Great stuff from Jeff Passan today -

Over the last half-decade, the Yankees have developed pitching depth almost as poorly as any team in the major leagues.

For this study, we tallied the pitchers who debuted between 2008 and 2012 and tied them to the team with which they arrived. Then we compiled their Wins Above Replacement, via Baseball-Reference, with that first team only. By this measure, actually, the Yankees actually are one of the better teams in baseball, with 16.4 WAR, more than three-quarters of which come from reliever David Robertson, since-jettisoned Alfredo Aceves and Nova, who will compete for the fifth-starter job with Phelps.

Beyond that is mostly a pitching wasteland, and that is where the last five years get so damning. Robertson, Aceves and Nova are the only pitchers who debuted with the Yankees to throw more than 100 innings for them. Just as bad, Phelps (99 2/3 innings) and the departed Phil Coke (74 2/3) and Hector Noesi (56 1/3) are the only others with 25 or more innings. Only one other team has fewer than six homegrown pitchers with 25 or more innings: the Boston Red Sox, with five.

Don’t view this data in a vacuum. Coke was part of a trade that landed Curtis Granderson. Noesi went to Seattle for Pineda. The innings cutoffs are arbitrary, too. And considering the Yankees lock up a roster spot every time they spend big money in free agency, it is ostensibly tougher to crack their roster than most.

Still, it puts in perspective the Yankees’ stated philosophy – develop pitching, especially starters – and the inability to do so that prompted them to pursue Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte for the last two seasons in free agency. The average starts from homegrown pitchers over the last five years among the 30 major league teams is 197.9. The Yankees have 82.

This study is neither predictive in nature nor damning for the next five years. Phelps or Nova or Brett Marshall or maybe all three could thrive. Even just a year makes a difference. Go back to 2007, in fact, and the Yankees universe looked entirely different.

Following the 2007 season, Cashman felt vindicated. For years he had philosophized the New York Yankees would lard themselves against the rising cost of free-agent pitching with homegrown starters, and it seemed as though they had found three dandies: Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy.

Then came 2008, an all-around disaster in which the Yankees so babied Chamberlain’s arm it needed a pacifier to sleep at night, and Hughes and Kennedy combined to go 0-8 with a 7.45 ERA. Cashman’s system wasn’t dead. Just on hold for the winter, when he spent nearly a quarter-billion dollars on CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and was rewarded with a championship ring a year later.

Still, pervading the organization was Cashman’s ideal that guaranteeing so much money to aging players was not just too risky but inefficient compared to a player coming at 1/50th the price of Sabathia if only the organization could rear such talent. Cashman forged ahead. The Yankees’ future, even if Hughes was a mid-level starter, Chamberlain an oft-injured reliever and Kennedy, now an Arizona Diamondback, would be with pitchers developed in the organization. The Yankees’ future would be with pitchers developed in the organization.

It’s been five full years since that Hughes-Chamberlain-Kennedy group ascended the minor leagues. And the Yankees have done far better at getting rid of talent than nurturing it.

Kennedy, dealt in the Granderson trade, has 9.5 WAR for the Diamondbacks, while Coke has grown into a lockdown left-handed reliever for Detroit. Tyler Clippard, who also debuted in that ’07 rookie class, was sent to Washington for Jonathan Albaladejo in one of the worst trades of Cashman’s career. He has 6.5 WAR for the Nats.

Amen.

Via Wally Matthews -

According to a story in the upcoming issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, the Tampa Bay Rays, with their $63 million payroll and, so far, 71 wins — good for third-place in the AL East — rank as the “smartest spenders” in pro sports based on a calculation of payroll data and regular and postseason wins over the past five seasons.

The Yankees? How about #98 out of 122 franchises in MLB, the NFL, NBA and NHL.

But if you think that’s bad, take a look at the Mets. They’re in 120th place overall and dead last among major league baseball teams. Hardly a surprise.

The issue hits the newsstands tomorrow.

Somehow, I suspect that this nugget of information will not be included on Brian Cashman’s bio page in the Yankees Media Guide.

Via Sweeny Murti today -

The funny thing is [Brian] Cashman just can’t win with the fans. When he gets the big ticket guy, he is accused of being no more than a check-writer who can’t put together a roster without the Yankees’ financial muscle. When he pulls off deals for lesser role players, Cashman is accused of making dumb moves and ignoring the gaping holes that star players should be filling.

Fans seem to think that the Yankees are sabotaging their chances to win because they are stuck on the upcoming $189 million tax threshold. Does anybody realize that it’s still more money than anybody else is spending? When you build your team around high-priced megastars like A-Rod and Jeter and Teixeira and Sabathia, you have to fill in the rest of your 25-man roster with a little more fiscal responsibility. And when veterans like Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez can be had relatively cheap, and they produce the way that they have this year, it seems the GM deserves a little credit there too.

If prospects need to be dealt, Cashman isn’t afraid to do it. But he isn’t of the mind to purge the system for a marginal short-term upgrade.

Bottom line here is this—the Yankees are always trying to win, but there are times to say no. It’s easy for the average fan to think of the team and each season with a fantasy mentality. In reality, decisions have to be made. You don’t always have to agree with them. But there is a rationale behind them. And there is still a desire to win, even if you don’t believe that to be the case.

I am a huge fan of Sweeny Murti. I think he’s one of the hardest working guys in his industry and he does a great job. He’s on WFAN, the MLB Network, and…the YES Network.

