Anyone who has had the chance to look through this blog over the last several months can see a certain trend: My less than enthusiastic view of the job Brian Cashman has done over the last two years.
But that hesitation has always been tempered by the fact that, in large part, Cashman has been the single biggest driving force behind rebuilding the Yankees farm system. When I get giddy at the concept of watching Joba The Hut blossom into a dominant, shut down starter, when I start to feel a little electricity flowing through my body at the thought of Austin Jackson continuing on his meteoric rise in the system, and when I have a moment to sit back and imagine Jose Tabata becoming the next Manny, without all the "Manny being Manny" bullshit thrown in, I have to thank Cashman for that. It was he that changed the course direction on the Yankee's GPS system.
But Cashman seems to have become a victim of his own success. His obsession with the farm system he has helped build seems to be bordering on the unhealthy if any of the newspaper reports have been right. Not only has Cashman been reluctant to trade prized pitching prospect Phil Hughes, he has also sent up red flares when names like Alan Horne and Mike Melchanon have been mentioned, guys who seem to project to miminal impact rolls on a MLB team.
Some have lauded Cashman for his continued reluctance to acquire Santana. I have not. Santana would fill a huge hole within the Yankee team, the most important hole right now, which is the ace caliber starter they have been lacking for the last several years. While Andy Pettite is a great, proven big game pitcher and Chien Mien Wang has the "stuff" to be dominant on any given day, could either one of them match up with Beckett in the playoffs or a must win regular season game and come out on top? Possibly, but the pitching matchup would most certainly favor Boston.
But the whole "will they, won't they" game with Santana has gotten tired, even for me. Where Cashman has me throwing in the towel now is after his most recent comments regarding Bernie Williams, which was first reported by Peter Abraham a few days ago. According to Abraham, Cashman basically said that Williams put his music career above his baseball career towards the end, called his 2005 season a "horrible" season and criticized Joe Torre for playing Bernie as much as he did in 2006 when there were "better options available."
I am officially done with Cashman. As far as I am concerned, the little pocket protecting, Bill James worshipping nerd can high tail it out of town any time he feels like it. Have fun in Pittsburgh or some other third baseball world city you nerdly little egotist. You are dead to me.
Bernie Williams has done nothing but represent himself and his organization - The New York Yankees - with class and distinction for nearly 15 years of service. He was paid hansomely for his play, but he ALWAYS performed when the team, and the organization needed him. Derek Jeter will go down as one of the best clutch performers in baseball history, but Bernie Williams aint too far behind. There were series ( 1996 Divisional Series VS. Texas) where the man was unstoppable. He helped the organization win 4 championships, was perhaps the only middle of the order threat the team had during that time, and he was one of the players that set the class first tone of those championship teams where even the opponent had to respect the Yankees.
Bernie Williams has meant for to the New York Yankees than Brian Cashman and his little pocket protector ever will. He was here before Cashman came and he'll be remembered well after Cashman has moved on to some other organization in the future.
The problem with Cashman, in my opinion, is simple: ego. Cashman was given free reign to run the Yanks and much was made of the successes he had while little was made of the amazing mistakes he was able to make during that time. Cashman heard the cheers for rebuilding the farm system, watched as Robinson Cano and Chien Mien Wang came up and became stars, saw the fan fare over his three prized starting pitchers, read the columns and comments that lauded his steadfast determination to continue with his youth movement, and began to believe his own headlines.
Cashman no longer likes to be challenged. In his own mind, he has done the right things at the right time. So the Bernie questions have most certainly been annoying him. Instead of taking the high road, he decided to attack Bernie. He decided to attack his character and his abilities, not because Bernie had done or said anything directly, but because the rightness of Cashman's decision to reject Bernie before last year has been continuously challenged by fans and in the media.
To quote one of my favorite movies, Cashman's ego is writing checks his body can't cash. His tenure with the Yanks has been a mixed bag, certainly not so stellar as to feel comfortable throwing a Yankee icon under the bus simply to look tough and in contril during a roundtable discussion with Boy Wonder Theo Epstein. Cashman's contract is up after this year, and considering how committed financially this team is to winning each year, the little bespectaled ego maniac should be easily replaced.
Cash has a chance to redeem himself this year. He has laid a lot on the line, has fought and won some big battles that are gonna have to break his way, and if they do he deserves the type of adulation he has misguidedly gotten from a gushing media over the last several years. But the collateral is all used up. The good feelings and good intentions are all gone. There is no pass for this year, nor is there any second chance, or A for effort. Cashman has one chance, this year, to prove his stubborn philosophy is founded on something other than his own arrogance and unwillingness to part with the bounty he has amassed.
But all I know is this: Cashman's ego and his posturing almost cost the Yankees Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and has now seemingly strained beyond repair Bernie William's relationship with the team. Couple that with the franchises dismal handling of the Joe Torre situation and Cashman's backing of Joe Girardi over Don Mattingly for the manager position, and the Yanks are running out of fan favorites to help close down Yankee Stadium this year.
All I know is, the future better be bright for Cashman, interms of players, because he has already burned enough bridges in the past.
No comments:
Post a Comment