Cashman’s contract Yankees’ first order of business
The Yankees could not get started on their offseason planning until they figured out who the GM was going to be, and Brian Cashman had promised he wouldn’t let it drag out. “Sooner than later” was apparently code-speak for Tuesday, as Cashman finalized a three-year contract that will keep him on as GM through 2011.
There has been a lot of discussion on the blog about Cashman’s job performance over the years, and after 11 seasons, every person’s work history is going to have its fair share of hits and misses. You can put the likes of Kei Igawa on Cashman, certainly, along with a handful of others. But he’s also stressed a re-emphasis on developing the farm system, and the Yankees’ chain has been much improved in a short period of time through the draft and not selling off prospects for veteran players.
Now, how would Johan Santana have looked in pinstripes? We won’t know, because Cashman insisted he wanted to hang on to players like Melky Cabrera and Phil Hughes, and avoid the bigger cash layout and luxury tax. Time will tell if that was wise — in the short term, it looks ugly. But the second Cashman convinced the Steinbrenners to jump on board with his plan, they should have offered him a new contract. It doesn’t make sense to penalize someone because a long-term plan did not pay dividends in the short-term.
Bryan Hoch
Making us log in everytime does not solve the spam problem. Our email address are still listed.
Lowe conversation over, he is a Boras client. Unless he represents himself, he won’t even get a call. Tex too?
Matt,
It’s useless to talk to you. I admit he had a down year, a very uncharacteristic year (pretty much like the WHOLE FREAKIN TEAM!) He allowed 5 or more runs in 11 of his 33 starts. No, not the best. He also allowed 3 or fewer runs in 19 of his starts while averaging 6 1/3rd innings per start. If you look at his career starts, his runs per game is not out of line with his career number, again this year was not one of his best. You SAY you don’t want to sign Lowe but you keep talking about him on this team in comparison to Andy. Lowe is 14-11 AGAIN PLAYING FOR THE BEST TEAM IN THE WEAKEST DIVISION IN BASEBALL. And you didn’t respond to having a lefty in the rotation. Remember we TRIED all rightys? So regardless of what YOU want, if Andy wants to come back, he’s coming back. If he doesn’t want to come back, I bid him well in his retirement. But hear me now and listen to me later, Andy will start for the 2009 Yankees.
By rcngolf99 on October 1, 2008 8:15 AM
I question loyalty, sounds more like a converted Yankee fan. We are not throwing Pettitte on the scrap heap and we won’t do that with Posada and Jeter when they decline. We kept Bernie Williams after he lost his spot in center and we will keep Pettitte if he wants to play.
You know….. Looking at Kat’s blog on Cashman, it seems hard to make a case that he’s done the right thing? Look at the specifics:
Signed Moose. Ok +1 for him.
Traded for Clemens +2 (at least the first time around)
Without knowing who we gave up for Abreu, we’ll call it even. As unfortunate as Lidle’s accident was, I don’t know that he would have found any more success in NY than some of our other NL to AL trades. But since we’ll never know, even again.
Kept Bernie in pinstripes. Except for 2007? -1
Signed Johnny Damon. He’s been a solid leadoff and has played CF about as we could expect. Even but if the tradeoff was that we develop a new leadoff or another trade? -.5
Carl Pavano. Who would have thought 4 season’s ago that this deal would end up like it has. No one. He was in his mid-20s and seemed to be on track to become something. But facts are facts. -1
Kei Igawa. Another like Pavano. We all forget that after Dice-K, it was Kei. Being second best to the best in their league wasn’t nothing and we weren’t the ONLY club gunning for him. He has proven to have the ability to pitch and pitch well. But again, facts are facts. -1
Who else did we trade for Kevin Brown besides Weaver. This is a -1 because the money we had to pony for Brown up handcuffed us. Losing Weaver wasn’t a loss.
Traded Contreras for Loaiza? -1 and a CLASSIC example of my belief that not EVERYONE can pitch in NY.
Signed Kenny Lofton. -1 He was with us half the season and hit .275 with 3 homers. BFD.
Resigned ARod, Mo and Jorge. ARod was coming back as was Mo even without Cashman’s hand guiding it. I believe that Jorge didn’t want to go anywhere either.
And she forgot “Let Pettitte walk after the 2003 season. -2 for that.
Didn’t trade Phil and Melky for Santana. For 2008, sure -1. But I’m going to call it even just cuz.
Over all, doesn’t look like something I would call a success…..
Some of Brian Cashman’s notable moves
-Signed Mike Mussina GOOD MOVE
-Traded for Roger Clemens; signed Roger Clemens GREAT MOVES, 2ND DONE WITH TAMPA’S SUPPORT.
