Quite an article from Jon Heyman. Some highlights:
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.
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.
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.