Hank riding to the rescue of the Yankees
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- September
- 11
This should provide comfort to Yankee fans.
“I’m going to be reviewing the entire organization,†Hank Steinbrenner told the AP in Tampa today. “We’re going to do everything we can to win next year. We’re not going to wait. Do everything we can that makes sense. We’re going to fix what we have to fix. We’re going to have to look at what has been done wrong over the last five years, which I’ve had one year to try and figure out. Clearly, a lot of mistakes were made.â€
In what could be a move that drives Brian Cashman out the door, Steinbrenner is looking at setting up an advisory group to help run the team.
“If Brian stays on as GM, that doesn’t mean he won’t be the No. 1 guy,†Steinbrenner said. “But the fact is, the more opinions the better. I think that’s probably the best way. It worked in the 90’s, and it can work again.â€
So, a guy who spent most of the last 20 years around horses and has attended three games in person all year is going to review the entire operation then put together an advisory group. That makes perfect sense.
Here is what the Yankees should do: Give Brian Cashman two years and total autonomy. That takes him through the end of Joe Girardi’s contract. If Cashman and his hand-picked manager don’t have the team going in the right direction by then, blow it all up and start over.
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on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 8:38 pm by Peter Abraham.
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couldnt be any worse than this yr.
I see your point, Pete, but I don’t think this approach is necessarily a problem.
The devil is in the details. Depending how it’s set up, and the working relationships, especially with Cash and ownership, and the “advisory group”, it may work out fine. I know guys have egos, especially at higher levels. But, who knows? What if one of the advisors is Gene Michael, one of the architects of the 90s dynasty, and someone who’s worked well with Cash over the years (or so I’ve read). Or Pat Gillick, who is also reported to be on good terms with Cash. Let it play out.
He just likes to talk. I wouldn’t read too much into what he says. Fact is he doesn’t have total control but shares it with Hal. If he wants to do something Hal has to agree to it.
All he does is run his mouth. He likes to hear himself talk and read his name in the papers. I remember reading someone last year where someone asked Hal about his lack of interest in talking with the media (he doesn’t like talking to the media) and he said “that’s what Hank is for.”
Pay no attention to what Hank says.
“Give Cashman 2 Years”????
Are you serious Pete?
Guy can’t leave town soon enough.
Amen Pete. Hit it right on the head.
Pete, It’s looking obvious at this point that Hal is the brains of the operation, choosing to stay in the background, and Hank is for lack of a better word a PR guy. He’s just mini-George.
What’s wrong with what Hank said?
The more people involved, the better. Cashman’s youth movement was a disaster and he has said that he is reluctant to give out long term deals. This is the biggest off-season in decades, we cannot let Cashman screw it up by being conservative.
Ever since Cashman gained full control, we have sunk lower and lower each year. He has proven he cannot handle it by himself.
If the organization is lucky, someone will blow Hank’s mouth up.
That’s nice. I’ll wait until Hal checks in before I believe any of it.
I like what I’m reading here. People complain about Hank..and make fun that he knows nothing, but honestly..either did George when he first started. Hank has the same personality as George to me. They are one in the same. I expect big splashes this off-season. They usually land someone big during Hannukah time. haha
Kevin
Bring back Watson
Yeah, I’m sure Brian Cashman is just dying to go to 2nd rate franchises like the Mariners or Nationals where he can have all the control in the world but no farm system, low budget, apathetic ownership/fanbases, and in divisions occupied by powerhouse teams for the foreseeable future (Angels/Mets).
Career suicide for him—he isn’t out-smarting anyone if he decides to leave.
We need the Boss to fix the organization, after all he was the one who started the Dynasty and effectively ended it by giving his kids too much power. The Boss can work miracles…
cashman, hank, hal are all failures
stick michaels need to wrestle control from all of these clowns and right this ship himself.
I say the Yankees bring in Randolph and Mattingly and have them Coach.
Mattingly, I thought, was going to get the job. I thought he deserved it and would work well with the team because he knew them and knew how to ride them. Bring back Pena too.
I think the AAA manager deserves a shot in running the entire organization.
Sometimes the whole is less than the sum of the parts.
They have lots of options this offseason. getting rid of many fat unproductive contracts is step one.
I agree with giving Cashman two years. But they should go for it next year, and start rebuilding the team. Get Tex and CC Sabathia. Thats a good start.
If I’m Cashman, I’m outta here.
“It worked in the 90’s” because George got himself banned from baseball for a couple of years, which meant he couldn’t meddle.
Hank is enough to make me become a Sawx fan.
As usual with Hank, he has the right idea but it comes off as bluster.
– We DO need a thorough evaluation from top to bottom. The whole operation needs to be torn down and we need to fix what went wrong. There was so much failure and miscalculations at the majors, minors, business department, everything. From the Inoa whiffing, to the Cole fiasco, to the injuries of all our young pitchers, to the lack of festivities to close the stadium etc. there were far too many ominous signs. I am glad Hank recognizes this and isn’t buying the “just a bad year” mantra that Cashman seems to be preaching.
– We do need to win next year, no excuses. Moving into the new stadium coming off a bad year, it is imperative. Cashman had his shot and it didn’t work. Time to move on. These are not the KC Royals, this is a billion dollar corporation.
– Cashman should not be the sole voice of this billion dollar corporation. Everybody deserves their say. As AJ Yanks said, if Cashman doesn’t like it then let him fade into the oblivion in the Nationals organization, if thats what he wants. He has proven he cannot handle having full autonomy. A lot of the misfortunes this year occured under his watch (Inoa/Cole etc.), so clearly something is not right.
I think setting up an advisory board is a smart move. Cashman hasn’t shown that he can judge pitching talent very well.
Pitching has been the biggest problem for at least 5 years now. The Yankees need to bring in some smart baseball minds and look at what needs to be done to set things right.
What problems do you guys have with Cashman? Jeter gets old, Cano sucks, Melky sucks, Posada gets hurt, Matsui gets hurt, Hughes gets hurt, Kennedy sucks, Wang gets hurt. Who could have predicted all of these things happening?
Jeter nominated by his teammates for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year award. Here’s the link if you want to vote.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/fan_forum/moy08_award/ballot.jsp
If Hal is such a Cashman supporter like all of you seem to believe, then why did Hal go behind Cashman’s back to give Posada 4 years and re-sign Arod when he opted out—two moves Cashman was vehemently against? Madden and Heyman confirmed this as well. Hal supposidly has the “power” right? that means he had to sign off on those deals even though Cashman was not in favor of them.
So if Hal overruled Cashman on contracts, but not trading prospects, then its ok? So the principal of overruling the GM is fine but the application is a case to case basis?
“Get Tex and CC Sabathia”
If the Yankees sign CC Sabathia or AJ Burnett to big free agent contracts this year then it’s clear they just don’t get it. Both guys are walking time bombs due to being overworked and could easily end up being the new Barry Zitos. No need to take that kind of risk when we should clearly be in a re-building mode.
History Channel has a new documentry on the 9/11 right now. It is rough to watch, and bring back so many memories. I don’t even know why I am watching this.
Puts little baseball and our Yanks really in perspective for myself.
hughes seems to have lost a lot of luster in the eyes of cashman as evident by that interview and seems to actually be annoyed…. maybe brian is finally seeing the light.
good for him for not making much of hughes’ meaningless minor league stats and realizing the youth movement failed, a step in the right direction fpr cashman
Wait 2 more years?