-Traded four minor-leaguers for Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle GREAT MOVES.
-Traded for Alex Rodriguez TERRIBLE MOVE
-Kept Bernie Williams in pinstripes GREAT MOVE
-Signed Johnny Damon GOOD MOVE AT THE TIME
-Gave Carl Pavano $39.95 million PEDRO OF ALL PEOPLE WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER AT THAT TIME. WORST MOVE IN HISTORY ACEVEDO IS OFF THE HOOK FOR ROCKET’S 300.
-Signed Kei Igawa CRAP GOT DICEKO’ED
-Traded Jeff Weaver and two others to Dodgers for Kevin Brown GOOD MOVE BECAUSE WEAVER WAS TRASH
-Traded Jose Contreras to White Sox for Esteban Loaiza NO SENSE
-Signed Kenny Lofton GOOD AT THE TIME.
-Re-signed Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada in November 2007 GOOD MOVES
-Didn’t trade Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera for Johan Santana 50/50
- KAT O’BRIEN
There are some notable free agent signings not included in the assessment. Karsay, Quantrill, Gordon, Osuma and the worst Acevedo.
I think I speak for most Yankees F’ Cashman but we want him around over anyone else. Although, Matt probably would rather have Billy Beane?
LaTroy Hawkins. Jaret Wright.
I don’t like alot of stuff that Cashman has done and have trashed him in the past. However, I don’t know anyone else that I would rather have. Gene Michel is retired and will not be available in anything more than an advisory capacity. Hank would assume an even bigger role if Cash was not there. Cash needs to train a YOUNG successor.
You guys have to remember if you’re going to still dwell on the whole Santana issue is the fact that we were going to have to give up WANG, in the package of Melky and Hughes… That was clearly a good decision by Cashman and the Yankees brass not to pull the trigger.
Felix Heredia. Gabe White.
“Without knowing who we gave up for Abreu, we’ll call it even.” For Lidle and Abreu, Cashman traded:
C.J. Henry, Matt Smith, Jesus Sanchez and Carlos Monastrios. I think of those lot Henry was the only high-tier prospect and we ended up resigning him after he amounted to nothing with the Phillies last offseason. That makes it what at least +1 in your tally?
Bill Madden: “Yanks must bring in Matt Holliday, ship out Robinson Cano & Phil Hughes”
How does he get paid for writing trash like that? Is this guy a Red Sox fan? Yeah unload all the young players for a Boras client…that’ll help the rotation, youth and payroll of the team
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/beijingblog/Yanks2009.pdf
someone fire Mr Madden already
CR,
Madden writes for the Daily News, long a cesspool of yellow journalism!
Golf,
Funny you mention Hawkins. I read that Houston was absolutely thrilled with his performance for them this year!!!
BP,
Try signing on using your browser not your ISP. I can stay signed on all day with Microsoft Internet Explorer for multiple MLBlogs!
Hawkins pitched 17 scoreless innings for the Astros didn’t he? I think any team would be pleased with that return from a cast-off. Shame he couldn’t hack pitching in NY.
Like I ALWAYS say, not everyone can pitch in NY.
If you choose to not run a bpark filter, that’s your fault, not mine. Your Lowe-manlove is clouding your ability to read and likely to comprehend. I dont want old players, I want good players who can play in NY. I’ve reminded you of what you said about Mussina at this time last year, basically the same thing. You have given no evidence that he is a “lefty who can no longer pitch and will give nothing but bloated stats” aside from your inane rantings. With an all righty staff, playing half our games in a stadium with a 314′ right field wall is a recipe for disaster, as it was in 2004. I’ve outlined my wishes for Andy and have never indicated that we build our future around him. But he has earned at least a 1 year deal perhaps with an option. We haven’t signed anyone else yet. There is no guarantee that CC will come here. I don’t want to replace one mid-30′s pitcher with another (Lowe) and even if Burnett comes with a decent career ERA but a dismal health record having pitched 200+ innings 3 times in his now 9 season career and this year is the ONLY one in those nine where he’s more than 32 starts. Those numbers SCARE me for a 31 year old pitcher. Our track record in signing FA starting pitching is dismal at best, whether it’s bad luck or just a bad choice. All of those things make signing Pettitte a necessity.
I am done matching wits with an unarmed man.
Blake and Lowe are “older players” too. We want to get younger unless our options are limited.
How many times are we going to read the same old stale arguments against Brian Cashman over the next two years?
He’s been rehired. So let’s revisit the pros and cons in 2011 when it becomes time to evaluate what’s been acomplished in 2006 through 2010!!!
Robert,
I already can’t wait until 2011, WOW hurry BABY!!
