Will Steinbrenner blow it up??

[CubfaninCA]

The Yankees 2 aces, Mussina and Randy Johnson, didn't look good in this series. Sure Chacon and Wang pitched well, but neither can be considered an ace. What will NY do in the offseason?? Count on Pavano and Wright to return to 100%?? Hope for a comeback by Mussina & Johnson?? Trade one of the their big hitters for a pitcher?? Sign both Burnett & Millwood??

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I think he'll trade Constanza to the Astros.

[Backtobanks]

Well, now that the Yankees have lost, all of us Cub fans have more ammo for the off season. Not just Giles, Manny, or Abreu for the OF, but maybe Sheffield or Matsui. Not just Furcal, Nomar, or Cedeno for SS, but maybe Arod. Of course, when it's all said and done, we will be predicting the WS with the likes of Preston Wilson and Austin Kearns. That is what being a Cub fan is all about.

[CubinNY]

I think Cashman stays. Torree might retire, but I doubt it. I think Mel Stottlemier is gone.

 

Steinbrenner is crazy but he is not stupid.

 

Not for nothing, I would love if a Steinbrenner type owned the Cubs.

[TB_11]

People have been saying that with the emergence of Small, Cano, and Wang, the Yankees may actually reduce their payroll for next year. I don't expect them to make too many large moves in the offseason, as they won 95 games with three of their starting pitchers spending significant time on the DL.

[Backtobanks]

People have been saying that with the emergence of Small, Cano, and Wang, the Yankees may actually reduce their payroll for next year. I don't expect them to make too many large moves in the offseason, as they won 95 games with three of their starting pitchers spending significant time on the DL.

 

I disagree. Winning 95 games doesn't mean squat to Steinbrenner. He bought this team to win the WS and the fact that they're not even going to the WS will drive him crazy. Also, I wonder whether Steinbrenner will sit back and assume Small, Cano, Wang, and Chacon will be dependable enough to win next year. It's kind of driving a dependable Chevy, when you can afford a Rolls Royce. I look for Steinbrenner to go after Burnett, Millwood, and Damon.

[YearofDaCubs]

Give it up to the worst GM in baseball. Cashman.

[daske17]

Give it up to the worst GM in baseball. Cashman.

 

Come on, he seriously can't be the WORST. He's consistently handcuffed by Steinbrenner. And lest we forget the travesty that was Chuck Lamar?

[goonys evil twin]

Give it up to the worst GM in baseball. Cashman.

 

Come on, he seriously can't be the WORST. He's consistently handcuffed by Steinbrenner. And lest we forget the travesty that was Chuck Lamar?

 

Cashman is not good. Anybody could look good if they were able to cover all their mistakes with another $8 million signing. The guy has more than twice the resources of Hendry. I give Hendry crap for innefficiantly putting together the Cubs roster with $100 million, but I think Jim could have turned this team into an absolute force if he had another $100 million to add on. I don't care if George sometimes forces a guy on him. Some of those guys are people like Sheffield and ARod, two MVP caliber players.

 

I don't pretend that I am qualified to run a baseball team, but if you gave me the Yankees payroll, I'm pretty confident I could build a team that would compete with Cashman's squad.

[Tim]

Give it up to the worst GM in baseball. Cashman.

 

Come on, he seriously can't be the WORST. He's consistently handcuffed by Steinbrenner. And lest we forget the travesty that was Chuck Lamar?

 

Cashman is not good. Anybody could look good if they were able to cover all their mistakes with another $8 million signing. The guy has more than twice the resources of Hendry. I give Hendry crap for innefficiantly putting together the Cubs roster with $100 million, but I think Jim could have turned this team into an absolute force if he had another $100 million to add on. I don't care if George sometimes forces a guy on him. Some of those guys are people like Sheffield and ARod, two MVP caliber players.

