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Earlier in the week, the Yankees acquired outfielder Justin Maxwell from the Washington Nationals in exchange for minor league righty Adam Olbrychowski.  Just yesterday, the team signed veterans Ronnie Belliard and Eric Chavez to minor league deals with invitations to spring training. 

Now that GM Brian Cashman is likely done bringing in possible bench options, I’ll predict how helpful each of the aforementioned players can be to the Yankees in 2011.

Maxwell is a very, very big boy.  He’s listed at 6’5” and 235 pounds, but he may very well be a little bigger.  He’s always been considered a superior athlete, and that athleticism could translate well into a reserve outfield spot on the Yankees.

Once a top prospect in the Nationals organization, Maxwell broke into the bigs in 2007 in grand fashion.  In his third pinch-hit appearance, just six days after being called up to the club for his debut, he smacked a grand slam off of an 0-2 pitch against the Florida Marlins.

The promising talent missed just about all of the 2008 season with a fractured wrist that he suffered while diving for a fly ball.

Most of Maxwell’s 2009 season was spent at AAA Syracuse, but he was called up late in the season to cover for the injured Nyjer Morgan.  The highlight of his 2009 season was a walk-off grand slam that he hit off of Francisco Rodriguez to give the Nationals the win on Fan Appreciation Day.

He again spent a significant amount of time in AAA Syracuse in 2010, but returned to the majors later in the season to hit yet another grand slam, this time off of the Braves’ Mike Minor.  That gave him three career grand slams in four at-bats with the bases loaded.

Maxwell is currently recovering from an October Tommy John surgery, but he’ll be given every opportunity to make the club out of spring training.  Who knows?  He might regain his top prospect form in the Bronx.

Infielder Ronnie Belliard has been a journeyman of sorts throughout his major league career.  He has had stints with the Brewers, Rockies, Indians, Cardinals, Nationals and Dodgers. 

He has been very inconsistent throughout his career, and has always battled constant issues with his weight.  The one-year, $850,000 deal he signed with the Dodgers last January had a clause in it that Belliard could be given his official release if he failed to report to camp under 215 pounds.

Hopefully weight won’t be an issue this season with the Yankees.  Even if he comes into camp at 230 pounds, the Yankees won’t care as long as he produces.  Realistically, he’ll be battling with Eric Chavez for a bench spot this season.

Speaking of Chavez, he’s finally healthy.  Or, so he says.  It’s hard not to feel sympathy for this guy.  A lifetime Oakland Athletic up until yesterday, Chavez has battled his fair share of injuries throughout his career.

His most recent string of injuries began in 2008, when he hit the disabled list due to pack pain.  That same season, he found himself on the disabled list again with right shoulder inflammation.  In Jun. 2009 he was placed on the disabled list due to back pain, effectively ending his season.  Chavez played in just 33 games in 2010.

When healthy, Chavez was one of the best third basemen in the league.  He won six consecutive Gold Glove awards from 2001-2006 and he won a Silver Slugger award in 2002.

Chavez will be competing with Belliard, as well as Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez, for a reserve role this year for the Yankees.  Although both Pena and Nunez are superior fielders (at this point in his career, it’s hard to know the kind of defense you’ll get from Chavez), Belliard and Chavez are superior bats.

It should be interesting this spring to see who gets the call.  Chavez is only useful as a corner infielder, while Belliard can play all over the infield.  Pena and Nunez are best suited for up the middle, but they both can play third base as well.

The acquisitions of Maxwell, Belliard and Chavez could very well help the team this season, but we’ll have to wait and see as to what capacity they actually will.

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After 16 seasons, 13 with the New York Yankees, Andy Pettitte has announced his retirement, ending any speculation he’ll pitch in 2011.

Yes, he may still make a come back during the season, and certainly most Yankee fans hope he will, but for now, let’s operate on the assumption that he’s gone for good.

The Yankees finally know Pettitte’s status and they can stop wondering, but that’s about the only affect his announcement should have on the team’s operations.

From the time the season ended, general manager Brian Cashman has had to build his team as if Pettitte would not be a part of it this season. Everyone is asking who the Yankees will add to replace Pettitte, but why are they asking that now?

If the Yankees believed Pettitte had been learning towards retirement this entire time, they should have already found a replacement for him, and if he happened to come back, that would have just been icing on the cake, but it wasn’t necessary for their offseason plans.

