The waiting is the the hardest part
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Oct 26, 2007 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
The Yankees have been in no hurry to do anything since the season ended and that seems to be the case with selecting a new manager.
Brian Cashman is back in New York and mulling over the decision. All indications are that the choice is his and will be approved by the Tampa Trio.
It certainly speaks to the condition of George Steinbrenner, or at least to the influence that his sons have over him now. Whether that is good or bad for the organization moving forward is something only time will reveal. Everybody knew this day was coming and apparently it is here.
I won’t pretend to have any inside knowledge as to what Cashman is thinking. He is perceived as a Joe Girardi supporter. But Cashman has worked for the Yankees all his adult life and knows what Don Mattingly means to the organization.
My choice would be Mattingly. But I don’t have a choice. Only Brian Cashman does and he’s not saying yet.
Back with more later if there are any developments.
the waiting…your not kidding. How long is a guy supposed to just sit here and stare at “Lohud Yankees blg” and wait for an “update”?
I honestly think any of the 3 will be a good choice.
I have no problems with any of them.
I *hate* waiting…
Pete…I seem to remember Mattingly being a big Springsteen fan…did I imagine that?
Well, there are 28 other blogs on the blogroll. I’m reading through most of them.
And going grocery shopping.
And polishing my sword, and yes, I do mean that literally.
asbury, you may be thinking of O’Neill
“It certainly speaks to the condition of George Steinbrenner, or at least to the influence that his sons have over him now. Whether that is good or bad for the organization moving forward is something only time will reveal.”
What, that Cashman has the choice? Weren’t you the one claiming that he had been “marginalized” barely a week ago, and saying that was a bad thing?
Isn’t giving Cashman this power good for the organization, or will he soon be demonized as well?
Wow, a sword. Don’t mess with Rebecca.
“Pete…I seem to remember Mattingly being a big Springsteen fan…did I imagine that?”
probably more of a Mellancamp guy.
“Brian Cashman is back in New York and mulling over the decision. All indications are that the choice is his and will be approved by the Tampa Trio.”
Wasn’t it 2 days ago that Pete said Brian Cashman had no power. Now he’s saying that the choice is Cashman’s?
Wow Pete, you sure are backpedaling faster than a row boat team aren’t you?
Pete, How are Hank and Hal influential in Cashman having the final say in who the new manager is. If I recall correctly, Cashman was given most if not all of the decision making power from the Boss himself, well before Hank and Hal were in the picture? This is the first time that decision making power is used for the selection of a manager or coach but the decisions have still been coming from Cashman rather than anyone else in the organization for the past year.
This was one of the biggest things I was looking forward to today… bummer!
Actually i’m looking forward to 5pm.
Peter:
Do you think that Cashman has already made his decision and will begin, in earnest, to negotiate with his key Free Agents?
ya see a blogger with the name “rebecca’ gets away with saying she is “polishing her sword”…if I guys says that it is taken in a WAAAAYYY different way.
i don’t see how Cashman being allowed to make the decision means Steinbrenner’s sons are exerting undue influence. quite the opposite.
I think what is taking so long is Levine has convinced them that he can do a better job then the other 2. He is the dark horse like Cash mentioned and he will be named manager….
My concerns are that Mattingly has been in the dugout for years already next to Joe. The team is going to look at him like Joe Jr. Might as well as kept Joe in that case.
Second, Joe G? What is the big deal with him? He was never all that good of a player, and so he had a good season with the Marlins as manager. That’s fine and dandy, but a lot of players on this team played with him. How can you a .3** hitter respect the managing of someone you played with that is a career uhm .2** hitter?
recipe for failure here if you ask me.
hmpf.
“Second, Joe G? What is the big deal with him? He was never all that good of a player, and so he had a good season with the Marlins as manager. That’s fine and dandy, but a lot of players on this team played with him. How can you a .3** hitter respect the managing of someone you played with that is a career uhm .2** hitter?”
What??!?!
hmmm
October 26th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
“Pete…I seem to remember Mattingly being a big Springsteen fan…did I imagine that?�
probably more of a Mellancamp guy.
Does that mean that Mellancamp would replace Kate Smith or the opera guy during the 7th inning stretch….