And, that last one if the rub here. Murti could be seen here as a hired Cashman Apologist since part of his paycheck is coming from the Yankees.

In any event, I think there is a major flaw in this defense of Cashman. 

With Cashman, you need to look at the whole picture and do some root cause analysis on his moves as well.  And, this is not a matter of the fans having to choose if they want Cashman to be a high spender or someone shops for bargain deals.

A huge part of the reason why Cashman had to spend like crazy was because his team had holes and he had no in-house answers (albeit people in  the farm to promote or trade for replacements).  As I wrote back in December 2008:

Brian Cashman became Yankees G.M. on February 28, 1998. However, from 1998 through 2005, George Steinbrenner’s troops in his Tampa office (including but not limited to Bill Emslie, Billy Connors, Mark Newman and Damon Oppenheimer) had so much input on personnel moves that it was somewhat difficult to know what exactly what were Cashman’s decisions or not.

This all changed in October 2005 when Brian Cashman was given full autonomy on running the Yankees. As Cashman said at that time: “I’m the general manager, and everybody within the baseball operations department reports to me. That’s not how it has operated recently.” So, without question, we can look at the state of the New York Yankees over the last three seasons (2006, 2007 and 2008) as well as this off-season (of 2008-2009) and know that what you see is “All-Cashman.”

And, this includes the recent Yankees spending spree of $423.5 million over the last few weeks to acquire free agents Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.

Why did New York go after these three high-priced talents? Well, it made sense. Coming off last season, the Yankees two biggest needs were starting pitching and a bat for the middle of their line-up.

With the contract expiration and subsequent retirement of Mike Mussina coupled with the 2008 failure of Cashman’s pitching phenoms Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes, it was clear that the Yankees 2009 projected starting rotation was full of holes and question marks. (You can add Andy Pettitte’s departure due to free agency to this root cause list if, indeed, he does not re-sign with the Yankees.)

Further, Cashman’s decision – which, by the way, I agree with 100% – not to bring back Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu for 2009 left the Yankees without some much needed fire-power in the middle of their line-up. Hence, the need for a replacement.

And, Brian Cashman’s solution to these problems was to give CC Sabathia $23 million a year, A.J. Burnett $16.5 million a year, and Mark Teixeira $22.5 million a year – thereabouts – all getting multi-year deals totaling $423.5 million (or “close to a half-billion dollars” for those who like to round and prefer not to use the number pad on their keyboard).

So, Cashman created the holes and Cashman had no answers other than to go out and spend like crazy to address his failures.  And, now, because he has a roster full of guys making tremendous money and an overall payroll that is obscene, Cashman has to shop at the consignment shop to fill out the rest of his roster when he has needs to address.  Again, say what you want about the effect, but, the cause here is Cashman himself.

Also, let’s not forget that the Yankees still have very few answers again in the minor league level to fill in for guys like Gardner, A-Rod, etc., and that’s why Cashman is forced to look outside the organization to address the issues on his team.

In summary, I think this is the major gripe that fans have with Cashman.  When the Yankees have issues, the answer is either to overspend to address them or try and fill them with castoffs off the scrap heap.  And, there’s never an in-house answer.

Think about it.  The current Yankees developed Cano, Jeter and Gardner.  And, Jeter was before Cashman’s time.  On the pitching side, you have Hughes, Nova, Robertson, Pettitte and Phelps.  And, Pettitte was way before Cashman’s time.  Everyone else on the Yankees was either a high-priced free agent, a salary dump trade, or someone out of the bargain bin.  So, how many players has Cashman developed who have played for the Yankees and done well here?  Maybe a half-dozen in all his years?

There’s also one more thing – the money that Cashman has wasted.  You know the names:  Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa, Chan Ho Park, et al.  And, there are the trades that backfired.  Javy Vazquez or Michael Pineda, anyone?  Those moves don’t make Cashman seem very astute and that’s another reason why the fans get on him.

O f course, no G.M. is perfect.  They all make mistakes, yadda-yadda.  But, Cashman has resources that few others in the game have at their disposal.  And, yet, even with that perk, he’s still just like all the other G.M.’s who are making mistakes. 

Think of it this way.  It’s a car race.  And, there are 30 cars in the race.  Everyday it’s a new race.  In terms of results, everyone wins some and everyone loses some.  But, one guy in the race has a Lamborghini Reventón and the rest of the pack are driving Hondas and Toyotas. Is it not fair to expect the guy with the Lamborghini to win more races than the other guys?

And, if that’s fair, then why is it unfair to expect Brian Cashman to leave the other baseball G.M.’s in the dust?

On February 1, 1999, Brian Cashman traded Mike Lowell to the Florida Marlins for Todd Noel, Mark Johnson and Ed Yarnall. Now, it looks like the Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda deal will be just as “good” as that one for the New York Yankees.

And, Phil Hughes? He’s been Cashman’s pet since he was drafted by the Yankees. He would not trade him for Johan Santana or Doc Halladay. And, now, how has that worked out?

Cashman’s resume has a lot of terrible pitching moves on it: Jeff Weaver, Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa, A.J. Burnett, Jose Contreras, Javy Vazquez, Chan Ho Park, Pedro Feliciano, Damaso Marte, Gabe White, Felix Heredia, Denny Neagle…

But, Hughes and Pineda are going to have a special place on Cashman’s resume, for sure.