 

I don't pretend that I am qualified to run a baseball team, but if you gave me the Yankees payroll, I'm pretty confident I could build a team that would compete with Cashman's squad.

Cashman wanted Vlad, George went with Sheffield behind his back. Sheff's a very good player, but he's no Vlad.

 

Watching that game last night, I was wondering why that team doesn't score more runs. Jeter, ARod, Giambi, Sheffield, Matsui, Posada is just a killer lineup to work through.

[goonys evil twin]

Watching that game last night, I was wondering why that team doesn't score more runs. Jeter, ARod, Giambi, Sheffield, Matsui, Posada is just a killer lineup to work through.

 

They scored the 2nd most runs in baseball this year. Or are you talking about the playoffs?

 

They hit .276/.355/.451 in the regular season, but just .253/.351/.329 in the playoffs. I think that's all about playing the Angels, a top 3 pitching staff in that league.

[daske17]

Cashman is not good. Anybody could look good if they were able to cover all their mistakes with another $8 million signing. The guy has more than twice the resources of Hendry. I give Hendry crap for innefficiantly putting together the Cubs roster with $100 million, but I think Jim could have turned this team into an absolute force if he had another $100 million to add on. I don't care if George sometimes forces a guy on him. Some of those guys are people like Sheffield and ARod, two MVP caliber players.

 

I don't pretend that I am qualified to run a baseball team, but if you gave me the Yankees payroll, I'm pretty confident I could build a team that would compete with Cashman's squad.

 

Understood, and I'm not making apologies for the guy. I'm just saying that Cashman is the worst GM out there. Given the proper circumstances, he may be a good GM. I think a lot of that comes from the heightened expectations of the Yankees. They are expected to win the WS EVERY YEAR. That's going to put pressure on a guy, and yes, he will throw money at a solution because he can.

 

He doesn't have the luxury of, say, the Indians who told their fans, "We're going into a rebuilding process and will be ready to compete again in a couple of years."

 

The Yankees as an organization are just so skewed from what the rest of baseball deals with (save Boston), that it's unfair to say he's a bad GM. He's doing the best he can in a very surreal environment.

[thedaymen]

They "conventional wisdom" in this area is that Cashman wants out and if he can get a job with another team, like the Phillies, he will.

[goonys evil twin]

The Yankees as an organization are just so skewed from what the rest of baseball deals with (save Boston), that it's unfair to say he's a bad GM. He's doing the best he can in a very surreal environment.

 

I think it's perfectly fair. He stepped into a perfect situation. The Yankees were not the top payroll when he took over, yet they were the most talented team. Bob Watson did the dirty work. Brian was able to keep every single player he wanted, and he was able to go after more guys than anybody else. It's an easy job. It might not be easy to take the heat from the fans, press or George, but his job is assembling a great team, and that part is easy when you can spend twice as much as anybody else, and 4 times as much as most. Bowden could create a winner if he could keep every player he has, and then move his mistakes to utility roles and start over with new guys. Poor teams can't afford one player who underperforms his contract. The Yankees can afford to trade for every one of those guys, and since they take the contract, they don't have to give up talent. And when a guy might be underperforming his contract, he can still be good enough to be valuable to a team that doesn't care about cost. For instance, on any other team, Jeter is overpaid by a wide margin, but the Yankees can afford to pay $20m to a guy who has never been a $20m player, and is just going to keep declining. The Yankees have about $30m in wasted pitchers on their staff. But since they can cover that up with another $45m in pitching talent, it doesn't bother them.

 

Every GM would like a do over on his worst mistakes. Cashman is the only one who actually gets that chance.

[CubfaninCA]

Well, now that the Yankees have lost, all of us Cub fans have more ammo for the off season. Not just Giles, Manny, or Abreu for the OF, but maybe Sheffield or Matsui. Not just Furcal, Nomar, or Cedeno for SS, but maybe Arod. Of course, when it's all said and done, we will be predicting the WS with the likes of Preston Wilson and Austin Kearns. That is what being a Cub fan is all about.