There were statements from general manager Brian Cashman more than two weeks ago that Pettitte would not be returning in 2011.

On January 12, Cashman told reporters that Pettitte “is choosing at this stage to not start 2011.” He then clarified his statement, saying he meant to say “pitch” instead of “start,” meaning Pettitte wouldn’t pitch in 2011.

“Andy’s been very communicative [with me] on this issue. Right now, he’s not playing. If he decides to play, it will be for us,” Cashman stated. “He’s a Yankee, from start to finish. I don’t think he’s determined whether he’s officially finished, but is choosing at this stage to not start 2011.”

That was almost three weeks ago. So why is the question of how they’ll replace Pettitte in the starting rotation being asked now? Surely Cashman has been under the impression that he wouldn’t have his prized lefty (no, not Cliff Lee) in the starting rotation this season.

It seems Pettitte made it perfectly clear that he wouldn’t pitch in 2011. He is set to officially announce his retirement today, but Cashman and the Yankees had all the indications they needed three weeks ago.

They should have prepared for this already.

After missing out on Cliff Lee, the Yankees’ starting rotation is questionable at best. After CC Sabathia, they have to worry about the sophomore slump of Phil Hughes and the up-and-down antics of A.J. Burnett. Ivan Nova is expected to fill the No. 4 spot, but the fifth spot is still very much up for grabs.

Cashman has brought in Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to compete for the last spot in the starting rotation, as well as in-house candidate Sergio Mitre. All those additions came before Pettitte’s official announcement, so why do they suddenly need to replace him now?

“He’s not delaying anything, he’s not pushing us back, he’s not hurting us,” Cashman said at a fundraiser on January 26. “He was honest up front from the very beginning. Of course we’d like him to play.”

The questions about how the Yankees would replace Andy Pettitte should have started two months ago, not this week. Cashman knew that, which is why he’s spent the majority of this offseason trying to add starting pitching.

While many Yankees fans love to get on Cashman for not bringing in Lee or Carl Crawford, or not wanting to sign Rafael Soriano, you have to give him a little bit of credit: he built his offseason around the assumption that Pettitte wouldn’t be in the starting rotation come Opening Day.

There were certainly good starting pitching options available earlier in the offseason, such as Brandon Webb, Jeff Francis and Chris Young, but the Yankees have added their fair share of starters to fill out the rotation because Cashman had abandoned his hope a month ago.

If one day this season Andy Pettitte’s face shows up on the big screen at Yankee stadium and Susan Waldman has another nervous breakdown on the radio, Yankees fans everywhere will rejoice.

For now, though, they must come to terms with the fact that the reliable left-hander wont be taking the mound in 2011. Brian Cashman certainly did… a month ago.

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In 14 days, pitchers and catchers will report to their respective camps as 2011 spring training means baseball is finally back again.
 
For the New York Yankees, it means pitching tryouts will begin, as there are two big holes that need to be filled in the starting rotation.
 
GM Brain Cashman is trying to fill the fourth and fifth spots, while Yankees fans are holding their breath hoping southpaw Andy Pettitte will appear.
 
For now the auditions are among Sergio Mitre, Ivan Nova, Bartolo Colon and newly signed right-handed pitcher Freddy Garcia. This is presuming Mark Prior is only trying out for the bullpen.

 
Who is Freddy Garcia?
 
Garcia is a 35-year-old, right-handed pitcher who used to have a lot of promise. Debuting in 1999 with the Seattle Mariners, Garcia was considered one top youngster in the league. In his five seasons in Seattle, Garcia was voted to two All-Star teams, came in second for Rookie of the Year and almost won the Cy Young in 2001.
 
That is not the Garcia the Yankees just signed for $.1.5 million, with another $3.6M in incentives pending on number of starts he makes.
 
This Garcia was traded in 2004 to the White Sox and played in Chicago for the next two seasons. Then it was the Phillies in 2007, where he had season-ending surgery after going making 11 starts, winning just one and posting an ERA just shy of 6.00. In 2008, Garcia made three starts as a Detroit Tiger, before heading back to the White Sox where he pitched the last two seasons.
 
The only promise Garcia has shown was last season, making 28 starts, posting a 12-6 record with a 4.64 ERA over 157 innings pitched.
 
