Costing Cashman

From the AP:

Steinbrenner has already said that manager Joe Girardi will return next season, but the contract of general manager Brian Cashman ends this year and extension talks won’t take place until after the season.

In addition to the GM spot, Steinbrenner is looking at setting up an advisory group, such as the one his father established before the Yankees’ run of four World Series titles from 1996-2000.

“If Brian stays on as GM, that doesn’t mean he won’t be the No. 1 guy,” Steinbrenner said. “But the fact is, the more opinions the better. I think that’s probably the best way. It worked in the 90’s, and it can work again.”

I would think that this could actually scare Brian Cashman away from the GM job as it would cost him a substantial amount of power, despite what Hank Steinbrenner has said. He’s already answering to Hal and Hank Steinbrenner (well, mostly Hal). If Cashman has to answer to another group of people, then this could become a big turnoff for him once the extension talks roll around.

The Doctor Is In

Here’s an interesting read on Dr. James Andrews, the famous “baseball surgeon”. Whenever a sports figure goes under the knife, it always seems like this is the guy they go to (and for good reason).

Remember Me?

Ken Davidoff has a great read out on Tim Redding. I don’t know if you remember Redding, but during the summer of 2005, he came up and made an “emergency start” against the Red Sox after our rotation had been torn to shreds. He completed 1 inning, gave up 6 ER, walked 4 (struck out 2) and didn’t make it out of the second inning (that was also the game that had Melky Cabrera giving up an inside the park homer to Trot Nixon). I remember Redding said something like, “I’m just happy to put the uniform on. I could retire today,” before the game and he caught a lot of flack for that since people expected him to do more that just be happy to be on the Yankees. The Yankees would eventually insert Aaron Small into the rotation a few days later and they’d ride him and Shawn Chacon to the playoffs.

Davidoff catches up with Redding, who is a lifelong Yankee fan, and he’s been doing well for himself. He has reestablished his career with the Nationals and has flashed signs of brilliance, at times (he pitched extremely well in the beginning of the season but he has tapered off since then). Redding was once a highly touted prospect with the Astros although injuries have since derailed that dream and he now has lower expectations. He would love to return to the Yankees (he doesn’t outwardly say it, you just know that’s what he’d prefer), but you can tell that he knows he missed his shot that night against the Red Sox and must live with that. He seems like a good guy and he’s a Yankee fan (from Rochester), so you have to feel for him a bit.

Thank Carlos Delgado

Although I’ve written about Manny maybe joining the club for the 2009 season, I’ve made it abundantly clear that Mark Teixeira is probably the more realistic option, since the team needs a first baseman and he’s as good as it gets on the free agent market. While I’ve noted the high price of Teixeira and the length of the contract that he’s searching for, the deal he will receive will also be determined by the market for his services.

Now, there are a few teams interested in Teixeira and the Yankees are at the front of the list. At the beginning of the season, the Mets and the Yanks seemed destined to fight for the big first baseman, however, with Carlos Delgado’s resurgence at the plate, it appears as though the Mets will pick up his option instead of pursue a free agent for first base. That’s a huge blow to Boras’ leverage for his client, especially since the Mets are a big spender. Other teams interested include LA, Baltimore, Arizona, Boston and Seattle. That’s not really a big market, not at all, and none of those guys are locks to hone in on Tex. Arizona may resign Adam Dunn and play him at first, Baltimore, while Tex’s dream location, may not interest him since they’ve become a losing franchise, Boston’s roster is filled, and Seattle will probably head into a long rebuilding process. Right now, it seems as though the Yankees and the Angels will be the only teams vying for Teixeira’s bat/glove (if the Angels win the WS, they could have the upper hand).

The dryness of the market could end up helping the Yankees and hurting Mark Teixeira. The Angels would love to bring Tex back, especially after trading Casey Kotchman away, but even if the fight involves two teams, Boras is looking for a huge payday for his client and his limited options could hamper his goals.

Manny Being Manny Is Cool With Me…

From a production standpoint, Manny being Manny is great. He’s not only one of the best hitters in all of baseball (now), he’s one of the best hitters of all-time. Of course, there’s an entirely different dimension to the Manny being Manny mantra (e.g. laziness, effort, etc.) which is very negative. However, Manny Ramirez is being a model citizen in LA, and has wanted out of Boston for years. Maybe all he needed was a change in scenery, who knows? I won’t speculate on that, but I will say this–Manny is having his best season since 2005. You can’t argue with that.