The fans don’t want to wait 2 more years Pete.
If the Yankees aren’t in the playoffs next year it’s a DISGRACE.
Make some serious changes this offer & throw some serious $$$$ on the table.
I have an opinion, hire me. I’ll even be your GM. Give me $1 million and I’ll let you call all the baseball moves, Hank.
Seriously though, this is just more hot air. We’ve seen that to this point. Nothing happens without Hal’s consent, and Hal seems to be the sane one.
i would like to give cashman two more years… in a maximum security prison for impersonating a general manager.
Fourth place. Embarrassing. Too bad they ALL can’t get fired.
Hal knows whats up… he is a smart business man. He knows what declining YES Network ratings and no postseason means for the finances and it’s not pretty. We can absolve the hit this year but from next year on, it will be impossible to do.
That’s why they will go all out to win next year. Their building of the stadium made the Yankees an entertainment business as well as a baseball one. As a result, we must win and put a winning product on the field.
Relax, Hal will not let Cashman get conservative, he knows winning is first next year. He gave Cashman 1 yr to play around with his youth movement, it was unsuccessful, now its time to move on. Trust in prince Hal.
What exactly do you all expect to happen this offseason to improve the team?
“The more opinions the better.” MOTHER OF GOD NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Hughes may someday be a good #2-3 starter. If we can get a good young position player for him, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Joba is our crown jewel, everyone else can be had if the right offer comes along.
Too be fair, I doubt even Bush knows what the bush doctrine is.
Who was the last player the Yankes drafted that became an impact player for them before Joba? correct me if I’m wrong but Cano and wang were international FA’s right? Sometimes I think that the only thing Cashman is good at is “handling the pressure” of working for George and Hank. He has shown no ability in being a judge of pitching talent whatsoever and all of his post Justice moves have involved throwing money around like a drunken idiot.
Hold the phone; is SJ Hank?
Maybe they should set up a “braintrust” in Tampa like the old days so Hank can receive lots of opinions. Then we’ll have the N.Y. faction vs the Tampa gang which worked so well in the ‘80s.
People wanted Torre gone and Girardi here, and this is what happened. People want Cashman gone and then what? Remember in 1998, Cashman brought guys in who ended up winning three world series. He knew how to bring in necessary team players. I believe we can do this again. If you sign anyone who hits more than 30 hrs a season, you are doomed. Find people who hit 15 to 20 and a .300 avg. I dont think CC is as much a risk as AJ.
SJ actually has good ideas, I would hope he is Hank.
Even Joel Sherman has more creativity than Cashman.
Cashman doesn’t even run the drafts and now he’s getting blamed for not having any “impact” players?
Is it tied?
Whoever compared Hank Steinbrenner to his father when he first bought the team, is correct. George knew sports (football and basketball) but he didn’t have a clue as to baseball or it’s rules. He didn’t even know the players on his team. More than halfway through the first spring training, he was down on the field and yelled at Ralph Houk to tell #1 to get his hair cut. #1 was Bobby Murcer.
In another game, there were two outs, base loaded and a grounder to shortstop. The runner crossed home plate but, the runner was out at first. Steinbrenner was jumping up and clapping his hands and cheering. Al Rosen asked why he was so happy and George said because the score was now tied because the runner scored before the out was made. He was livid about the scoring rules when it was explained to him. He was talking about getting the rules changed. Hank is about that bad, but, he may learn.
“In addition to the GM spot, Steinbrenner is looking at setting up an advisory group, such as the one his father established before the Yankees’ run of four World Series titles from 1996-2000.
“If Brian stays on as GM, that doesn’t mean he won’t be the No. 1 guy,” Steinbrenner said. “But the fact is, the more opinions the better. I think that’s probably the best way. It worked in the 90’s, and it can work again.”
I like the idea. This organization needs a vision, then stick to it. Too many decisions have been based on, “we have the money let’s just buy a championship!” We have wasted the last 5 years seeing that that philosophy does not, nor can it ever, work.
Get the baseball people in here to look over the entire organization from top to bottom, make a consensus recommendation, then let the owners decide which is best. Corporations do this constantly when they hire consultants to help with restructuring.
I’m not for spending one penny on a free agent until this franchise has a vision of where they want to go, and what kind of players will best fit in that new vision. Unless that’s done signing free agents will do nothing but patch nine inch gashes with a band aid.
Cashman would have some nerve to ask for full autonomy coming off a 4th place finish and not playing a meaningful game after August 15th, while Generation “Nay” turned out to be Generation Uno (Joba) while the other 2 phenoms are toiling away in AAA.
Tell him to take a hike if he wants full control. If Stick doesn’t get full control, how does Cashman?
Yeah, having a brain trust sounds terrifying. The Yankees had horrible luck this year, not only with injuries but with a once-in-a-decade phenomenon springing up in their own division. The team’s offensive numbers actually aren’t all that bad, amazingly. It’s the pitching that killed them, and the pitching was decimated by injuries.
What bothers me is that Girardi isn’t giving the young guys enough playing time now. The next 16 games should be our rebuilding mini-season. I know Pettite feels guilty because he gets paid so much, but too bad. Every day, Girardi says we need to win every game. Hey, we lost yesterday – does that mean the season’s done? It’s time to give up on 2008. Tip of the hat to the Rays and what’s their names. Now let’s see some forethought regarding next season.
so who do we miss most?
ensberg
farnsworth
gonzalez
hawkins
henn
karstens
ohlendorf
patterson
sexson
traber
I love this stuff from Hank..Keep it coming big man!
Jeter didn’t get old…he played with a broken bone in his hand. And before you say he shouldn’t have played, if not Derek, then who? Even with a power downturn, how many stronger offensive shortstops are there in the American League. And let’s only compare those with 500 hundred or more at bats. As far as the National League is concerned, their overall stats are suspect for a variety of reasons, but if you use inter league play as a barometer, they guy with the most hits is Derek.
Barry
Hawkins we miss the most haha. He has a 0 ERA with the Stros. How is that possible?
By the way, I get that the offensive numbers are way down compared to last year, and that we underperformed, but they still were respectable from a league-wide perspective. Instead of scoring 6 runs a game, as we did last year, we scored 5. Still quite a few. (That they maybe came in a bunch of meaningless blow-outs is for someone smarter than me to argue.)
I don’t get it… isn’t gathering a committee of smart baseball minds a good idea?
What exactly has Cash done to want full control? This is the most important off-season we’ve had in a long time and will set the tone for the next decade. Cashman should NOT be the only one with input. This is a good idea. This offseason will require out of the box thinking which Casman clearly lacks. Having a meeting of the minds where everyone has their say is good.
If the Yankees want to develop a braintrust, the important questions are who picks the group and who do they answer to.
You can tell most of you are under the age of 35 or have very poor memories.
Hank is George circa 1973 he didn’t know anything about baseball all he wanted to do was win, the press hated him made fun of him etc…...... now he is viewed as the best owner the Yanks ever had. Give Hank the chance
Maybe what the Yankees need is somebody new from outside the organization to come in and take over. The yankees appear to be stuck in the mud, much like the RedSox were in the waining years of the dan duquette era. While I tend to belive Media Darling Theo is over-rated (have you seen jacoby ellsbury’s ops—it’s melky like), you can’t argue with the results. He has been able to do what Cashman has not…build a farm team while winning.
