My thoughts on Brian Cashman and the 2008 playoffs
Cashman wants to prove himself
Unless you were on a long vacation, you must know that Brian Cashman was given a 3 year contract extension and Cashman has been saying that he has been treated unfairly by the press. Cashman always had the pressure of working under George Steinbrenner and winning “now.” There were times I felt he was pressured into making deals with free agents just to make a deal. I felt this way because George Steinbrenner had an obsession with free agents. After Steinbrenner was suspended from baseball, Gene Michael built the farm team and the Yankees went on to win 4 world series titles. After the 4rth World Series title, it seemed that Big George started getting more involved and the Yankees went back to bringing in big named free agents like they did in the 80′s. Cashman just seemed like a front for George. Then I started to feel that George was leaving it up to Cashman to bring in big free agents and do things the George way which Cashman wound up doing.
If you want to give credit to Brian Cashman for winning 3 world series from 1998-2000 as a general manager, I feel you are wrong. He basically rode the coattails of Gene Michael.
Cashman took over in 1998 and brought in Roger Clemens for 1999. It was a good move because he traded David Wells for Roger Clemens and Clemens was a huge upgrade.
In 2000 he brings in Mike Mussina for 2001 which was another good move because 5 years were pretty productive for Mike Mussina and 3 years were only ok but this last year where Mussina won 20 games gives the free agent move a high grade in my opinion.
In 2001 he signs steroid king who could do anything Jason Giambi. Giambi had some huge years for the Yankees but Giambi is the perfect example of a big named free agent that is brought in to a team that still loses in the playoffs. I hate the move.
In 2002 he signs Hideki Matsui, another big named free agent from Japan. He’s had some good years but the Yankees still don’t win with all the hitting in the lineup. I didn’t like when the Yankees signed Matsui because I didn’t think he’d be able to hit major league pitching but he proved me wrong.
In 2003 Cashman signs Gary Sheffield but he really didn’t sign him. George Steinbrenner signed Sheffield behind Cashman’s back and the big money spending spree is in it’s prime years. I was mad at this move because Sheffield was old and if they were going to sign a big named free agent, I wanted it to be Vladimir Guerrero. I didn’t know what George was thinking at the time. He could have had a young Guerrerro patrolling the outfield to this very day.
Cashman signs Kevin Brown. Kevin Brown is probably one of the biggest failures in Yankee history. He broke his hand after punching a wall which was probably a result of roid rage.(Brown was named in the Mitchell report) To me, anyone that lasts two innings in game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship in which the Yankees were up 3 games to 0 on the Red Sox, is a failure.
In 2004, with likely pressure from Steinbrenner, Cashman signs Alex Rodriguez which just could be the biggest mistake the Yankees could have ever made. A-Rod’s known failures in the clutch and caring all only about himself starts making the Yankees the joke of baseball. I liked the move when it was made but now I hate it because I feel the Yankees will never win with A-Rod.
Cashman then signs Carl Pavano. Another terrible player the Yankees signed. He hardly played and was always hurt. This was another move I hated. Pavano will never be a good pitcher again. He’ll always be hurt.
Cashman also signs Jaret Wright because of one good year with the Braves. Cashman did save face by trading Wright to the Orioles for Chris Britton. I wish the Yankees never signed Wright and hated that move too. I felt relieved the day I found out they traded Wright.
In 2005, Cashman signs 42 year old Randy Johnson. This can’t be a move by Cashman. This had George written all over it. I didn’t like the fact that the Yankees went and signed some one so old. He pitched great his first year but had a terrible second year.
In 2006, he signs Johnny Damon. Some will say it was the best acquisition Cashman ever made but the Yankees could of signed Joey Gathright to play center field and they would have as many world series titles as they do now. Zero.
Cashman then signs Kei Igawa and Igawa gets rocked by major league hitters. Kei Igawa proves he could only pitch well against minor leaguers. That was a terrible signing.
In 2006, he resigns Andy Pettitte but in my opinion Pettitte proves to be an average pitcher.
In 2007, the Yankees re-sign Alex Rodriguez to a ridiculous contract. Every time Alex gets up and there is a runner on base and the Yankees are losing and it’s the 8th or 9th inning, you are guaranteed an out. If you go back and look at my live blogs, I predicted he’d make an out and was right, every time.