He’s currently got 499 AB’s under his belt, the most he’s had in the past 3 years, and is hitting .325 on the year (.299 in Boston, .396 in LA). After last night’s game, Manny now has 34 homers on the season with 108 RBI. He has scored 93 times and has even stolen 3 bases (his highest total since 2003, which is laughable, but still). He looks healthy and his production has been flawless after Boston’s controversial trade, a trade that had him switching leagues midseason. If he continues hitting and doesn’t sustain an injury over the final month of the season, he could put a 40 HR-120 RBI season. To top it all off, the guy is hitting .336 with RISP and is carrying around a 1.075 OPS in such situations. While Manny is now 36, he’s playing like he did when he was 30-years old.

So, what’s the point?

The point is that Manny Ramirez is probably the best bat on the market and the Yankees could use another bat of his caliber, especially when you have question marks in Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, Xavier Nady (will he maintain), Derek Jeter, and the list goes on. Manny knows the AL East, he knows the pitchers and he knows the teams. He understands what is necessary in order to survive in a tremendously tough division and has some added incentive to beat up on a fellow rival (the Sox). You can’t ignore his talent or his success within this context. Plus, he’s a monster in high pressure situations (RISP), and that’s something the Yankees could use this year. If I had to choose, I’d try Manny Ramirez in RF with Damon in CF and Nady in LF. The defense suffers, but the offense would be phenomenal. This is something I actually proposed in February and many of you seem to agree with it.

Who else is out there, you may ask?

Of course, there’s always Mark Teixeira. The Yankees will need a first baseman, and unless they want to give the job to an alternating cast of Damon, Matsui and Posada, he’s probably their best option (yes, I’m assuming there will be no Giambi next year). His ultimate edge is his youth (not even 30 yet), but his price tag will be tremendous and the length of his subsequent contract will likely be an albatross after a number of years. However, his production cannot be ignored either since he’s been beating pitchers up ever since he returned to the AL (hitting .364 with a .943 OPS). The only thing that could scare away the Yankees, again, is the length of his contract and the money involved (while that will probably take a seat to length), whereas Manny Ramirez’s deal will cost less in terms of money and years, so the risk isn’t as big. I do have to note though, that Teixeira’s young age means that he hasn’t reached his peak yet and that the Yanks could miss out on a huge reward.

In the end, Signing Manny Ramirez is a safe bet. He won’t decline too much over the next 2 years and you’ll likely get a complete return on your investment. However, signing him could hamper the team’s defense while leaving the first base situation unresolved (they can’t really pursue him, Tex AND CC). The Yankees could move Damon to first and move Gardner to CF in order to ramp up their defense, but I don’t think that’ll happen (Gardner hasn’t shown enough yet, albeit his time has been limited). Mark Teixeira is another move that makes sense on a number of fronts, however, you wonder about the contract he’s searching for and the amount of years he’ll be asking for (Scott Boras is his agent and the years could range from 6-8). I’d like to see Manny roaming around the new Yankee Stadium in a Yankee uniform, but I’d be happy with either player (I’m greedy, I know).

What Happened?

Robinson Cano looked like he was going to go on a tear a few weeks ago. Now, he’s simply limping through the final weeks of the season. He’s hitting .158 this month with a .368 OPS (wow…) and has 3 hits in his last 38 AB’s (and 1 RBI during that time). Cano is actually having his worst month of the year, which is saying something when you note his terrible April (.151 BA, .446 OPS). It’s unbelievable how far he has fallen after such a strong and successful 2007 campaign.

Earlier tonight I was watching the Red Sox-Rays game and Dustin Pedroia had a 2-for-4 night, with 2 doubles, a walk and I think 2 HBP. He’s been a huge threat for the Red Sox and has put up an amazing line this year, hitting well over .320 with 17 homers, 17 stolen bases, and a good amount of RBI to boot. His OPS is otherworldly for second basemen (inching towards .900) and he’s a legitimate MVP candidate (sad but true). I bring up Pedroia because he’s basically putting up the year that many expected from Robinson Cano (except he’s stealing more bases, and is a much more disciplined hitter). It’s interesting how these two players have developed when you compare the two. Pedroia has progressed rapidly and is hitting well beyond expectations, while Cano has seemingly regressed when this was supposed to be a “breakout” year. At this point, Cano is one of the biggest question marks the Yankees have for 2009.

Who will show up, exactly? 2008 Cano or 2005-2007 Cano?