The Boss speaks: Cashman is on the Hook

[Dogdaze]

Steinbrenner appears to be getting impatient!

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6850076?MSNHPHMA

Perhaps this is why the Yankees are looking at a possible trade for Helton.

Since Cashman is on hook, and Torre is not, based on this article, I would not be surprised to see a trade fairly soon for Helton or someone else that can make an impact to the Yankees, but at what cost?

Since it's doubtful most teams such as the Rox would not want aging and high priced veterans such as Abreu or Giambi, but rather would want young up and coming players, will Cashman trade away prized prospects to help save his job?

[Yankee Captain]

Steinbrenner: Cashman on 'big hook'
Associated Press


BBA-Steinbrenner-Cashman - Despite constant speculation about manager Joe Torre's job, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner says someone else also needs to deliver as the team looks to reverse its floundering start: general manager Brian Cashman.

"He's on a big hook," a spirited Steinbrenner told The Associated Press in a rare interview from his Tampa office. "He wanted sole authority. He got it. Now he's got to deliver."

Steinbrenner's comments came with the Yankees' record at 21-24, sitting 9 1/2 games behind the American League East-leading Boston Red Sox. The Boss said he was encouraged by the Yankees' performance this week in taking two out of three games from Boston — and he felt the return of Roger Clemens could provide another boost.

"We hope we have turned it around," Steinbrenner said emphatically. The 44-year-old Clemens brings "a winning attitude," he continued. "I think Roger is capable of sparking the team. He is a veteran and will bring stability. I am happy he is coming back. I love him."

Steinbrenner, 76, felt "The Rocket" needed at least one more minor-league start to sharpen his stuff, and Yankees officials said Thursday that the right-hander will likely pitch Monday in a Triple-A game.

That would put the seven-time Cy Young Award winner on track to return to the majors in Fenway Park next weekend against his old team.

As for Torre, the Yankees manager since 1996, Steinbrenner said "we are not considering a change." The owner did say he was impressed with Torre's bench coach, ex-Yankee great Don Mattingly, and that he "could possibly" become manager someday.

"Mattingly is a good one," Steinbrenner said. "He is very thorough guy. He understands what it is to be a Yankee."

Steinbrenner had praise for captain Derek Jeter, who passed Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio this week for fifth place on the franchise hits list, and pitcher Andy Pettitte.

"He's a real gutsy guy," Steinbrenner said of the left-hander, who resigned with the Yankees in the off-season. "We are happy he is back with us."

He was less generous toward Jason Giambi, whose recent comments to USA Today that was "wrong for doing that stuff" were interpeted by some as an admission of steroid use. Giambi reportedly admitted to a 2003 grand jury that he used steroids.

"He should have kept his mouth shut," Steinbrenner opined. "The matter is in the hands of the baseball commissioner."

Steinbrenner bought the team in 1973 and has presided over six world championships and 10 pennants while building the Yankees franchise into the most lucrative in sports.

The Yankees' owner is also known for his generosity to those in need off-the-field especially young people.

He said he was deeply moved by the April massacre at Virginia Tech. The Yankees made a $1 million contribution to the school's "Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund" to assist the victims' families, and honored the victims before playing the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night. Virginia Tech's president threw out the first pitch and the Yankees wore VT logos on their caps.

"I feel very strongly about the young people," Steinbrenner said. "I feel so strongly about the teachers and the school, all the people affected by this. We wanted to help in the healing process."

As far as the Yankees' fate, the message of the legendary Boss was as strong and clear as ever:

"We just have to get out there and compete, compete hard, and win," he said.

[GCOOP]

i have to agree 100% with george

[Charger567]

i have to agree 100% with george

I do on most points.

Although I don't believe the Yankee's performance so far has been Cashman's fault, some one does have to take the blame for it, and Cashman just fits perfectly.

[monkey333]

The farm is nicer than it's been in who knows how long and Cash honestly put together a team many thought would win it all. How's he on the hook? No one can for see having to use 10 starters, many lost to freak injuries. Who'd have expected an All-Star caliber RFer to hit a low two hundred average and lose his good batting eye. I wouldn't blame Cash or Torre, they've hard their mistakes, but ultimately this team's problem is underperforming and bad luck.

[TonyStarks]

I just dont' get how George can say Cashman is on the hook because he wanted authority and now he's got it.

It hasn't even been a whole damn year!
Can you give the guy some wiggle room and let him try to build his team?

Jesus man!

He's trying to get the team younger and that's not gonna happen overnight and when your bringing in folks like Clemens or even possibly Helton.

