Brian Cashman’s Catastrophes

Brian Cashman is being left alone to do his job so far in 2006, after he signed back on with the New York Yankees last October for more than five million for three years. But Brian Cashman, the Yankees’ General Manager, has not pushed a lot of the right buttons lately. Sure, some of the moves he made are those that any GM in baseball would have to make, but Brian Cashman’s resume should skip the last couple of years. If and when George Steinbrenner returns to his old ways, when he changed front office people like most people change cable channels, things could get dicey for Brian Cashman as the Yankees’ GM. Brian Cashman’s insistence that Steinbrenner stay out of the personnel end of things could be his undoing, as all the blame will land squarely on his own shoulders if things go south for New York.

Perhaps the windfall Steinbrenner is watching come his way from his YES Network has various other deals has softened him, because if he is upset with the team’s play, and some of Brian Cashman’s acquisitions, he has not shown it. New York did the absolutely unthinkable in 2004, blowing a 3-0 American League Championship Series lead to their detested rivals, the Boston Red Sox, and sending their fan base into a state of depression. Brian Cashman cannot be blamed for acquiring third baseman Alex Rodriguez prior to the 2004 season. Any GM with the resources would have done so. Brian Cashman could not have foreseen Rodriguez’s post-season struggles, which have compounded and overflowed into 2006. A-Rod, whose nickname lends itself to some less flattering monikers such as A-Fraud and E-Rod, has had his troubles at the plate and now in the field, as he is being asked to help carry a squad depleted by injuries to Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui, Robinson Cano, and just about every regular in the line-up at some point this year.

It is mostly the little pieces of the puzzle that Brian Cashman has failed to put into the right place, mistakes which are now magnified as these players get more playing time because of all the injuries. Back-up catcher Kelly Stinnett has been a major disappointment, batting .228 with one homer and 9 runs batted in. Brian Cashman brought in Stinnett because he had caught for Randy Johnson while in Arizona. But Stinnett has allowed 20 of 25 base stealers to be successful, and almost beaned the six- foot eleven Johnson recently with one of his throws to second.

Utilityman Miguel Cairo was resigned after a year away from the Bronx, and now with Robinson Cano nursing a bad leg, Cairo is seeing way too much action. This forces the Yankees to spell their infielders with Nick Green, who Brian Cashman signed after he was let go by the Devil Rays. Although Green is a solid defender and is hitting .333 in 15 Yankee at-bats, he is batting just .148 for the season and is not really a threat at the plate. Unable to sign a slugging first baseman, since Jason Giambi does most of his work now as a designated hitter, the Yankees have given farm hand Andy Phillips a look; way too long of a look. In over 200 at bats, Phillips has but 23 runs batted in and he has struck out 43 times. Brian Cashman’s failure to find an established hitter at first may dearly cost New York in the long run.

With Sheffield and Matsui out with wrist injuries, the outfield consists of Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera, and a combination of Bernie Williams, Aaron Guiel, and Bubba Crosby. Brian Cashman picked up Guiel from the Royals, of all teams, where the left- handed hitting outfielder wasn’t playing much. If there was ever a red flag, that was it. The Yankees picking up players from the Royals is the baseball equivalent of Charlize Theron asking Roseanne Barr for beauty tips. If Guiel were to produce it would be a nice story, but Brian Cashman isn’t being paid to provide Disney with the plot for their next feel-good sports film. Williams, at 38, was slated to be a fourth outfielder, but has already had almost 300 at bats in 2006. Crosby hustles and plays hard, but he has to because he lacks any true talent. Damon was one of the most sought after free agents last winter. Johnny has had his moments, but nagging injuries have made him inconsistent, and he is not having the year Brian Cashman envisioned when he signed him. Cabrera has made great strides in the field and at the plate. He has gotten some big hits and is among the AL leaders in outfield assists. Brian Cashman should resist trading the 21 year old, especially for someone like has-been Jeremy Burnitz, as some trade deadline rumors have suggested.

Many of Brian Cashman’s moves concerning the pitching staff have produced terrible results. The Yankees decided to part ways with set-up man Tom Gordon after 2005. Brian Cashman replaced Gordon with Kyle Farnsworth, who was awful until the end of June. If Farnsworth, who still sports a 4.06 ERA and has blown all but one of his five save chances, reverts back to his previous form of earlier in the year, it will severely cripple the Yankee chances. Brian Cashman signed a former closer, Octavio Dotel, knowing he was injured and recovering from Tommy John surgery, in hopes of Dotel coming back mid-season to bolster the pen. As of this writing, Dotel has not thrown a pitch for New York, and has suffered a setback in his rehab, with his Yankee debut now up in the air. Mike Myers was another member of the bullpen brought in by Brian Cashman. The situational lefty is allowing left-handers to hit .261 off of him, and Boston’s David Ortiz, who Myers was specifically brought in by Brian Cashman to get out in crucial situations, has already hit a home run off of him. Myers goes 3-2 on every other batter he faces, and does not possess the kind of stuff that makes left-handed batters cringe anymore.

The free agent signing of Carl Pavano might be Brian Cashman’s worst move, if he had not traded left handed pitcher Ted Lilly in a three way deal that brought Jeff Weaver to the Yankees. Lilly has gone on to be a competent innings eater while Weaver was booed out of New York with his 6.00 ERA after the 2003 season. Brian Cashman sent Weaver to the Dodgers for Kevin Brown, who was a constant headache and got bombed by Boston in Game Seven of the 2004 debacle. Pavano was a .500 pitcher for seven seasons, with one good year before he became a free agent after 2004; Brian Cashman threw millions at Pavano, who went 4-6 in 2005 before making his name synonymous with the disabled list. He has yet to pitch this year and most likely will simply cash his paychecks and laugh all the way to the bank. Along with Pavano, Brian Cashman also inked Jared Wright, another pitcher who has been through arm troubles and has seen better days. Wright struggles against a good line-up, and never lasts beyond the sixth inning.

Of course hindsight is 20-20, but Brian Cashman’s tendencies to go after aging pitchers well past their glory years, combined with his inabilities to put together a strong bench, have left the New York Yankees in a vulnerable position. What Brian Cashman does at the July 31st trade deadline will be key. If he fails to make the right moves, it is a good possibility the Yankees will miss the post-season for the first time since 1994, leaving Brian Cashman vulnerable- to the wrath of a certain “kinder, gentler” owner who will demand answers.