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New York Yankees: 8 Recent Good Moves Made By GM Brian’s Cashman

Posted by on 9 May 2011, 5:11 pm
Brian Cashman

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When you are an employee of the New York Yankees the word pressure takes on a whole new meaning.

New York is a city that doesn’t just like to win, they expect to win. Hence the passionate Yankee fans, who are living and breathe this very sentiment.

So, when things go astray for the Yankees or any other MLB team who takes the blame?

A teams general manager and in the Bronx, that would be Mr. Brian Cashman.

So, what do GM’s really do other than play fantasy baseball for real???

To start a general manager is a team’s decision maker over who controls player transactions; hires and fires the coaching staff; develops the plan for the minor league system that entails keeping tabs on all the players from Single-A to Triple-A ball; stays in close touch with every scout in the field to keep tabs on amateur eligibility and who to draft each season and this is just the beginning of the list.

Cashman also has the daunting responsibility of being the Yankees spokesman for everything and the media in New York expects answers all the time.

Cashman has been the fans and media’s scapegoat for all failures; and sees little gratitude for putting together a contending team season after season for New York to be proud of.

Here, in no particular order, are my Top 8 Best Brain Cashman Moves as GM of the New York Yankees:

(Please note that Cashman did not have full authority until 2008, as The Boss had the last word on everything and a lot of bad contracts were unfairly blamed, so many on the list are recent. Hey success is success.)

  1. Yankee fans are familiar with Kerry Wood, after he joined the pinstripes post All-Star break last season and dominated as the team’s eighth inning pitcher. For Cubs fans, it was déjà vu because Wood not only dominated, but also stayed healthy through the end of the 2010 season. Yankee fans’ relationship with Wood was an immediate love affair and I have yet to meet anyone who didn’t want Wood back in 2011. Presumably I expect to hear that Wood got a new contract, but instead he want back to where it all started at a bargain price because he said it wasn’t about the money anymore. He would be closer to his family and would be helping Cubs ownership out as well. Wood is the real hero of this past off-season of putting baseball and life before anything else, not even money could buy it away from his loyalty to his Chicago Cubs.
  2. Try and Imagine if Cashman didn’t go after catcher Russell Martin? It would be a different team, who essentially would probably not be in first place now. The 28-year-old former All-Star is till uber-talented and seems to be healthy again. Martin had major knee issues when with the Los Angeles Dodgers so he was let go at the end of 2010. Martin was a popular guy this past off-season with the Red Sox and Yankees hot on his tail. Thank goodness Cashman pursued Martin so much considering Cervelli’s broken foot and rookie Jesus Montero’s bad Spring Training, the Yankees would have been in a jam at such an important place. Martin has blended with the pitching staff like he has been a Yankee for years; even Burnett is thriving with Martin guiding him along and keeping his head in check. Martin has also been a hitting machine with 24 hits, five doubles, six homers, 20 RBIs and drawn eight walks so far in the month of April….WOW!
  3. Curtis Granderson arrived in New York under the watchful eyes of Yankees fans, who were not very happy that he cost the team one of their rising stars that was weeks away from coming to the Bronx to début. Granderson initial start in New York was not great, as he struggled hitting lefties (career issue) and then wound up on the DL for 4-6 weeks suffering from a Grade II groin strain. It left the team sans a center-fielder and did not help Granderson earn the Yankee fans trust yet. Wow how quickly things can change, as Granderson came back and since last August has been sensational and hasn’t looked back. Granderson is dynamic in the field and has always been against righties, but know you can officially warn left-handed pitchers that Granderson is no longer an easy out or out of the line-up all together. While his counterpart, Austin Jackson is manning his old stomping ground in Detroit, he seems to have picked up Granderson’s striking-out numbers but did almost win the Rookie-of-the-Year in 2010. Overall looking back at this trade today…..Cashman made another trade that worked in the Yankees favor.
  4. On January 14, 2003 the Yankees made it official, to the biggest showing of media to a Yankees press conference in the team’s 100 year history, that three-time MVP for Tokyo Yomiuri Giants Hideki Matsui was now a Yankee. Matsui is considered a living icon in his home country of Japan and New York quickly learned why. He is the ultimate professional and when his team needed him to get a big hit that is just what Matsui did. Named the MVP of the 2009 World Series is not given to a team’s DH unless each at-bat was spectacular. Matsui came off-the-bench and guaranteed the Yankees a championship with every at-bat. I hope Matsui knows how much he is missed in the Bronx; and that he forever in Yankee fans minds be one of the best to ever don the pinstripes. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: 8 Recent Good Moves Made By GM Brian’s Cashman’ »

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New York Yankees: Signing Carlos Silva Just In Case

Posted by on 10 April 2011, 8:31 am

Following a horrible Spring Training, the Chicago Cubs released pitcher Carlos Silva despite owing him $11.5 million bucks.