Via the AP -

Jeff Karstens shut down the Houston Astros and pitched the Pittsburgh Pirates into a tie for first place in the NL Central.

Karstens threw a five-hitter and Andrew McCutchen tripled and drove in two runs as the surging Pirates opened the second half of the season with a 4-0 victory over the Astros on Friday night.

With the win, the Pirates moved into a tie for first place with the St. Louis Cardinals, marking the latest in a season the team has been in first place since 1997.

Karstens (8-4) needed just 83 pitches to become the first Pirate to win five straight decisions in a season since Matt Capps in 2006. He has an ERA of 2.34 this year, but has been particularly dominant in his three starts against Houston, going 3-0 with an 0.41 ERA.

“I had an idea it was kind of low, but I didn’t know how low it was,” Karstens said of his pitch count. “It’s just one of those things where I’m just trying to go out there and be efficient and see where it takes me at the end of the night.”

It was the fewest pitches thrown in a complete game this season and just the sixth time since 2002 that a pitcher has thrown a complete game with 83 pitches or less, according to statistics provided by the Pirates from the Elias Sports Bureau.

It was the second career complete game and shutout for Karstens, who last did it in 2008, at Arizona.

“It’s one of the best pitched games I’ve seen,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “You take into account the pitches thrown, 21 out of 30 first-pitch strikes, and then you get the leadoff hitter six out of nine innings … defense helped him out a couple times, but that was a masterful outing. You talk about throwing strikes, pounding down in the zone, changing speeds, he had it all working tonight.”

McCutchen raved about Karstens.

“He was real efficient and got an easy win, pretty much,” he said. “He made it look easy, anyway.”

“Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady” is starting to make “Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera, and Randy Choate for Javier Vazquez” and “Mike Lowell for Mark Johnson, Ed Yarnall, and Todd Noel” look good.

Then again, you could probably say that about “Tyler Clippard for Jonathan Albaladejo” too.

John Nalbone wrote this today:

The contributions of homegrown players Derek Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Bernie Williams helped the Yankees win five World Series championships from 1996 to 2009.

This season, with Brett Gardner off to a dreadful (.150) start and Eduardo Nunez on the bench as a utility infielder, All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano is the only everyday position player developed by the Yankees’ farm system.

Years of neglect in the draft and far too many resources directed toward high-priced free agents in the waning years of George Steinbrenner’s stewardship of the franchise were to blame for the dearth of major league-ready talent in the minor-league system.

From 1997 to 2005 the Yankees drafting and player development was among the worst in baseball, with only 10 position players produced and those players combining for less than 900 major league at-bats.

Cano became a full-time player in 2005, but he was an undrafted amateur free agent from San Pedro de Marcoris in the Dominican Republic.

In 2006, general manager Brian Cashman began overseeing the player development system and things began to change, albeit slowly.

“It is an area that has lagged somewhat,’’ senior vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman said of the lack of top-tier position players at the higher levels of Yankees system. “But Nunez is there now and Gardner is one of the better young outfielders in the game. The young catchers we have are some of the best in the business, and we’ve got some quality young guys lower in our system right now.’’

I totally agree about the Yankees bad drafting from 1997 through 2005. But, the line about “In 2006, general manager Brian Cashman began overseeing the player development system and things began to change, albeit slowly” is a farce. It makes it sound as if Cashman is calling the shots for the Yankees player development system. Meanwhile, just last summer, Yankees Senior VP of Baseball Operations Mark Newman said that:

The nature of amateur scouting in the US is such that our guys do this all year. All in, it’s probably close to a twelve-month a year operation. They’ve got showcases in the fall, home visits in the winter — high school and college games in the spring leading up the draft. And then post-draft, there are summer leagues like the Cape, high school showcases, national team tryouts — there’s all kinds of things that our guys are involved in. Damon [Oppenheimer] runs that department very well, and he has the authority to draft the players the Yankees need. Neither [Brian Cashman] or I tell him who to pick and who not to pick. We’re there to support, and evaluate his production, just like everyone else in the organization is evaluated.

That sure sounds like Damon Oppenheimer is the point man for amateur scouting – which the pipeline for your player development system.

However, on the other hand, Cashman did get rid of Lin Garrett – and that had to help with the Yankees amateur scouting efforts. He gets a gold star for that one. But, then again, one could also say, here, “Brian, what took you so long to make that call?”

Also, the book on the Yankees farm system since “Brian Cashman began overseeing the player development system” five years ago still needs to be written. As, so far, what have we seen from that?

Damaged goods
Send them back
I can’t work
I can’t achieve
Send me back
Open the till
Give me the change
You said would do me good
Refund the cost
You said you’re cheap but you’re too much

Via Mark Feinsand -

Joe Girardi was intentionally vague when delivering the latest news on Pedro Feliciano after Wednesday’s game, but it wasn’t hard to read between the lines.

“He’s got a damaged shoulder,” Girardi said. “The MRI did not come back good. He has a damaged shoulder, he has a shoulder injury, and in fairness to the player, he needs to talk about it with our doctors and the agents and decide what the next course of action will be. That’s all I’m going to give you.”

That doesn’t sound very good, does it?

It certainly sounds like Feliciano is headed for surgery, likely knocking him out for the rest of this year. If it’s rotator cuff surgery, there’s a chance he won’t be effective next year, either, leaving his two-year, $8 million deal essentially useless.