It’s not great but the Yankees need to weigh all their options.
 
Still, Garcia is not going to be the permanent solution because he doesn’t strikeout enough batters and gives up too many home-runs. The AL East, especially the Boston Red Sox, could devourer Garcia for dinner. In 2010, Garcia only had 89 strikeouts, while giving up 23 home runs.
 
Earlier in his career, Garcia’s home run numbers were awful but his strikeout numbers were tremendous and that provided enough of a bolster.
 
Garcia wants to pitch for the Yankees and says it will motivate him, which are just words for now.
 
Garcia is a signing that could work out, but at the very least he could hold down the fort until the trade deadline.
 

So, What Are the Yankees’ Other Options?
 
With Cashman trying to make up for a mess of an offseason, Garcia doesn’t provide much comfort for Yankees fans.
 
Maybe it is time to offer Andy Pettitte too much money, so his decision to return would be impossible to refuse.
 
Still, why Joba Chamberlain is not given a chance seems ludicrous to me, as the Yankees should weigh all their options.
 
It is preposterously mind-boggling that Mitre is getting his millionth chance, while Joba is not even mentioned as an option.
 
Mitre is another Kyle Farnsworth, taking losing games over and over to a whole new level.
 
This still doesn’t seem to faze the Yankee brass, but it definitely pisses off the fans. Skipper Joe Girardi is taking a huge risk putting Mitre on the mound because it could cause a riot in the Bronx.
 
There are the prospects, which have a couple of solid arms coming off the farm. For this to work, it would entail the Yankees making a change regarding their methods of dealing with innings limits and pitching counts.
 
This fiasco will definitely make Yankees spring training a more heavily watched event, but it is surely not by choice.

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C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett are the only current locks in what looks to be a very shaky rotation for the Yankees in 2011.

Assuming that Andy Pettitte retires, the Yankees could be in for a long season in the Bronx.

The Yankees entered the New Year thinking that their rotation would be rounded out by the likes of Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre—far from a solid back of the rotation. It’s difficult to gauge how Nova will pitch, as it’ll be his first full season in the league and Sergio Mitre has never really been a productive starter.

To combat the shakiness of the rotation, the Yanks have signed both Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia. The team hopes that Colon and Garcia can regain some of their early to mid-2000’s form, where each starter won his share of games.

Colon’s first full season was in 1998 and he was a very consistent hurler up until the 2006 season. Through 2005, he had won 20 games in a season twice, 18 games four times, 15 games six times and had an ERA under 4.00 six times.

The two seasons since 1998 that he didn’t win 15 games were in 1998 and 2001. 

Guess how many games he won in those campaigns: Fourteen.

Colon enjoyed his best season in 2005 with the Angels, when he pitched to a 21-8 record with a 3.48 ERA in 222.2 innings. He racked up 157 strikeouts. Colon won the American League Cy Young Award that season, beating out Mariano Rivera by a whopping 50 points.

To say there was a drop off after 2005 would be a significant understatement.

Since his award winning campaign, Colon has earned just 14 wins with an average annual ERA of 4.89; to go along with his 14 wins, he has compiled 21 losses.

His struggles in 2006 came after missing most of the season after right shoulder soreness and inflammation, resulting from a partially torn rotator cuff that he suffered in a playoff game against the Yankees in 2005.

In 2007, his last season with the Angels, Colon took a few trips to the disabled list and started just 18 games. In 2008 with the Red Sox, he started just seven games and was cut from the team after attending to “personal matters” in the Dominican Republic and deciding to stay. 

After starting 12 games for the White Sox in 2009, he sat out the entire 2010 season.

Freddy Garcia burst onto the scene in 1999, compiling a 17-8 record in his rookie season with the Seattle Mariners. He achieved varying levels of success through 2006, winning 14 or more games five times, pitching over 200 innings seven times and compiling an ERA under 4.00 four times.

Garcia, a pitcher who has been prone to giving up the longball throughout most of his career, has always had a reputation of being a pitcher who can win games while also giving up a moderate amount of runs.

His highest ERA, through 2006, was 4.53. Despite the high ERA, Garcia was successful; he won 17 games that season and pitched 216.1 innings.

After his strong showing throughout most of the decade, Garcia dropped off the face of the baseball world until last season. From 2007-2009, he won just five games in 23 starts. His average annual ERA during that stretch was 4.83.

