Brian Cashman Failed To Deilver for Yankees at Deadline
August 1, 2009 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
When most of you woke up on Friday, you probably were anticipating any possible deal to be made during the trade deadline.
Late last night, it was rumored the Red Sox and Indians were negotiating to deal Victor Martinez in a potential trade. By 3 PM, that deal was finalized and Martinez was now a member of the Red Sox.
As far as the Yankees were concerned, they were linked to be rumored to every potential starting pitcher like Roy Halladay, Jarrod Washburn, Brian Bannister, Bronson Arroyo and any other starter out on the market. Cliff Lee was off the market when he got traded to the Phillies earlier in the week.
They figured to be on the market because of Chien-Ming Wang’s season-ending shoulder surgery which will require at least 12 months to repair and recover. So for 2009 and maybe even all of 2010, Wang will not be pitching in pinstripes.
Their fifth starter right now is Sergio Mitre, who is 1-0 with a 7.91 ERA and has been anything but impressive. His latest start on Friday was terrible against the White Sox.
So, with the deadline at 4 PM, what did the Yankees do?
Their lone move was getting Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the Reds for a low-level prospect. Now the Hairston move provides depth for the Yankees bench, especially with Brett Gardner’s injury, but Cashman made no attempt to get any starters.
He made calls to try for Washburn, but the Mariners never responded to an offer made by the Yankees and Washburn instead went to the Tigers.
Watching Washburn go to a potential A.L. playoff team was frustrating.
When sources were saying that Bannister was potentially being dangled on the market, the Yankees should have found a way to pounce and get a trade from the Royals. I’m sure it wouldn’t have cost Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes and not even Jesus Montero and Austin Jackson.
Why Cashman didn’t find a way to make a deal for Bannister is beyond me, and maybe beyond a lot of other fans as well, because Bannister would have made the perfect fifth starter for the Yankees.
Bannister, 28, is 6-7 with a 3.80 ERA in 116 innings pitched and 19 starts. Bannister is 6-7 because he is on the Royals. Put him on a winning team and his record is more impressive.
If you think Bannister isn’t any good, just ask the Mets what they think of him? They regrettably traded Bannister for reliever Ambiorix Burgos back in 2006. Bannister is still in the major leagues while Burgos hasn’t pitched since 2007 because of control problems.
There was the possibility of Halladay, but lets face it, Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi was asking for the best players and prospects from the Yankees because they were a division rival.
If Brian Cashman got rid of Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, he was taking out two pitchers who would be key parts in the Yankees future for possibly a year and a half of Halladay’s services.
Ricciardi was being un-reasonable, which is why Halladay stayed put at the deadline.
But for Cashman to make no deals for another starter makes you wonder what is he thinking, and is he really that concerned with a budget?
He’s the general manager for the Yankees, not the Pirates. The Yankees have the money to get anyone they want. They could afford to expand payroll if they wanted. The new Yankee Stadium has been a money-making machine as most nights, it’s nearly filled to capacity and merchandise and food sales have been good.
He’s willing to shell out money for pitching busts like Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright in the past, get ripped off in 2007 for the negotiations and services of Kei Igawa, but won’t make a deal to get someone proven like Bronson Arroyo just because he’s still owed $17 million on his contract?
Arroyo may have been an even better fit for the Yankees as the fifth starter, yet, Cashman balked at an attempt because of his contract.
Arroyo has pitched over 200 innings in every season since 2005 and is on pace to do so again. He’s 10-10 and his ERA is 5.17, but he’d definitely give the Yankees a better chance to win on the mound than Mitre does.
Not to mention, Arroyo was a key part of the 2004 Red Sox championship team, serving as both a starter and reliever.
Arroyo could have been had for the right price, and Cashman got cheap.
It’s Aug. 1 now, and the Yankees are only one-and-one-half games in front of the Red Sox, who improved their offense by adding Martinez and Casey Kotchman to be a solid defensive backup. The Red Sox didn’t even have to part with Clay Buchholz in the deal. So the Red Sox lineup just improved.
Did the Yankees improve? Not really. Hairston isn’t the impact player Martinez is and they didn’t add any depth to their rotation.
If the Red Sox end up moving ahead of the Yankees and end up beating them again in the division race, Cashman has nobody to blame but himself this winter, because he failed to deliver in the summer.
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