GreenBeret7- that wasme..that compared him to his father. I think he will learn..just like his father did. Sure, Hank and the organization didn’t pull the trigger on Santana, but that doesn’t mean they won’t bring in any big names in the future. Anything can happen..even if they sucked or were good for the team…they always brought in those high priced players: Brown, Pavano, Wright, Sheffield, Giambi, Johnson, Rodriguez, Damon, Abreu, Mussina, Clemens, Fielder, Strawberry, Igawa, Cone, Matsui, Justice, O’Neill, Mondesi, Vazquez…etc.
Kevi
We did the committee thing already when George had his Tampa crew signing Jarret Wright a few years ago at which point Cashman demanded full control. Why go back to that now?
I shudder at the thought of a bunch of “baseball people” coming in and acting like consultants.
I say, bring in a bunch of kids with laptops.
Maybe the Yankees should hire Billy Beane. (I’m not kidding.)
Though we all have egos, Cashman wouldn’t have stayed in this job so successfully all these years if he couldn’t sublimate a bit. He can deal with Hank and Hal. There are two of them and though we hear a lot more from Hank, he doesn’t go to the games so why should we assume he’s more important than Hal. If Cash has any pride he must want to stay for two years and make this work. He’s not going to Seattle. Nationals are a problem. If he does go it will be to the Phillies.
Tom.
Maybe you forgot, but the Red Sox missed the playoffs during their rebuilding process and Theo remained in control to see it through.
How many playoff series has Billy Beane won. He just like to trade away talent. He’s afraid to go anywhere else because he might have to perform at least now he has an excuse because he has a cheap owner
“How many playoff series has Billy Beane won. He just like to trade away talent. He’s afraid to go anywhere else because he might have to perform at least now he has an excuse because he has a cheap owner”
Are you seriously suggesting that Billy Beane isn’t a good GM?
True enough, LT.
More realistically, the Yanks might need someone who has absorbed the lessons of the past few years and has some fresh ideas.
Then again, I thought Girardi was such a person, and so far he looks lost. I hope he knows something he’s not telling us.
But absent some brilliant new candidate, I’d like to see Cashman return. I think his instincts are correct, and I don’t blame him for this year.
No surprise here. Hank probably read the article in New York Magazine about him, Hal and George and doesn’t like that they painted a poor picture of him. It’s total PR…
http://nymag.com/news/sports/49941/
Why The Yankees Are Fading Without George Steinbrenner
“As the tyrant fades away and his team fades with him, it has now become all too apparent that the Boss was really the straw that stirred the drink.”
Pete – maybe you should pick up a side gig writing for NY Mag
Tell me what he has won in the last few years.
The thing is, Boston has been selecting players ahead of NYY for 13 years, before last year. NYY sometimes didn’t get their first selection until the 58-60th pick. Hard to get top of the line picks that far down. Boston was sometimes getting 2 top 25 picks and some from the supplimental rounds. In the mean time, NYY was winning the AL East.
red sox had real young talent, we have no position talent and overhyped pitchers like hughes and kennedy
joba is our rebuilding along with relief pitchers and austin jackson. everybody else is in A-ball or lower or overhyped.
glad to see this fraud rebuilding stage is over. we accomplished NOTHING this year, the veterans sent us to 4th place because the kids were so bad.
“We’re going to do everything we can to win next year. We’re not going to wait. Do everything we can that makes sense. We’re going to fix what we have to fix…”
Translation:
We’re going to sign CC and Tex and maybe another pitcher..we might even trade some young guys. And if Cash doesn’t like it, lets hope the door doesn’t hit him in the A** on the way out!
I get the feeling Hank reads this blog, and he like many of us tend to think that SJ44 usually knows what he’s talking about, although he does tend to bluster a bit too. In other words, Hank is basically one of us, a big time fan who knows the best place to talk about the Yankees is right here. It’s a credit to Peter.
I will save the Yankees time and money. After all the new bureacratic meetings, presentations, pie charts and number crunching, this is what they should do:
Sign CC Sabathia
Sign AJ Burnett
Resign Moose
Resign Abreu
Trade Cano and Kennedy for a legit up and coming CF
Trade Damon, Coke and Jackson for a legit up and coming 1B
Put Joba in the rotation
Sign a good glove fundamentally sound 2B
Exercise Marte’s option
Welcome back Wang
Rotation: CC, AJ, CMW, Joba, Moose
stick wanted santana, he knows how to evaluate talent. give stick full control. his opinion is the only one that should matter because he built the dynasty
The idea that Phil Hughes is a failed prospect is beyond laughable. I just realized why I avoided this site all year.
Glad to see Hank pave the way for Cashman’s exit.
Stick and Showalter, redux—we will be winning again in no time. Showalter is a real baseball mind.
“we must win and put a winning product on the field.”
I’m a Yankee fan, been one since 1963, and I’m sure this poster means well, but this is the kind of attitude that got us in this mess to begin with.
We must put together a team that has the best chance of winning. Winning is not guaranteed, period. You have to decide what kind of team is successful: Good pitching; Good defense; Speed: Good GM; Good Manager. These have been the ingredients for success throughout the history of baseball. I think the Yankees have 2 of the ingredients (GM and Manager, although my confidence in Girardi has waned a bit), but they definitely do not have the first three. Signing Sabathia is not going to guarantee anything!! I’m like a lot of people on this blog, I don’t like his weight, and i don’t like his overuse by the Brewers this year. Sabathia, Burnett, and Sheets are all risky, and not worth the money and guaranteed years they will demand.
Being a Yankee fan does not give us a birthright to the WS every year. Get over it!
This team is going to need to be rebuilt, and that takes work. It will be interesting to see if the Yankee braintrust is willing to do the work (and have the patience) that is necessary to build a successful team. Signing free agents and spending millions isn’t the answer.
we agree on that one Reno
that stupid jerk Elliot Johnson just won the game for the Bulls. Hughes on the mound tomorrow night to win.
Just for the record, when I say sign Jackson, I was thinking Steven Jackson type, not A Jax.
Hughes will be a fine #2-3 starter someday… a guy you hang onto, but not someone who is untouchable in a trade. If a good offer comes around, you deal him.
Sign CC Sabathia – Overworked this year will be injured before the end of the big contract he gets.
Sign AJ Burnett – Overworked this year and injury prone
Resign Moose
Resign Abreu
Trade Cano and Kennedy for a legit up and coming CF – Name one that these guys would bring back.
Trade Damon, Coke and Jackson for a legit up and coming 1B – Name one you’d want to give up Jackson for.
Put Joba in the rotation
Sign a good glove fundamentally sound 2B – How about we just get one that can hit?
Exercise Marte’s option
Welcome back Wang
Rotation: CC, AJ, CMW, Joba, Moose
Well said, Pepitone, but you left out offense! Is that just a given?
what’s so bad about Hank wanting to revert towards the 1990s Yankees as an organizational model?
that was an OK era.
“Hughes will be a fine #2-3 starter someday… a guy you hang onto, but not someone who is untouchable in a trade. If a good offer comes around, you deal him.”
Do you realize how insanely valuable a #2-3 pitcher is? People throw that around like it’s nothing. Without good guys behind Joba we’ll end with Rasners every year.
Zelli, you’re right. He’ll learn. Just wish there were better advisors beyond Gene Michael. George had Gabe Paul, Al Rosen and others. Cashman traded the thing that NYY had most…money. They had no players because of people like Billy Conners and Trost, Levine and the Group Of Tampa Idiots. Cashman made good deals and some bad ones Like Brown, although Brown started out well. Igawa, Wright, and Mondesi were bad choices. The others had their moments, though, and they all contributed to East titles.
George, I think most people would say there are two 1990s eras: the early one, when the Boss was banned and Stick built the dynasty with not much interference, and the late, when the bozos in Tampa kept sending Torre players he didn’t want. Torre finally told them to F off.
Pete,
I love ya, but the idea that Cashman has earned another 2 years of complete autonomy is silly.
He’s show his player evaluation skills at every level of the system are lacking and he basically hung the major league team out to dry this year and shifted the organizational focus to just kids almost overnight which strongly contradicted the off season re-signings of veteran free agents to long term deals.
When you re-sign Posada, Arod, Abreu, Mo, Pettitte, it means you’re going for it and it means you trade for Johan. Cashman treated trading for Johan like a petulant schoolkid being told to clean up his room and I think his attitude in the deal had a big part to do with it’s outcome.
He completely misjudged the talent of players he could have traded for Johan and now he’s forcing ownership to give out a more lucrative higher dollar contract to CC than they would have give to Johan this past off season.
He doesn’t deserve any more autonomy and if he wants to remain, he should be surrounded by real baseball people. Not the Tampa mafia, but people in NY who he has to work with and take their opinions.
If he doesn’t like that and all of sudden thinks he’s some baseball superscout, then he should go and watch his career go down the toilet in another city.
Hank is great and what he said today makes me feel better. It makes me feel that they actually realize the colossal screw up this season has been from the off season to the draft till this point.
Cashman had complete autonomy on all those decisions and every single one, save bringing back Mariano, turned out horrible.
Other GM’s get fired for seasons like this.
He should be thankful and lucky if they still let him return.
G Love,
Excellent post. Cashman has earned nothing and is not in any position to make demands and doesn’t have a clue what he is doing.
George got run off and the the Yankees got lucky by getting Bernie, Posada and Jeter, later Pettite. So things continued to this day. They have been patching every year. The committee out of Tampa ruined the whole team until Cashman insisted on control and began by rebuilding the farm system, at least the pitching. Now they want to go back to committee, that only works if you need a camel intending a horse. In committee no one is responsible, someone has to be in charge, someone has to make decisions, have a plan.
What Hank is referring to is giving Cashman more help rather than him trying to virtually wing it alone. All he has right now is Jean Afterman who basically handles contracts.
What Cashman needs is true baseball advisors such as what Buck Showalter can bring to the table rather than interference from the likes of Randy Levine or Lonn Trost who are suited for the business side only.
The organization also needs upgrading with scouts at both the major league and minor league levels.
BTW Cashman was right. AAA is not what it used to be anymore
George almost ruined this team in the 80s. He tried for a decade to do what worked for him in the late 70s buy everybody. It worked in the 70s…Reggie, Goose, Catfish ect. And they won. In the 80s the yankees had teams that shoud have won, but never did (that ‘85 team still angers me). Then from about ‘88 on the Yankees started to go down hill. George still spent like crazy-
Jack Clark numerous old pitchers. The farm went dryJay Buhner, Al leiter, Jose Rio-all traded for old junk. The George Got himself banned for Life. I remember watching that game on WPIX and they showed the announcement. all 25 people in the stands cheered. so did I. Then with george gone real Baseball people took over the yankees. They stopped trading prospects and signing old guys and things started to change….Drafted people like jeter, posada, traded for some reds of. Signed Key…didn’t trade Bernie..No more Mel Halls or Jesse Barfields….“The idea that Phil Hughes is a failed prospect is beyond laughable.’
Ahmen to that, Reno.
These are the same guys who would have signed off on the Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio trade by the Cubs in 1964; “Brock, who needs Brock, he can’t hit above .260. Better to get a veteran pitcher that will help us win now.”
All Brock did was lead the Cardinals to 2 WS victories, and 3 pennants, while having a Hall of Fame career. Oh, and Broligo? He’s somewhere in Tuscaloosa selling watermelons.
Hughes has been labeled as a future number 1. Just because he had a bad season I dont see why people lower they’‘re expectations.
I for one, HATE hank, and take nothing he says seriously.
No reason to trade Hughes, Moose has at best one more effective year. And then what? we are left looking for a starting pitcher.
“It worked in the 90’s, and it can work again.â€
What worked in the 90s was a “lifetime” ban on Steinbrenner – not an advisory committee. Although the lifetime ban was only temporary, it was long enough to let some real baseball people put together the most recent Dynasty.
Last night and earlier today everybody was burying Jeter. Apparently all the baseball sages here have determined that Jeter sucks as Captain because he won’t admit to reporters that the race is over, he is in denial, is spoiled and expects everything to be handed to him. Um, OK…
And now we’re back to burying Cash again. Cash gets two years to undo all the damage of the Free Agent boom and farm program bust orchestrated by Big Stein starting in 2000 and now he’s an incompetent GM that needs an advisory committee. Hilarious. Maybe with this new advisory committee Cash will see it coming instead of getting stabbed in the back by the old Tampa Mafia. At least that would be an improvement over the old bad old days.
Skip the advisory board. Baseball should consider a new ban, this time on Hank Steinbrenner, in the best interests of the Yankees
“Well said, Pepitone, but you left out offense! Is that just a given?”
If you’ve got pitching, speed, and defense, you really don’t need much offense – cf. the Dodgers of the 60’s, and the Marlins of 2003 as just 2 examples.
Austin Jackson had better hit NYY running. Nothing less than a .320 average, 40 steals, 90 RBI, 25 homers and winning a Gol Glove in center field will ever be enough for fans of this team. God forgive him if he has a down year or strikes out 100 times, or doesn’t do what everyone thinks a superstar should do. The fans, radio hacks, newpaper slugs and these sports boards will crucify him.
Trade Cano for an OF and sign Orlando Hudson. He won 3 straight gold gloves and had a .367 OB % this year vs. .295% for Cano. Plus, he’s a feisty hitter. You don’t need a big hitter at 2nd.
WE HAVE TO GET BETTER DEFENSIVELY! Abreu can’t defend worth a lick and he’s too nonchalant. That poison spreads. Stop trying to build the Yankees like 2002. Remember defense people.
CC is built like Dave Wells, dude can throw all night. He’s just gifted that way. Mark Prior was supposed to have the perfect motion to never get hurt. It doesn’t work that way. CC is a beast.
Reno that easily right ?
The problem here that people don’t get is that Hank does not run this team. His brother Hal is the guy running it. Hank is the mouth piece for the media, Hal is the behind the scenes negotiator. Hank can yell all he wants but to think hey add big money Tex and Orlando Hudson BadabingBadaboom CHAMPIONSHIP…That’s not how it works, OF defense, SP concerns and giving up young players is not a role this organization should jump into, it’s been like that since 2001.
Trade Robi Cano (Yeh as much as we dislike his performance you don’t know if this is the worst he’ll be or what changes him)
Trade Phil Coke because there are alot of LHP who can slot into the rotation or bullpen in the ML right ?
Don’t just say trade this guy for an up and coming… drop the names, who ?
Votto, Fowler, Rasmus, Shcaffer, Laporta WHO !
This is where you can start acting like your playing PS3 or XBOX and actually think like GM on both sides. Oh Cano is at his lowest price and there will be teams looking to rip you off. Hughes is 22 alot of GMs want him but to give up on him at 22 would be ridiculous, trading Jackson and Coke for an up and coming ? are you listening to yourself, Austin Jackson is our up and coming and you already want to kick him out the door..Coke hits the high 90’s as a lefty and people want to deal him already as a throw in yeh that sounds genius
there’s no doubt that Steinbrenner being banned was a great benefit to the Yanks. he had lost it.
but when he came back, he was on meds or something and played a good role. Getting Strawberry, who made contributions to 3 world championship teams. spending. he made mistakes – pushing out Gene Michael – but overall the team was well-run.
once he drove Zimmer out, that was a sign of deteriorating to bad-Stein mode.
Cashman doesnt like to sign pitchers to big contracts so he goes for the guys who is having career year like jarret wright etc
Good for Hank.
Cashman has done nothing to deserve full control. If his ego is too big to get advice frm real baseball men like Stick, then let him leave.
Enjoy the Nationals, Cashman. They sure are loaded with talent LOL
So maybe we should bring back Zimmer? Can’t hurt…
Nowhere does Hank say that he wants to go back to the Tampa mafia days—all they are suggesting is they surround Cashman with sound baseball people.
It may actually be a great thing and not some “end of days” scenario it is to some of you.
Cashman clearly needs help picking players, signing players and building a team concept outside of all stars at every position.
If the Stein’s get him some sound baseball people to surround him with, maybe even some old school and new school GM types, it could be a great thing for this franchise.
Why you think Cashman is the only person who can steer this ship makes little sense to me. Every decision he made prior to 3 years ago was with George calling the shots—sometimes Cash was right and George was wrong and vice versa, but the team was doing pretty darn good in those days when they focused on getting the right kind of veteran players who fit the offensive concept and the pitching concept of the team.
This team as it right now is devoid of concept. It’s an old team with old players locked up long term claiming it’s undergoing a youth movement with young players not ready or developed yet for the majors save Joba.
Cashman needs help putting the plan together if he stays.
If he goes, I’d be very excited to see what a new GM can do with the resources and some of the talent that is still on this roster.
I strongly believe if we traded for Johan, we’d be in 1st place right now. Every 5 games, we’d have a stopper/ace on the mound and the kind of confidence that kind of player breeds to the locker room is invaluable.
By going with rookies who took their lumps and didn’t win a a single game, I think a lot of players on the team lost their focus and were out of their comfort zone.
They have to rectify that error this off season and they can’t afford to get it all wrong like they did this off season.
Trade Cano and Kennedy and sign Aaron Miles. >_> He’s hitting .315 this year.
I would describe the Strawberry move as an act of sentimental charity that, against all odds, turned out to be mildly helpful to the team. Probably because it was so preposterous.
Don’t get me wrong: I enjoyed it. But I wouldn’t call it smart/shrewd/repeatable.
GreenBeret7, LOL. Ian Kennedy had some bad starts and then didn’t give a fully Bull Durham-ish answer about his last start and the media and a lot of the fans started treating him as though IPK was the focus of all evil in the modern world.
Cashman already traded Jose Tabata for Xavier Nady and Coke would have gone in that deal too if not for the mysterious physical…. so its not like Cashman has shown sensible judgement.
So Cashman couldn’t even do that right. Oh and nice to see him pass on Inoa, Yorman Rodriguez, Rafael Rodriguez etc. in the International Market so we can sign some B-level prospects instead and we had a terrible draft as well.
Trade Cano for an OF and sign Orlando Hudson. He won 3 straight gold gloves and had a .367 OB % this year vs. .295% for Cano. Plus, he’s a feisty hitter. You don’t need a big hitter at 2nd.
Uhuh so we assume Hudson is signing w/ us like no other team in the majors will have a need for a 2B, I like that O-Dog is feisty but if your dealing Cano rather for an OF how about attempt something w/ the Reds for a Brandon Philips something like that and it’s amazing to me people think Robi Cano is going to suck from now on. You have to be careful here because he’s the type of talent that can come back and make everyone look stupid. The first thing needed is a new batting coach who preeches patience, this is something Kevin Long has not installed to his roster, alot of people say yes he has, no he hasn’t his approach w/ hitting is agressive, load up and let her rip. There is a reason our hitters have lost thier patience at the plate and expanded thier zone all year long.
Brian S
September 11th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Trade Cano for an OF and sign Orlando Hudson. He won 3 straight gold gloves and had a .367 OB % this year vs. .295% for Cano. Plus, he’s a feisty hitter. You don’t need a big hitter at 2nd.
WE HAVE TO GET BETTER DEFENSIVELY! Abreu can’t defend worth a lick and he’s too nonchalant. That poison spreads. Stop trying to build the Yankees like 2002. Remember defense people.
CC is built like Dave Wells, dude can throw all night. He’s just gifted that way. Mark Prior was supposed to have the perfect motion to never get hurt. It doesn’t work that way. CC is a beast.
__
Do you honestly believe that Hudson is a “feisty hitter)? Look at his numbers during his years with Toronto. He was a .265-.270 hitter and his fielding on turf wasn’t even as good as Cano’s is now. His numbers on offense and defense isn’t as good as Cano’s has been. What’s so feisty about him? His name isn’t Cano? He doesn’t have any power, he doesn’t steal bases and he doesn’t produce runs. He just had wrist surgery, and the only reason he’s going to be a FA is because his asking pricew is a multi-year contract at 13-15 mil a year? He’s also going to be 31 years old. Is that what you want? Sorry, but, I’ll go with offense and defense.
G. Love, you raise an interesting point. Can anyone say what Girardi’s philosophy is? We knew Torre believed in pitching and patience at the plate. And as the Yankees roster changed, he shifted from small ball to a home-run offense, which, while less romantic, worked rather well. What does Girardi believe in?
Brandon,
I agree with you. I was making comment based on another poster’s idea to make those moves.
At least in Torre’s case… he had a marquee franchise like the Dodgers knocking on his door.
What does Cashman have? Washington? Seattle?
Straw was not just sentimental on George’s part. Straw beefed up the team; a talent worth tapping, especially since it cost so little.
if this were the 1990s, Barry Bonds would have been DHing, especially after Matsui and Posada went down. certainly once August rolled around and this team was still not hitting.
Trading Cano this year would be stupid. I’d trade Kevin Long for Larry Bowa, if anything.
Cashman has done nothing to deserve full control. If his ego is too big to get advice frm real baseball men like Stick, then let him leave.
Cashman already traded Jose Tabata for Xavier Nady and Coke would have gone in that deal too if not for the mysterious physical…. so its not like Cashman has shown sensible judgement.
Your not this stupid and niether are you, Stick Micheals was one of the main voices in the trade deadline observations. It wasn’t just Cashman and Hank and Hal. This is the biggest reason why I didn’t understand those moves how Stick could even allow this organization to give up on Tabata for a quick fix.
Girardi’s philosophy is pitching inside and bunting… except nobody on the team can bunt.
George, the Bonds comment is exactly why I’m glad the Boss is no longer in command. I’ll take 4th place over the humiliation of having to root for Bonds. Clemens was bad enough.
Nobody in the Major Leagues knows how to bunt. Sounds like he needs a new philosophy.
“Patience at the plate” is still available.
stick wanted santana too, only after we didn’t get him he started his damage control saying he thinks phil is going to be a real pitcher etc..
stick has no power, he is just a voice…. which is exactly what cashman should be
let all the voices come in and let hal make the decision. hal is the sensible owner, he should make the decision not cashman.
“Why you think Cashman is the only person who can steer this ship makes little sense ”
G.Love, I agree, I don’t think any one person should be making these decisions. This franchise needs to take a step back and reevaluate the whole organization. No one man can do that.
Brandon,
I agree with you. I was making comment based on another poster’s idea to make those moves.
Oh ok. It’s just getting ridiculous how many people want this fixed through FA, the Free Agency is what killed this team in the first place. They can’t go on giving longterm contracts for past achievements to everyone and giving up thier young players in the process, baseball is not a quick fix sport, you have to build a system it centers around pitching but they damn well need the instructors first and then the players.
I’m surprised w/ a few things as bad as Eric Duncan has been in AAA why haven’t they tested him out at 2B ? he’s still 23 you need to see how versatile he is or if something makes him click. He’s a talented hitter way off the radar but he shows promise. Miranda better be gettin a shot at 1B in ST I’m just tired of seeing these big ticket players come to NY than shutdown the minute things get rough I want hungry guys, guys that will react to losing, a philosophy that we haven’t had for some time.
“George, the Bonds comment is exactly why I’m glad the Boss is no longer in command. I’ll take 4th place over the humiliation of having to root for Bonds. Clemens was bad enough.”
Ahmen! Thank God for some sanity in the Yankee blogesphere.
$200 million doesn’t buy what it once used to.
Hank and Hal must be proud of our 4th place team.
I guess this will be the talk from here to April 2009- how to fix this team.
I think we could all agree what did this team in was the lack of progress by our young players. Abreu, A-Rod, Damon, Giambi, and even Jeter had at least solid years. It even looks like that Jeter is just past his prime. But what Cano, Melky, Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes gave us was what did us in. We asked too much from these young pitchers while Cano (who nearly won the batting title) gave us a below average season.
Who do we blame for this? We should blame the GM. He thought that the Yankees could rebuild and get into the playoffs at the same time. How does a general manager have $200 million in contracts produce a third or fourth place team?
If the Yankees fire Cash, who do they replace him with. I think Pete’s right. Give him two years and see what happens.
i would trade hughes before i trade cano
you don’t get rid of a stud 2B over a #3 starter.
The Yanks now look like George Allen’s Washington Redskin’s “over the hill gang” of the 1970’s all getting old at the same time and unable to unload them since they are all injury prone and tied up with huge contracts that are extremely bloated vs. what they are actually worth.
A-Rod is a perfect example 5 years from now of another poor signing with the 10 year contract that he received after the 2007 season. The Yankees need to focus it seems more on scouting and the draft in the next few years.
It seems almost impossible to see this team back in contention next year, even if they can sign maybe a C.C. Sabathia even. 1st base upgrade of Tex now is blocked with aging bodies of several players that are unable to play normal positions for reasons stated above.
It really is a shame to see the great Yankee-Red Sox rivalry have to wait maybe a few years to resume and can only hope that the Steinbrenner sons can rebuild this team to it’s former self.
People, this team was made by committee. Which part don’t you understand. Hey Giambi has a great OBP, why wouldn’t you keep him, etc. The Yankees are a bottom team on defense. Pitching and defense go together. You can’t replace the whole team at one time, there isn’t enough money or players. Abreu, Giambi and Cano are at the bottom in Defensive Ratings. Jeter is actually dead average which for him is a miracle.
This team needs to not only evaluate themselves but other teams and realize giving out longterm contracts is not a thing they can continue to do. And for godsakes build some competition for spots don’t just silver spoon each position to FA !
Oh this guy hit .290 for thier team (thier team) your paying guys for what they did instead of what they can do and that approach has sucked since post 2001.
Bo,
Defense wins.
Can you imagine how much better a pitcher Andy would be with improved defense behind him?
How hard is to be a GM?
Just sign CC, Tex, Manny, Sheets, Edmonds, Millar and be done with it. Trade Hughes for Kemp, Cano for Greinke. Trade Kennedy and Rasner for Victor Martinez.
So it is said, so it shall be done.
I still wait for the day that the OF has hitters who are defensively superior and athletic enough to hold tight leads. We don’t need 60 HRS in the OF combined I’ll glady take an OBP % of .390 – .410 and a combined BA of .298 – .305 instead of the, build a system. Build an athletic defensive team that doesn’t count on the HR for all thier offensive support.
Mel
Actually the whole pitching staff. Wang, a serious GB pitcher and Jeter was the worst fielding SS. It makes you go HMMM. Rest well George.
Brandon,
You don’t even need a team of .300 hitters. The other week we fielded a team with (5) .300 hitters. The other team had one at the most and we still lost.
We need a team of guys who are contact hitters and can put the ball into a play. Strikeouts don’t produce runs. We need guys who can at least attempt to situational hit. Guys who can hit with RISP. Guys who can hit a sac fly. Guys who can bunt. Argh. Never mind.
”$200 million doesn’t buy what it once used to.”
Who’s said it ever did?
Oh, and “Compton,” whatever you do don’t quit your day job.
Just sign CC, Tex, Manny, Sheets, Edmonds, Millar and be done with it. Trade Hughes for Kemp, Cano for Greinke. Trade Kennedy and Rasner for Victor Martinez.
So it is said, so it shall be done.
Harder than you think buddy ?
Pete, Gary, murphydog, you’re all right. The team didn’t turn it around until George was banned. And the influence/meddling of the so-called Tampa faction aka George’s golf buddies and other assorted cronies was disastrous. An intelligent process like the one suggested by SJ44 is a sensible idea, a revival of Billy Connors, et al., not so much.
As to the attacks on Jeter, people are starting to lose it at the prospect of the Yankees missing the postseason for the first time in 13 years. Criticism of performance is one thing, but vilification of his character and motivations is incomprehensible and way off the mark. Sharper than a serpent’s tooth is a spoiled and ungrateful fanbase . . .
We had a budding one, but we traded him for Nady.
“Here is what the Yankees should do: Give Brian Cashman two years and total autonomy.”
Exactly what decision of Brian Cashman in the last 24 months would warrant giving him autonomy? Kei Igawa? Annointing Kennedy and Hughes with rotation spots they didnt have to earn? The disastrous ‘08 draft? Not having a lefty in the bullpen for 4 months? Compiling a roster that lacked speed and/or defense on the bench? Wilson Betemit?
Rather than autonomy,Brian Cashman should be given the benefit of an assistant with a background in scouting and one that is expert at evaluating players. Clearly, that is Cashman’s weak suit.
Kennedy and Rasner for Victor Martinez? I would seriously consider that.
Yes, let’s agree that A-Rod’s 10-year thing, which was done essentially to cash in on the publicity he’s going to generate when he breaks the HR record, should be our last ludicrous long-term contract.
To tell the truth, I would gladly accept 3rd place next year if it were clear that we were building something new and wonderful that had a chance of succeeding in 2010 and 11.
What Pete said the other day about the setbacks with the younger players is the worst thing about this season, by far.
Just read on CBSSportsline that they are close to a Stadium naming rights deal with Bank of America. Anybody know if this is true? Can’t imagine watching games at BOA field. Or Yankee Stadium at Bank of America Park. Say it ain’t so!
“Kennedy and Rasner for Victor Martinez? I would deriously consider that”
But the Indians wouldn’t.
Brandon,
“I’m surprised w/ a few things as bad as Eric Duncan has been in AAA why haven’t they tested him out at 2B ? ”
Could it be that when a batter strikes out twice as many times as he walks and only has a career .329 obp he’s not attractive at any position?
You have to earn the right to have full autonomy. Cashman did not. If Hal is such a big ally of Cashman like everyone implies, then this is window dressing and shouldn’t even be a problem anyway.
As a Blue Jays fan, I am looking forward to the Yankees making some panic moves overseen by a bureaucracy appointed by Hank. I suspect that the Yankees will spend a lot of money in the offseason not learning their lessons from the past. You can sign a guy like Mark Texiera and will probably be worth his salary in the first few years, but it is the back end of the contract that hurts you because you get stuck with an old player you can’t get rid of (hello Posada).
The $200 million dollar payroll now buys you fourth place. Most teams ahead are spending more than half of that. The Yankee solution is to spend more?
I would sign AJ Burnett for three years (the Jays are offering this), but someone will give him five and get burned in the final two years. I suspect it will be you guys.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp is close to finalizing a deal worth as much as $20 million a year to become the biggest sponsor of the new Yankee Stadium, the New York Post reported on Tuesday.
While the extensive deal being discussed would not include naming rights to the entire new ballpark—home of the New York Yankees baseball team—it would make the bank the most visible sponsor there, the Post said, citing an unnamed source.
On Cashman’s three year watch, we have Joba, Hughes, Brackman, Aceves, Betances, McAllister, Coke and BP arms too numerous to mention. And at the same time, continuing into the Post Season. Oh and got Abreu, Nady, Marte and I Rod. With any luck, this year would have been more of the same. I don’t think he did too badly.
Thanks, Blue Jays fan. As soon as you learn the lessons of the past 15 years, get back to us.
Brandon,
You don’t even need a team of .300 hitters. The other week we fielded a team with (5) .300 hitters. The other team had one at the most and we still lost.
We need a team of guys who are contact hitters and can put the ball into a play. Strikeouts don’t produce runs. We need guys who can at least attempt to situational hit. Guys who can hit with RISP. Guys who can hit a sac fly. Guys who can bunt. Argh. Never mind.
Mel your right that’s a big reason I put the OBP % too. People here think to be an OF (FATBOY at WFAN) you have to hit 28 HR no, that’s not it at all, An OF can be superb defensively and athletically gifted, he can hit .280 w/ an OBP of .390 and be very useful, aslong as they aren’t the K prone types. SLG % is an overstated stat yeah this guy slugs above 600 he must be a star no that means he has talent to hit a ball out Adam Dunn is a perfect case, god do I hate watching that type of talent wasted 40-50 HR yup but one of the biggest choke artists/K prone batters in the league. He’ll run into a few and also run you out of a rally.
Here’s the thing about our .300 hitters mel, they lacked consistancy and it even showed in thier OBP, they stacked thier stats in blowouts, one game boom 13 runs and 6 hitters would have multiple hits the other an 0-fer. These are things that can’t be taken to lightly and that’s why I also give Kevin Long a pink slip, people need to stop defending him the hitting has been horrific but that can’t go unpunished.
“As a Blue Jays fan, I am looking forward to the Yankees making some panic moves overseen by a bureaucracy appointed by Hank. I suspect that the Yankees will spend a lot of money in the offseason not learning their lessons from the past. You can sign a guy like Mark Texiera and will probably be worth his salary in the first few years, but it is the back end of the contract that hurts you because you get stuck with an old player you can’t get rid of (hello Posada).
The $200 million dollar payroll now buys you fourth place. Most teams ahead are spending more than half of that. The Yankee solution is to spend more?
I would sign AJ Burnett for three years (the Jays are offering this), but someone will give him five and get burned in the final two years. I suspect it will be you guys.”
From the mouths of trolls comes truth.
Mike,
Thanks, let’s hope that naming rights never come into it, but CBS did absolutely say it was for naming rights. Wouldn’t be the first time they are wrong, but it made me sick for a few minutes there.
Hey Mike:
Like I said, I support the direction the Yankees are taking this offseason.
The name is Yankee Stadium. Period.
Duncan’s biggest problem over the years has been a bad back. It restricts his motion on defense, but, mainly at bat. I don’t know if there is a medical procedure that would help or not. He shows flashes here and there, but, then, he’s out for a while with his back issues. It’s too bad because he has a world of talent.
Mark,
If that’s true, I’m very disappointed. One of the last vestiges of sports is Yankee Stadium. And didn’t they say last year that it would always be Yankee Stadium?
I was going to bite my tongue about Hank, but I can’t hold back any longer.
Ridiculous. Owners should sign checks and not be heard. Tamperin’, Hamperin’ Hank. Sure, Alex, we’ll take you back. You sure that’s enough money? We can give you more if you like. Let’s make it a nice round number, how about 10 years?
MLB.com has a story about how Kevin Long will work with Cano all offseason to completely overhaul his swing and plate discipline. So, now he will be leading the league in hitting and pounding 30 homers per year…. or he’ll be out of baseball in two years after hitting about .190 in ‘09 and ‘10.
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/ya…om_now_on.html
LOL , at Hank – he can not make decisions himself. No matter how loudly or often he proclaims it, it doesn’t make it so. If Hal doesn’t sign off on it, then it doesn’t happen. Hank is just like his father – hardly a good thing. Whatever- the media will blow this all out of proportion
Also, The farm system is in much better shape than it was before Cash took over, so Hank is an idiot in that regards, too. Clearly this is a knock on Brian, so reports that Hank wants his GM back are probably greatly exaggerated. Problem is, I think he expects young players to be HOFers right away…....I also believe he’s still resents that Phil Hughes wasn’t traded for Santana and struggled in his pre-injury stint in the big leagues this year. He’s always going to throw that bone out there for the media to chew on, even if Phil lives up to expectations
The advisory committee is a joke and it’s not happening. If it does (I can’t imagine that Hal would agree with this), then Brian is not coming back.
Bo knows,
On Cashman’s 3 year watch we also got Igawa ( who no one in the organization wanted other than Cashman and ranks with the worst signings in team history), Carl Pavano, Wilson Betemit, Jaret Wright,Josh Phelps and LaTroy Hawkins.
Nothing wrong with 4th place. Some teams enjoy it so much, they stay there for years.
Jose,
It is a myth that Hal and Cashman are “allies”. Hal was the one who gave Posada 4 years and signed A-Rod to the 10 year deal, both were against what Cashman wanted. Hal is the one with the real power so even if Hank negotiated them, Hal signed off on them, therefore overuling Cashman. Hal has all the power, remember.
Don’t believe the hype, prospect groupies on this board are clinging to Hal as if he is the modern day Swindel. Bottom line is, he wants to win just as badly as Hank, but he is not as blustery. He went over Cashman’s head to sign Posada and A-Rod to albatross deals. He overruled Cashman once, and he can do it again if the situation calls for it. I firmly believe he nixed the Santana trade due to money. If Santana was locked up at a reasonable rate for the next 5 years, Hal would have probably done it.
It needs to be reiterated it was Hank AND Hal who gave Posada/Arod their deals. So Hal already overruled Brian twice. Him attending games, having meetings, and coordinating the ASG does not change those facts.
Mel, if you hate Hank so much, why bother rooting for the team he owns?
Exactly Mel
Just ask Baltimore, they love it so much, they have been there for years!
Looking at it now, the Yankees have A Rod, Jeter, Nady and Cano. Then they have Wang, Joba and Hughes. The BP is great. The rest have to be replaced in the very near future, That’s the whole OF, 1B and C. (Nady is too slow for the OF, the Yankees were desperate) Damon with an arm, times three, would be great.
MLB.com has a story about how Kevin Long will work with Cano all offseason to completely overhaul his swing and plate discipline. So, now he will be leading the league in hitting and pounding 30 homers per year…. or he’ll be out of baseball in two years after hitting about .190 in ‘09 and ‘10.
I don’t think Long is the guy that’s going to reach Cano. Cano is as talented as ever but his discipline has to come from someone who can preech it and Long isn’t that guy.
I love how people just assume that Phil is merely a #2 or #3 (if he’s a #3, then IMO, he’s a bust because he was touted as an ace prospect) just because they worship Joba Chamberlain. This is not a knock on Joba, but what Phil does is not affected by his friend; he still has all the attributes of a stud pitcher and if people don’t want to see this or they have already given up on him, well, so be it. I will be the first to admit I was dead wrong about Phil if he fails to live up to expectations, but for people to jump off his bandwagon and lable him as I described above when we’ve never really seen him fully healthy is ridiculous. I eagerly anticipate the lables people will be throwing on Austin Jackson when he comes up to NY and inevitably has his struggles.
Mac Nut,
Because the Yankees were here long before him, and will be here long after him.
And, really, what kind of question was that? Did I touch a nerve?
The roster at Scranton is mostly comprised of failed major leaguers and AAAA players. It’s nice that they had a successful year, but it doesnt translate one bit to help in ‘09.
Nick Green, Ben Broussard, Kei Igawa,Bernie Castro, Justin Christian,Eric Duncan,Eric Milton, Chris Stewart, Jason Brown, Shelley Duncan,Chase Wright,Chris Bazak, Victor Zambrano and Ian Kennedy have all either played in the major leagues without success or have had little success in the minors. Other than IPK, there’s not a prospect among them.
“Can’t imagine watching games at BOA field. Or Yankee Stadium at Bank of America Park. Say it ain’t so!”
It ain’t so. BOA is going to pay 20 million to not have the stadium named after them actually. They will have prominent billboard placement on the scoreboard and other parts of the stadium including one visible from the sky but it will still be known as Yankee Stadium.
Brandon,
Whether that is the case or not, apparently it is Long who will be working with him, that decision has been made.
Wait! Are you Hank? We heard you read the blog.
Cool. Listen, Go hard after CC & AJ. Bring back Andy & Mike on one year deals.
Oh. And Joba in the rotation to start ‘09.
Thanks!
“As a Blue Jays fan, I am looking forward to the Yankees making some panic moves overseen by a bureaucracy appointed by Hank. ”
Hank is a baseball maven compared to JP Richardi.
Eric Duncan is 23 how is he a failed MLer ?
I have an even better idea on how to fix the organization. First you get rid of two bums whose names rhyme with Bank and Cal. Next- hire a strong, dominate female, who has very strong knowledge of baseball. This individual doesnt have to have a prerequsite of a Business degree, because as the Yankees have shown, a degree means nothing.
See you all in Tampa. If the Yankees were smart they would find me though.
I still think Phil Hughes
will overachieve
and surprise us all
in becoming a very reliable 5th starter with a lot of poise and composure on the mound.
Christina,
There was a lady with the last name Kim. Dodgers?
Mel, you didn’t touch a nerve, which really is a silly question, but you are so hateful toward one of the owners of the team to a point of irrationality. When someone is that irrational about the owner, it usually follows suit that those feelings spill over onto the team.
The Steinbrenners have owned the team for a good long time now. It could be for a long time that it remains in the family.
Every comment Hank says has you going off on him. No matter what it is, you go the opposite way. Hank wants to see the Yankees win. The Yankees have not looked very good these last few years, and he wants to change that. Yet, you oppose Hank. Where does that leave you?
Would you prefer an owner like the Twins have? No investment in the team? When an owner is spending as much as the Steinbrenners are, I don’t think they have to be, nor should be silent.
You don’t see it in business where an owner of a major company is quiet while he watches his company fails. Yet you think that’s the way it should be in sports? Its a business. Hank has a large, vested interest in the team. He wants to win.
Mel-Yeah shes great. But she has a job. This is my opportunity to shine. HELLO GEORGEEEEE!
Brandon,
I guess you missed the part that said “or have had little success in the minors.”
This year was probably Eric Duncan’s best. He played 120 games, hit .233 with a .295 obp and only drove in 60 runs.He also struck out 113 times and walked only 37. Eric Duncan sucks.
45
I’ll give you Igawa and Wright (Wright was injury prone), Pavano was a good sign, Betemit is Bench, Phelps is a reach and Hawkins is doing fine for Houston. Cashman is under tremendous pressure to field a top team every year, witness the Hysteria on this board. You need more than a one year to develop and build a team, whatever the method. This team isn’t that far away, CC and a good 1B would do it. Jackson could be up by July. As far as pitching this very strong BP could cover any weaknesses, Lord knows they’ve done it this year and next year there’s Melancon and Sanchez coming. I want Coke to continue as starter in AAA.
When I think of a plyer like Eric Duncan I’m reminded of a great Stengelese.
When Casey was first managing the Mets a reporter asked him about a young player in camp. The reporter said “He’s only 22.” Casey replied “Yep, and a year from now he’s got a good chance to be 23”.
D 4-5 touche on the missed part but the ML is filled w/ players like him. Eric Duncan’s big issue has been his back not his bat and contrary to thoughts he has a good eye at the plate.
“Betemit is Bench”
That’s the point. Betemit was our backup at second baseman, 3rd base and shorstop. They also played him at first. The problem is, Wilson Betemit cannot play defense anywhere on the field.
“Pavano was a good sign”.
I’m speachless and have no reply.
How this “advisory group” manifests itself is key. If anything, this could be an emulation of Boston’s front office arrangement, where there are multiple levels of responsibility with Theo Epstein as the head, with all voices and opinions are considered. I suppose the main difference is Theo’s team is directly tied into the inner workings of the organization and this “advisory group” has a stand-offish/ivory tower/slumlord feel to it.
Mac Nut,
You’ve read all my comments about Hank, so you’ve also seen that I’m the least hateful person on this blog.