[Dogdaze]

The farm is nicer than it's been in who knows how long and Cash honestly put together a team many thought would win it all. How's he on the hook? No one can for see having to use 10 starters, many lost to freak injuries. Who'd have expected an All-Star caliber RFer to hit a low two hundred average and lose his good batting eye. I wouldn't blame Cash or Torre, they've hard their mistakes, but ultimately this team's problem is underperforming and bad luck.

I was refering to the quote from Steinbrenner when he said below;

"He's on a big hook," a spirited Steinbrenner said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He wanted sole authority. He got it. Now he's got to deliver."

Personally I can't blame Cashman for the poor start the Yankees had due to so many injuries to your pitchers, or some players not performing up to expectations. But the boss is saying Cashman is on the hook and has to deliver. What that means is subject to interpretation at this point, but I'm guessing Cashman's job is in jeopardy if the Yankess don't start winning or make the playoffs.

Do you think because of this statement of "on a big hook" that may be why the rumors are flying that the Yankees are looking at Helton and Fuentes in a possible trade?

And do you think that if Cashman is feeling the pressure from the boss will trade prospects for an impact player like Helton?

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

I was refering to the quote from Steinbrenner when he said below;

"He's on a big hook," a spirited Steinbrenner said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He wanted sole authority. He got it. Now he's got to deliver."

Personally I can't blame Cashman for the poor start the Yankees had due to so many injuries to your pitchers, or some players not performing up to expectations. But the boss is saying Cashman is on the hook and has to deliver. What that means is subject to interpretation at this point, but I'm guessing Cashman's job is in jeopardy if the Yankess don't start winning or make the playoffs.

Do you think because of this statement of "on a big hook" that may be why the rumors are flying that the Yankees are looking at Helton and Fuentes in a possible trade?

And do you think that if Cashman is feeling the pressure from the boss will trade prospects for an impact player like Helton?

If Cashman will hit the panic button, it will not save the season for sure.

[clipper]

This is George being George. He is correct on only ONE point and it's Giambi. Even Giambi knows it was a mistake (even if it was partially true, nothing will come out of it). Jose Conseco is the only person who thinks this was the right thing and that's tells you it was a screw up. (I heard some TV network may have a TV show with him. Unreal)

IMO, Brian did have an off season but nobody even Theo does. I feel bad for him because he is an easy target, Pravano, Igawa, Mart Miller hurt him this year (starting pitching for the last 5 years). I didn't like Doug but he didn't give up prospects and Hilly was the only other good free agent.

George likes Joe but Joe is responsible too. I would replace Joe with Giradi yesterday. He's a proven manager and Don Mattingly is not ready. Joe makes Brian look bad with his management. OK. Injuries are a big problem but that's how I feel.

Clipper

[Mattingly]

I can't say that Cashman's fully at fault here. If anything, it may be Steinbrenner who may bear a greater burden of the load. Let's see:

Matsui, LF: George wanted him, he hits well. No problem.

Damon, CF: George wanted him, he has hit well, but he's banged up. I can't fault Cashman, but we could've had Beltran instead of Unit. Now that Unit's been "returned to sender", we don't have Beltran's stronger arm, but instead a leadoff hitter who's lower legs have become issues.

Abreu, RF: Other than taking 100% of his salary (in lieu of burning the farm), I won't say it was a bad decision, considering what was out there. However, he definitely needs to pick up the offense.

Other than Man-CAVE-itch, the INF is unchanged. He's hitting better than before, so that's to Brian's credit.

If there's anything that Cashman can be faulted for, it's the changing of the training crew at the beginning of the season, which led to pitchers' muscle strains in April.

If George were still in charge, we likely would never have seen much from Karstens, Rasner and Clippard, even though the former two are on the DL and the latter just lost on Friday.

Thankfully, no more "parade of stars" every season, whereby the Yanks sign an A-List FA or trade for a big star.

[TonyStarks]

I think that some people want to have it both way.
Some want to start the rebuilding process...but at the same time they want to win.

Problem is that when Rebuilding meets Trying to Win....somethings gonna give. And more times than not it's Winning.
Cashman made some sacrifices....he didn't bring in any real Free Agents and he shipped out older players in lieu of trying to get the Yanks younger.

The ONLY thing I blame Cashman for is bringing in Doug M. ; Kyle Farnsworth; and Bobby A.
Though the move did pan out with Bobby last season...today it doesn't look like such a great trade. It now looks like a bloat contract for an aging player.