This past year, he kept Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Robinson Cano and didn’t trade them to the Twins for Johan Santana. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy turned out to be colossal failures and Cano is one of the laziest players in the league. The Mets traded for Johan Santana and received a great year from him but the bottom line is this, the Mets are still not in the playoffs.
Hank and Hal will give Cashman more flexibility to bring in the players he wants and they both love prospects. Cashman still made some dumb moves even after George Steinbrenner got sick. If Cashman signs CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira do you know what it will follow? The same pattern the Yankees have been following since 2000 where they sign every big named free agent in sight and still lost. Is there anything to make you think that next year will be different? If the Yankees go out and sign these big named free agents, there is a great possibility that they won’t win the world series in 2009. My reasons? See 2001 – 2008.
Could Brian Cashman bring the Yankees back? Could he prove himself? One wonders what moves he will make this offseason and I for one am looking forward to them.
The Red Sox beat the Angels 6-1. I’m not surprised. The Red Sox are the defending world series champions and Jon Lester has been good all year.
The Phillies beat the Brewers. No surprise here either. Gallordo was hurt all year and you can’t expect him to pitch great against a playoff team.
The Dodgers beat the Cubs 7-2. This game surprised me. Especially the score. Dempster pitched great all season and the Dodgers played in a lousy division. I was expecting a sweep by the Cubs. You could never expect nothing less from Manny in the playoffs.
In the world series, these are some of the matchups I’d like to see. The Cubs against the White Sox just because they are from the same town. The Cubs against the Red Sox because they both have huge fan bases. The Dodgers against the Red Sox. Imagine the storylines for this one? Manny seeks revenge? Torre against the Red Sox? That would be my favorite one.
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Playoffs update:
The Rays beat the White Sox 6-4. That didn’t surprise me. The Rays should win this series in 4 games.
The Phillies beat the Brewers. I was surprised that CC didn’t dominate. That won’t look good when the Yankees or another team wants to sign him. Pitching in the playoffs is important.
The Dodgers destroyed the Cubs and Manny hits another home run. I’m at a loss for words for this one. The Dodgers should not be up 2-0 on the Cubs.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:29 PM
Ok first off I like a lot of things you say on this website but there is just one thing I need to express myself with. Robinson Cano is probably a top 3 fielding second baseman in the league and don’t say he isn’t trying because most of the plays he makes an average player couldn’t do. So what he had one bad year, he was great the other years and made the all-star team you quit on him way to early. You guys keep saying trade him why he can do most of it, just because his average wasn’t up there one year you act like it was the end of the world. Phil Hughes please and I am begging you do not give up on him. He had a bad stretch but he is the youngest pitcher in the league. Why are we panicing, we knew with Girardi coming in, injuries, and everything else that it would be a rocky year. Phil Hughes some day will be an ace and that is a serious comment, he has great potential and the two starts he made in the majors at the end is the Phil Hughes we want to see and we did. Ian Kennedy completely agree with you on that one get him out of here. He is bad and he is one of the cockiest players in the league even though he is only in it half of the year haha.
Cashman has had some bad aquisitions as a gm but as you stated Steinbrenner had a big say in whatever went down, he was like the gm for a long period of time. He is a big marketer and just wants to please the fans. You can not blame any of them for the lack of success some of the players had after a huge year.
A-Rod I mean really, he had all this trouble throughout the whole year with his wife and all that stuff and we all know he is mentally weak so it probably had a huge effect on him. Last year he put up some of the biggest numbers of his career and the Yankees definately could win with him there. It takes time, patience, this was a year to settle in and just because we did not make the playoffs for once that doesn’t mean every player is the worst player at their positions in the league.
I didn’t want to have to go off like that but when you say Cano is lazy over and over and over it just gets to the point where I have to say something. Anyways, for cashman this is the year he shows his true colors and prooves what kind of gm he is and if he deserves to be here. The big names are out there and there is so many of them that if he carefully decides which one to pick then we could have one of the Yankee greats coming in. He will be attacking everything he can. Burnett is a guy the yankees have liked forever and that still hasn’t changed, like i said in another post I think they get Burnett and either Sheets or Sabathia. Posada said he wanted Sheets in so that might have an effect on what Cashman decides to do after all he is the catcher of the Greatest Team In Sports.
