It’s All In The Contract ….. Read Between The Lines
I read with a great deal of interest that New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman who is in the final year of his contract with the team and is said to be reluctant to discuss a contract extension with the organization until the end of the season. The team now in the hands of Hank and Hal Steinbrenner are are intent on carrying on their father’s legacy . But in reality the organization still remains a family business and it appears the brothers will rule with a rod of iron. To bear this out, the duo were in conflict with Cashman over the acquisition of reliever Rafael Soriano . They prevailed with the general manager having to back down over the issue and continue his duties under the premise of being a loyal subordinate .
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Slide show for your perusal .
The bone of contention with Brian Cashman has always been would he have been able to accomplish the success attained by the organization over his tenure were it not for financial resources of the ball club . Five World Series titles and seven appearances in all over the last fifteen years ____ not much else needs to be said. And the same comparison was made about former Los Angeles Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson while he was the coach of the Chicago Bulls . Could Jackson win without a superstar and with another team ? Were it not for Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen leading those Bulls’ teams to their unprecedented success it is believed that Jackson would never have succeeded to the extent that he did. The former coach would also lead the Lakers to a further six NBA titles over his tenure with the organization , proved a point that it’s not merely about the team but the environment you’re actually placed in.
Courtesy of Yahoo Sports
Yankees GM Cashman done at season’s end ?
By Mark J Miller
The last time New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman signed a contract extension, George Steinbrenner was still alive. Now sons Hank and Hal Steinbrenner are running the show and Cashman may be out.
Cashman’s three-year, $6 million contract expires at season’s end and the New York Post suggests that the Steinbrenners may want to put their own stamp on the team and bring in someone else.
Cashman has been working for the Yanks since he was 19, the paper points out. Now 44, Cashman refuses to attempt to negotiate a new deal for himself in the middle of the season, the Post reports. After all, Cashman was the one who eight years ago “introduced a policy of not doing contract extensions in the middle of a season,” the Post notes.
“If I couldn’t do it with Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and [manager] Joe Girardi, how can I do it with myself,” Cashman said, according to the Post. “I can’t be a hypocrite. It will come up at the appropriate time.”
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Now it’d be remiss to think that the success achieved by Cashman was solely down to talent alone . But it’s clear to see that the Yankees’ general manager would not have achieved the success attained without the financial resources of the organization. With the burgeoning cash cow that are the New York Yankees and with the team being in the nation’s largest ad market how could Brian Cashman actually fail ? Never mind the fact that the ball club owns its very own cable sports broadcast provider the YES Network . With those financial resources at his disposal it is easy to understand the choices that can be made by the organization as it relates to acquiring free agents and then paying them handsomely.
Over the years we have seen the acquisitions made by the Yankees and clearly with the team having obtained such high profiled free agents in recent years as Mark Teixeira , Alex Rodriguez , CC Sabathia , A J Burnett and Curtis Granderson . The common denominator in many cases has been uber-agent Scott Boras . Anyone who knows how the agent has conducted his business over the years will know that he tends get teams to vastly overpay for talent even when they tend to be average at best.
Should Brian Cashman decline the offer of a contract extension which isn’t out of the realms of possibility then it would be reasonable to think that a number of teams around baseball might well be interested in hiring the general manager . But in my honest opinion, I feel that Cashman knows that his best and only opportunity is to remain within the Yankees’ organization ! The financial resources of the ball-club has been predominantly the reason behind the team’s success more than it having been to do with astute scouting and draft acquisitions by the organization in recent years . The fans of the team will continue to point to the success of the organization in their recent draft choices during which they obtained Derek Jeter , Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada . The trio remain the only remaining teammates that won multiple titles from 1996 through to 2007.
Now we could ask the question if Brian Cashman were not the general manager of the New York Yankees how would he contend with an organization not named the Yankees ? And while the team remains the 1,000lb gorilla in the room you can’t help repeating the question. Would Cashman be as successful were it not for the financial wherewithal of the organization and would he be a success as a general manager ? When one considers that in the last decade and a half, only three teams have ever won multiple World Series titles and two organizations in question happen to be two of the highest salaried teams in the game . It should come as no surprise that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees sit atop of that pile with a cumulative salary total that is in excess of $360 million . And though I have read where patrons would suggest that there remains a competitive balance within the game because we have multiple teams over the last decade win the World Series . That may well be the case but consider the fact that in large part , repeatedly it tends to be the teams that are atop of the pay structure that are part of the postseason , champion series or the World Series itself.
