Baseball Musings: Cashman In Charge

October 28, 2005

Cashman In Charge

Brian Cashman not only negotiated himself a big contract, he also negotiated himself a power boost:

During negotiations, Cashman said, he wrote out a "document of philosophy" explaining how he believes the chain of command should be and got full agreement from those above him, including team president Randy Levine, chief operating officer Lonn Trost, general partner (and Steinbrenner's son-in-law) Steve Swindal and, finally, The Boss himself. Without that assurance, Cashman said, he was willing to walk away.
"I'm not naive," Cashman said in a press conference at the Stadium. "I do know I'll be challenged with splintering (factions). ... Am I going to bat 1.000 on this? I think it's safe to say the answer to that is no. ... But I think this is a system that will work."

There is no contract language describing the restructuring, Cashman said, and no "out clause" for him to fall back on if things should revert back to the way they were. But Cashman, who had not spoken publicly since the Yanks were eliminated from the playoffs on Oct. 10, decided he has faith in what has been discussed - most of his negotiations were with Swindal - and opted to stay with the club he's been a part of since 1986, when he was an intern.

"There's no contractual way I can (guarantee) it," Swindal said. "But I'm here (in Florida), and I think everyone here wants to make this work."

I'm impressed. The Yankees must really like the work Brian does if they're willing to commit to him being the focal point of baseball decisions. It's possible Tony Womack had a lot to do with that:

New York-based executives frequently pointed this season to Tony Womack as the perfect example of a Tampa-faction wish gone awry. In the future, Cashman said, everything should be "filtered" through him. It's not that he doesn't want to hear ideas - he does - but he doesn't want to have to constantly publicly defend moves that he had little to do with, either.

Cashman now has the money, the power and the budget. I'm excited to see what he can do, but he'll also have no excuses if he fails.

Posted by David Pinto at 08:07 AM | Management | TrackBack (1)

Comments

Good for Brian! Now if the Yankees could only find a way to unload all the crap that *wasn't* Cashman's decision...

Posted by: Pete at October 28, 2005 09:53 AM

I have to admit, I can think of fewer good pieces of leverage for Cashman than Tony Womack. Truly, the black pit of OPS that is Womack must have been an amazing bargaining chip.

Swindal: "Brian, there's no way we're giving you that much; we have players that make less"

Brian: "Look - you gave Womack 2 million a year for two years to suck. If I get anything less than that, I'm walking"

etc. etc.

This makes me wonder why Bowden got an extention in DC. I bet if there was a real owner, the words "No" "Get out" and "Christian Guzman" would have factored significantly.

Posted by: Will at October 28, 2005 09:57 AM

well this WAS a smart piece of bargaining.

IF it works

lisa

Posted by: lisa gray at October 28, 2005 11:23 AM

Who down here is in the "Tampa faction" that is making roster decisions? I admit I don't have a good handle on how the Yankee organization works (besides having a borderline nutjob at the top, I mean).

Posted by: Matt at October 28, 2005 01:24 PM

I'm with Lisa.

We'll see how this works out. I'm not sure Steinbrenner worries himslef about contract language as a rule. In the end, it's up to Cashman to leverage it if he can. GS seems a little less focused on long term than even he has been over the years.

Posted by: Bob Kunz at October 28, 2005 07:28 PM

Matt, among others the 3 biggest in the Tampa faction
are Damon Oppenheimer, Billy Connors, and Bill Ems-
lie. They also have a guy supposedly in charge of the
minors, and various guys in charge of scouting who
fall in and out of favor.

Posted by: susan mullen at October 28, 2005 09:34 PM

The structural aspect of Cashman's agreement will last until an acquisition, of his choosing, goes 5 for 47, as the team goes on a losing streak. He's a smart guy; and this process is an improvement regardless of who acts as the filter. If it brings Stick Michael back into the fold all the better. But sooner or later he will get torched by the Big Stein. He knows that, it's the nature of the beast. And he will make mistakes. A siginficant portion of the current brain trust, Torre included, favored letting Bernie Williams sign with Boston. They favored the "upgrade" of Albert Belle. More recently the New York faction favored trading Nick Johnson and company for J.V., versus signing B. Colon. The talent did not pan out. The trade, instead of a FA acquisition, left them utterly helpless at the next trading deadline. That said, it's a good deal for all parties.

Posted by: abe shorey at October 28, 2005 11:48 PM

It does leave open the question 'Who's genius idea was Tony Mowack?'....

Posted by: NBarnes at October 29, 2005 06:54 AM