Let’s review:

It has been reported by Olney, Madden, and Klapisch that the Yankees could have traded for Santana without including Hughes, yet somehow in Sherman’s twisted mind, the pressure is on Hughes.

Sherman is the one who should lose his job.

By the way, Keith Law is having a chat today, and someone brought up the Twins’ farm system.

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Kyle (minneapolis): Considering the fact that the Twins don’t technically have Gomez or Guerra yet, they really don’t have any of the top 100 yet, is the rest of their system that sad?

Keith Law: (1:28 PM ET ) It’s awful – one of the three worst, with the White Sox and Houston.
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It’s kind of funny for all the praise they get for their trades and developing players and blah, blah, blah, that they have one of the worst farm systems in baseball. While the Sox and Yanks — who “buy” everything — are ranked fourth and fifth.

One thing people haven’t considered: does Cashman even want to come back? Haven’t there been rumblings that Cash turned down an extension because he wanted to see what it would be like working under Hank and Hal? And after seeing Hank take their negotiations to the press, maybe Cashman wants out.

Joel knows the rats in the NY media, and he’s right that if Satana is doing well and Hughes is not, the savage rabies-carrying lot of them will attack him. There’s no doubt about that — it’s what they do. But I would say it depends on what all three pitchers — Phil, Ian and Joba — are doing. Say Phil does struggle (not unreasonable). But Ian and Joba are doing well, and the team as a whole is not in bad shape. Then it won’t be so bad. But if Ian AND Phil are struggling — or God forbid all three are — then it will be a shitstorm.

But I think Phil will be fine, and I would expect the vets on the team will shield these three from the crap they’ll be taking all year.

And I just want to say that goddamnit, I cannot wait for actual baseball to return — I’m totally burned out talking about Cashman and who projects to do what and figuring out the rotation and innings limits… I just want to see some actual baseball, and get into the good stuff: like facing Santana in Shea, Phil and Joba starting in Fenway, watching Horne, Jackson, Tabata, et al., in the minors… It can’t come soon enough.

Sadly this may be right and I’d hate to lose a GM who did so many good things because of an inconsistent second year from someone we all have high hopes for. But even if that happens I have no doubt Hughes will have better numbers than Santana down the road (and I mean during the same seasons, not during comprable aged years) and probably sooner than later. Even if Cash isn’t still around I won’t forget that chance he took if it all turns out well. And as they pointed out today on River Ave. Blues, we can still try to sign Sabathia next offseason so maybe we had planned this all along.

So let’s see here, spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 million on Santana would probably net us 2 incremental wins in 2008. Diminishing returns after that would be probable.

The alternative: 3 cost controlled players who as a group might project (depending on who you assume would have been traded) to add 1-2 incremental wins to the Yankees in 2008, and more than that in the future.

Yep, Cashman is a total fucking bonehead.

but i disagree with MJ here in the sense that, yes, the idea here is to end up as WS champion.
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I never said the Yanks shouldn’t have the goal of winning #27. I just meant…

…oh forget it. We’ll devolve into an analysis of the Steinbrenner Doctrine which is utterly ridiculous.

Suffice it to say that Joel Sherman and his ilk are schmucks and framing the Santana trade in such black-or-white/win-lose ways are as stupid as the Steinbrenner Doctrine.

I’m done with this topic.

I think it is UNREASONABLE to think that the choice to keep Hughes is something that can be decided as a good or bad thing after one season. This is not about the short term, it’s about the long term future of the club.

HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean this will be the case and I’m sure some people won’t give Hughes much time before they are calling for his head and Cashman’s if Hughes etc. aren’t effective. Is it right ? No, but you can count on it happening if the team struggles.

Also, I think Hughes has enough pressure on him already just being a young prospect pitching for the Yankees, so I don’t think the fact they kept him over acquiring Santana is going to put pressure on him.

Plus, there were other players who were in the proposed trade that the Yankees kept as well and I would guess that Hughes thinks that the Yankees choice was based on a commitment to the future and not just him, so I don’t think there will be any self-inflicted pressure on his part.

Do you remember the scene in the new Superman movie where the editor of the Daily Planet has two copies of a paper ready to go: “Superman lives” and “Superman dies”. Well, this is similar.

If Cashman pulls the trigger, the article goes something like “Santana better not end up like the rest of the bums he signed, and Hughes better not become Justin Verlander or it’s Cashman’s ass!” The other way this goes is the way you read it.

Sherman is not making a point here. He’s writing an article because it’s his job. We’ll know in 5 years whether or not Cashman made the right decision, not by the All Star break as some clowns like Joel Sherman would have you believe.

>> Let’s put it this way: If Johan Santana is 10-2 in June and Hughes is on the DL again or back at Triple-A or explaining the growing pains that have led to his 4-6 record and 4.87 ERA, then you can expect few Yankee fans to still be on the bandwagon about entrusting young pitchers. >>

And if we’re not, you can expect guys like Joel Sherman to be pushing us all off said bandwagon.

I give Hughes at least 2 full seasons before pronouncing him a god or a goat – look how long the Cubs mucked around with Prior and Wood.

if anything we to have happened down the road with Johan, Cash could look back and say “i did it at the request of the boss,” and he’d be covered.
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As if that would’ve mattered