You guys need to chill out about the young players, we brought them up earlier than we needed to and if we have patience with them we will see what they have. I have not given up hope that everyone will do their job next year and we will have a great World Series winning season. Cano does not need to be traded trading him would be trading one of the best hitters in the league when hes focused. Whatever happens we are in a rebuilding process and that takes time and delicacy to get a successful team. Wait till next year to fire on all the young players, if they do exactly what you said I will gladly admit I am wrong.
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:34 PM
One more thing just a tidbit. The difference between all the big names signed from 2000 on is that those guys are young. CC is only 27 or 28 and texeira is about the same as well. Its not like we are signing 40 and 35 year olds. They are young guys and they will last longer, this is a completely different situation.
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Thanks Matt. When it comes to Cano, Girardi had to bench him this year because Girardi didn’t believe he was playing hard and that’s where my comment came from that I believe he is lazy. I understand your point that there is still hope for Phil Hughes. You’re right, he is young so the Yankees should not give up on him. You are right about something else I didn’t mention. Steinbrenner did make this team rich so they’d be able to fix their mistakes easier. Steinbrenner was able to make the Yankees a cash cow so they could get a new stadium which would even make them more money. I can’t agree with you on A-Rod. I don’t think he’ll ever win me over. I really want him to succeed especially since Red Sox fans always put his contract in our faces. I do want to see young players brought up. I love farm players probably more than Hank. This will be Cashman’s defining moment. Kind of like the election this year. This will make or break Cashman’s legacy so he better make some good choices.
CC also didn’t impress tonight. You have to take that into consideration.
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:16 PM
Yea I guess but every pitcher has a bad game and I see where you are coming many valid points. I am 100% with you on seeing young players, even in video games when im the yankees I even trade people like Jeter, A Rod and Abreu for younger people. I think we need to trade one of the older guys, Matsui or Damon preferably. We got some great talent and if Phil Coke was supposed to be a bad prospect we must have some great things to come. Some people I have really been watching in the minor leagues have been Jesus Montero, Brandon Laird, guy is a powerhouse,and Austin Jackson and to some extent Eric Duncan, I still think he has shown some flashes of what he can be. Brandon Laird is a really not well known player but he is a power hitter in every sense of the word. I liked what I saw in him during the season and if it wasn’t him hitting a home run it was Montero. Got one of the top minor league systems, no doubt.
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:23 PM
I don’t like Cashman and wish he was never signed to an extension. The Yankees can cover up a lot of mistakes because of all the money they have. If a player doesn’t work out the Yankees could trade him to a team and offer to pay the player’s salary. Other teams can’t do that which is a miracle the Tampa Rays have made it as far as they did. Matt is right about us having a good farm system. Austin Jackson could be called up next year. He had a great championship series and he hits in the clutch. Brandon Laird is a power house but is not very known like you said Matt.
October 3rd, 2008 at 3:41 PM
Brandon Laird has good baseball genes, he is the brother of the Rangers Catcher Gerald Laird.
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:14 PM
Baseball, I didn’t know that Gerald and Brandon were brothers. Thanks for that tidbit. Rick, I agree with you, the Yankees could cover up any mistake because of their money. Phil Coke is not scared of anything. I like how agressive he is when he pitches. Matt, Jesus Montero is supposed to be one of our top prospects like you said but I hear he’s not the greatest catcher. He might have to play first base or DH.
October 4th, 2008 at 9:54 AM
Yea I heard that as well. He is still very young and he still has time to improve in that are. I always mistaked Gerald Laird and Brandon Laird for each other just because I heard the name Gerald Laird. They look nothing alike. Is Austin Romine supposed to be a decent catcher, I don’t mean hitting like calling games and throwing out runners? I have not heard to much about him.
October 4th, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Supposedly Austin Romine is a very good catcher when it comes to throwing out runners and calling games. I heard he’s better than Montero in that regard.
October 4th, 2008 at 2:39 PM
The original reason to shift Montero to first base is based on the expectation that the teenager will grow too large to catch, not his catching ability. He and Romine alternated between catcher and DH fairly equally this season.