Comments on: Welcome to last place

By: randy l

randy l — Tue, 29 May 2007 17:38:07 +0000

dman77-
i know that the yankees have invested a lot in the deveopment system which is great, but i’m taking a broader view of the whole thing. john henry is a fan like us with 5 billion dollars. he’s 58 years old which means he’s going to be in charge of the red sox for 15 years. he’s made the red sox into a global brand. the yankee front office weakens each year as steinbrenner’s health declines. the yankees are basically a mom and pop business with a lot of zeros added on . there is no sophisticated oraganizational model behind cashman. the steinbrenner family is going to get killed with estate taxes when george dies. i don’t see them keeping the team. george is not in the same financial league with henry as it is.
the red sox organization that we see this year will be better next year. they are a growing global sports and media business. the yankees are a mom and pop that can’t transfer to the kids because of estate taxes anbd lack of interest.
unless randy levine or somone like him( from yes and yankee global enterprises) comes riding in and changes the ownership structure and with it the front office , the yankees are going to be the little guy in relationship to the red sox.
the casual fan can say cashman sucks or doesn’t suck , but the reality is that real managment comes at a much higher level than the gm level.
the yankees can sqeak 3-5 years out of the present ownership structure, but the red sox will have a significant organizational lead by then if the yankees don’t do something in the meantime.
i’m amending my “the front office is the problem” to the ownership is the problem. there’s a saying on george’s desk ,” lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way”.
george can’t lead anymore. he’s not much of a follower. he needs to get the hell out of the way.
with a new ownership worth 5-10 billion like the red sox, an appropriate organization and gm would follow.
randy levine and steinbrenner are connected to the new york power elite. george could take on partners that would keep him in it until he dies, but in the meantime the yankees would get the ownership and organizational shot in the arm they need.
the end of the era we are seeing is not the yankees, it’s george himself. there’s no need to take the yankees down with him.

By: DMan77

DMan77 — Tue, 29 May 2007 16:34:39 +0000

Randy and Murphdog

Im enjoying reading your posts here and I do agree that a new system might be needed in the Yanks front office.

But one area you might be overlooking, is the Yankees scouts and development team. The Yankees currently have one of the best in the league, and that sohuld help them to keep drafting well for years to come.

Plus, dont forget that if things do get really bad, change can happen very quickly when it comes to front office guys. There are qualified people lined up for miles just waiting for a chance.

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 29 May 2007 16:05:16 +0000

Dear Joe Torre,

There is a pitcher by the name of Brian Bruney in your bullpen. He has been solid in relief as seen below. Please use him in important 8th inning situations instead of that goof with the glasses.

DATE GAME W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR BB SO NP-S GO-AO
APR 02 TB 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 1 5-4 0-0
APR 05 TB 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 2 22-12 0-1
APR 07 BAL 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 3 16-10 0-0
APR 09 @MIN 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12-8 2-0
APR 13 @OAK 0 1 1.80 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.1 2 1 1 0 1 2 36-22 1-1
APR 14 @OAK 1 0 1.29 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 2 29-18 0-4
APR 17 CLE 0 0 1.08 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 15-8 1-3
APR 19 CLE 0 0 0.96 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 19-14 0-3
APR 21 @BOS 0 0 0.87 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 33-22 2-1
APR 23 @TB 0 0 3.38 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 2 3 3 0 2 0 22-11 1-0
APR 24 @TB 0 0 3.27 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6-3 0-0
APR 26 TOR 0 0 3.09 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 10-5 1-1
APR 28 BOS 0 0 2.84 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9-7 1-1
APR 29 BOS 0 0 2.70 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 1 14-8 1-0