He spent much of the 2007 season on the disabled list with a shoulder injury; he sat out the 2008 season until August and didn’t receive a call to the bigs in 2009 until June.

Garcia essentially resurrected his career last season. He started 28 games for the Chicago White Sox and earned 12 wins with a respectable ERA of 4.64.

The Yankees hope to maximize production from the back end of the rotation, and having Colon and Garcia can’t hurt. The signings are low-risk, high-reward and didn’t cost the Bombers much money. 

If either of them should falter, the Yanks will have Nova and Mitre waiting in the wings. Plus, there is always a possibility that GM Brian Cashman pulls off a trade.

The Yankees are expecting more from Garcia this season, so anything received from Colon will be a huge bonus.

If Pettitte returns, then the Yankees rotation suddenly gets rather deep. Pettitte would slide into the third spot, then a healthy and effective A.J. Burnett would give the Yankees a deep front four. Any level of production from the fifth spot would then be a bonus. 

If such is the case, then the team would be thrilled if Garcia could match his 2010 level of production. 

We’ll just have to wait and see though, and thankfully we won’t have to wait too long.  Spring Training is just around the corner.

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What is the going rate for a cerebral college pitcher with a continually developing arsenal, increasing strikeout rate, and a perennial winner?  How about a fourth round draft pick in the 2009 amateur draft by the New York Yankees.

Adam P. Warren is a 6’1″, 200lb right hand pitcher from New Bern, NC.  He played his high school ball at New Bern High, where he earned the New Bern Journal’s “Baseball Player of the Year” award.  An honor roll student, he graduated fifth in his class.

Warren went on to pitch for the University of North Carolina in 2006 and helped turn around what was not a highly regarded baseball program.  “We had not been to the College World Series since something like 1989, I think” says Warren in 2009. “And now I have been there four times.”  This was not a coincidence.

It was his sophomore season of 2007 when Warren really started to shine.  He went 12-0, sporting a minuscule 2.17 ERA in 70 2/3 innings.  His 12-0 record ranks as the most victories without a loss in school history.  Warren also earned two wins in the College World Series, allowing a total of two runs on six hits in 10 2/3 innings.

Warren’s junior season at UNC, in 2008, saw an incredible feat come to an end.  He suffered his first loss as a collegiate player after a run of 19 straight victories spanning his first three seasons.  It was the longest streak by a UNC Tarheel since Scott Bankston ran off 20 straight during the 1983-1984 seasons.

Warren’s senior season in 2009 saw him go 10-2 with a 3.31 ERA. The most impressive part about his development as a college player was his ever increasing strikeout rate.  He went from a K/9 rate of 5.6 as a freshman, to a 6.3 rate as a sophomore, 7.9 rate as a junior and finishing with a 9.5 rate as a senior.  This development, and his playoff success—six earned runs in 22 1/3 innings, 23 strikeouts and two walks—made it difficult not to notice him.

Warren was drafted in the 36th round in 2008 by the Cleveland Indians.  He went back to school for his senior season, and it payed off because the Yankees took him with the 135th pick of the 2009 first-year player draft.

Warren was sent to short season Staten Island in 2009 and simply dominated.  In 56.2 innings, he sported a 1.43 ERA with only 49 hits, 10 walks and an awesome 50 strikeouts.  Hitters were baffled against him with a .236 batting average against.

In 2010, Warren began the year with class A Tampa and went 7-5 with a 2.22 ERA, 72 hits, 67 strikeouts and 17 walks in 81 innings.  He was promoted to class AA Trenton where it was more of the same. He finished the year with a 2.59 ERA with 121 hits, 126 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 135.1 innings.

The increasing strikeout rate continued as a professional.  In 2009, it was a 7.9 K/9 pitching for Staten Island.  He improved to 8.3 in 2010 with Tampa and Trenton.  His strikeout rate was actually the best at Trenton—9.7 K/9—where the competition is at a higher level than his two previous stops.

In an interview with Lane Meyer, Warren describes his arsenal as “a four-seam fastball between 90-94” (reports are it touched 96 in the minors) and a two-seamer that “don’t lose much velocity” but “does get a little sink”.  He also has a change up “that sinks a little bit” and a 12 to 6 curveball that is still developing.

