Via Tyler Kepner -
The top baseball operations executive under Hank and Hal Steinbrenner in the Yankees’ hierarchy is General Manager Brian Cashman, whose contract expires after the season. The more the Yankees lose, and the more impatient Hank Steinbrenner becomes, the more speculation Cashman faces on his future.
“Concerning my situation, I am completely focused on getting this team where it needs to be,” Cashman said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “It’s as simple as that, both on the 25-man roster and beyond.”
In an interview published Tuesday, Steinbrenner might have made a cryptic reference to Cashman’s future when he said, “If it’s not turned around this year, then it will be turned around next year, by force if we have to.”
Asked how he interpreted that, Cashman did not answer directly. His response to Steinbrenner’s latest broadside, which included questioning the attitude and energy of the team, was tempered agreement.
“All I know is, I agree that we’re not performing up to our ability for this period of time, and we are better than this,” Cashman said. “Every day we take the field, I believe it’s the day we’re going to be closer to getting back on track. Right now, I believe this is just a bad stretch. We’re a good team playing poorly right now, nothing more.”
Forty games is a “bad stretch”? It seems more like 25% of the season, to me.
So, if the Yankees are still dancing around the .500 mark at the end of May, is it still, then, just a “bad stretch”? At what point, Cash, does a “stretch” become something more than that?
10 Responses to “Cashman Responds To Hank”
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May 14th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Steve… calm down.
3.5 out of the division and 3 out of the wild card with, oh, 121 to play.
Hardly insurmountable, especially in a league and a division that no one seems to want to take hold of.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
To add to what Sean said, they were 8.5 games out of 1st a year ago.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:37 am
I really don’t care how many games the Yankees are out and who’s in first. To be honest, I haven’t looked at the standings at all this year – and you’ll note that I’ve never mentioned, to date, this year what place the Yankees are in or how many games back they are…because I don’t know, as I’m not looking at the standings.
For me, it’s all about how the team plays. If the Yankees were playing .700 ball and were 20 games out of first, would that be their fault? So, why should they get a pass for only being 4 out when they’re playing like duds?
My concern is over the level of play that the team is showing. That’s the important thing. At this time, the standings mean nothing to me…
May 15th, 2008 at 9:56 am
I haven’t looked at the standings at all this year – and you’ll note that I’ve never mentioned, to date, this year what place the Yankees are in or how many games back they are…because I don’t know, as I’m not looking at the standings
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If you haven’t looked at the standings how do you know they’re not playing .700 ball?
May 15th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Forty games is a “bad stretch”? It seems more like 25% of the season, to me.
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You still have 75% of the season, along with two trading deadlines.
That they’re 3.5 games out of first place, and that the rest of the league is playing like crap, is a bonus.
The Detroit Tigers were everyone’s pick to win the central, and they’re languishing with a worst record than the Yanks. You don’t hear of Illitch acting like an @ss, making vague threats.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:30 am
I’m pretty sure they were 21-29 on May 29th last season. That was a pretty bad stretch, but guess what, they made the playoffs.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:32 am
My question to Steve (and anyone else who conducts and/or reads these interviews):
What the hell do you expect the guy to say? “Yes, absolutely, we stink. We’re the worst team ever, I and everyone else here should be fired posthaste”? Seriously, use your common sense! Nobody is going to say their team sucks, they will always try to find something positive to say. Nobody except Hank, that is. He seems to think trashing your team in the press will somehow make it play better. Whatever. This should not be a shock.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:47 am
~~~If you haven’t looked at the standings how do you know they’re not playing .700 ball?~~~
I’ve looked at the Yankees won-loss record…but not where they are in the standings or how many GB they are…duh.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:51 am
~~~What the hell do you expect the guy to say?~~~
How’s this: “Obviously, our record is not what it should be given the level of talent on this club. However, there’s a reason for that. Our starting staff, outside of Wang and Mussina and some of Pettite’s starts, has not performed to an acceptable level. We were counting on Hughes and Kennedy to help with the rotation and they did poorly coming out of the gate. We think Rasner will now help in that area. And, we tried Igawa as well. As GM of the team, and the one who builds the pitching staff, I take full responsibility for these developments and the situation with our current record.”
May 15th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Why name names? There’s no need to single out players.
What Cashman said is perfect corporate-speak, and doesn’t give anyone ammunition.