I guess this makes a gang of forty for Cashman…

Alan Embree
Allen Watson
Antonio Osuna
Billy Traber
Brett Tomko
Brian Bruney
Buddy Groom
C.J. Nitkowski
Chad Gaudin
Chan Ho Park
Chris Britton
Chris Hammond
Damaso Marte
Dan Giese
Dan Naulty
Darren Holmes
Edwar Ramirez
Felix Heredia
Felix Rodriguez
Gabe White
Jay Witasick
Jesse Orosco
Jonathan Albaladejo
Jose Veras
Juan Acevedo
Kyle Farnsworth
LaTroy Hawkins
Luis Vizcaino
Mark Wohlers
Mike Myers
Mike Thurman
Octavio Dotel
Paul Quantrill
Ron Villone
Scott Proctor
Sergio Mitre
Steve Karsay
Tanyon Sturtze
Todd Williams
and, Pedro Feliciano
__________________

Update:

New York Yankees left-handed reliever Pedro Feliciano’s season is likely over. A dye MRI taken Wednesday afternoon revealed that Felciano has a torn capsule in his left shoulder, and he is leaning toward arthroscopic surgery, he told reporters before Thursday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles. Before that he will get a second opinion from renowned physician Dr. James Andrews on Monday.

General manager Brian Cashman characterized the injury as “significant.”

“It is a Chien-Ming Wang-like issue,” Cashman said. “And he is still trying to come back with Washington. Some people can come back, but the odds are a lot more difficult.”

While with the Yankees, Wang had shoulder surgery in July 2009, and the former 19-game winner still hasn’t pitched in the majors.

If Feliciano does have to undergo surgery, which would take place some time next week, he would have to undergo a year of rehab. He said he would likely be ready for the start of spring training in mid-February.

“It’s really disappointing,” said Feliciano, who suffered the injury during his fourth appearance in spring training. “I love to pitch and I want to be a guy that pitches every day like I’ve been doing for the past three or four years. And now to be shut down for maybe a year, I don’t know how I’m gonna handle it. It’s gonna be hard.”

Feliciano said that if Andrews tells him he won’t need surgery, he could get a platelet rich plasma injection in his shoulder, wait a month or two and try to throw again. However, that seems unlikely.

“He’s a warrior and a competitor and now he can’t compete because of this injury he sustained when he was a member of the New York Yankees in spring training,” Cashman said.

That last line sounds like Cashman wants to collect on an insurance policy…assuming he had one on this signing.

Have you ever seen Baseball America’s selections for Executive Of The Year?

Here there are, since 1998:

Executive Of The Year
1998 Doug Melvin, GM, Rangers
1999 Jim Bowden, GM, Reds
2000 Walt Jocketty, GM, Cardinals
2001 Pat Gillick, GM, Mariners
2002 Billy Beane, GM, Athletics
2003 Brian Sabean, GM, Giants
2004 Terry Ryan, GM, Twins
2005 Mark Shapiro, GM, Indians
2006 Dave Dombrowski, GM, Tigers
2007 Jack Zduriencik, scouting director, Brewers
2008 Theo Epstein, GM, Red Sox
2009 Dan O’Dowd, GM, Rockies
2010 Jon Daniels, GM, Rangers

Amazing, considering that the Yankees made the post-season 12 times in 13 tries, since 1998, all under Brian Cashman – winning four World Series rings in the process – and, yet, BBA never felt that “Cash” warranted winning their award for Executive Of The Year. Any thoughts on why?

Brian Cashman became Yankees G.M. on February 28, 1998.

So, how many times, each season since 1998, have the Yankees had a starting pitcher on their team who made at least 25 starts and had an ERA+ of 100 or better? Here’s the answer:

.

As you can see, above, from 1998 through 2003, the Yankees always had a deep and solid starting rotation. However, since 2003, it’s been rare that Brian Cashman has built a starting rotation that was deep and solid. In fact, over the last seven years, it’s been extremely common for the Yankees to have only two starting pitchers, or less, who could be considered as reliable and not below league average.

That post-2003/pre-2004 line here is interesting. Why does it exist? The answer is simple. Before 2004, those Yankees starting staffs were all about Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina and David Wells. And, when those four were together in 2003 for New York, it was the last time the Yankees had a starting rotation that was deep and solid.

It’s sad that, for the last seven years, Cashman has not be able to consistently duplicate the Yankees starting pitching success that they had from 1998 through 2003. And, it’s even more sad that 2011 appears to be another year added to this run – making it eight years since Cashman had a rotation that was four-deep in terms of being durable and productive. There’s been a lot of money spent on pitching, by Cashman, since 2004. However, on the whole, it’s been good money wasted.

On December 8, 2009 the Yankees (via trade) gave up Phil Coke, Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy to acquire Curtis Granderson.

This season, to date, Coke has pitched in 66 games for the Tigers with an ERA+ of 159. Kennedy, for the Diamondbacks, has made 28 starts, thrown 173 innings, and has an ERA + of 112. Jackson, for the Tigers, is considered to be in the running for the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award and has been mentioned as a candidate for the Gold Glove Award as well.

Curtis Granderson’s first season in New York has been up and down.

Regardless of how you felt about this trade at the time it was made, what’s your opinion of it now? Could this be one of the worst ever made by Brian Cashman – if not the worst, period?