Finally he throws “what has started off as a cutter but has now developed into more of a slider that runs anywhere from 80-85 miles an hour”.

Warren has excellent control—his WHIP in the minors is 1.10—and a good feel for his pitches.  He mixes his pitches very well, as evidenced by his large arsenal, and does a great job changing speeds.  He can throw anything from a 74 MPH curveball to a 96 MPH fastball, so it plays a huge role in what he does on the mound.

It looks as if Warren will start the year at either class AA Trenton or AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre.  It is conceivable that he will battle for a rotation spot in spring training.  He has the talent to be a solid middle of the order starter.  If he keeps improving on his strikeout rate, who knows where it may lead.

It is very clear that Adam Warren is a winner and has been his entire career.  This would make his transition to the rotation in the Bronx smoother.  The pressure is on, and Warren, seemingly, can handle whatever is thrown at him.

Brought to you by Pinstripes and Pasta

The Patience Series:

Patience Part 1: Hector Noesi

Patience Part 2: David Phelps

Patience Part 3: Brandon Laird

Patience Part 4: Adam Warren (Above)

Patience Part 5: Eduardo Nunez

Patience Part 6: Gary Sanchez

Related Articles:

It’s Deja Vu All Over Again

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New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman signed another ex-superstar to a minor-league deal, ex-Angels–White Sox–Red Sox pitcher Bartolo Colon.
 
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Colon will earn $900K in the majors and has the right to be released if he isn’t on the team after Spring Training.
 
Is Cashman really this desperate?
 
In 2005, Colon won the AL CY Young award, but has since completely imploded, both physically and mentally.
 
The following three seasons, 2006-2009, Colon had 14 wins in 47 starts, one complete game, allowed 44 balls to go yard, only had 172 strikeouts and pitched a total of 226 innings.
 
You might remember Colon back in 2008, when the Red Sox were the only ones interested in signing the overweight pitcher, who stood at 5’11″ and tipped the scale at 245 lbs.

Making seven starts for Boston, the injury-prone Colon found himself back on the DL again.
 
Colon then left Boston for his home in the Dominican Republic to tend to personal issues and never returned. The reason given was, “He didn’t feel like it.”
 
Colon’s attitude is why no team wanted him in the first place; add that to all the injuries and that, my friend, is the definition of being unreliable.
 
By no means am I trying to erase how talented Colon used to be, but since he took home pitching’s biggest honor, he has been a mess.
 
The last time Colon pitched on a major league mound was back on July 24, 2009.
 
The reality is that acquiring a self-proclaimed reformed hazard is the last thing the Yankees should want to waste their time on.
 
It would seem like Cashman’s on some ego filling mission by trying to look like a genius GM coming out of Spring Training.
 
Cashman is banking that one of the smug, injured, either mentally or physically, washed-up players he signed for pennies will become legitimate player again.
 
Well, this makes me officially question Cashman’s intentions for the 2011 Yankees. Spring Training is going to look like Old Timers Day.
 
What is Cashman’s next move?
 
Rumor has it Cashman is interested in re-signing Skipper Joe Girardi to play and manage, killing two birds with one stone.
 
That is a joke, but in all seriousness GM Brain Cashman might need a head-check.
 
What strikes me as odd is that MLB teams repeatedly fail to learn from others’ mistakes.

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This winter has exposed cracks in the New York Yankees’ organization.  What was once the proudest and most cohesive unit in baseball has reverted to the days of factions between the New York front office, headed by GM Brian Cashman, and the Tampa brain trust, led by the Brothers Steinbrenner.

The winter was mostly inactive, until the Steinbrenners overruled Cashman in signing Rafael Soriano, a free agent Cashman didn’t want because he wanted to protect the Yankees’ first round draft pick.  Recently, Cashman allowed himself to go on the record suggesting Yankee captain Derek Jeter move to the outfield by the end of Jeter’s contract, igniting a media frenzy in the New York papers.

Numerous sources indicate that Cashman may leave the Yankees organization for a smaller market club when his contract ends after the season.  And to that, Yankee fans should say good riddance.  Brian Cashman has been the most overrated general manager in all of sports for the last ten years.  

While Cashman has made some good moves over the course of his tenure (trading for Scott Brosius and Chuck Knoblauch in 1998, getting major contributions from Shawn and Aaron Small in 2005), most have been relegated to obscurity (Chili Davis anyone?).

