Time to question Brian Cashman's judgment

Maybe the Steinbrenners were right to overrule Brian Cashman after all. He’s clearly losing his mind.

If Cashman was really willing to offer Carl Pavano $10 million to return to the New York Yankees, then it is undoubtedly time to question his judgment. I know Pavano has resurrected his career with the Minnesota Twins, but he was an absolute nightmare in the Bronx. He left town with $40 million of the Yankees' money and gave them absolutely nothing in return for it. He is unredeemable in the eyes of the Yankees faithful and probably would have gotten booed on every single pitch he threw by his hometown crowd.

The fact that Cashman would even consider a deal with Pavano is mind boggling considering the failed return of Javier Vazquez. I had a problem with that move, but at least you could make a case that Vazquez wasn't given enough time to find himself in pinstripes during his first tenure. Pavano spent four years in New York on the disabled list and the wrong side of his teammates. Even Mike Mussina, one of the least media-friendly guys to wear pinstripes in recent years, publicly called Pavano out.

This highlights the main problem of the Cliff Lee debacle: the lack of a Plan B by Cashman. He's not the only one at fault for this as I think all the Yankee officials assumed Lee couldn’t wait to take their millions. But it's Cashman's job to have a back-up plan.

Carl Pavano doesn't qualify as a good Plan B, but at least Pavano did Cashman the favor of re-signing with the Twins. If he'd actually taken a deal from Cashman and had another disastrous tenure in pinstripes, fans would be calling for nothing less than the general manager's head on a platter.

Yankees wise not to fight with their kids

After the nasty contract dispute with Captain Derek Jeter, I half expected the New York Yankees to pick a fight with their three youngsters eligible for arbitration in an attempt to save a few bucks. I'm happy that they wisely decided not to let things get ugly.

The Yankees signed Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan to reasonable, one-year deals, avoiding any contentious hearings with less than a month until pitchers and catchers report.

After the year he had, I thought Hughes could have gotten a bigger raise, but he won't be hurting with $2.7 million. That's still a bargain for the Yankees considering that he, along with CC Sabathia, is seen as the only reliable member of the starting rotation. But hopefully him settling for a reasonable deal rather than fighting for the last dollar sets the stage for smooth negotiations on a long-term deal when his time comes.

In signing Logan and Joba, the Yankees bullpen is now set. Logan proved to be an integral cog in the relief corp last year and will play an even bigger role with the revamped power lineup of the Boston Red Sox. This year may be even more important for Joba. He needs to prove that he can get back to being that dominant guy we saw a few years ago and I think the Yankees will give him one more year to find it again before they start thinking about moving on.

I hate the baseball arbitration process because even the best relationships can turn sour under the pressure. But in signing their three eligible youngsters, the Yankees got at least one thing done right this offseason.

Cashman vs Steinbrenners

Are the New York Yankees reliving the days when George Steinbrenner ran his ballclub with an iron fist?

It sure seems that way with word that Hal and Hank Steinbrenner overruled their general manager Brian Cashman to sign Rafael Soriano to be the set-up guy for Mariano Rivera. I remember thinking last week that it was strange that Cashman would change course so quickly after insisting he would not give up his #1 draft pick to sign Soriano. Now it all makes sense. It wasn't Cashman's decision.

Now that the story is out, the Steinbrenners have created a real credibility problem for Cashman. Perhaps this was just a one-time occurrence. But baseball people will wonder, somewhat unfairly, about whether Cashman is truly in charge of the team or if the Steinbrenner sons are doing their best impression of their dad, who treated his general managers as irrelevant minions and constantly overruled their baseball decisions. One decision doesn't constitute a trend, but it's something that bears watching.

Whether you like Cashman's decisions or not, it's hard to argue that he doesn't have a plan. A few years ago, he declined to trade for Johan Santana, which essentially sacrificed the 2008 season. But he went after CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira that offseason and promptly won the World Series in 2009. So his plan worked. Does he have a similar plan now and will the Steinbrenners start messing it up?

I don’t think there will be further fallout from the Steinbrenners’ decision to overrule Cashman just yet. But all eyes will be wide open for any signs of a redux of Cashman vs the Steinbrenners.

Do the Yankees finally have a plan for life after Mo?

With the signing of Rafael Soriano, it looks like the New York Yankees finally have a plan for life after Mariano Rivera. But is it a solid plan?

Soriano’s talent, age and closing experience make him a natural choice to succeed Mo when the legendary closer finally decides to call it quits, perhaps when his new deal ends in two years (although I hope he keeps pitching for as long as he can). Soriano saved 45 games in 2010, helping the Tampa Bay Rays capture the American League East division title from the Yankees. Now he will come to New York and be the set-up guy, an apprentice to Mo rather than his immediate replacement, which alleviates the pressure.