Brian Cashman became Yankees G.M. on February 28, 1998.

It’s rare for someone to be a G.M. for tens years with one team these days. Ten years does provide for some “body of work” analysis. Therefore, I thought it would be fun, this off-season, to take a look back at Cashman’s “moves” during the past decade – one year at a time. (To see all the seasons reviewed, click here.)

Here, we’ll look at Cashman’s moves in 2004 and how they helped or hurt the team:

No Impact:

February 5, 2004 – Traded Jose Garcia to the Texas Rangers. Received Mike Lamb.

March 25, 2004 – Traded Mike Lamb to the Houston Astros. Received Juan DeLeon.

June 18, 2004 – Traded Gabe White to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Charlie Manning and cash.

July 19, 2004 – Signed C.J. Nitkowski as a free agent.

August 17, 2004 – Signed Shane Spencer as a free agent.

October 26, 2004 – Signed Homer Bush as a free agent.

Good Impact:

January 12, 2004 – Signed Tony Clark as a free agent.

March 12, 2004 – Signed Orlando Hernandez as a free agent.

May 15, 2004 – Traded Brian Myrow to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Tanyon Sturtze.

August 3, 2004 – Signed John Olerud as a free agent.

December 3, 2004 – Traded Felix Heredia to the New York Mets. Received Mike Stanton.

Great Impact:

February 16, 2004 – Traded Joaquin Arias and Alfonso Soriano to the Texas Rangers. Received Alex Rodriguez and cash.

June 7, 2004 – Drafted Philip Hughes in the 1st round (23rd pick) of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 2004.

Bad Impact:

February 7, 2004 – Signed Donovan Osborne as a free agent.

July 31, 2004 – Traded Jose Contreras and cash to the Chicago White Sox. Received Esteban Loaiza.

November 5, 2004 – Jon Lieber granted Free Agency.

December 3, 2004 – Traded Kenny Lofton to the Philadelphia Phillies. Received Felix Rodriguez.

December 6, 2004 – Signed John Flaherty as a free agent.

December 20, 2004 – Signed Carl Pavano as a free agent.

Was Probably Not A Cashman Move & More Likely Something Done In Tampa:

January 6, 2004 – Signed Kenny Lofton as a free agent.

March 2, 2004 – Signed Travis Lee as a free agent.

December 20, 2004 – Signed Tony Womack as a free agent.

December 28, 2004 – Signed Jaret Wright as a free agent.
______________________________________________________________
This is an interesting year. The Lofton, Womack and Wright signings probably ticked Cashman off – and could be part of the reason why he demanded total control on his next contract. Yet, it was a big year for Cashman – picking up A-Rod and Hughes as well as some nice grabs on guys like Clark, Sturtze. Olerud, et al. Of course, this year will always be remembered for being when Cashman put the full-court press on Pavano to get him signed. That’s what many people will always remember about 2004 in terms of Brian’s moves. (I put Lieber on the list even though I usually don’t put guys going free agent on these reports – since it’s the player that controls the option. Still, Cashman misread the market on that one and should have gotten him signed before the Mets gave the house to Kris Benson. It would have been useful to have Lieber on the 2005 Yanks – instead of Wright.)

Brian Cashman became Yankees G.M. on February 28, 1998.

It’s rare for someone to be a G.M. for tens years with one team these days. Ten years does provide for some “body of work” analysis. Therefore, I thought it would be fun, this off-season, to take a look back at Cashman’s “moves” during the past decade – one year at a time. (I’ll try and post one year, per week, over the next ten weeks.)

Here, we’ll look at Cashman’s moves in 2003 and how they helped or hurt the team:

No Impact:

March 19, 2003 – Traded Rondell White to the San Diego Padres. Received Bubba Trammell, Mark Phillips, and cash.

July 16, 2003 – Traded Jason Anderson, Anderson Garcia, and Ryan Bicondoa to the New York Mets. Received Armando Benitez.

August 6, 2003 – Traded Armando Benitez to the Seattle Mariners. Received Jeff Nelson.

August 22, 2003 – Traded Sterling Hitchcock to the St. Louis Cardinals. Received Ben Julianel and Justin Pope.

December 18, 2003 – Traded Chris Hammond and cash to the Oakland Athletics. Received Eduardo Sierra and J.T. Stotts.

Good Impact:

January 15, 2003 – Traded Orlando Hernandez to the Chicago White Sox. Received Antonio Osuna and Delvis Lantigua.

February 4, 2003 – Signed Jon Lieber as a free agent.

June 6, 2003 – Traded Marcus Thames to the Texas Rangers. Received Ruben Sierra.

June 25, 2003 – Purchased Karim Garcia from the Cleveland Indians.

July 29, 2003 – Traded Raul Mondesi and cash to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received David Dellucci, Bret Prinz, and John Prowl.

July 31, 2003 – Traded Brandon Claussen, Charlie Manning, and cash to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Aaron Boone.

July 31, 2003 – Traded Robin Ventura to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Bubba Crosby and Scott Proctor.

August 25, 2003 – Selected Felix Heredia off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.

December 19, 2003 – Signed Miguel Cairo as a free agent.

Great Impact:

December 16, 2003 – Signed Tom Gordon as a free agent.

Bad Impact:

January 16, 2003 – Signed John Flaherty as a free agent.

January 27, 2003 – Signed Juan Acevedo as a free agent.