The only reason Cashman has been able to survive for so long was that he was able to win multiple World Series Championships with teams that Gene Michael built.  

His mistakes are further covered up by the Yankees’ huge payroll, which allows the team to eat bad contracts without problems, like Carl Pavano’s in 2004 (who Cashman greatly considered bringing back this offseason) or AJ Burnett’s in 2008, contracts that would devastate other teams.

So, to Brian Cashman I say, “Be careful what you wish for.”  Leaving a great gig like the Yankees will be a day you rue for years to come.  Sure, you may get more power with a mid-market club, but you’ll miss the ability to sign any free agent you want, as well as the pomp and circumstance of New York.

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Recent comments from New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman have fans screaming for his head. In just three short days, Cashman has become public enemy No. 1 in New York after his comments on two New York radio shows. 

Most feel that being the general manager of the biggest wallet in baseball is one of the easiest jobs you could get.

Your goal every offseason? Sign the biggest and best free agents available. Don’t win the World Series in 2008? No problem. Just go out and write checks to Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia and lo and behold…a World Series title! Problem solved. It’s that easy to be Brian Cashman, right?

Well, in the biggest market in the world, with the harshest media in the world, Cashman has to watch what he says at all times and be sure not to step on the very wealthy toes of the Steinbrenner Empire.

Cashman may have done just that.

One of the biggest questions of the Yankee offseason this year concerned their franchise shortstop, Derek Jeter. Coming off the worst statistical season of his career, how much was Jeter worth? The two sides fired back and forth for weeks before the Yankees finally came to their senses and resigned Jeter for three years and $51 million.

But when asked about Jeter’s future with the Yankees on the Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio, Cashman said he would be “surprised” if Jeter was still the Yankees’ shortstop by the end of his new deal.

Listen folks, Cashman is not wrong. You know it’s true, whether you’re willing to admit it or not.

Jeter is 36-years-old. He’s older than every other shortstop and he’s too old by baseball standards to stay at his position. When the time comes for Jeter to change positions, the outfield is where he’ll go. It’s going to happen so get ready.

Now, I don’t necessarily think Jeter can move to center field of all places, a corner position would probably better suit him, but he will have to change positions. The list of players to finish their career at shortstop is way too short to think Jeter will add his name to it.

Not to mention that the Yankees have a far superior defensive shortstop waiting to take over in Eduardo Nunez. Yes, Jeter won a Gold Glove in 2010, but let’s be real here for a second—he didn’t deserve it. Yes, he had an excellent fielding percentage (.989), but his limited range kept him from making a lot of plays, which didn’t count against him.

The change is coming people, and rather than make a comment about Jeter not finishing his career with the Yankees, he simply said he wouldn’t finish at shortstop.

After the Derek Jeter comments, the Brian Cashman “greatest hits” catalog kept growing.

During a Q&A with New York radio host Mike Francesca, Cashman was asked: “When you look at this Yankees’ team right now, on paper, before you make a move for a pitcher and clearly you will…who’s a better team this morning (Tuesday morning) on paper, Yankees or the Red Sox in your mind?”

Cashman’s answer? “Red Sox.” Is he wrong? Again, no.

Cashman went on to say that the Yankees have the superior bullpen and their position players are comparable to the Red Sox, but what sets them apart is that the Red Sox have the better starting pitching; that they have their starters set while Cashman is still looking for a fourth and fifth starter.

As it stands right now, the Yankees’ starting rotation is made up of CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett. After that, it’s a huge question mark. You can forget about Cliff Lee. You can forget about Carl Pavano. Heck, you can forget about Armando Gallarraga.

As Cashman said, the Yankees are going to sign a starting pitcher, but who they’ll sign is another issue entirely.

So until the Yankees find a way to improve their starting rotation, the Red Sox are the better team and Cashman is not wrong for saying so. And instead of claiming Cashman has no confidence in his team, perhaps the Yankees can use his statements as motivation this season.

Should Cashman have made these comments about Jeter and the Red Sox? Maybe, maybe not. But is what he said wrong? No. He’s right about Jeter and, at the moment, he’s right about the Red Sox.

The truth hurts people, we all know that, and whether or not you feel a monkey could do his job, the fact is that Cashman, like all general managers, has made both good and bad deals while with the Yankees.