Well, MLB Trade Rumors reports that Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweeted that Silva has now found a new home with the New York Yankees who signed Silva to a minor league deal with an in-season opt-out.

Two things come to mind:

  1. 1) The state of Phil Hughes.
  2. 2) The risk that comes with picking up a player, like Silva who another team is willing to pay $11.5 million to basically get out.

The second situation is very low risk because GM Brian Cashman is not dumb enough to pay any kind of real money for a pitcher with Silva’s reputation, as the Cubs will still be writing the checks. Also, a minor league deal doesn’t hog a roster spot and if Silva cops any attitude about the situation he is free to leave.

What does this mean for Hughes?

Well, Hughes went from bad to worse in his second start against the Red Sox. Hughes’ velocity is way down making his fastball very hittable. Unfortunately, the worst scenario seems to be coming true as Hughes looks to be suffering from a dead arm.

A drop in velocity is not uncommon in young pitchers following their first or second full seasons.

One theory blames the change in habits or practice. Going from a program based on building arm strength by incorporating a long-toss program to the demands of a major league workload can be too much for some young arms. In the bigs they need to rest their arms in between starts and should be on limited throwing programs in the off-season.

Hughes threw a ton this off-season; basically missed a season when he was in the bullpen back in 2009 and at the end of 2010 you could see Hughes was struggling.

Giving up five earned runs in the second inning against the Boston Red Sox, Hughes became way to risky to leave in the game a minute longer. I didn’t see him throw one curveball and his change-up was a mess. Throwing an 88 mph fastball/cutter, with no command and no secondary pitches is not enough to be effective. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Signing Carlos Silva Just In Case’ »

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New York Yankees Scouting Carlos Silva Must Be A Joke Not A Rumor

Posted by on 13 March 2011, 11:36 pm

The latest report from MLB Trade Rumors is that a few ball-clubs, one of which is the New York Yankees, are showing interest in Chicago Cubs Carlos Silva.

This didn’t register to me considering the Yankees already have a better version of Silva in Bartolo Colon and Freddie Garcia, but I wouldn’t hold it past GM Brian Cashman especially with the new nursing home he has created down in Tampa.

Silva is owed $12 million on his current contract for 2011 and even though the Yankees can easily pay that, he is definitely not worth it.

Silva is about to turn 32-years-old, has a bad attitude and is overweight at 250 lbs; even at 6’4 that screams out-of-shape.

Also, Silva’s now referred to as his personal catcher, Geovany Soto have to come with him so he doesn’t start fights in the dugout?

I find that pitchers (i.e. Randy Johnson) who have personal catchers to always be a problem. Some people do work better together and if it can change a game’s outcome fine, but out of the two or three catchers already on the roaster.

Look, if the majority of aces like Sabathia, Halladay, Lee, Lester, Johnson etc. can do it than there is no reason that a guy like Silva is living like he is P-Diddy.

Silva is not even a good pitcher. He can’t throw for strikes, doesn’t eat innings and pitches to contact.

Last season, Silva went 10-6 in 21 starts, with a 4.22 ERA, allowing 120 hits, striking out 80 over 113 innings and this was a good year.

In 2009-2008 when Silva was a Seattle mariner he made 36 starts, posting a 5-18 record, a 6.81 ERA, giving-up 254 hits, 139 earned runs and only fanned 79 batters.

Even mentioning the idea of acquiring Silva is just wrong. Silva has never put up solid numbers in his nine-year career, like Colon and Garcia have.

This is NOT a guy the Yankees want or need. He is the definition of a clubhouse cancer, whose antics do not get evened out by his play on the field. He has been god-awful in his first two spring starts and his last one was just okay.

Bottom line is starting a fight in the dugout during Spring Training is something the Yankees don’t want to be a part of.

The Cubs would love to dump Silva and his paycheck literally anywhere and that should be enough of a reason in itself to stay far, far away.