I’m afraid rcngolf is right, saiki. I’ve been following your arguments, and while you make good points that signing older players isn’t preferable, you sort of have to understand that there are only a certain amount of pitchers available. I wouldn’t mind having Lowe in the rotation, but rcngolf’s point that we need a lefty is not refutable. Plus, Pettitte went 14-14 in a season that the offense struggled to score. The issue is not overage pitching, but overage hitting. If Giambi, Matsui, Cano, and Abreu hadn’t struggled on and off all season, that record would probably look a little different. Plus, I’ll take 14 wins over Hughes and Kennedy’s zero any day. We don’t know for sure that these kids are going to succeed at the big league level, so signing the veteran for insurance is not a bad idea. Plus, Lowe’s 14-11 record is not all that much better looking than Pettitte’s, and that is, as rcngolf said, in the weakest division in baseball. Sure, Lowe went 21-8 for the Sox, but it’s not 2002 anymore. In 2007 the he had a losing record as well. If he’s available at a decent price, I say sign him, I don’t think that means no more Pettitte is a good idea. Find me a lefty or two that’s available and proven in NY, then we’ll talk.
And another note regarding Cashman. Firstly, the idea that anyone can complain about a guy who was brought up through the organization and who kept putting together playoff caliber teams for ten years is ludicrous. There are so many ins and outs to his job that none of us can even begin to understand. He’s obviously not an idiot, and if you know a single thing about the way the Yankees’ organization runs, you know that until very recently, George Steinbrenner had a lot to do with the decision making. Here’s a little history: when Steinbrenner loses (i.e. 2001), he goes on shopping sprees. He pushes for players like Damon, Giambi, Mussina, Pavano, Lofton, Rodriguez, etc. So blaming Cashman because you can’t appreciate watching more than one team doing well in baseball makes no sense. So the Yankees had a bad year. Now we get to watch them rebuild, and in the meantime, let’s see how Soriano, Torre, and everyone ELSE fares in the playoffs. I agree with Brian 100%. There is not a single team in baseball whose GM hasn’t done something that turned out to be stupid. When you criticize the guy with badly thought out logic you make yourselves sound like Red Sox neanderthals. Stop getting so worked up and ENJOY the sport.
P.S., Cashman also traded Karstens for Nady. +10 in my book.
I’ve decided to root for an all Chicago World Series. I know it won’t happen (White sox will lose the ALCS) but I don’t want to have to stay up for LA games and well I’m sure no one here wants to see Boston win.
I’m hoping for the same, with a Cubs win. But I think watching the Cubs spank the Red Sox would be pretty fun as well. And it would even be a feel good story for the Rays to make it. If the Dodgers beat the Cubs, though, I want to watch Torre manage Manny against the Sox.
And Lowe and Nomar.
so if not Pettitte, what lefty?
Matt,
You can’t just dump a player that has given the organization all that Pettitte has either. That sends a bad message to all of the players now a Yankee or considering to become one. Let Pettitte return some way and let Girardi figure out how to best utilize his diminishing talents!
Te fact of the matter is: if Andy wants to pitch again in 2009, which is what he hinted to, he will have the fourth spot in the rotation cemented in his name.
I just saw Derek Lowe pitch to the Cubs lineup. I have to say, he would be a good back of the rotation guy ( and has certainly sweetened his prospects as FA ), but what quizzes me is why we’re even talking about this guy? Even if we do not sign CC, that doesn’t mean that Lowe is immediately the next candidate. Did we forget about Burnett and Garland? ( although Garland and Lowe are comparable, with Garland having the better stuff and the fountain of youth on his side. )
As for comparing Lowe to Pettitte… both are completely different pitchers– they have the same moxy, but both depend on completely different game plans. Pettitte relies on his breaking stff at this point in his career, and Lowe depends seriously on the effectivity of his sinker and how he spots his fastball along with it. He showcased a good slider tonight as well. He’s certainly a number three or four in the AL, but still, I would rather have Burnett behind Wang or Garland before sticking Lowe in there.
As for the Cashman debate, I’ll be honest… after reading some facts about his career, I can see that MOST of the blunders we blame him for were actually created by the Steinbrenners, not him. His decisionshave helped us aot more than killed us. Examples are: acquisition of Cory Lidle and Bobby Abreu. Trading for A-Rod, signing Moose, acquiring Pudge and Nady and restocking the farm system. He has also made some blunders here and there, like giving away Contreras for Loaiza, letting Javier Vazquez go, signing Igawa and so on. His positives certainly outweigh his negatives in the fact that his negatives no longer exist on this roster.