March/April Total:
1 1 2.70 14 0 0 0 0 0 13.1 8 4 4 0 7 14 248-152 10-15

DATE GAME W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR BB SO NP-S GO-AO
MAY 03 @TEX 0 0 2.57 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 10-5 0-2
MAY 05 SEA 0 0 2.40 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12-8 0-2
MAY 06 SEA 0 0 2.25 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 8-8 0-2
MAY 09 TEX 0 0 2.20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 12-8 0-1
MAY 11 @SEA 0 0 2.08 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 1 20-12 0-1
MAY 13 @SEA 0 0 2.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 9-4 2-0
MAY 16 @CWS 0 0 1.86 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 1 21-13 0-2
MAY 19 @NYM 0 0 1.77 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 2 14-8 0-1
MAY 21 BOS 0 0 1.69 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 2 20-12 0-1
MAY 27 LAA 0 0 1.57 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.2 1 0 0 0 0 1 20-13 0-3

May Total:
0 0 0.00 10 0 0 0 0 0 9.2 4 0 0 0 6 9 146-91 2-15

By: randy l

randy l — Tue, 29 May 2007 16:01:40 +0000

murphydog-
i had to google that shakespeare quote. that’s all i have there. i’m as frustrated and mad too as you are. any yankees fan is.
i think we both know who cashman is and what his skill set is. we’ve both watched him for a long time. where we disagree is what his responsibilities should be. first of all i can’t stand bill james as hmmm will be the first to tell you( where is he by the way?). but my point about james is that he’s part of an army of assistants and consultants that boston has. theo is not 100 % in charge of that team. everyone reports up to henry. henry is a baseball fan with 5 billion dollars behind him. this is what the yankees are up against for the next twenty years.
the yankees have no equivalent executive to lucchino( who i also dislike intensely because of his anti player rights attitude). the yankees clearly do not have a cutting edge front office like the red sox and the indians.
look at the indians front office and then click on the yankees:
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/team/front_office.jsp?c_id=cle
the indians have people like keith woolner from baseball prospectus and gennaro (who pete endorses)
the old system while dysfunctional, got the job done. they made the playoffs every year.
i don’t want the old system. i want a new system that is in tune with the new baseball landcsape.
for a gm, if you didn’t play the pro game, you’d better have an army of others(new school) that didn’t play the game because that’s the only way to make up for what you can’t see with your eyes and experience.this is exactly what cleveland and boston is doing.
omar minaya, terry ryan, and beane can run a simpler front office because they know things that theo, cashman, etc will never know.
you heard roger throw out the “you didn’t play the game” card at the reporter. it’s a big card with the players for a reason.
clemens could have been talking to cashman. he didn’t play the game. he needs an army of front office help. you think it’s there. it isn’t.
that’s where our difference of opinion comes.

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:59:06 +0000

Well he won’t know whta he got unless he gives Britton a chance.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:57:10 +0000

Eh. We traded Wright. Someone Cashman didn’t want (and I didn’t want, for that batter). I doubt he even looked at who he got in return.

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:55:44 +0000

Speaking of Britton, does anyone realize that his ERA in AAA is under 1

Donâ€™t forget we traded a starter for him, he is not a minor leaguer, Ron Villone is!

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:53:38 +0000

Well, we have Worthless next year. We can let Mo walk!

By: Nick B.

Nick B. — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:39:39 +0000

One mistake
Bruney/Britton are only under contract through this year

By: Nick B.

Nick B. — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:38:17 +0000

This team is a year or two away from unloading a lot of contracts and being able to make a youth movement. Most players have contracts that end either this year or the next. Only Jeter, ARod and Igawa have contracts that last through 2009 and Melky, Cano, Wang will still be under their minor league contracts through that year.

Damon- signed through 09
Jeter- signed through 10
Matsui- signed through 09
ARod- gone after this year or signed through 10
Giambi- signed throug 08 + buyout
Posada- signed through this year
Cano- arbitration eligible after this year
Abreu- gone after this year
Mient/Phelps- gone after this year
Melky- arbitration eligible

Pettitte- option for 08
Moose- signed through 08
Pavano- signed through 08
Wang- arbitration eligible
Clemens- gone after this year
Igawa- signed through 11

Farns- signed through 08
Viz- gone after this year
Myers- gone after this year
Mo- signed through end of year
Villone- signed through this year
Proctor- arbitration eligible
Bruney/Britton- both signed through 08