Yankees fans don’t like hearing that the face of the franchise won’t stay at shortstop. They also don’t like hearing that their hated rivals are a better team.

However, they’ll have to get used to it, because it’s all true.

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Courtesy of Yankees ‘n More

Let’s play a little game.

I’m going to give you a quote from Brian Cashman. It has been transcribed, as best as humanly possibly, word for word and stammer for stammer. The quote comes from a Tuesday afternoon Cashman interview on the Michael Kay show on ESPN radio in New York. Read the quote, then see if you can guess the question that was asked, which will be revealed at the end.

CASHMAN’S QUOTE:
“Listen, you know, as long as I can handle the, the media (Cashman laughs and Kay interjects: “you do that just fine.”) Alri… ya know… uh… di… but… after… you know… listen… I think that… I like what I do. I think I’ve gotten, maybe, better, over time, I understand the job better, I understand the people and the processes better. I think we’ve gotta a good structure and philosophy that we’ve put in place. And think we’ve, you know, my job is to hire good people to help me make, you know, better decisions, and I think we’ve got a good system, so let’s put it this way: Uh, ya, I like what I do as long as… it’s not easy… as long as I can take it, you know, both mentally and physically, and that we’re, if we’re successful with the decisions that I, I make, uh… but, at the same time if at any point I become a problem, where, for instance, the job’s not getting done to the best of its abilities, I think, the thing I’m proud about is I think we’ve got a system now in place that you know, hey, uh… we can promote people on various levels. Uh… If we lose our amateur scouting director to a GM job, I think, you know, we have people, you know, that, that can step up and step in ‘cause we’ve trained ‘em well. Just like if I lost out and they wanted to take me out, and something happened at that level, I think we have people here in place that can step up and replace me and I think that, you know, we have a great farm system, we have great players, that’s what it’s all about, on the field, we have a tremendous manager now and coaching staff  (illegible) awesome ownership… So I think that, there’s a hell of a system here in place that uh, whether I’m here, or somebody else, it’ll thrive, and uh, and I’m proud to be a part of it., and uh, and, but, at the same time, I’ll be proud to watch from a distance if somebody decided it’s time for me not to be here. But uh, that’s not stuff we’re dealing with, and, and, thankfully, and, and uh, I’m happy, and look forward to being here for, uh, as long as it works, and uh, but I’m also not afraid if it doesn’t work, you know, I’m a big boy, too, I understand all that, that comes with it. It’s not an easy job, and, you know, some years I’ve done better than others, but I’m (big breath) one thing is, I’m always trying, and will keep, that’s the Yankee way, and that’s the way George wanted it. You gotta keep fightin’, and you’re not going to be successful all the time, but you better be in it, you know, just like I’m talking about Andy (Pettitte) earlier, you gotta be all-in, and, and ya, we’re, at this stage, I’m all-in, no doubt about it.”
 
Did you make it through? Are you still awake? Did you set yourself on fire, like the guy who couldn’t stand to listen to any more of one passenger’s long, boring story in the Airplane! movie?
 
Assuming you made it this far, can you guess the question asked that prompted such a long journey of an answer from Cashman.
 
Believe it or not, that was Cashman’s answer when Michael Kay, speaking to Brian’s being the GM of the Yankees, asked him, and I quote: “Do you wanna be here long term?”
 
That was it! That’s the ENTIRE question. All seven words of it! Have you ever seen ANYBODY go so far out of the way to answer such a direct and simple question?
 
The answer, if Cashman truly wants to be the Yankees GM, is a very simple one to answer. Do you wanna be here long term? ANSWER: Yes! Or, perhaps, ABSOLUTELY! You only take the scenic route Cashman took if you don’t have an answer or don’t want to answer the question.

It’s not as if Kay asked Cashman if he THINKS he’ll be the Yankees GM long term. He only asked if he WANTED to be the Yankees GM long term.

Break it down into parts and think about how often Cashman’s filibuster of an answer proved somewhere between far off-topic and absurd.

Hey, Brian, do you wanna be here long term? “We have a good manager and coaching staff.’

Hey, Brian, do you wanna be here long term? “We have a good farm system.”

Hey, Brian, do you wanna be here long term? “I like what I do and I think I’ve gotten better.”

Hey, Brian, do you wanna be here long term? “I think we can replace our amateur scouting director if he gets a GM job.”

