Why Cashman Came Back
Via the Daily News –
Despite his two young guns’ [Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy] disastrous seasons and the Bombers missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993, Cashman hinted Wednesday that he has been judged unfairly in his role as Yankees GM.
And that’s the reason, he said, that he didn’t walk away from the job that he has held for 11 years – though he admitted that he seriously considered it.
“I’m a competitive person and I don’t like what I see sometimes that shows up in the newspapers,” said Cashman. “I don’t like that some people forget that I’ve been here since 1986. That I’ve been a part of this franchise when it was no good or wasn’t very good. That I was part of the rebuilding process as an assistant GM for six years when we were rebuilding this thing and getting it back to championship caliber form… And the story line that was going to be written if I left I didn’t agree with. And I’m not going to let that story be written.”
Wednesday, however, during a press conference at the Stadium to make his three-year deal official, an uncharacteristically defensive Cashman promised to right the Yankees’ ship.
“One thing Reggie Jackson says, ‘When you have the bat in your hand, you can change the story,’” Cashman said. “Well, if I left, I was not going to like the story that was going to be written because it wasn’t going to be accurate. It wasn’t going to be an accurate depiction of my time here. I’ve given my heart and I’ve given my soul to this franchise and they’ve given their heart and their soul back to me. I’d be nothing without what the Steinbrenners have done for this person at this table right now. But at the same time I’m not going to let an inaccurate story stick. And the only way for me to change that is to change the story. So I’m staying to change the story.”
I love it! A Desdemona that fights back!
Did it seem as though he was speaking right to you, Steve?
By what measure will you judge this new contract? From what I know of your perspective, it’s unlikely you’ll settle for regular season success. So, will one World Series appearance make the next three years a success? Or do they have to win it all, at least once? Or is it more?
I’d like to know what it would take, in the next three years, for you to re-write the end of the Cashman Story.
What would it take?
A team that is soundly constructed in terms of both pitching and offense, plays well, wins in the regular season and the post-season, and a ledger free of terrible signings and trades.
So let’s say that the Yankees do some major roster overhaul this winter. Come spring you crunch some numbers and determine that you believe this is a 95 win juggernaut.
Come the regular season, Robbie Cano doesn’t bounce back. Damon calcifies before your very eyes. Matsui injures both knees and Nady reverts to the mediocrity he’s always been. A-Rod is committed to a mental institution after hearing coded messages in Madonna’s latest hit single “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (You Suck In October Remix)”.
In short, this 95 win juggernaut turns out to be an 82 win mess.
And you’re going to lay all of the blame on Cashman?
How exactly does a GM control how a team plays in a given year? In the final analysis, isn’t that out of his hands? Jeez, no one wanted to crucify Theo after 2006. Rational fans recognized that certain things were beyond his control.
OnceIWasAYankeeFan – isn’t it the job of the GM to have his finger on the pulse of his team…so that he can figure out (and know about) his players that are going to tank, get injuried, etc., and either get them off the team before it happens or have good back-up plans for when it does happen?
No, but then again, what you think is a standard requirement for GMs I believe requires advanced Psychology degrees and having Miss Cleo on speed dial.
A team that is soundly constructed in terms of both pitching and offense, plays well, wins in the regular season and the post-season, and a ledger free of terrible signings and trades.
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Such a team and organization does not exist.