Rafael Soriano (C) of the New York Yankees poses for a photograph during his press conference with (L-R) assistant general manager Jean Afterman, manager Joe Girardi, agent Scott Boras, president Randy Levine, general manager Brian Cashman, and COO Lonn Trost on January 19, 2011 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees signed Soriano to a three year contract.
Granted , last year we had the distinction of seeing the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers play the game’s biggest prize one simply cannot deny the fact that it all comes back down to the usual suspects repeatedly when it comes to the postseason. One simply cannot hide behind the fact that those teams will be there . But in what some deem to be a competitive balance when it just isn’t borne out by the very fact the fact the game from a financial standpoint is markedly imbalanced . And like some of the financial problems we have now seen disrupt the NBA and NFL we are seeing the same situation arise within baseball . Some fans are actually in denial about this as they would rather see the purity of the game rather than seeing the reality of it all . It’s pretty much safe to say that the problems of the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets simply reflect what I am actually saying ! The league hierarchy’s belief that their tax sharing scheme has assisted the teams in being competitive doesn’t seem to bear out what their actual intent in giving all of the teams a possible shot at the brass ring .
In waiting to see what may well transpire between the New York Yankees and Brian Cashman I wonder how many of the other general managers around the league are envious of Yankees’ general manager’s position ? They say don’t knock it ’til you try it but I get the impression that the vast majority of executives in questions wouldn’t mind being in Brian Cashman’s position right about now !
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Picture gallery for your perusal .
Should Brian Cashman choose not to return to the New York Yankees is it your belief that he will be hired by another team within baseball in the same capacity ? Or do you believe that he remain with the organization and sign a long term contract ? Simply chime in with a comment on the points raised within this piece .
Alan aka tophatal ….. https://tophatal.wordpress.com
Picture and slide show details
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(1) TORONTO, CANADA – JULY 16: Greg Golson (22) of the New York Yankees looks out from the dugout against the Toronto Blue Jays during MLB action at The Rogers Centre July 16, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Abelimages/Getty Images ….
(2) Mark Teixeira (25) of the New York Yankees hits during MLB action against the Toronto Blue Jays at The Rogers Centre July 16, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Abelimages/Getty Images ….
(3) Francisco Cervelli (17) celebrates the win with Mariano Rivera (42) of the New York Yankees during MLB action against the Toronto Blue Jays at The Rogers Centre July 16, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Abelimages/Getty Images ….
(4) (L-R) Manager Joe Girardi, Mark Teixeira, Hal Steinbrenner and General Manager Brian Cashman pose for a photo during a press conference to announce Teixeira’s signing to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on January 6, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images …..
(5) Rafael Soriano (C) of the New York Yankees poses for a photograph during his press conference with (L-R) assistant general manager Jean Afterman, manager Joe Girardi, agent Scott Boras, president Randy Levine, general manager Brian Cashman, and COO Lonn Trost on January 19, 2011 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees signed Soriano to a three year contract. Getty Images North America / Jim McIsaac ….
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Tophatal's Blog 
When you have an organization that’s worth in excess of $1.3 billion you can’t but succeed unless it’s being ran by a bunch of idiots ! And that’s been the saving grace for Cashman since he assumed the position as GM of the Yankees .
“So that’s Derek I can now come to your bachelor party if I bring the entertainment ” ? ” That’s it Brian but I draw the line at pre and post-op trans-sexual strippers “!
If he were the GM of one of the lowly teams around the league with a low payroll I seriously doubt that he’d have attained the success that he has with the Yankees ! Especially not with cheap ass organizations such as the A’s , Padres , Rays , Pirates or Rockies for that matter !
tophatal ……
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I gotta give Cash the nod, although not a full one.
I mean how tough can it be to have your boss say, hey, here’s 200 mil, go build me a winning team.
Regardless, he was the GM for Yankees championships and that’s still gotta count for something.
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Chris Humpherys
While I’ve never been about big market or big money teams spending as if there’s no tomorrow and doing so prudently ! Can you imagine what it’d be like for the Yankees if they didn’t have the availability of the cash that the YES Network provides ? The outlet alone is probably worth close to what the team is just as valuable as a separate entity alone . The Steinbrenners all along have simply been prudent businessmen and women , simply look at where Jennifer Steinbrenner-Swindal and Jessica Steinbrenner at what they have has done for the organization ?
