From
Kat O'Brien:
Brian Cashman has agreed to return as the Yankees general manager on a three-year contract, Newsday has learned.
Cashman deliberated over the decision about whether it was time to move on after 11 seasons as GM, but gave the Yankees an affirmative answer this afternoon. In the end, a Yankees source said, it came down to what was best for his family. The new contract will be for slightly more than Cashman had been making, putting it at in the ballpark of $2-million per year.
Neither Cashman nor Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner, with whom Cashman negotiated the deal, could immediately be reached for comment. The two work closely together, and met at Yankee Stadium on Monday, and that relationship was a huge positive for Cashman in making up his mind.
The Yankees are expected to make an official announcement this afternoon.
Although there are some Yankees fans that are probably not happy about this, if you've read this blog enough you know I am. Having to find a new GM would have made improving this team through free agency and the trade market much more difficult this off-season, so I think this is a good move for the Yanks as they look towards 2009.
12 Comments:
Well, you know I'm not happy about this as I see no reason to believe he will start making the deals we need to make to get better. Now if he's lost some control this time around that might bode well, but I just don't know.
I now expect more of the same the next three years but certainly hope the team manages to get better.
The more I think about this, the more I wish we had gone elsewhere. I also confess that the guy strikes me as being a "dweeb," but perhaps this dweeb will change his stripes and suddenly figure out how to get the Yankees back where they belong.
Mike
I knew you wouldn't be happy, but hey, there's nothing wrong with that.
I truly believe that a lot of the problems this team faced this year had nothing to do with Cashman. He had no control over the injuries, and he had nothing to do with A-Rod and Giambi hitting so poorly in the clutch.
Now if you wanted Johan, that's a valid argument. But the struggles of Melky, Hughes and Kennedy were much worse than anyone could have imagined.
I also believe a lot of this team's problems stem from the mistakes made when Cashman did not have full control from 1998-2005. Which is why I like the idea of letting him finish what he started.
I'll accept a little unhappiness now and then!
Yep--the Santana thing really has me upset and it continues to serve as a warning as to what this guy will do (or NOT do) this coming offseason--unless he receives pressure from above, perhaps.
No reason for me to rant--perhaps "The Dweeb" will surprise me. There's nothing to do now but give him the chance. I will make no bets, however.
Mike
Tantrum-Free Since 2008
Memo to Brian-
Please get us some players that will play hard and understand the tradition of the yankees.
Amen, amen, amen! Well said, Anonymous.
Mike
He of Little Faith
Let's just hope the days of acquiring the likes of Kevin Brown, Jose Contreras, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Kei Igawa (not signing Ted Lilly) and Kyle Farnsworth are past.
I'm glad he's coming back, mostly because I would fear greatly whoever they ended up bringing in for a GM if he left. I think about all the nightmare scenarios where we blow everything we have in an attempt to win one year.
I think a lot of this team's problems over the past several years can't necessarily be pinned directly on Cash, as many moves were "forced" on him at times. That's just what I believe.
I think he's done a good job of putting the focus back on the correct way to build a long-term sustainable franchise. He's cleaning up a LOT of the damage that was done by Steinbrenner's "get me this guy" attitude that started after the loss in 2001. There were some big, long term deals and ugly trades for aging veterans that I believe Steinbrenner "forced" the team into making, and the fallout from those deals has made Cashman's job a lot tougher.
I just feel like with Cashman, while he may not necessarily be the best man for the job, you know he's not going to royally screw the team by making some outlandish trade, or throwing tons of money in stupid directions. I feel like he's a great moderating force for the "crazy Steinbrenners". And don't get me wrong, I love the Stein family's desire to win and their willingness to do whatever it takes, but you need someone to buffer that enthusiasm and be a little more conservative.
So basically, while I'm not 100% happy with everything that Cash has done, I'm glad he's back. We don't know for sure what moves were all Cash and what moves involved other influences, and we can't exactly blame him for all the fluke injuries we had this year, that most likley cost us a chance of making the playoffs in a year where no team is really dominant at all.
Some of those weren't Cashman's doing.
According to Ken Davidoff, Cashman had nothing to do with Contreras and Wright.
Everyone including Boston and the Mets wanted Pavano, we need to stop blaming him for that.
What exactly did Ted Lilly do in the AL that would make any team want to sign him?
You can blame him completely for Kevin Brown, Kei Igawa, and Kyle Farnsworth.
At least Lilly averaged 11-12 wins in the AL for four years before going to the Cubs.
A bit more than we can say for Igawa, Kennedy, Ponson, Hughes, Pavano, Wright, Brown, et al.
Yes he did do a lot more than Igawa and Brown, they were both awful.
But the only reason people are bringing him up now is because he had such a good year with the Cubs, and that's really not fair. Nobody had any clue he would have a year like this, and I can't remember anyone who wanting the Yankees to sign him when he was a free agent.
Also like I said before, Wright had nothing to do with Cashman, he did not want the Yanks to sign him. And please name one good team that didn't want Pavano at the time.
And I think we should leave Hughes and Kennedy out of this. They're still both very young and we don't know what the future holds for them.
i would not blame him for the kevin brown trading, we all were for it. that's a deal that just didn't work out in the end, it happens. and it's not like we lost anyone big in that trade
I understand what people are saying. Maybe it's wiser to just blame the entire front office, since it can be difficult to understand who was behind what moves.
In my mind, Cashman is a good GM, not a great one. I've just been frustrated by some of the "dead meat" they've been throwing out on the pitchers mound the last three or four years.
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