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New York Yankees: GM Cashman Picks Up Schlitter, But Needs To Go Get Pettitte

Posted by on 6 January 2011, 2:43 am

New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman claimed 25-year-old Brian Schlitter, a relief pitcher, off waivers this week from the Chicago Cubs.

Schlitter made seven appearances out of the bullpen in 2010 for the Cubs. Over his eight innings of work, Schlitter posted a terrible 12.37 ERA, giving up 18 hits, 11 earned runs, allowed two home runs and walked five of the 48 batters he faced.

Schlitter also hit one batter, the Brewers’ Carlos Gomez, in the head in the eighth inning of the 18-1 Cubs loss. Gomez went on the DL and Schlitter was sent back down to Triple-A.

The Cubs lost all seven games that the 6’5″, 240-pound Schlitter appeared in, which is not a comforting stat to read.

Schlitter throws right and survives on a mid-90s fastball that he adds a slight sink too. His mediocre slider and changeup are not effective on the major league level, but some minor altering regarding Schlitter’s execution could fix both.

Schlitter has done well in the minors, where he has a 3.32 ERA in 154 relief appearances; but it is still the big show that counts.

Look, the Yankee bullpen does need more arms, but adding another chancy player when Rafael Soriano is still a free agent just seems desperate.

Cashman has made both horrid and genius signings in his career, but as long as it doesn’t cost the Yankees players or a money-ball contract then who really cares? Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: GM Cashman Picks Up Schlitter, But Needs To Go Get Pettitte’ »

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New York Yankees: Pitching Coach Larry Rothschild And The AJ Burnett Test

Posted by on 22 November 2010, 1:40 pm

Immediately following the World Series, the New York Yankees announced the termination of pitching coach Dave Eliand, which came as no surprise.

There were many guessing games of who might be Eiland’s replacement. The front-runners looked to be current bullpen coach Mike Harkey; Rick Kranitz, who has worked with Yankees skipper Joe Girardi before; and Scott Aldred, who currently serves the role in Triple-A Scranton for the last two seasons.

Fans were suggesting that David Cone, Al Leiter or Mike Mussina might bring their experience on the mound to the other side. Since none of the three have ever coached, the likelihood was slim.

Then the decision was announced that Chicago Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild was now bringing his talents to the Yankees.

It was a tad confusing because minimal interest had been expressed about Rothschild coming to the Bronx, as the Cubs had him signed through 2011.

The Cubs let Rothschild out of his contract stating that Rothschild wanted to spend more time near his Tampa, FL home. Since the Yankees train in Tampa, this move for Rothschild was exactly what he was looking to make.

No doubt Yankee fans should be elated to get Rothschild, who comes with 36-years of professional baseball experience and also coached Girardi as a player in Chicago back in 2002.

Rothschild has a reputation of being a noteworthy communicator, who does his homework but continually does the extra-credit. A lot of the qualities that Girardi brings as a manager, so Rothschild should fit perfectly on the staff.

As part of the interview process, Rothschild had to analyze video on AJ Burnett and give in detail how he would fix the Yankees pitching staff’s black sheep.

Considering Rothschild had just finished his eighth year helping the Cubs, last season’s correlation of hotheaded and unpredictable Carlos Zambrano might have helped in his answers.

Rothschild also made it clear that his motto is “repeat deliveries,” as it leads to better location and control. Well, lucky for Rothschild that Burnett is the poster child for disaster on the mound and his theories will be tested from every situation.

This move is a positive one for the Yankees, as obviously Eiland was having off-the-field issues that were more important and distracted him from doing his job.

Rothschild has coached twice on World Series Championship teams in 1990 for the Cincinnati Reds and in 1997 for the Florida Marlins. This definitely played a factor for the Yankees, who like guys who have been to the big stage and had success on it.

In his first day in pinstripes, Rothschild called each pitcher to schedule training dates prior to the start of 2011 Spring Training.

Hey, nothing feels better than hiring a real go-getter. It would seem that Rothschild wasn’t going to waste a minute.

Trust me, Rothschild has his work cut out for him with Burnett alone.

Without a doubt, all we know is that Rothschild knows how to win, and that is what Yankee Universe likes to hear.

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National League: Team Rankings Everybody Ought To Know

Posted by on 28 April 2010, 3:17 pm

With baseball season in full swing, teams are starting to define their reputations.

As the season progresses, teams will start to trip themselves up or find their footing again. Some teams will get that hail mary to get back up, and some might collapse like the Mets in 2007.