Nick if you haven’t figured it out yet, Joe Torre’s answer to the question posed by Bob Costa on HBO about Steinbrenner’s mental fitness was a clue. Torre’s answer something like “he is alert some times more than others”. Possibly the reason GS doesn’t appear in public, attend games at the Stadium or do anymore one on one question-answer in the public realm, and the sudden public visibility of H and H could possibly mean that GS is dealing with some degree of dementia.
The sad thing is that which ever one Cashman chooses, they’ll be media who will say or write that Cashman dropped the ball on this one or that he hired the wrong one, so he should just go by his gut feeling no matter what.
Brian Cashman hasn’t been marginalized in the organization.
I think some members of the media took Randy Levine speaking at the Farewell Torre news conference as a sign that Cashman lost his power. Clearly, that’s not the case.
It wasn’t when he blew up the bullpen during the season and added Joba, etc., and it isn’t the case now.
His job depends on this choice. If he makes the wrong choice, he’s done. If he makes the right choice, he gets a contract extension. I don’t blame him for weighing everything before making the recommendation to the Steinbrenner’s.
I’m sure Cashman wouldn’t want it any other way. All he has ever wanted is the opportunity to sink or swim with his own choices.
He got tired of falling on the sword (not Rebecca’s sword but, another sword) for the foibles of the Tampa Gang.
Some of you may recall an NFL Films feature on Bill Parcells. As his team began to stuggle against the Bills in the Super Bowl, he went to his offensive line and NFL Films captured his rant. He said, “This is why you workout at 6 pm and lift all them weights. Get the job done”.
This to me is Brian Cashman’s “Parcells moment”.
Yankees to pick up Abreu’s option
source: http://mvn.com/mlb-yankees/
“According to Buster Olney (with a tip of the hat to the River Ave Blues guys), the Yankees plan to exercise their 16 million dollar option on Bobby Abreu.
Abreu ended up putting together a pretty good season after absolutely forgetting how to play baseball for a month. Plus, A-Rod absolutely loves hitting behind Bobby. He gets to see everything but the kitchen sink.”
“Nick if you haven’t figured it out yet, Joe Torre’s answer to the question posed by Bob Costa on HBO about Steinbrenner’s mental fitness was a clue. Torre’s answer something like “he is alert some times more than othersâ€?. Possibly the reason GS doesn’t appear in public, attend games at the Stadium or do anymore one on one question-answer in the public realm, and the sudden public visibility of H and H could possibly mean that GS is dealing with some degree of dementia.”
I have figured out that George is not the same George. Am i going to extrapolate the statements of our former manager to unequivocally state that George is senile? No, that would be a dangerous and litigious proposition. What I will state is regardless of his health now, no one questioned it when he handed the operations of the team over the Cashman a year ago.
ESPN radio is reporting that no decision has yet been made, and to check back every hour to hear the same damn thing until next week.
I do like Girardi, but I’m hoping it’s Hitman. I’d like to see him win a couple WS for us and for himself. My bigger hope is that Tony Pena becomes his bench coach. Bowa wouldn’t be bad either, but I think Tony would keep his strong connection to the Latin contingent if he were in the dugout and not at 1st base. My feeling is Bowa might be a bit too strong-willed for Donnie if he were bench coach.
New from Newsday, The Yankees are close to reaching a decision on their next manager, Hank Steinbrenner said this afternoon, but will not finalize a choice until next week.
“There is no real final decision,” Steinbrenner said when he arrived at Legends Field just after 1 p.m., “and there’s still some baseball people to be heard from, and there’s still some consideration given by me and the family as to who it’s going to be. We’ll make the final decision. But the bottom line is, obviously, the recommendation of the baseball people, considering the process they’ve gone through is going to pretty much be it.”
Steinbrenner said there will be “nothing” over the weekend.
So basically Tuesday is the day, unless Boston sweeps, then it could be Monday.
the boss may very well be incable of running this team . i know that isnt as glamorous as the boss is dead or dying or whatever the media wants to print . maybe , just maybe the boss is retiring from the team and he’s giving it to his hank and hal . a run-of-the-mill company turnover the the sons . i knw it isnt glamorous . i know it wont sell newspapers but maybe its the truth . i hate the media .
cant we just leave it be until the press conference ?
i think the manager is the least important question of this off-season .
a-rod
rivera
posada
right field
back-up catcher
joba to the rotation
bullpen issues
these are all more important to me than the manager .
