If everyone says that a player is worth acquiring, then it’s reasonable to acquire them.

http://tinyurl.com/3zejhz
“After picking up Raul Mondesi from Toronto in a contract dump on Monday, New York set its sights higher and targeted the best young pitcher available on the trade market.”

http://tinyurl.com/3l5sez
“What’s scary for the rest of the AL is that Weaver moves from one of the league’s worst defenses to one of it’s best. Using a stat called Defensive Efficiency Record, which tells the percentage of balls in play that are turned into outs (home runs not included), the Yankees have the third-best defense in the AL while the Tigers have the third-worst. Weaver has allowed a .243 opponents’ average this season; expect that to drop with an improved defense behind him.

Is there a potential downside? Yes, last year Weaver threw the second-most pitches in the AL; this season, he’s fifth. So he has thrown a lot of pitches at a young age, although we’ve seen no signs of ill effects because of that.

The Yankees did give up a nice young lefty in Lilly and two good prospects in Griffin and Arnold, but give GM Brian Cashman kudos for this deal. Weaver provides depth for this year and, perhaps more importantly, an anchor for next when David Wells is gone and Roger Clemens a year older.”

http://tinyurl.com/4h3wna
Tigers president and CEO David Dombrowski said it was difficult parting with Weaver, but the team felt a need to look to the future.

“We could wind up years from now wanting [Weaver] on our staff when we are ready to compete, but right now I had to make the decision on how would we get better,” Dombrowski said. “We’re not close to where we want to be right now, and we felt in making this trade, we’re giving a quality starter and getting three quality players in return. That’s what we were trying to do.”

~~What did the scouts say?~~

And, what did the GM do when he heard what they said? Ignore them? Listen to them? Does the GM have enough smarts to know when to ignore them and when to listen to them?

Also, it’s how you end up with deals like Jon Lieber, Roger Clemens, David Wells, Mike Mussina, Chris Hammond, etc.

And, that’s why you end up with deals like Weaver, Pavano, Igawa, etc.
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What did the scouts say?

And, that’s why you end up with deals like Weaver, Pavano, Igawa, etc.

For a percontatorial exercise (the only exercise I ever get) I looked into Cashman’s assumption of the General Manager duties in February of 1998 to see just what he was expected to bring to the table. Among the more salient references was this telling excerpt from the New York Times:

“Cashman, a strong negotiator and savvy administrator who admitted that evaluating talent is not his strength, confronts a position that Joe Torre calls the most arduous in baseball.”

So there you have it. While all of us perceive the role of General Manager as a sort of horse dealer, the Yankees seem to have (at least in Cashman’s case) a different job description for that title. Obviously, “evaluating talent” isn’t a requisite skill.

Actually, IMHO, Oppenheimer doesn’t have the pelts on his belt that Krivsky, Wilken, and Zduriencik do…but, again, I ranked him higher than them because he knows about life in Yankeeland.

Do I like what he’s done with the draft in the last 3 years? Way too early to say…that’s where the others have a leg on him…because their “prospects” have hatched already.

Steve, evaluation of talent seems to be one of your main talking points against Cashman. Do you like what D.O. has done with the draft and minor league system of the last few years? Has he proven in your eyes that he can evaluate talent at the same level as the others you list?

Thanks iYankees. Again, D.O. makes the most sense because he knows what it’s like to work for Team Stein in this city.

The Mariners have expressed an interest in LaCava. Good list Steve. If Oppenheimer sticks around for the next 3 years (and if Cashman falls out of favor with the Steinbrenner bunch), I’d like to see him get a shot.