Cashman said he plans on restocking the farm system further, and hinted at a Mark Teixeira signing or a trade for a 1B by saying he doesn’t want Damon or Matsui shifting out of their natural positions. Posada honestly plans on catching 120 games next year. I’d keep Cervelli up here in case that backfires and Molina has to do the starting catching.
The man actually sounds smart, he’s said all of the roight things in his recent interview. We’ll see how that pans out over the course of the offseason.
And seriously, get some former Yankees on this coaching staff. Get Rob Thomson out of their and substitute him with Paul O’Neil. Get a smarter third base coach, fire Meacham. Hire Cano a good firey nut case to get on his behind in the event it is needed, although I think his benching last week woke him up for good this time around. Dave Eiland is a good pitching coach, we actually treaded the waters better than possible with this horrible starting pitching ( and I think Hughes is alot more comfortable with him, along with every other kid that comes up, which is a plus. ) Retool the scouting and talent evaluation system and hire a new strength and conditioning coach. Seriously, this should be the first move made! No more injuries.
Robert,
2 things about your statement to Matt, 1 in regards to dumping a player WHAT ABOUT BERNIE Williams, seemed dumped to me???? 2 Do you really want to give Girardi any more poor *** decisions to make during the year?? He can hardly make the right ones NOW! But to add another REALLY might push him over the EDGE…HA HA
Don’t worry Andy will retire and end this discussion soon??
Why are you having a love affair with question marks?
The Yankees treatment of Bernie Williams was deplorable, so let’s not make that same mistake again. Plus, Andy’s not retiring.
The question of ‘dumping’ Yankee greats is a difficult point. One that really is going to cause a lot of trouble will be Derek Jeter’s next contract. Can the Yankees really afford to shell out A-Rod type money to Jeet as well? I mean he’s not going to take a pay cut but his skills seem to be diminshing. I can’t imagine DJ leaving New York but could you imagine if they took a hard line stance and said “right, 20 mil, 3 years, no more”???
That’s something I’ve been avoiding thinking about. Although, I would point out that just two years ago he was being discussed alongside David Ortiz in regards to MVP. I think he has a few more years left in him and that this was just a weaker year for him. He’s also said he never wants to play anywhere but New York, so I don’t know that he wouldn’t retire before moving elsewhere.
Matt
Your 4:13 post today addresses me, but I haven’t posted anything about Cashman or the Yanks.
In my only post, I was wondering what happened to that scumbag twinky fan that was dumping on us and the Yanks.
You got the wrong guy.
Todd,
Bernie was offered a minor league contract and a chance to win a job. Also Torre asked him to show up in the spring. He was clearly incapable of continuing as a starting CF and his last year was a reward for his career. If that’s all Pettitte gets, I’ll be happy. Reserve outfielders are far more plentiful than LHPs and I think Andy would have little trouble sticking somewhere in the spring.
Some names to watch:
Wladamir Guerrero: If Anaheim re-signs Texiera, mosts experts believe, Guerrero will be expendable. We will get him this time.
Manny Ramirez: Even with Guerrero, his power makes him a DH candidates in Hankee’s world.
Orlando Hudson: Even if he is not on 2nd, we may sign him anyway as a bench player.
Some Yankees to watch:
Cano: could move positions, could be traded. If Hudson is signed, this could be an indication.
Phil Hughes: If the Yankees sign to 2 free agent starters, Aceves will likely round out the rotation and not Hughes. Mistake yes but value high.
Cabrera: No one wants him?
Gardener: If the Yankees add to outfielders, Gardener will become the 4th outfielder. Many teams are intrigued by him much more than Cabrera.
Marquez/Horne: names will come up in all trades.
Kennadia: He will be moved.
Pudge: He has been told to hang tight. Look for him in spring training as a non roster invite as they evaluate Posada.
Long has a multi year deal? Our offense was terrible, send him to Tampa, Tino will straighten him out. Meacham out too?
Joba is going back to the rotation Cash confirms.
Funny Matt, Manhatten seemed to understand what I was saying. Robert seemed to understand what I was saying. Even bpark in his feeble state seems to understand my point. I guess short of coming to your house and writing it in big block letters, you’re bulb just ain’t gonna burn bright enough to understand it.
I’m moving on.
I read were Brian Cashman say he will re-stock the team by looking for starting pitching (Veteran) and FA’s for 2009. Sound like he is changing the target. Last year’s statement I am going with our young pitchers. So he missed key pitchers by having a plan(HA!) to go with his choice of young pitchers (Wrong) aka Hughes and etc. Changing the target. Judgement Brian, judgement, your track record is poor.
Add Akei Igawa to the list of Yankees to watch.
Don’t be surprised when Hughes surprises everyone next year. Just a gut feeling.
Hopefully, we don’t move him.