Signing Soriano is a wise move on the part of Brian Cashman and the Yankees. It doesn’t directly address their most glaring need for another solid, reliable starting pitcher to share the load with CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes, but it improves their chances of winning if they can shorten games. It also salvages what has been to this point a rather disappointing offseason and helps the Yankees put a plan in motion for the day when they no longer are able to hand the ball to Mo and quickly put games into the victory column.

There is one major flaw in the plan. Soriano’s deal allows him to opt out of his contract after the first or second season. With agent Scott Boras, that’s a distinct possibility, especially if Boras thinks he can get Soriano more money later on. The fact that Soriano was even willing to come to the Bronx to set up for Mo could be a sign of good character, a willingness to wait his turn and a knowledge that he is not giving up his chance at another World Series run by leaving the Rays for the Yankees. But the cynic in me wonders whether he just came to New York to get the most money.

Overall, I think it’s a smart move by the Yankees. We’ll just have to see if Soriano can stick with the program.

Thanks to texas_mustang and UCinternational via Wikipedia for the photo.

Jeter ready to prove critics, Yankees wrong

Derek Jeter has heard all the criticisms of his recent job performance and the questions about whether he is getting too old to continue manning the shortstop position for the New York Yankees. He’s seems determined to prove all those critics, some of them residing in the Yankees front office, wrong.

During Jeter’s unnecessarily tense contract negotiations, Brian Cashman had the nerve to publicly raise questions about Jeter’s performance to justify the Yankees’ hard-line stance and dared him to seek offers from other teams after Jeter already let it be known he had no interest in testing the market. Jeter was clearly hurt by the nastiness of the Yankees’ vitriol, but I’m sure he realizes that the Yankees have concerns about him as a shortstop, even if they should have kept those concerns out of the media. He’s going to work extremely hard to prove that all these concerns are unfounded, that his best years aren’t behind him and that he has more Jeter-like seasons in him.

Jeter is ready and focused, starting to work on his swing a few weeks before spring training rather than enjoying the rest of his vacation. Despite all their nasty chatter, the Yankees have to be rooting for Jeter to do well, considering they do not have a shortstop anywhere need his caliber to replace him in their organization.

This is going to be an important season for Jeter. Barring a major injury, heaven forbid, he’s going to reach that magic 3,000-hit number that will guarantee admission into the Baseball Hall of Fame (even though realistically he is already a lock). But Jeter is going to have to prove to the Yankees and to the baseball world and to all his critics that he is not done, not by a long shot. Given the extra motivation, I expect Jeter to have a big year. I’m looking forward to him making the Yankees and the rest of his critics eat their words.

Hoffman always second fiddle to Mo Rivera

Closer Trevor Hoffman will retire as the only pitcher in baseball history to save 600 games, an extraordinary accomplishment. But sometime this year or next, Hoffman will likely find himself once again in a familiar position: playing second fiddle to Mariano Rivera.

Hoffman, whose best years came with the San Diego Padres, will end a terrific career with an all-time record 601 regular-season saves. Rivera just inked a two-year contract to continue closing games for the New York Yankees and only needs 42 more saves to catch Hoffman.

But Mo will still be considered the greatest closer in baseball history even if he does not surpass Hoffman because of his postseason dominance. Rivera has 41 postseason saves, by far the most of any pitcher and well above Hoffman’s four saves, and a miniscule 0.71 ERA pitching against the best teams in baseball during the playoffs. In their only significant head-to-head matchup, Mo helped the Yankees secure a quick and easy four-game sweep of the Padres while Hoffman gave up a 3-run blast to Scotty Brosius that sealed the Padres’ fate in the 1998 World Series.

Not that any of this matters much at this point since both men are going to the Hall of Fame, probably on the first ballot, despite the reluctance of the baseball writers to support the induction of modern closers such as Lee Smith and John Franco. Hoffman has had a fantastic career and earned the respect and admiration of people throughout baseball, including Rivera.

Hoffman was great. Mo was just better.

Thanks to Djh57 via Wikipedia for the photo.

Dallas Green's pain felt all over baseball

Every so often, we’re given a painful reminder that baseball is just a game. A terrible tragedy served as a reminder of that again this weekend.

Dallas Green, a former manager of the New York Yankees and Mets, is going through the worst kind of loss, the loss of a child. His granddaughter Christina Taylor Green was the youngest victim of a murderous rampage in Tucson, Arizona. Green adored his granddaughter and his pain is palpable. It’s a pain that’s being felt all over the baseball world.

My heart goes out to Green and his family. I thought it was terrible that a legislator and a judge were attacked by a madman, but when I heard that he shot and killed a child, my heart broke. I obviously don’t know Green and his family personally, but lots of baseball people do and are rushing to provide whatever comfort and support they can.

Unfortunately, I feel helpless to do anything and I’m sure many people feel the same way. I’m hoping that Bud Selig will announce that Major League Baseball will set up some kind of scholarship program for smart, ambitious kids like Christina to help them follow their dreams. That way at least something positive will come from this senseless tragedy.