Cashman’s Biggest Contribution

By On October 25, 2011 · 5 Comments · In General Musings

Brian Cashman will almost surely sign a new contract with the Yankees in the next week or so. Its amazing to think that Cashman is just 44 years old. He’s been general manager since 1998, and we can all recite the team’s accomplishments during that time. He might be haggling with the organization over some small amount of money (what’s a few million dollars between friends?), but as the off season begins, he’s once again at the helm.

After watching the fiasco with the Red Sox over the past 30 days, I think we are all reminded how lucky we are to have Brian Cashman. The Red Sox were a successful team under Theo Epstein. Terry Francona is an excellent manager. I have a hard time imagining that the Red Sox can do better, short of pulling Andrew Friedman from the Rays. The Red Sox purge of 2011 is reminiscent of some of the old time George Steinbrenner episodes – lots of dirty flying about in the press and important and successful people fired after good, if not World Championship, seasons.

I can’t imagine what drama would have happened had the division series existed in the early days of George Steinbrenner. The Yankees lost to a clearly inferior team, after putting their best foot forward and scoring more runs. But still, their pitching staff was in shambles, and key, highly paid, players did not perform anywhere near expectations. There was a time that this would justify, at the very least, some kind of vile character assassination from Yankee higher-ups, and in some circumstances could have resulted in a purge of their own. And I think that the actions of John Henry (and other owners in the MLB) suggest that this behavior isn’t unique to the Yankees. General managers need the freedom to sometimes fail to meet goals if they are going to take smart risks and build a long-lasting team. One who is afraid for his job makes the kind of short-term moves that came to define a good portion of the George Steinbrenner era.

Furthermore, he’s not looking to bolt for another team. I can’t imagine the Rays are thrilled with Andrew Friedman playing along with the Angels right now, even if they aren’t in the end allow him to leave. Cashman has had many opportunities for interesting, lucrative chances in other cities, and he hasn’t ever (as far as we know) seriously considered it. He’s as true of a Yankee as Gene Monahan, George Steinbrenner, or Derek Jeter.

Cashman’s resigning isn’t likely to generate any big press this week, especially with an exciting World Series coming to a conclusion, but I think we should all take a moment to appreciate it. Thank you Brian Cashman, your biggest asset is the long-term stability you’ve brought for a decade and a half now. Now get your contract finished and get to work.

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5 Responses to Cashman’s Biggest Contribution

  1. Marcus says:
    October 25, 2011 at 1:23 pm

    Nice post. I couldn’t imagine how Steinbrenner would have been with the Social Media tools we have today back in the 80s. Imagine him circa 1986 with a Twitter/Facebook account. It wouldn’t be boring…that’s all I can say.

    Reply
  2. UYF1950 says:
    October 25, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    Regardless of titles (President, etc…), Cashman deserves to be paid MORE than the Cubs are paying Epstein. That’s all I have to say.

    Reply
  3. Greg says:
    October 25, 2011 at 1:35 pm

    “…the kind of short-term moves that came to define a good portion of the George Steinbrenner era” Or, as I like to call those short-term moves: tartabulls.

    Reply
  4. Brad Vietrogoski says:
    October 25, 2011 at 1:43 pm

    I’ve always been a huge Cashman fan. The guy has always been the calm in the middle of the front office storm, and his decisions have worked out for the better far more than for the worse.

    Excellent point by UYF too. With his track record, Cash should be getting a hefty raise on this next deal. The guy is one of the best in the business.

    Reply
    • T.O. Chris says:
      October 27, 2011 at 6:50 am

      I completely agree with Cashman being one of the top guys at his position in baseball. It still blows me away when people hate on Cashman, and try to make it look like he’s only good because of the money. It’s just as confusing when people make it seem like being the Yankees GM is easy. I couldn’t think of a more stressful, and less rewarding (from media and fans) job in sports.

      Reply

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