Sunday, October 18, 2009

Give Cashman Credit, Too

There has been a lot of discussion about the personnel moves made by the Yankees over the past few years in their bid to get back to the World Series.

What a lot of commentators have missed is the one move the Yankees didn’t make.
Back in 2007, after the team parted ways with manager Joe Torre, there was also a lot of conjecture on the future of general manager Brian Cashman.

The team lost to the Cleveland Indians in the Divisional Series, and Cashman’s contract was done. More than a few teams were interested in having Cashman come work for them.

The Yankees retained Cashman, and it may have been one of their smartest personnel moves.
That was my thinking last night when I watched Jerry Hairston score the winning run in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Angels. Hairston was picked up just before the trading deadline by Cashman, who has made a series of strong moves over the past 12 months to fortify the Yankees.

Detractors, of course, will point out that Cashman has the deep Yankees’ coffers with which to work. Give any general manager the opportunity to get C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, as the Yankees did in the last off-season, and they could win the pennant.

There is more to the Yankees, however, than their start-studded lineup. There are several other contributors that have played a large part in the team’s success. And the reason they are in pinstripes? Brian Cashman.

Take, for instance, Nick Swisher. He hit just .219 last year for the White Sox, with 24 home runs and 69 RBIs. Cashman acquired the switch-hitting outfielder for Wilson Betemit and two minor leaguers. During the regular season, he hit 29 home runs and had 82 RBIs while drawing 97 walks.

Swisher might have had the greatest impact this season, but there have been others. Cashman also brought in Phil Coke and Hairston, who have been key additions as well. He stuck with Melky Cabrera in the outfield, and backed him up with Brett Gardner, who has also been an important player.

Certainly, not every move Cashman has made has worked. He has made a lot of poor decisions regarding pitchers – Carl Pavano and Randy Johnson comes to mind – but don’t forget, a lot of teams would’ve made those same choices. Cashman got burned going after them, but a lot of teams also wanted those pitchers.

Cashman also made the choice to pursue Sabathia and Burnett last winter, and it certainly looks smart now. He knew the Yankees’ biggest shortcoming was pitching, and he addressed it. He need not apologize simply because the Yankees can afford to pay the big salaries. He’s just playing by the rules.

It is not, however, the mega stars that win championships. A lot of times it is the supporting cast that is just as instrumental, and Cashman has done a terrific job in strengthening the Yankees’ bench and the bullpen. They were two major flaws in the team last year, and Cashman improved the team in each of those areas.

The Yankees still have work to do to win the World Series. But at least they have the weapons to do it, thanks to Brian Cashman.

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