Unfortunately, we must do what the majority of Yankee fans cannot understand...and that is to be patient. Cashman has restocked the farm and we have been witness to what that can do for a team: Wang, Cano, Melky, Hughes, Karstens, Clippard.
Cashman seems to be following a similiar path that Stick Michaels took.
Not to the "T" but very similiar. He's brought up young players and then added a few Free Agents to the mix.

[LouGehrig]

Steinbrenner appears to be getting impatient!

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6850076?MSNHPHMA

Perhaps this is why the Yankees are looking at a possible trade for Helton.

Since Cashman is on hook, and Torre is not, based on this article, I would not be surprised to see a trade fairly soon for Helton or someone else that can make an impact to the Yankees, but at what cost?

Since it's doubtful most teams such as the Rox would not want aging and high priced veterans such as Abreu or Giambi, but rather would want young up and coming players, will Cashman trade away prized prospects to help save his job?

Yes he would.

[monkey333]

I was refering to the quote from Steinbrenner when he said below;

"He's on a big hook," a spirited Steinbrenner said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He wanted sole authority. He got it. Now he's got to deliver."

Personally I can't blame Cashman for the poor start the Yankees had due to so many injuries to your pitchers, or some players not performing up to expectations. But the boss is saying Cashman is on the hook and has to deliver. What that means is subject to interpretation at this point, but I'm guessing Cashman's job is in jeopardy if the Yankess don't start winning or make the playoffs.

Do you think because of this statement of "on a big hook" that may be why the rumors are flying that the Yankees are looking at Helton and Fuentes in a possible trade?

And do you think that if Cashman is feeling the pressure from the boss will trade prospects for an impact player like Helton?
I was referring to the quote as well, not to you.

[DoubleX]

Since it's doubtful most teams such as the Rox would not want aging and high priced veterans such as Abreu or Giambi, but rather would want young up and coming players, will Cashman trade away prized prospects to help save his job?

I think the answer to that question is yes and no. I think if you asked Cashman, his preference would be to not trade away prospects. He covets prospects, especially pitchers, and that's why I think we saw him trade away Randy Johnson, Gary Sheffield, and Jaret Wright for almost entirely pitching prospects. I also think it's why the team has no ML quality backup catcher, why Doug Mientkiewicz is playing 1B everyday, and why Robinson Cano, Chien-Ming Wang, and Scott Proctor were even given chances a few years back, and why the team seemed content with the likes of Bubba Crosby and Andy Phillips for stretches in the last few years (though, right now I think having Phillips in the minors is a mistake). So yeah, I think if you asked Cashman to answer honestly, he'd say he values youth and would like to build, even if it takes some losing.

However, working for Steinbrenner is not nearly that simple and there is no such thing as rebuilding, which means Cashman has likely often had to compromise his own philosophy and spend on big names to satiate Steinbrenner. So in that way, given that Steinbrenner wants to win now and it's his money, Cashman may go out there and spend like he did last year on Abreu and already this year on Clemens, even if that is not his preference.

[Mariano_Rivera]

I see it more as Torre's fault than Cashman's.

Nobody could have predicted the slumps Abreu, Cano, etc. are in. The only mistake he has really made was hiring Marty Miller.

I agree with everyting else he said though

[ChrisLDuncan]

I see it more as Torre's fault than Cashman's.

Nobody could have predicted the slumps Abreu, Cano, etc. are in. The only mistake he has really made was hiring Marty Miller.

I agree with everyting else he said though

Kei Igawa??? He lost us a few games...but for the most part I agree with you. If the offseason went perfect (not every move that needed to be made but no bad moves) and the managing was ideal I only see that as maybe six games so far...but when that's all the management loses, we've also hit some bad luck too.

[Mariano_Rivera]

Kei Igawa??? He lost us a few games...but for the most part I agree with you. If the offseason went perfect (not every move that needed to be made but no bad moves) and the managing was ideal I only see that as maybe six games so far...but when that's all the management loses, we've also hit some bad luck too.

Yeah, I forgot about him. He could turn it around though I guess.

[CoachZee]

It's time to upset the comfort level in the lineup. If Damon needs time to heel put him on the DL, same for Giambi. Its a great show for the rest of the team how they are "toughing it out" but they are hurting the team.

Put them on the DL and call up some younger players and sit Abreu for a few games while Kevin Thompson takes his place.

This crew just isn't getting it done, shake em up. Billy Martin used to set his line up by pulling names out of a hat to break out of a slump.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. We are bordering on insanity here.