YankeesRedSox.com

Got to agree as usual. Nevermind the fact that he's handled the NY pressure better than anyone in the Yankee organization for as long as I can remember. Even the Jeter contract, which looked like a Pavano like mistake in June, isn't horrendous when his post-all star OPS came in at .811 (good enough for 4th overall for SS in MLB expanded over the whole season). He's made some very tough decisions over the years (Torre, Bernie, Clemens, Jeter) so he's plenty tough enough. I can't think of anyone who's had a better run of it than he in a seat as hot as that. Now that I'm typing, I'm actually quite worried he'll leave! He'd be a bigger loss than Sabathia.

I agree with your 30% success theory and that GMs should be a LOT more successful than hitters. Here is the hard part IMO - Cashman, Epstein and a few others actually have it tougher because of the high (or no) ceilings with salaries on their teams. It dumbs down the senses I believe so that Carl Crawford or FA du jour seem like no-brainers. Their is only on the field risks. A GM for a mid market or small market has the added fear of financial ruin hanging over their heads.

Yep, I agree with you Peter. Cashman has been successful and should be brought back. One of the things I've always struggled to do is to find an accurate line between Cash's moves and those made by Tampa. I wonder what the team would look like if Cashman were given the reins with no "heckling" from Tampa. And I also wonder what the annual salary curve would look like.

I have always gotten the sense that this team's owners find some some sort of pride in spending more than any other team. Maybe it's like having to have the latest diamond encrusted platinum creation from Rolex while playing a round of golf with your cronies? A badge, a status symbol? I don't know, obviously - but I would REALLY like to see this team get younger and use its resources to sign the best players out of college and then groom them to succeed in the Bronx. I make it sound easy, but I know it's not very easy at all.

No, I'm not complaining about the annual postseason appearances - I love those much more than the bad old days, but it would be nice to see the team be built a little differently going forward. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe what I'm suggesting isn't feasible, but I am pretty confident that Cashman, if anyone, can take a good run at it.

Tim

Excellent point about the NY pressure and I totally agree, he would be a much bigger loss than CC.

BL

That's a really interesting point. You're right, smaller market GM's can't make the same mistakes Cashman and Epstein can.

Of course fans of smaller market clubs would probably use some very harsh language if we pointed that out to them!

Mitchell

It seems to me that the Tampa moves have become much, much more evident in the past few years because Cashman doesn't have a problem with telling us. For example, we know Soriano wasn't a Cashman move.

I would love to see your plan come to fruition. That would be a really fun team to follow.

BL? You make a great point. With no real constraints, the open checkbook GMs have no excuses for not not winning a ring every year. Sort of like A-Rod having no excuse for failing to win the MVP annually or bash 800 HRs. He's paid like he SHOULD do that.

Like Billy Joel sang, "Pressure".

Mitchell

Now I've got that song in my head.

Anyway, I think I heard about 50 different "$30 million and he strikes out" type comments Thursday night leaving The Stadium. Of course there were some colorful adjectives thrown in to most of them.