And while we’re at it, and In the interest of saving SOME time, riddle me this, Brian. What exactly does “the way George wanted it,” and “hiring good people,” and the Yankees “having a good structure and philosophy in place,” and having “great players on the field” have to do with “do you wanna be here long term?”
 
Perhaps the closest Cashman came to actually answering the very direct question came in the final words of his filibuster. 
 
KAY: “Do you wanna be here long term.” CASHMAN: “… AT THIS STAGE, I’m all-in.” 
 
Whether he meant to or not, all of Cashman’s long-winded dancing around such a direct question proved as revealing as any direct answer the Yankees GM could have possibly offered.

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A lot has gone on in New York Yankee Universe since losing to the Texas Rangers in the 2010 ALCS and handing the title of “reigning champions” over to the San Francisco Giants.
 
So, how are the 2011 New York Yankees looking heading into the season? Let’s take a look.

 
The Offseason Summary:
 
The New York Yankees headed into the offseason with high expectations, but everything seemed to take a turn for the worst.
 
Yankee Captain and New York icon, Derek Jeter’s new contract negotiations became a soap opera and the press had their claws all over it.
 
Fans were pissed, some at Jeter but mostly at the organization for the belittling and penny pitching games being played on the Captain. It all worked out in the end, but it did leave bruises behind that hopefully won’t linger too long, but you never know.
 
That followed the news that Cliff Lee was not going to play in the Bronx, but instead went back to his old team in Philadelphia.

It came as a shock because the Yankees usually get whatever they go after.
 
Now that time passed since Lee’s decision, it was a humbling experience and a needed one, particularly in Yankee Universe.

For Yankee fans, it makes them realize that not every player’s dream is to be in pinstripes; for the team, they will have to work that much harder for anything they earn this season.
 
Hey, at least Yankee-haters can’t use “the buying championships” excuse any longer, as that torch has now been lit in Boston and Philadelphia too, and that is a fact.
 
One resigning that GM Brian Cashman sealed up without much drama, was that of closer Mariano Rivera for two more seasons.
 
Owner Hal Steinbrenner, who finally took some charge and made his daddy proud too, made a vital move by adding Rafael Soriano to the roster. Soriano was the AL’s best closer in 2010 and is elated to be Mo’s set-up man.

This move gives the Yankees the best eighth and ninth arms in the game, but it also provides a back up in case Mo’s age catches up to his talents.

So, how do the Yankees look heading into 2011?
 
The Yankees look like one of the best teams heading into 2011 and will contend again in 2011.
 
Here are some hopes that could make the Yankees season even better:
 
1. AJ Burnett has been working his butt off this offseason, now let’s see if it pays off.
2. One of our pitching prospects is good enough to win a rotation spot.
3. Pettitte could make a decision.
4. Cashman trades for King Felix in June.
5. A-Rod and Jeter both have career years.
6. Teixiera doesn’t struggle at the plate past April.

Is there anything else to note regarding the 2011 New York Yankees?
 
Of course, but this list could go on forever and talk many directions so here are a few:

• The Yankees play in the AL East and it looks to be tougher than ever.

• The Bombers can still hit, as their line-up is atop the best in baseball list.

• My bet is that Robinson Cano to be unbelievable this season, along with the Yankee outfield of Swisher, Granderson and Gardner. This groups production is more important in 2011, as they are the Yankee future.

• After watching the Red Sox GM Theo Epstein win with homegrown players, Yankees GM Cashman followed that formula by growing the Yanks farm the past few seasons. So far, it has produced Phil Hughes, Brett Gardner, Joba Chamberlain, Robinson Cano and of course, the “Core Four.” Funny that Epstein and Cashman, in a sense, have traded places this offseason.

• This season would be the time to bring up one or two formidable youngsters, at least one has to be a pitcher, and see how they fair in the Bronx. The innings limit need to be handled a lot better than the “Joba Rules” by Girardi and company.

• Speaking of Girardi, he seems to be a good fit so far. It wouldn’t hurt if he kept his binder in the clubhouse sometimes.

• The Yankees are not being viewed as the favorites for anything this season, as almost all predictions have been Phillies vs. Red Sox in the 2011 World Series. This group doesn’t like to be doubted and statistically, the franchise fairs better as the underdogs.

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