 

Well, they tried moving Sheff and he threw a fit and isn't Matsui a free agent? ARod may want a trade. I was listening to ESPN this morning and they were talking about his poor playoff performance. I'm sure the NY media will absolutely hammer him. I usually poo poo the idea of the Cubs getting anyone w/ a deal longer than 5 years, but ARod's one of the few exceptions. He may be the most marketable player in the game. The Trib will probably have more interest in him than guys who they can't really market, such as Brian Giles and Abreu.

[YearofDaCubs]

Give it up to the worst GM in baseball. Cashman.

 

Come on, he seriously can't be the WORST. He's consistently handcuffed by Steinbrenner. And lest we forget the travesty that was Chuck Lamar?

 

Cashman is not good. Anybody could look good if they were able to cover all their mistakes with another $8 million signing. The guy has more than twice the resources of Hendry. I give Hendry crap for innefficiantly putting together the Cubs roster with $100 million, but I think Jim could have turned this team into an absolute force if he had another $100 million to add on. I don't care if George sometimes forces a guy on him. Some of those guys are people like Sheffield and ARod, two MVP caliber players.

 

I don't pretend that I am qualified to run a baseball team, but if you gave me the Yankees payroll, I'm pretty confident I could build a team that would compete with Cashman's squad.

Cashman wanted Vlad, George went with Sheffield behind his back. Sheff's a very good player, but he's no Vlad.

 

Watching that game last night, I was wondering why that team doesn't score more runs. Jeter, ARod, Giambi, Sheffield, Matsui, Posada is just a killer lineup to work through.

There's no doubting that ARod didn't do squat. What a choke artist.

[erik316wttn]

Well, now that the Yankees have lost, all of us Cub fans have more ammo for the off season. Not just Giles, Manny, or Abreu for the OF, but maybe Sheffield or Matsui. Not just Furcal, Nomar, or Cedeno for SS, but maybe Arod. Of course, when it's all said and done, we will be predicting the WS with the likes of Preston Wilson and Austin Kearns. That is what being a Cub fan is all about.

 

Well, they tried moving Sheff and he threw a fit and isn't Matsui a free agent? ARod may want a trade. I was listening to ESPN this morning and they were talking about his poor playoff performance. I'm sure the NY media will absolutely hammer him. I usually poo poo the idea of the Cubs getting anyone w/ a deal longer than 5 years, but ARod's one of the few exceptions. He may be the most marketable player in the game. The Trib will probably have more interest in him than guys who they can't really market, such as Brian Giles and Abreu.

 

Arod, Brian Giles, Abreu...

 

just as long as they help this team win, I could not possibly care less about thier potential "marketability"

 

But what would we have to give up, even if the Yankees decide to move A-Rod (if they do, they're idiots, IMO).

[YearofDaCubs]

Cashman is not good. Anybody could look good if they were able to cover all their mistakes with another $8 million signing. The guy has more than twice the resources of Hendry. I give Hendry crap for innefficiantly putting together the Cubs roster with $100 million, but I think Jim could have turned this team into an absolute force if he had another $100 million to add on. I don't care if George sometimes forces a guy on him. Some of those guys are people like Sheffield and ARod, two MVP caliber players.

 

I don't pretend that I am qualified to run a baseball team, but if you gave me the Yankees payroll, I'm pretty confident I could build a team that would compete with Cashman's squad.

 

Understood, and I'm not making apologies for the guy. I'm just saying that Cashman is the worst GM out there. Given the proper circumstances, he may be a good GM. I think a lot of that comes from the heightened expectations of the Yankees. They are expected to win the WS EVERY YEAR. That's going to put pressure on a guy, and yes, he will throw money at a solution because he can.

 

He doesn't have the luxury of, say, the Indians who told their fans, "We're going into a rebuilding process and will be ready to compete again in a couple of years."

