Comments on: Family Business

By: ny2ca2dc

ny2ca2dc — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:08:22 +0000

Cashman setting stage for his own exit? Wha? Doesn’t like this team? This is his team, through and through. He jerked around Joba (Joba shares blame), he passed on Oswalt and Haren on the cheap, he passed on all the 2nd/3rd tier free agent pitchers while betting it all on Lee and Pettitte. What does ownership and Soriano have to do with any of this?

Over the past two years a pretty large number of top tier pitchers have been available in trade or FA: Grienke, Halladay, Lee (three times), Haren, Oswalt, even Garza, Marcum, Jackson repeatedly, etc. Once again, the Yankees will go into the season with a patchwork rotation. Many moves were defensible in isolation, yet here we are. The Haren non-trade (if the terms were as reported, based around Joba and not including Montero) was shockingly bad, and I felt that way at the time.

I really do like Cashman quite a bit, but except for the Granderson trade (which I loved and still love), and obvious salary dumps (Wood, Berkman, which were good but Yankee-money enabled moves) Cashman has not made a lot of good decisions following the WS win.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:43:23 +0000

I think Cash is gone too. I think he wants nothing to do with this year’s team, is what I think.

By: Raf

Raf — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:58:41 +0000

I was a bit surprised that it was Hal that overruled Cashman, not Hank.

By: ms october

ms october — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:39:57 +0000

[6] i think so too, but i also thought that before he signed his current deal.
i just hope that the really bad old days aren’t back – but with the steinbrothers and levine running things, i don’t have a good feeling.

By: bp1

bp1 — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:49:39 +0000

I think Cashman is starting his Yankee exit strategy. What GM in their right mind would publicly deny support for a signing on the day the new player was announced at a press conference? What GM would claim to be the voice of fiscal sanity on a ballclub only to let the club president come out and discuss the $5billion business they have and how they will do anything for their fans?

Cashman is outa here. And he’s going to make sure everyone knows where he stands. He’s done taking bullets on behalf of the Yankees. He’s polishing his public image in advance of his next job.

By: ms october

ms october — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:08:49 +0000

[3] good point jon.
i also think it has to include joba – while some of us don’t understand the “handling” of him, even if you agree with it, it is hard to understand why they didn’t trade him once they determined he was no longer an option to start but his value was much higher.

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:07:18 +0000

Yeah, losing out on Haren was a blow, though it didn’t seem dramatic at the time.

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:59:00 +0000

It sucks that Cliff Lee didn’t want to become a Yankee, and had he wanted to, things would look a lot better. It sucks that Andy Pettitte is probably going to retire.

But the fact is that there are 2 rotation spots open and the Yanks had a lot of chances to fill them with excellent pitchers.

I was a big time advocate for Dan Haren last summer, and Oswalt came away a lot cheaper than most expected as well. Those guys would have helped win the AL East, and the Yanks would have run a better rotation out there for the playoffs, in which Burnett and Hughes lost three games of the four games.

The evaluation of this offseason has to include passing/whiffing on all the non-Cliff Lee names at the deadline too.

By: Mattpat11

Mattpat11 — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:43:37 +0000

I’m trying to figure out what exactly he gained by trying to embarrass Soriano at his introductory press conference. He couldn’t wait a day or two to throw his little temper tantrum?

And then Carl Pavano. Jesus Christ Carl Pavano.

It hasn’t been a good off season. Other than Feliciano, I don’t think its necessarily his fault. But I don’t understand the man’s behavior at all.

By: ms october

ms october — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:37:22 +0000

i’m not sure. i do find it interesting that he chose to be so candid and that he supposedly felt the need to be honest with the media since this move was in contrast to his previous statements.