I’m incredulous. I’m outraged. I’m appalled.

Cashman makes mistakes?

“And then he fixed it.”

Now, that’s better.

Whoo, got anxious for a second. If I can’t rely upon your opinion, hmmn, whose can I count on?

right, b/c Nieves is comparable to Betemit, Ensberg, and Giambi. 3 major leaguers with proven talent.

and yes, the Yankees had to make a trade for Molina. and it was a great trade. what is your point?

that every single roster spot wasn’t nailed down in Spring Training? when does that happen?

yes, Cash made a mistake on Nieves. and then he fixed it.

i don’t get it, what are the standards here, perfection?

He probably said the same thing with Will Nieves going into the season. Then we saw that the guy couldn’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag and had to make a trade.

Say this for Contreras, he proved in ‘05 he’s a top major league talent. Why the Chisox got it out of him and the Yanks couldn’t, I don’t know. I doubt it was George’s fault, though.

I’ll give you Mondesi and Sheffield (although Shef put up 2 huge years) but what about Big Stein’s claims that he told Cash to get Ortiz when he was non-tendered by Minny?

Clearly, Vazquez/Brown over Schilling/Pettitte was Cashman, and those are the deals that have changed history. It was also Cash who decided not to agressively court Clemens after ‘03, or even offer him arbitration. You think we could’ve used him in ‘04?

We could play this game all day. Bottom line, show me the big moves Cash has made over the past 10 years. Most of them have come up lemons. Meanwhile his buddy in Boston has built two separate championship squads, and at least as good a farm system, with a fraction of the money.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports.....bodley.htm

“On this particular morning, a pensive Steinbrenner says he won’t keep going forever. “I’m trying to put things in the kids’ hands, and they’re doing a good job. Thirty years in baseball is a long, long time. I’m ready to see the young fellows come in.”

But?

“But one of the biggest problems people have, including me, is that it’s tough to let the young elephants into the tent.”

Steinbrenner, who turns 72 on July 4, says the fire still burns.

“I still get motivated,” he says in an understatement. “Always will.”

While sons Hal and Hank and son-in-law Steve Swindal assume more of the day-to-day activities, the Boss continues to rule with a strong hand.

He was the prime force behind the transition from the Paul O’Neill-Tino Martinez era to the Jason Giambi era, and he engineered the return of David Wells with new Yanks Rondell White, Robin Ventura and John Vander Wal.

Steinbrenner’s eyes light up when he talks about Giambi, the seven-year, $120 million prize free agent who smashed a two-run home run against Toronto in Saturday’s 6-3 exhibition victory.”

why don’t you read this article?:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.....type=story

i’ve twice posted an article citing that George was the driving force in getting Giambi, twice my post hasn’t showed up.

here are some highlights to this article:

1. George demanded the Yankees sign Contreras

“The bidding between the Yankees, Boston, and the Mariners began in earnest at four years, $24 million, for a pitcher without a single day of major league experience. But Blakeley told rival executives that he had come to sign Contreras, no matter the cost; Steinbrenner promised Blakeley that he would be fired if he failed to land the pitcher. Hearing this, another executive realized his team had no chance to sign Contreras, so he decided to at least make the Yankees pay exorbitantly and kept matching the Yankees’ offers, driving up the price.”

2. George demanded the Yankees get Mondesi

“Randy Levine, the Yankees’ president, had called Godfrey. Cashman argued strongly against a deal for Mondesi, feeling his enormous salary would be prohibitive. He and Michael had kept Steinbrenner from making moves like this in the past, but Steinbrenner could not be dissuaded. He wanted Mondesi. Now.”

3. George personally negotiated the Sheff deal

“And when Sheffield wavered on his oral agreement with Steinbrenner, Cashman, seeing an opening, worked frantically to complete a deal with 27-year-old free agent Vladimir Guerrero. But with Guerrero on the verge of signing for the same annual salary as Sheffield and with one extra year on the contract, Steinbrenner killed the negotiations with Guerrero. Sheffield had capitulated, and Steinbrenner insisted, “I want him, I want him, I want him.”