Ray Magnetic:
I’ll make a deal with you, if you can produce evidence that I wrote Brian Cashman “had no power” I will donate $1,000 to your favorite charity.
If not, you donate $1,000 to the Children’s Health Fund.
Deal?
Otherwise, stop making stuff up.
I wrote that Cashman’s power was not what it once seemed given that he once reported only to Steinbrenner and now he reports to Hank, Hal and Randy Levine. The more people above you in any work situation, the less juice you have. That’s just how it works.
I personally think Cashman is a smart guy and should make all the decisions. But Randy Levine was directly quoted last week saying how the decisions were being made by a team of people. Since then, it seems Hank has wrestled his way up and supports Cashman.
Obviously the team is feeling its way through this period. But I never wrote once that Cashman “had no power.”
Never in my life would I imagine saying this, but now I’ve come up with TWO handy consolations to prevent my nervous breakdown if the Sox sweeps the Rox. 1. they’ll be less inclined to pay big bucks for Arod, 2. Yanks can make managerial annoucnement on monday instead of tuesday.
why should cashman’s job be judge on this decision. Shouldnt he be judged by the fruit of his labors in the past 9+ years, especially what he has done of late. If he picks mattingly and mattingly sucks, i hope cashman doesnt lose his job. This football mentality will screw the yanks in the future.
Again, this is total speculation and if there is something we know, is that we dont have a clue what the yankees are doing.
Nevermind who the next manager will be, what are the Yankees doing about Hideki Matsui?
While he had a solid offensive season this year, he showed his days in LF are over and Damon showed he is a better LF. Like Matsui, Damon is making $13M next year and the same in 2009 and needs 500+ AB to be worth the ton money he’s being paid. Unless Damon and a big chunk of his remaining $26M salary is traded – he has a limited no-trade clause- he’s not going anywhere. It is highly doubtful Damon will be traded although he has upped his trade value with a strong finish. Cabrera is the CF now. According to today’s N.Y. Post, the Yankees will in all likelihood pick up Abreu’s $16M club option which is a smart move because his salary will be only $1M > it was this year and there’s no one on the free agent market who had a 2007 anywhere close to what Abreu had. So all the OF positions are filled. Giambi’s days at 1B are over and he will make $21M next year + a likely $5M buyout for 2009 = $26M total next year, so there’s no room for Matsui at DH save for a few starts. The Yanks aren’t paying Giambi $26M total to be a pinch-hitter/ spot DH. The Yankees want Duncan to get some at-bats at 1B, LF, RF, and DH.
The bottom line is Matsui has to either move to 1B and be at least competent there or waive his full no-trade clause and make a list of teams he’d play for so the Yanks could trade him, because there is no room for him on the Yanks if he can’t or won’t play 1B.
Obviously Girardi has a strong chance otherwise on Thursday it would of been a simple decision. I think Stein keeps saying over an over that he will go with what the baseball people recommend to cover himself just incase it is Girardi and he doesnt want his family to look bad or for Mattingly to be mad at them. But then when Stein says..
“I think from the start, the guy I was leaning towards and the guy he(cash) was leaning towards, that’s the same guy”.
You would have to expect that means Mattingly since he went into the meertings expecting to get the job.
Matsui isn’t moving to first base and he isn’t going to waive his no trade clause.
The other day, you had Matsui put on waivers. Today, you have him moving to first. Tomorrow, I am guessing you will want him named manager of the Yankees.
Migames,
That’s how it works with the Yankees. Not saying its right (because it isn’t). However, I doubt anybody named Steinbrenner or Randy Levine will give Cashman cover if the managerial choice is the wrong one. Just not how they operate in the Bronx.
sj44,
It seems so. Who knows what will happen. But then again, as for cashman, nothing lasts for ever
“Second, Joe G? What is the big deal with him? He was never all that good of a player, and so he had a good season with the Marlins as manager.”
has there been any sort of evidence that great players make great managers?
