Brian Cashman gets ranked…
March 5, 2010, 8:00 pm by iYankees · 17 Comments
Tim Marchman of Sports Illustrated tried his hand at ranking all of baseball’s GMs yesterday – a tough task, indeed – and, at the top of the list, we have Tampa Bay’s Andrew Friedman (1), Boston’s Theo Epstein (2), and, our boy, Brian Cashman (3), who, according to Marchman, deserves credit for spending wisely (e.g., Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia) and trading smartly (e.g., Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, Javier Vazquez). I think Cashman is often over and underrated, simultaneously – if that makes any sense – by Yankee fans. Some seem to think he is infallible, while others are just overly critical. As I see it, the good has far outweighed the bad, so Marchman’s ranking is very fair.
Original photo by the AP
Yeah, I admit it , I love the Yankees, but I’m not a big fan of Cashman. Before last season, 9 years of spending much, much more than all the other teams in baseball and not winning one WS does not earn him a high grade. Just seems he spent dollars on the wrong guys until last season. And even then Gene Michaels core four were the major force with arod/cc.
He definetly deserves props for Acquiring Swisher and Matsui and stealing Tex from Boston at the last moment. CC and Arod were no brainers. And I think he overpaid for arod’s re-up and AJ which may come back to haunt him. And does last years championship erase 9 years of Pavanos, igawas, browns,liebers, johnson’s and the rest of the bad pitching evaluations?
He did accomplish the organizations goal of getting younger and more athletic This offseason with Gardner, Grandy and Johnson vs Damon, matsui and Melky. But are they better? In 2010? Who would you rather have up in a critical postseason at bat : Damon or Granderson, Matsui or Johnson, Melky or Brett? and do we really know if Vazquez is going to perform against Boston in September? I’m going to hold off putting Cashman on the Deans List until the semester is over.
Hot debate. What do you think?
7 
3
Cashman didn’t have full control of the teams operations until 2005. Many of the moves you question weren’t his decisions. Even A-Rod’s new deal was negotiated by Hank Steinbrenner. Cash has been a good GM. When he’s made mistakes they’ve been big but there aren’t a lot of them.
Hot debate. What do you think?
4 
4
yeah Jim you’re right on that point and he can be absolved of some blame for having to work for such an imposing, hands-on, frequently mis-guided ownership. Usually spineless, yes-men or men with nerves of steel can last 12 years in that oppressing, stressful environment. Sign me up for 6 weeks and I’m back on-line at Careerfinder during lunchbreaks.
Like or Dislike:
4 
2
ouch!
Hot debate. What do you think?
4 
4
cant disagree with waiting to see if big changes work or make team lose magic
Hot debate. What do you think?
8 
1
Cashman is very good and there is no question about that. In the final analysis he is not on the field playing. I cannot look at any of the deals he has made and say I would have not done that. There have been some moves over the years that did not yield results but it is difficult to place the blame on Cash. Randy Johnson was a bust, who would have thought that? Saying good bye to Bernie, was certainly not easy but clearly the right thing to do. If I look at payroll, standings and attendance all important metrics, it is hard not to conclude that Cashman is among the best.
Hot debate. What do you think?
3 
6
Hot debate. What do you think?
6 
2
i play baseball and know many things. i play shortstop with grace of a swann – and 3rd base with reflex of a cat – first base i dig balls from dirt like a mole – outfield i run like a cheetah – catcher i blockhome base like an elephant .
twasp is wrong. i say cashman is good but if you give money to someone with baseball playing history he will do better. like ernie on this blog.
Like or Dislike:
4 
2
The Natural – that is actually my point if you give the same money to others to spend this last decade they would have outperformed CashMan. You say I am wrong but you areagreeing with my point . What is this performance art?
Ernie, IMO, would have done a better job, I agree.
Like or Dislike:
4 
0
Thanks Twasp and the Natural…I just read this for the first time.
I think Cashman is a good – not great – GM, with a boatload of money that masks lots of his not-so-great decisions. When you consider how big our payroll is and the fact that teams like Minnesota and the Angels can play us so tight every year, it shows us how well those other teams are doing with their decision making and management – and how much room for improvement there is with the Yanks.
When you get a GM who says: “we need to get younger and more athletic”…and: “we need to keep the DH slot for older players who need some time off” and then you sign Nick “MIA” Johnson to a DH role (to replace a player who was an injury concern – Matsui), it makes absolutely no sense….but Cashman can dabble in this because he’s got a checkbook with an infinite credit line.
Do I think Cashman is a decent GM? – yes. Do I think he is a really sharp baseball man? – no. For that, look at the teams that compete and are perennial contenders with payrolls 1/2 or 1/3 of the Yankees. Does this mean I think the Yanks shouldn’t spend the money if they have it? – no….but spend it wisely.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0
Well put Ernie. Baseball Prospectus has our farm system rated 26 th out of 30. CashMan gets a C minus for his tenure. If grandy, nj and vazquez are an improvement over Damon , matsui , melky and some good prospects then up the grade to a B minus.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Its hard for me to rate him a B-, Twasp, no matter what happens this year. Considering the Yanks have had the highest payroll in baseball BY FAR for a decade and we’ve got a farm system rated 26 out of 30 and one WS win to show for it, I’d have a hard time rating him that high. Give Oakland, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Minnesota, Anaheim, etc, etc, $200 million to work with and we’d be watching the playoffs on tv with the Yanks every year. Not to say I don’t think he’s “good,” but putting him in the top 5-10 GMs would be a big stretch for me.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
Yeah – did you read Torre’s book? While it was a sour grapes tale, he really toasted( and I don’t mean champagne) CashMan good. Said he changed when he assumed more control. Brought in players that didn’t fit.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I did read Torre’s book. It was sad the way Torre was ushered out after what he did for this club. Cashman was just one piece of the puzzle in his mistreatment, but it was a shameful display by the Yankees brass. There were things about how Torre managed that I didn’t always agree with, but you can’t argue with his results. I can understand if they wanted to make a change to Girardi, but handle it with the respect and honesty that Torre deserved. As GM, Cashman has to be accountable for some of this mistreatment.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
Yeah – Torre basically said CashMan weasled on him. The way he was ushered to the door with an insulting offer reminds me of this offseason’s debacle.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
A helpful reminder to us all that MLB is primarily about making money…let’s not forget that lesson.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0