February 6, 2003 – Signed Jose Contreras as an amateur free agent.

July 31, 2003 – Received Gabe White from the Cincinnati Reds as part of a conditional deal.

November 6, 2003 – Andy Pettitte granted Free Agency.

December 4, 2003 – Signed Felix Heredia as a free agent.

December 7, 2003 – Signed Gabe White as a free agent.

December 13, 2003 – Traded Jeff Weaver, Yhency Brazoban, Brandon Weeden, and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Kevin Brown.

December 16, 2003 – Traded Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera, and Randy Choate to the Montreal Expos. Received Javier Vazquez.

December 17, 2003 – Signed Paul Quantrill as a free agent.

Was Probably Not A Cashman Move & More Likely Something Done In Tampa:

December 19, 2003 – Signed Gary Sheffield as a free agent.
______________________________________________________________
The good deals this year for Cashman mostly had short-term benefits. But, the bad deals either hurt the Yankees for a while (Flaherty, Contreras, Pettitte, and Brown) or they hurt New York in a big post-season spot (Brown, Vazquez, and Quantrill). If I’m Brian, and I’m putting together a resume, I might want to leave 2003 off it – especially some of these moves in the winter following the 2003 season.

Brian Cashman became Yankees G.M. on February 28, 1998.

It’s rare for someone to be a G.M. for tens years with one team these days. Ten years does provide for some “body of work” analysis. Therefore, I thought it would be fun, this off-season, to take a look back at Cashman’s “moves” during the past decade – one year at a time. (I’ll try and post one year, per week, over the next ten weeks.)

Here, we’ll look at Cashman’s moves in 2002 and how they helped or hurt the team:

No Impact:

January 8, 2002 – Signed Luis Sojo as a free agent.

January 28, 2002 – Signed Ron Coomer as a free agent.

February 4, 2002 – Signed Manny Alexander as a free agent.

March 15, 2002 – Signed Mike Thurman as a free agent.

April 2, 2002 – Signed Karim Garcia as a free agent.

April 8, 2002 – Signed Billy McMillon as a free agent. Signed Bill Pulsipher as a free agent.

June 6, 2002 – Signed Alex Arias as a free agent.

December 4, 2002 – Signed Chris Latham as a free agent.

Good Impact:

February 1, 2002 – Signed Chris Widger as a free agent.

June 4, 2002 – Drafted Brad Halsey in the 8th round of the 2002 amateur draft. Player signed July 1, 2002.

December 30, 2002 – Signed Roger Clemens as a free agent.

Great Impact:

December 19, 2002 – Signed Hideki Matsui as a free agent.

Bad Impact:

February 14, 2002 – Signed Ruben Rivera as a free agent.

July 5, 2002 – Traded Ted Lilly, John-Ford Griffin, and Jason Arnold to the Oakland Athletics. Received Jeff Weaver from the Detroit Tigers. In addition, the Oakland Athletics sent Carlos Pena and Franklyn German to the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Tigers sent cash to the Oakland Athletics. The Oakland Athletics later sent Jeremy Bonderman to the Detroit Tigers to complete the trade.

December 6, 2002 – Signed Robin Ventura as a free agent.

December 19, 2002 – Signed Todd Zeile as a free agent.

Was Probably Not A Cashman Move & More Likely Something Done In Tampa:

January 17, 2002 – Signed David Wells as a free agent.

July 1, 2002 – Traded Scott Wiggins to the Toronto Blue Jays. Received Raul Mondesi.

December 13, 2002 – Signed Chris Hammond as a free agent.
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I’m guessing that Hammond was a Tampa move – but, I’m not sure. Signing Godzilla might have been out of Cash’s hand too. The Weaver deal was bad – even worse when Weaver became Kevin Brown. If you believe that “No Impact” is pretty near to “Bad Impact,” then, this was not one of Cashman’s better years in terms of wheeling and dealing.

Brian Cashman became Yankees G.M. on February 28, 1998.

It’s rare for someone to be a G.M. for tens years with one team these days. Ten years does provide for some “body of work” analysis. Therefore, I thought it would be fun, this off-season, to take a look back at Cashman’s “moves” during the past decade – one year at a time. (I’ll try and post one year, per week, over the next ten weeks.)

Here, we’ll look at Cashman’s moves in 2001 and how they helped or hurt the team:

No Impact:

January 3, 2001 – Signed Todd Williams as a free agent.

March 28, 2001 – Traded Glenallen Hill to the Anaheim Angels. Received Darren Blakely.

June 12, 2001 – Selected Darren Bragg off waivers from the New York Mets.

June 29, 2001 – Signed Gerald Williams as a free agent.

July 4, 2001 – Traded Brian Boehringer to the San Francisco Giants. Received Bobby Estalella and Joe Smith.

August 31, 2001 – Traded Randy Flores and Rosman Garcia to the Texas Rangers. Received Randy Velarde.

December 13, 2001 – Traded Jay Witasick to the San Francisco Giants. Received John Vander Wal.

December 18, 2001 – Traded Bernie Castro to the San Diego Padres. Received Kevin Reese.

December 21, 2001 – Signed F.P. Santangelo as a free agent.

Good Impact:

March 30, 2001 – Traded Craig Dingman to the Colorado Rockies. Received Jorge DePaula.

April 5, 2001 – Signed Todd Greene as a free agent.