Of course the Yanks could always start Giambi at 1B then cross their fingers but he is so bad at 1B, his defense could cost the Yanks enough games to lose the division. The same could be said about Matsui at 1B, but he is younger albeit only a few years younger (he’s 33 years old). He’s young enough to learn 1B and play there for a year, not to mention he’s an intelligent, dilligent guy with a tireless work ethic. No one’s looking for prime Mattingly or J.T. Snow defense at 1B from Matsui, just be decent. I wouldn’t even mind him and Giambi sharing 1B, but only if Mientkiewicz is re-signed to back them up. Matsui could play 1B for 2008 only then move to DH in 2009 (Giambi let go)
to make room for Mark Texiera (a free agent after 2008 unless he signs an extension with Atlanta) at 1B if the Yanks could sign Texiera. No way is Matsui in LF in 2009.
Pete
I agree w you about Donnie, but can you expand on why he’s your choice? Would you feel the same if Bowa or Pena weren’t next year’s Bench Coach. What would you consider next year’s ideal coaching staff?
Donnie – manager?
Larry Bowa – bench?
Leo Mazzone – pitching?
Kevin Long – hitting?
Pena – move to 3rd?
Dave Miley – 1st base?
Dave Eiland – bullpen?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Steven
Or, they can bring back Minky and platoon him with Shelley Duncan.
You have to think Duncan is going to play more next year because there aren’t any available RH power bats out there and lack of pop from the right side (besides Arod) is a weakness with the team.
Their record against lefty starters was awful this year. That has to change in ’08.
If they are going to break the bank re-signing Mo, Posada and Arod (perhaps even extending Andy to insure his return), they are look to save money somewhere. First base may be that spot.
Whomever gets the job, don’t be shocked to see Rob Thomson garner one of the coaching spots. Perhaps third base.
He is a valuable guy to the organization and they want to get him on the coaching staff.
Pete:
This is actually what you wrote –
“The power over baseball operations Brian Cashman gained had started to slip away. Hank Steinbrenner “insistsâ€? that Joba Chamberlain be a starter. Thanks for the input, Branch Rickey. Can’t wait to see what he insists happens next.
The Yankees have been a classy bunch a while now. For all of the antics in Tampa, at least Cash and Torre acted like professionals and it rubbed off on the players. Now Torre has been pushed out and Cashman marginalized.”
Now this is what the definition of marginalize is from this website:
mar·gin·al·ize· (mär′jə nə līz′)
transitive verb
to exclude or ignore, esp. by relegating to the outer edge of a group or by diverting the public’s attention to something else – CUT
Now to me, to say someone has been marginalized means they don’t have any power in the organization, I could be wrong however if you interpret it to mean something different.
Ray
Excuse me SJ44, who are you talking about? You live on this board or something? Who died and left you the all-knowing authority on the Yankees? Last I checked you don’t work for the Yankees front office, serve as Matsui’s agent, or know Matsui personally, and I never said I did any of that. Oh yeah, since when does Matsui decide where he’s playing when the Yankees are his employer? If the Yanks want him to move to 1B, he will move to 1B. If he doesn’t like it, too bad, OF and DH are filled up. Hence they may have to trade him if he can’t or won’t play 1B a la Sheffield.
Newsflash: 2008 Yankees OF: Damon (LF, $13M, $26M through 2009, untradeable), Cabrera (CF), Abreu (RF, $16M) DH: Giambi ($26M total for 2008, untradeable).
THEREFORE, NO ROOM FOR MATSUI IN LF. Damon, Giambi, and Abreu are not getting
Perhaps Pete also forgets that he chewed out Steinbrenner for not holding a press conference after that Ian O’Connor interview. Quite a few people called Pete out for the utter lack of class in that statement based on Steinbrenner’s obvious mental and phsysical failings.
Now that you’ve acknolwedged Steinbrenner’s problems Pete perhaps you owe the man and his family an apology.
Yeah SJ44, the Yanks are platooning an old backup 1B who can’t hit for average, power, or OBP, or drive in runs (Mientkiwiecz) with a career minor-leagueer bad backup 1B with no plate discipline whatsoever who strikes out a ton and just hits homeruns (Duncan.) Thank heavens you’re not the Yankees g.m. or manager.
Your 2008 Yankees LF, CF, 1B, and #4 OF:
Matsui stinking it up in LF
Damon stinking it up in CF relative to Cabrera who’s defense there destroys his
Mientkiewicz/Duncan 1B platoon (the worst of the A.L. East 1B)
Cabrera wasted as a super #4 OF
My 2008 Yankees:
Damon LF > Matsui there
Cabrera CF buries Damon there
Matsui 1B w/ Mientkiewicz backing him up
Duncan backing up in LF and RF, playing a little 1B, spot DHing, pinch-hitting, and being the insurance RF and DH if
Abreu or Giambi fall to injury
YOU LOSE.
“Newsflash: 2008 Yankees OF: Damon (LF, $13M, $26M through 2009, untradeable), Cabrera (CF), Abreu (RF, $16M) DH: Giambi ($26M total for 2008, untradeable).
THEREFORE, NO ROOM FOR MATSUI IN LF. Damon, Giambi, and Abreu are not getting ”
did you ever think that a healthy Damon will play CF next year and Melky will resume his role as 4th OFer?
not sure that will happen, but you don’t know what happen either.
it certainly COULD happen. it’s not like Melky hit well enough in 2007 to say he has won the starting CF job already for 2008.
move Matsui…Damon is “untradeable”??? that is crazy. First off, why would you want to, secondly, there would be a list as long as your arm of teams wanting him.
Pete/raymagnetic: To paraphrase the First President Clinton, “it depends on what the meaning of [power] is.”
Clearly Cash has less of it than he had before H2 came on the scene, and Randy Levine grabbed his 15 minutes, but Cash’s getting what he wanted — the chance to make the baseball decisions, with approval from the Four Boss-men of the Apocalypse (Big G, Hal, Hank and Randy).
I vote for Donny B. Ask Pena to be bench coach; Bowa to stay at third; Eiland to handle the young arms. Resign Mo and Jorge. Keep A-Rod for 5 additional years at $32/mil per; line up a bunch of new arms for the pen; and trade Matsui or Damon if you can (assume Matsui does bring in a lot of ad revenue from Japan, if not, let him go too).
Okay Pete and Ray, now kiss, makeup and make your charitable contris….
Right now (in my opinion) Giambi is the odd man out. Matsui is not going to move to 1B. He may be 33 years old with a wonderful work ethic but he is limited athletically in order to make a successful transition to the infield.
He should be the DH in 2008 with occasional spot starts in LF.
$26 Mil contract or not, the Giambino may be a glorified pinch hitter in 2008. Unless he can somehow return to the production of 2005 and 2006 (and at Age 38 with knee,wrist,foot and weight issues – that’s unlikely!) there’s no place in the lineup for him. Maybe they can ship him back to Oakland by offering to pay 75% of his salary plus a six month supply of NYC Pizza.
Even if ARod is signed, the Yankees still need some offensive hitting from the right side. I believe signing Aaron Rowand instead of exercising its option on Abreu would be a wise move. Abreu is a nice presence in the dugout, but seems to be a “soft” player, especially in pressure games. He’s overrated defensively and is not the “great” two-strike hitter that some of these broadcasters claim him to be.
Defensively, an outfield of Damon, Rowand and Melky would be the best since the mid-90s.
the Yankees have already exercised Abreu’s option.
“Maybe they can ship him back to Oakland by offering to pay 75% of his salary plus a six month supply of NYC Pizza”. You cracked me up LathamJoe.
Too bad money is an object for us now. I would prefer to pick up Abreu’s option AND sign Rowand.
Damon – DH
Abreu – LF
Rowand – CF
Melkman – RF
Matsui/Duncan platoon at 1B
I would love to have:
Damon or Matsui(One of them traded)/Duncan – DH
Abreu – LF
Rowand – CF
Melkman – RF
Jeter – 1B
Cano – 2B
ARod – SS
Lowell or Crede – 3B
Some scrub who plays decent D and actually calls a good game – C
Giambi – MLB’s most expensive pinch hitter