 

The Yankees as an organization are just so skewed from what the rest of baseball deals with (save Boston), that it's unfair to say he's a bad GM. He's doing the best he can in a very surreal environment.

When you trade for Brown and sign both Pavano and Wright for over 8mil per year..well you are a pretty bad GM then.

[goonys evil twin]

There's no doubting that ARod didn't do squat. What a choke artist.

 

Did you know:

 

Jeter is a lifetime .314/.386/.461 hitter. For his career he's hit almost exactly that in the postseason (just slightly lower in AVG/OBP), in the divisional series he's been much better than that, but in LCS he's been much worse, and in the WS he's been a little worse.

 

ARod is a lifetime .307/.385/.577 hitter. In the posteason overall he's .305/.401/.534 (less in the division series, better in the LCS).

 

Choke, clutch, choke, clutch.

 

They're fun words to use, but largely meaningless.

[daske17]

When you trade for Brown and sign both Pavano and Wright for over 8mil per year..well you are a pretty bad GM then.

 

I'm not saying that those were the best decisions. But if you look further at my argument, Cashman's hands are tied by the Boss', fans' and the media's overwhelming urge to win now and win every year.

 

What's the easiest way to do that? Sign every high profile free agent around. Also, the Yankees WILL spend top dollar every year for their free agents. Every single one of their players are overpriced. But that's the way they've set up their operation. There's no going back now for them.

 

And as goony mentioned, the Yankees can afford to trade for a large contract like Brown because cost isn't a factor. I can't remember, but at the time of the Brown trade, I believe he was having a very good year. Same goes for Johnson. He was too costly for AZ, so they trade him to the Yankees.

 

So in essence, I'm not advocating for Cashman as GM of the Year. But, I would like to see what he would do with another team before calling him the worst GM ever. I don't think it's a fair assessment.

[CubfaninCA]

There's no doubting that ARod didn't do squat. What a choke artist.

 

Did you know:

 

Jeter is a lifetime .314/.386/.461 hitter. For his career he's hit almost exactly that in the postseason (just slightly lower in AVG/OBP), in the divisional series he's been much better than that, but in LCS he's been much worse, and in the WS he's been a little worse.

 

ARod is a lifetime .307/.385/.577 hitter. In the posteason overall he's .305/.401/.534 (less in the division series, better in the LCS).

 

Choke, clutch, choke, clutch.

 

They're fun words to use, but largely meaningless.

 

What's his numbers as a Yankee?? Isn't that all that matters to The Boss?? He must have done well in Seattle.

[goonys evil twin]

What's his numbers as a Yankee?? Isn't that all that matters to The Boss?? He must have done well in Seattle.

 

He was great in last year's DS and LCS, as well as the 2000 LCS. His team lost 2 of those 3 series, which gives many the perception that he, as the marquee player, failed.

[stitchface]

What are Matsui's numbers?

[goonys evil twin]

What are Matsui's numbers?

 

regular season play:

.297/.370/.489

 

postseason play:

.319/.377/.556

 

Of course, he wasn't good this year.

[BigbadB]

Each time I hear someone say they'd love to have A-Rod, I think about all the years he's been playing in the league and still has no World Series trophies on his mantle. He got the money he wanted to play this game. He got the team he wanted to play for. What else could he need?

 

Would I rather have A-Rod, or would I rather have Brian Giles, Rafael Furcal and Kenny Lofton? I'd take the latter.

 

Would I rather have A-Rod, or would I rather have a combination of players focusing around Giles that added up to the money A-Rod makes? I'd take the latter.

 

No one player is worth what Jeter, Mussina, Giambi or A-Rod make. I'm fairly certain most everyone would have penciled the Yankees into the playoffs this year if Joe Randa was holding down 3rd base rather than A-Rod.

 

The only way the Cubs should even remotely consider A-Rod is if the Yankees eat enough of his contract to make him no more than 15m per season.