

I agree, Cash IS a better GM than some give credit to, definitely cuz of the payroll.

I do think Cash could be better if not allowed to spend so much. Sometimes being able to spend a lot….not better (Mo Money mo problems…..).

DO WHAT JERRY HAIRSTON DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by FreeBradshaw on Nov 9, 2009 11:21 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Nah something told me these moves would bring us to the promised land...

I didn’t feel any bit the same way on the signings of tex and cc as I did of randy johnson and gary sheffield….

Even back then it all seemed a little to fake….these guys though…on this team, is the real deal…

Give me an organiztion with a lot of money and room to do my job, I can deliver as well. Cash is the beneficiary of a owner who loves championships as much as profits, and that is never a bad thing……

-Announcemen Forwarded To The Following: Boston Blowsox, New York Pets, Philadelphia Phonies, And Any Other Team Who Ain't The With The Empire.................

Getcha' Fuccin Rings Up........

by NYYWinsRings27 on Nov 9, 2009 12:59 PM EST via mobile reply actions 0 recs

The big difference between this year's free agents

and those of the past is that Tex, CC and Burnett were not old players on the “back nine” of the their careers, unlike so many that the Yanks have wasted millions on in the past.

I don’t know how much of the money wasted in the past was wasted because of Cashman picking the wrong players or because Steinbrenner wanted the wrong players. Likewise for some of the bad trades.

by cph on Nov 9, 2009 1:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

George III

I love this guy’s will to win, and it’s sad to see him now as a shadow of the feisty, bombastic George we’ve come to know all these years. Let’s be honest, though. Owners, coaches, managers and players will always say that they expect to win it all every year. But when he was running the club, George truly believed it, to the extent that the club would deal away their best prospects at the trade deadline in a panic for whatever over-the-hill stars might be dangled in front of them, as well as signing any available big name free agents regardless of their value to the team. I have little doubt that both Cash and Girardi would have been gone after missing the postseason last year, and that we wouldn’t be celebrating Title No. 27 now if George was still calling the shots.

by django48 on Nov 9, 2009 2:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Feisty, bombastic George repeatedly screwed up this team. The team first rose up in the mid-70’s while he was in jail for illegal campaign contributions. Then he iced that group after four WS in six years by going on an aging free agent binge/trade binge that emptied the farm system and sent us tumbling into the dark ages. Forced into the background by (among other things) the suspension for hounding Dave Winfield, the team assembled the next dynasty, the 1996-2001 team. Falling a couple of fluky plays short sent George on another aging free agent/trade fantasy baseball binge. It can’t help but be noticed that the team has finally started down a stronger path while George has stepped into the background.

I wish him well, and salute his will to win, but the times he was most active as “The Boss” were inevitably hard times for the organization. I think Cashman (et al) are putting this organization onto a much stronger footing that they will NEED as the “core four” retire in the next few years.

by d_c_guy on Nov 9, 2009 3:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Right you are!

I think we can thank Steinbrenner’s second suspension for the fact that Posada, Rivera, Jeter and Pettitte weren’t dispatched while they were in the minors, they way seemingly every other young Yankee prospect had been (and has, until recently, been).

by cph on Nov 9, 2009 4:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hard on the Juice and Sheff

It is unfair to the Juice to lump him in with Pavano, Wright, et al. You knew going in that the Yankees would regret the back end of that deal but in his 7 seasons here, he bested Teixeira’s OPS+ this year in 3 of them. That is not bad for a guy who essentially missed two seasons.

Same thing with Sheffield. Yeah, his last year here he was Mr. DL but the previous two he raked.

by tiyuri on Nov 9, 2009 3:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The difference being

that Tex can actually field a position. Good signing if they have a first baseman (and he would the DH) but they didn’t. I always said they’d never win a World Series with Giambi and they didn’t. Defense is sort of important, no?

by Rusty23 on Nov 9, 2009 3:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

First base defense is incredibly important

For some reason, Giambi wouldn’t DH (and the managers always fell back on the “he hits better when he’s playing first” crap) so he would trot out there, year after year, game after game, giving away runs with his poor fielding and throwing. Anyone who watched the playoffs this year had to notice how important Tex’s fielding was to the team. (And anyone who watched at least one game during the year, even Tex’s worst game, whatever that was, had to come away realizing how much of an improvement he was over the Giambino.)

by cph on Nov 9, 2009 4:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

Can you imagine Giambi making those throws in the Angels series, when Tex made consecutive plays to help Robertson out of the bases-loaded, no out jam in the Angels series? Yikes.

Although I concede that a Giambi-in-his-prime combined with the jet stream in NYS could’ve been pretty fun to watch :-)

by d_c_guy on Nov 9, 2009 4:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Giambi was on roids in his prime

and thats what we were paying for
then he gets that gigantic contract from us and becomes injured or hits Mendoza every year
the guy is a bum

by Brian5517209 on Nov 9, 2009 4:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

How is he a bum???

Giambi has always trained and worked hard and is one of best-liked guys in the clubhouse. He also helped Cashman and Co. with recruitment duties whenever the Yankees were interested in big-name free agents.

by Scooby Snacks on Nov 9, 2009 9:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs