Young lefty with a great fastball? I think you’re confused with another pitcher, CC Sabathia.

I do not blame Cashman for losing in a silent bid auction for Dice K. The Red Sox blew everyone out the water with their bid. I haven’t heard anywhere where Cashman did not want Dice K or where Igawa is better signing.

They went after Igawa because the needed pitching. A young lefty with a great fastball who could projected to be a back of the rotation pitcher. It was an epic fail. The Yankees lost some money.

He was never “guaranteed a spot in the rotation”. That spot was determined by the departed Mr Torre. If I remember correctly the Yankees had to rely on Pavano as opening day starter do to injuries to Mussina, Wang and Pettitte in ST. We used a lot of young pitchers who failed. Until Hughes, Kennedy, and Chamberlain saved the season at the end of the year.

Cashman has been with the organization since 86. Been in fulltime baseball operations since 89 and was an assistant GM since 92. You are dead wrong to credit Watson as the man in charge to build this team. Watson became GM in 95. It was Joe Molloy and Gene Michaels who acquired a lot of the core talent. Cashman was a part of baseball operations during the whole period.

You can’t play it both ways. You can’t say that Tampa interfered with Cashman and made all the personnel decisions until 2005 and then give him credit for all those international amateur picks.

He underbid for Matsuzaka to save money. Before the posting period everyone thought the Yankees would get Matsuzaka because they needed starting pitching badly. Poor talent evaluation.

There really is no defense for Cashman. Problem is most people don’t know anything other than Cashman. They forget that Stick/Watson put the championship core together. Peter has a good relationship with Cashman, so he promotes him heavily on this site. As a result many of the posters here say “Yay Cashman is back” but they don’t even know what they are celebrating.

Igawa seems to do fine in the minor leagues where the talent and expectations are lower. Which is why I think he has a chance to be a decent pitcher in the NL. That’s my opinion on the matter. I don’t really care as long as he doesn’t pitch for the Yankees again. I am sure Cashman would like to take the signing back.

Then again you playing both sides of the issue discredit his other international signings. Why not chalk this signing up to the same scouting. Cashman does what his scouts say right?

He isn’t a bad GM for offering the most money to Kei Igawa because Igawa is a bad player.

He can’t be a good GM for offering the most money to Mussina a very good player.

Pick how you are to evaluate the GM and stick with it. Aggrandizing his bad moves and discrediting his good moves is not any rational way to judge performance.

You do know that Ted Lilly has a winning record in the AL and pitched fine here, unlike Kei Igawful.

Fact: the NL is much easier league to pitch in.

Fact: Playing in NY and Boston is much tougher for some players than others.

Fact: Kei Igawa is an above average minor league opinion.

Opinion: Kei Igawa would be a decent back of the rotation pitcher in the NL.

Your opinion: Kei sucks and doesn’t belong in the MLB on any level.

FACT: Ted Lilly was 3-6 with a 4.42 ERA in NY in 2002 76 innings

FACT: Ted Lilly was 5-6 with a 5.37 ERA in NY in 2001 120 innings.

FACT: Ted Lilly has a play off ERA of 6.61. in 16 innings 0-1.

Opinion Ted Lilly is below average pitcher who has done quite well since moving to the NL. Let him stay there.

Your Opinion: Ted Lilly is the missing piece that would have put the Yankees in the World Series the last two years.

Not signing Ted Lilly was a good move in my opinion. I put him up that with Jaret Wright, Javiar Vasquez, Matt Clement pitchers who performed well in the NL but crashed were subpar in the AL.

Kei Igawa is mistake for the Yankees. Trying the pile on the mistake by saying the Yankees should have added Ted Lilly is aggrandizing the situation.

Truth be told I don’t want either pitcher on my team. However, I could see why Cashman or any other GM would take a flyer on a foreign player with potential. Its easier with hindsight to cherry pick this move to characterize Cashman as bad GM.

Brosius traded turned out good.

Mussina was just a case of offering the most money

Clemens/Justice/A-Rod/Abreu = salary dumps

Rest of those moves were non factors on this team.

March 23, 1998 – Signed Orlando Hernandez as an amateur free agent.

September 29, 1998 – Purchased Alfonso Soriano from the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (Japan Central).

November 10, 1998 – Signed Scott Brosius as a free agent.

November 11, 1998 – Signed David Cone as a free agent.

February 18, 1999 – Traded Homer Bush, Graeme Lloyd, and David Wells to the Toronto Blue Jays. Received Roger Clemens.

November 29, 1999 – Signed Mike Stanton as a free agent.

January 26, 1999 – Signed Jason Grimsley as a free agent.

May 5, 2000 – Signed Chien-Ming Wang as an amateur free agent.

June 29, 2000 – Traded Ricky Ledee, Jake Westbrook, and Zach Day to the Cleveland Indians. Received David Justice.

July 21, 2000 – Traded Ben Ford and Oswaldo Mairena to the Chicago Cubs. Received Glenallen Hill.

November 30, 2000 – Signed Mike Mussina as a free agent.

January 5, 2001 – Signed Robinson Cano as an amateur free agent.

November 13, 2001 – Signed Melky Cabrera as an amateur free agent.

December 7, 2001 – Traded David Justice to the New York
Mets. Received Robin Ventura.

June 5, 2001 – Drafted Shelley Duncan in the 2nd round of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed June 17, 2001.

December 19, 2002 – Signed Hideki Matsui as a free agent.

December 16, 2003 – Signed Tom Gordon as a free agent.

February 4, 2003 – Signed Jon Lieber as a free agent.

July 31, 2003 – Traded Robin Ventura to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Bubba Crosby and Scott Proctor.

February 16, 2004 – Traded Joaquin Arias and Alfonso Soriano to the Texas Rangers. Received Alex Rodriguez and cash.

June 7, 2004 – Drafted Philip Hughes in the 1st round (23rd pick) of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 2004.

August 3, 2004 – Signed John Olerud as a free agent.

January 12, 2004 – Signed Tony Clark as a free agent.

March 12, 2004 – Signed Orlando Hernandez as a free agent.

May 15, 2004 – Traded Brian Myrow to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Tanyon Sturtze.