So New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman had a press conference Tuesday in which he claimed to take full responsibility for the Yankees’ failure to make the postseason this year. Of course, to my knowledge, none of the lapdogs in the New York media bothered to ask him this followup question — why aren’t you quitting or being fired if it is your responsibility?!
Look at this, from the presser:
Q. “Who do you put the ultimate responsibility on for the team not being good enough?”
A. “Me.”
Q. “Nobody else?”
A. “It’s my responsibility.”
Q. “Were you given all the resources necessary in the winter to build a winner?”
A. “Yes.”
Well, in the words of Michael Kay, shouldn’t Cash be saying “See ya!” and jumping out of an airplane and out of his job or something? He failed at his job despite being given $230 million, and he ought to be fired, or at least show some dignity (ha!) and quit.
But of course that isn’t going to happen. Cashman has to pay over $1 million next year in alimony to his ex-wife, so he’s not going to walk away. And the Yankees aren’t going to fire him, either. After all, they still owe him $3 million for the 2014 season.
(An aside: is there any organization more penny wise and pound foolish than the Yankees? They did the same thing when it came to keeping Joe Torre for another season, choosing to keep him long past his sell-by date because otherwise they’d have to pay him $8 million. They never consider the money they lose and do not make by essentially giving up on the season to save a few bucks.)
The thing is, there is no logical argument for keeping Cashman in. I predicted in March that the Yankees would not win more than 86 games, and would not finish higher than third place, and I was right on both counts. With the poor way this team was constructed, that record was not a surprise to anybody who paid attention. Not to mention that woeful farm system. Cashman demanded complete control of that in 2005. What does he have to show for it? The Yanks had 56 players on the field in 2013, and there was not one future star — or even just future everyday player — in any of the prospects. The problems with this team rest at Cashman’s feet.
Yet Hal Steinbrenner is apparently so afraid of being seen like his dear old dad, that he won’t ever actually hold anybody accountable. So Cashman is coming back, as are Randy Levine, Lonn Trost, and all of the other dunderheads in Yankeeland.
Almost nobody even argues anymore that Cashman is a great GM — all they can say is that his replacement could be worse. Well, that’s the excuse for staying in a bad relationship — your boyfriend or girlfriend may treat you badly, but your next boyfriend or girlfriend could be worse. People who talk that way have a failure of imagination and a fear of change. It never occurs to them that the replacement could be better!
And who couldn’t be better than Brian Cashman? He has a stated mandate to win the World Series of that year. In 12 of the last 13 seasons, he has failed at that goal, and this year, his team didn’t even make the playoffs, despite having its highest payroll in history.
But the no-talent clown still gets to keep his job, and tell lies like this, like what he said yesterday when asked about A-Rod’s PED appeal hearing (emphasis added):
“I operate on the assumption that I have him until they tell me otherwise. I’m not really in a position to talk about the Alex stuff. We’re not a party to it. I know from the media reports it was supposed to start yesterday and for a while there, until I looked on Twitter and saw certain things about people coming and going I wasn’t even sure if it had started or not. Because that’s how out of the loop I am on it. There’s not much to say on it. At this stage I’m not a participant in any way.”
Really, Bri? You’re really claiming this nonsense? If you really didn’t know, then you ought to lose your job just for that — being an ignoramus!
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