Don’t get me wrong Cashman has been good for the organization with the WS wins and the prudent draft choices but at the end of the day it had more to do with money than his actual ability to assess talent . I mean this is the same guy who opened up the check book for the likes of Randy Johnson , Carl Pavano , Hideki Irabu to name but a few . Hardly the guys that had success with the team while they were there .
In the last decade the Yankees have spent in excess of $1.5 billion in salary on players . Some teams in the league haven’t spent that much in two decades much less their entire existence .
tophatal ………
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It is always about the money. cashman did okay. But he won’t be back after his contract is expired.
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Bobby Gee
You may well be right but I think that he will return to the organization perhaps in another capacity. I seriously doubt that there are teams out there willing to pay him the salary he’s now earning ($2 million a year) with the Yankees . Cashman to my mind has been a good general manager but I wouldn’t say he’s in the upper echelons within the league today. It has been the financial resources that have led to his successes more than anything else . I mean do you realize that although he succeeded Bob Watson , having been his assistant it primarily the scouting and tutelage of Buck Showalter that in essence started the team on their successes with Torre in the latter part of the nineties through to today.
Cashman’s predecessor Bob Watson (center) seen here with Don Zimmer and Joe Torre
tophatal ….
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Seems like Cashman has made a few blunders over the years, but when you have a payroll like they do it doesn’t hurt you as much. I’m not sure it’s a mistake to let him go, because there’s plenty of replacements. I bet he finds another job as well somewhere. Maybe we’ll see if he’s actually a good GM if he goes to a team that doesn’t have much money to spend…
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chappy81
As good a GM as Cashman has been there’s no denying that without the financial wealth of the Yankees he’d have struggled to become a success . Personally , if he leaves the organization to go elsewhere I for one don’t believe that he will be able to replicate the sort of success attained with the team ! I mean you tell me which team in baseball will seek to increase their payroll to above $200 million a year ? If you can name one that is willing to do that and at the same time hire Cashman then you’re way too smart and ought to be a GM in the game .
tophatal ……
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chappy
If you were being paid $2 million …. a year I can guarantee you …… you’d find success as the GM of the Yankees ! How hard is that job meant to be ? They have top notch legal counsel , prospects up the yazoo and a pretty good farm system by all accounts never mind a roster that has a litany stars on it . Oh did I forget that $200 million plus payroll ? The only job that might be easier is the guy who’s the makeup artist for the Victoria’s Secret Models !
Need I say anymore on the subject ?
tophatal …………
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Think anyone could manage the team given the payroll enables the hiring of great talent….but then again, only way to tell is to have another manager.
Perhaps he is worth another contract
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al clements
Perhaps the best way to determine the success of the team is to see how things have changed down the years . Prior to the formation of the YES Network the Yankees were simply allowed to plunder the rosters of other teams around baseball , no questions asked . Now most players who get the chance to play for the team rarely turns them down, simply because they know that the organization is more than willing to pay the asking price .
“No one can truly appreciate more than I how great it is to know that Brian will not only kiss my ass but he’s also kissing Hal’s ass as well ” ! Derek Jeter
Cashman would be a fool to turn down a contract extension but it could well be that Hal & Hank Steinbrenner may well want someone who’s much more prepared to be completely subservient to all of their whims and needs .
Playboy model Jo Garcia
tophatal ………….
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al clements
Could this be a sign of the forthcoming apocalypse ? I mean the Pirates are beginning to scare as there now seems an increasing chance that not only will they end up with a winning record at season’s end but they could quite possibly win the NL Central .
Fitness model Marzia Prince
Now if only the Royals could follow suit ? LOL,LOL,LOL !!! Now that ain’t gonna happen …… the Royals that is !
tophatal ….
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I’d be a makeup artist for Victoria’s Secret or the Yankees GM. Guess I better update my resume!
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chappy
I’d hazard I guess with your educational background and employment resume’ you’d be a shoo-in for either position ! But I would tend to lean towards being the make up artist for models myself ! What guy doesn’t want to be around some hot models ? All all you have to do is put on their makeup , ogle their fine ass bodies and if you’re lucky you could even get laid ! Absolutely nothing wrong with that as far as I’m concerned !
List of jobs I wouldn’t mind doing at present !
PA to Halle Berry ! Sex slave to either Halle Berry or Jordan Carver ! It might be a run of the mill job but hey man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do even if it means pimping himself out !
Simply luscious ! Halle’s assets
And look she even likes to read ? Jordan Carver .
tophatal …………
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