Speaking of the Mets, lets rank* the National League in part one, and the American League in part two.

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

  1. San Francisco Giants -The Freak, Tim Lincecum is the best pitcher in MLB and Giants rotation is one of the top, depending if Barry Zito is really back to life. Ahead of Cards because Giants took the series, killed them with pitching.
  2. St. Louis Cardinals – starting rotation up their with the Giants lead by Chris Carpenter; best player MLB is still Pujols with 7 home-runs, 5 doubles, 11 walks and 18 RBIs as of April 28. Pujols is insane, but the rest of the line-up better start to help him out, consistently.
  3. San Diego Padres – most improved team and now at top of the NL. It would be a miracle for this to last even until the All-Star break. Continue reading ‘National League: Team Rankings Everybody Ought To Know’ »

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Mirror, mirror on the wall who can beat the Yanks in post-season baseball?

Posted by on 10 September 2009, 4:09 am

Mirror, mirror on the wall who can beat the Yanks in post-season baseball?

Within the AL East Division, I think the Yankees have a significant lead that will be hard to catch. In the American League the first team that pose a threat in the race to the World Series is the Boston Red Sox.

If this team wins the Wild Card it could be trouble. The rivalry alone brings an added hype for the players and the fans alike. Boston can beat New York and they know it. Most other teams don’t have that added bonus.

Also, Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield are Yankees killers in the past but the consistency of Papelbaum is in major question. Billy Wagner has been added from the Mets to the Red Sox roaster. He is older and off an injury but the frustrations of having to be a Met in the same city that is Yankee-town might give him a mental game that could be scary.

The other team plays hard and plays dirty. The dreaded LA Angels have caused more problems for the Yankees over the years in the post season.

The Angels tend to get overlooked because of the ruckus that the Red Sox rivalry brings. This team has no problem reminding both the Red Sox and the Yankees that the AL consists of more teams then just the media hogging, favorites.

Watch out for the Angels because they hate being left out and even with all their glory, the shadow seems to still be there.

The National League is known as the lesser side of baseball. It is mind boggling as last years champs are still proving to be the team to beat, as the Phillies look like their headed back to the same road as last year.

Even with the recent slump and loses of late, the Phillies will not go down without a fight.
The addition of Cliff Lee, last year’s CY Young winner is a clear sign that this team wants to repeat. Lee joins the rotation of the World Series MVP Cole Hamels, the young arm of JA Happ and the veteran late pick-up of Pedro Martinez.

Hamels has had a mediocre season till recently. He looks back to the MVP form of last season and if Pedro stays of the DL his experience in the post season will help.

The biggest question of the complete decline of closer Brad Lidge has been answered by Brett Meyers who will come off the DL on Friday. Lidge has been so off this season he cannot be trusted in the post season again. Meyers can fill that hole but three months since his last time on the mound will be a true test of the situation. This is a situation that will play a major factor for the champs.

Overall, the most successful NL team regarding wins is the St. Louis Cardinals, with 84.

The Cards have an 11.5 lead in the NL Central. In front of the pathetic once again team of the Chicago Cubs, which makes them look, like a lock for the post-season.

Albert Pujols, the clear MVP of the NL just hit his 47th homer of the season is a force by himself but not for a team to win. The Cards acquired Matt Holiday in July from the A’s and the tandem have been dominant consistently. Holliday’s recent bruised knee looks to be just that so nothing for concern for the Cards.

Since the all-star break St. Louis has had an easy schedule playing fallen teams such as the Mets and the Nationals. Starting now the teams schedule gets a lot harder so that will be the message of how tough this team actually is.

Not trying to take away from the Cardinals recent success because a win is a win no matter what team you beat.

The biggest concern for any team in the majors is pitching. This plays the most critical role in the post-season.

Why?

Any team that is playing baseball in October has to be a winning and talented team. Inevitably, each will consist of the most gifted hitters, which mean the starting, middle, and closing pitchers have to have their best performances.

With the first round in the playoffs being best of five games that gives absolutely no room for error at all. Each team will have an ace on the mound, if not two arms that will make the hitters jobs almost impossible. This makes the pitchers jobs the most crucial as if a hitter catches on to a mistake it could mean the game.

This post season, as with any other is a fresh start for the eight teams. The Yankees seem to be the favorites as of now but that is not a guarantee for the outcome at all.

Each game has to be treated with the ultimate goal in mind and that is to win.

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