June 5, 2001 – Drafted Shelley Duncan in the 2nd round of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed June 17, 2001. Drafted Chase Wright in the 3rd round of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed June 10, 2001.

June 23, 2001 – Purchased Brian Myrow from the Winnipeg (Northern).

July 12, 2001 – Signed Joaquin Arias as an amateur free agent.

Great Impact:

January 5, 2001 – Signed Robinson Cano as an amateur free agent.

November 13, 2001 – Signed Melky Cabrera as an amateur free agent.

December 7, 2001 – Traded David Justice to the New York Mets. Received Robin Ventura.

Bad Impact:

March 21, 2001 – Traded Wily Mo Pena to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Drew Henson and Michael Coleman.

February 15, 2001 – Signed Henry Rodriguez as a free agent.

June 5, 2001 – Drafted John-Ford Griffin in the 1st round (23rd pick) of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed June 14, 2001. Drafted Bronson Sardinha in the 1st round (34th pick) of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed June 13, 2001.

June 13, 2001 – Traded Damaso Marte to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Received Enrique Wilson.

June 23, 2001 – Traded D’Angelo Jimenez to the San Diego Padres. Received Jay Witasick.

July 1, 2001 – Traded Ricardo Aramboles to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Mark Wohlers.

July 30, 2001 – Traded Brett Jodie and Darren Blakely to the San Diego Padres. Received Sterling Hitchcock.

December 7, 2001 – Signed Steve Karsay as a free agent.

December 21, 2001 – Signed Alberto Castillo as a free agent.

Was Probably Not A Cashman Move & More Likely Something Done In Tampa:

December 13, 2001 – Signed Jason Giambi as a free agent.

December 17, 2001 – Signed Rondell White as a free agent.

December 18, 2001 – Signed Sterling Hitchcock as a free agent.
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An interesting year. Two huge thumbs up on the Cano & Melky signings. But, in reality, the credit there is probably due to the Latin America guys in the front office. Most of all, looking at all the moves, this season seems to be where “it” starts for Cashman – with “it” being an inability to find good arms for the pen, a decent back-up catcher, and useful parts for the big league bench. What’s worse, Mets fans can point to this season and remind us that Cashman passed on David Wright to select Bronson Sardinha in the draft.

Brian Cashman became Yankees G.M. on February 28, 1998.

It’s rare for someone to be a G.M. for tens years with one team these days. Ten years does provide for some “body of work” analysis. Therefore, I thought it would be fun, this off-season, to take a look back at Cashman’s “moves” during the past decade – one year at a time. (I’ll try and post one year, per week, over the next ten weeks.)

Here, we’ll look at Cashman’s moves in 2000 and how they helped or hurt the team:

No Impact:

January 26, 2000 – Signed Roberto Kelly as a free agent.

April 2, 2000 – Signed Lance Johnson as a free agent and signed Felix Jose as a free agent.

July 12, 2000 – Traded Ed Yarnall, Drew Henson, Brian Reith, and Jackson Melian (minors) to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Mike Frank and Denny Neagle.

August 11, 2000 – Traded Wilson Delgado to the Kansas City Royals. Received Nick Ortiz.

December 14, 2000 – Signed Brian Boehringer as a free agent.

Good Impact:

June 5, 2000 – Drafted Matt Smith in the 4th round of the 2000 amateur draft. Player signed June 21, 2000.

June 20, 2000 – Traded Jim Leyritz to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Jose Vizcaino and cash.

August 3, 2000 – Signed Luis Polonia as a free agent.

August 7, 2000 – Traded Chris Spurling to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Received Luis Sojo.

August 21, 2000 – Signed Dioner Navarro as an amateur free agent.

November 7, 2000 – David Cone granted Free Agency.

November 16, 2000 – Signed Damaso Marte as a free agent.

Great Impact:

May 5, 2000 – Signed Chien-Ming Wang as an amateur free agent.

June 29, 2000 – Traded Ricky Ledee, Jake Westbrook, and Zach Day to the Cleveland Indians. Received David Justice.

July 21, 2000 – Traded Ben Ford and Oswaldo Mairena to the Chicago Cubs. Received Glenallen Hill.

November 30, 2000 – Signed Mike Mussina as a free agent.

Bad Impact:

June 2, 2000 – Signed Adrian Hernandez as an amateur free agent.

June 5, 2000 – Drafted Sean Henn in the 26th round of the 2000 amateur draft. Player signed May 25, 2001.

August 7, 2000 – Selected Jose Canseco off waivers from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

October 31, 2000 – Jeff Nelson granted Free Agency.

November 20, 2000 – Released Jason Grimsley.

November 21, 2000 – Signed Joe Oliver as a free agent.

Was Probably Not A Cashman Move & More Likely Something Done In Tampa:

June 11, 2000 – Signed Dwight Gooden as a free agent.
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This season was much, much, better than the two before it – in terms of pushing buttons and pulling strings. But, it does raise an interesting question. For people like me, who believe that the G.M. is responsible for the team’s moves, at the end of the day, you have to give Cashman two huge thumbs up for the work here in 2000. However, for those who like to say that Cashman did not gain total control of the team until 2005, well, to be fair, those people can’t give Cashman credit for all these good to great moves in 2000 – can they? This make sense?

Brian Cashman became Yankees G.M. on February 28, 1998.

It’s rare for someone to be a G.M. for tens years with one team these days. Ten years does provide for some “body of work” analysis. Therefore, I thought it would be fun, this off-season, to take a look back at Cashman’s “moves” during the past decade – one year at a time. (I’ll try and post one year, per week, over the next ten weeks.)

Here, we’ll look at Cashman’s moves in 1999 and how they helped or hurt the team:

No Impact:

March 30, 1999 – Traded Darren Holmes and cash to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received Ben Ford and Izzy Molina.

June 2, 1999 – Drafted Alex Graman in the 3rd round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 5, 1999. Drafted Andy Phillips in the 7th round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 25, 1999. Drafted Kevin Thompson in the 31st round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 7, 2000.

December 13, 1999 – Traded Chad Curtis to the Texas Rangers. Received Brandon Knight and Sam Marsonek.

December 14, 1999 – Traded Dan Naulty to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Nicholas Leach.

December 17, 1999 – Signed Chris Turner as a free agent.

Good Impact:

January 26, 1999 – Signed Jason Grimsley as a free agent.

February 18, 1999 – Traded Homer Bush, Graeme Lloyd, and David Wells to the Toronto Blue Jays. Received Roger Clemens.

April 5, 1999 – Signed Darryl Strawberry as a free agent.

July 31, 1999 – Traded Geraldo Padua to the San Diego Padres. Received Jim Leyritz.

November 29, 1999 – Signed Mike Stanton as a free agent.

December 15, 1999 – Signed Ryan Thompson as a free agent.

Great Impact:

December 22, 1999 – Traded Hideki Irabu to the Montreal Expos. Received players to be named later and Jake Westbrook. The Montreal Expos sent Ted Lilly (March 17, 2000) and Christian Parker (March 22, 2000) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade.

Bad Impact:

February 1, 1999 – Traded Mike Lowell to the Florida Marlins. Received Mark J. Johnson, Ed Yarnall, and Todd Noel.

April 5, 1999 – Signed Wily Mo Pena as a free agent.

December 6, 1999 – Signed David Cone as a free agent.

December 7, 1999 – Signed Allen Watson as a free agent.

Was Probably Not A Cashman Move & More Likely Something Done In Tampa:

None.
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This is an interesting year. The terrible decisions to bring back Watson and Cone, at the end of the season, somewhat offset the good moves on Grimsley, Stanton and Thompson. The Irabu trade was a steal – too bad that they didn’t keep Lilly and Westbrook (as they would helped, for sure, this season). The Wells-Clemens deal? From 1999 to 2003, Clemens had 62 RSAA in 1004 IP and Wells had 46 RSAA in 981.3 IP. That’s close. But, Wells was back in New York for 2002 and 2003. From 1999 to 2001, Clemens had 52 RSAA in 612.3 IP and Wells had 27 RSAA in 562 IP. So, yes, that trade was a good one for Cashman, then, too. The Lowell trade depends on your position. Some will say that he was blocked and it made sense. That’s fine. But, the return, in the end, turned out to be a bust – albeit that the pitching prospects sounded good at the time. Ah, pitching prospects…

Brian Cashman became Yankees G.M. on February 28, 1998.

It’s rare for someone to be a G.M. for tens years with one team these days. Ten years does provide for some “body of work” analysis. Therefore, I thought it would be fun, this off-season, to take a look back at Cashman’s “moves” during the past decade – one year at a time. (I’ll try and post one year, per week, over the next ten weeks.)

Here, we’ll look at Cashman’s moves in 1998 and how they helped or hurt the team:

No Impact:

March 7, 1998 – Traded Andy Fox to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received Todd Erdos and Marty Janzen.

June 3, 1998 – Traded Willie Banks to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received Scott Brow and Joe Lisio (minors).

August 23, 1998 -Traded Ray Ricken (minors) and Shea Morenz (minors) to the San Diego Padres. Received Jim Bruske and Brad Kaufman (minors).

November 16, 1998 – Traded Allen Butler (minors) to the Minnesota Twins. Received Dan Naulty.

December 8, 1998 – Traded Chris Singleton to the Chicago White Sox. Received a player to be named later. The Chicago White Sox sent Rich Pratt (minors) (January 10, 1999) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade.

Good Impact:

August 3, 1998 – Released Dale Sveum.

November 10, 1998 – Signed Scott Brosius as a free agent.

November 11, 1998 – Signed David Cone as a free agent.

Great Impact:

March 23, 1998 – Signed Orlando Hernandez as an amateur free agent.

September 29, 1998 – Purchased Alfonso Soriano from the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (Japan Central).

Bad Impact:

June 2, 1998 – Drafted Mark Prior in the 1st round (43rd pick) of the 1998 amateur draft, but did not sign the player. Drafted Randy Keisler in the 2nd round of the 1998 amateur draft. Player signed July 21, 1998. Drafted Drew Henson in the 3rd round of the 1998 amateur draft. Player signed July 24, 1998.

Was Probably Not A Cashman Move & More Likely Something Done In Tampa:

November 25, 1998 – Signed Bernie Williams as a free agent.
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Here, the wasting of the 1st three picks in the draft are more than offset by the pick-up of El Duque and Soriano. In terms of the trades, Brian gave up nothing and got nothing – so, they’re a wash. On the whole, I would suggest that 1998′s results were mixed for Cashman – with a net gain/loss of zero in the end.