Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Cashman is smart in waiting until spring training to make deals

Okay, I know what you're saying... "CASHMAN IS SMART?" WTF? Have you lost your mind?"

Maybe.

Four years without a meaningful post-season will do that. But if we're going to whine incessantly on this site about Cashman's mistakes - Jacoby Headley, come on down! - we must also appreciate it when he does something right. And today, I'm here to argue that Cashman is doing the right thing by waiting until spring training before cutting deals. Here's why.

1. We dunno what we got. Not in pitching. Not in hitting. We donno nothing, nada, noper. Come the Ides of March, Aaron Judge could have 40 strikeouts and a ticket punched to Scranton. Luis Severino could have developed a change-up and be our new ace. Every spring, we dunno what we got. But this year, considering the emphasis on young players, the gap between the known knowns and unknown unknowns - to quote old man Rumsfeld - is wider than ever. We don't even know what we don't even know. Before doing something stupid, we gotta know.

2. The market could open for the players we want to trade. Cashman couldn't get honest value for Brett Gardner because the few teams in need of outfielders figured they could hold us for ransom. Come the Ides of March, that list of Gardner-seeking teams could grow. An injury or two in the World Baseball Classic could make some contenders desperate for a Gold Glove LF or switch-hitting 3B. (Nobody's going to take Ellsbury; he's ours through the entire Trump administration.) If we are really trying to make a trade, it can't hurt to wait.

3. I'm betting there will still be a few free agents and trade deals out there. Right now, almost every team in baseball is sorting things out, waiting until Feb. 20 to see what they've got. Same with some of the veteran free agents that we might sign to fill space. They will wait until the last minute, hoping that brinksmanship will bring the best deal. There's no point in rushing to lock up Jason Hammel right now. If he signs, there will be other middling starters out there.

4. Remember: Cashman lies all the time. He feels no compulsion to tell the truth to reporters. This is fine with most Yankee fans. We understand that truth doesn't win ballgames. Next week, if a deal emerges, whatever Cashman said yesterday won't matter. Nobody will care. His actual quote said he's "ninety-nine percent" sure no changes will be made. Technically, he won't even be accountable for a lie.

That's because Cashman is smart, by the way.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

MAYBE BOOK SMART AS HELL........ BUT PLAYER EVALUATION AND DEAL WISE?...... C'MON EL DUKE.......NEVER FORGET THE DAVID ADAMS INCLUSION REFUSAL,(FOR CLIFF LEE).... THAT'S HIS MANTRA THE LAST 5 - 7 YEARS....WE WAIT, AND WAIT, AND WAIT, AND NOTHING HAPPENS.....OTHER TEAMS SCUTTLE AND DEAL AND SEEM BENT ON IMPROVING....BUT NOT US....WE WAIT, AND WAIT....... YOU SHOULD KNOW BY NOW, A DEAL FOR GARDNER WILL NEVER COME OFF...HE IS GOING TO BE 34 IN AUGUST....IF A DEAL WAS ALREADY IMMINENT, WE MAY HAVE BEEN OFFERED 2 MINOR LEAGUE NOTHING BURGERS.....REALISTICALLY, IF WE WAIT, AND EVEN IF HE IS DOING WELL "IN SEASON", EITHER CASHMAN WILL SAY, "WE CAN'T GET RID OF HIM, HE'S HELPING US WIN NOW.", OR HE WILL BE OFFERED 2 DIFFERENT MINOR LEAGUE NOTHING BURGERS, AND NOTHING WILL HAPPEN....... THE POINT IS WE MUST GET RID OF THE LOGJAM IN THE OUTFIELD TO OPEN THE DOOR FOR THE UPCOMING TALENT.....THE SOONER, THE BETTER.

JM said...

He has a good brain.

Hugh Hefner said...

Nor too successful at choosing girlfriends.

Joe Formerlyof Brooklyn said...

Whatever you smoked before writing this post, you should attempt to make it generally available. Please.

Alphonso said...

This is all just more evidence of, " a world gone mad."

Cashman has no cards. He also has no starting pitching. And some very old , mild hitting outfielders who can't steal bases.

A team would have to lose all its outfielders before they would give value for Gardy. It is simply, stated, too late. If Gardy were a difference maker ( like Peyton Manning's last season ), a team on the cusp of winning it all could have interest. But he isn't and they are not.

It it the yankees who have to hope for injury...to Gardy or Jacoby, or both. Not that we ever wish that on a player. But, frankly, the compensation ifs pretty good ( Jacoby would cash, what, $15 million to sit by the pool, if injured )? But this is the only way the Yankees will see prospects at the major league level next year. Except, of course, when the September call-up occurs and we have no playoff game as a diversion.

Smart, dumb, or impaired, I think Cashman has done a piss-poor job in building and planning this franchise.

Anonymous said...

I refuse to believe in Cash-Puss's intelligence, at this stage - - I think Prince Hamlet is holding him back, insisting we go on food-stamps again - - now, that may be making Cash-Puss LOOK smart, but hey, Duque - - I agree - - I want some of what you smnoked before writing this - - for almost 50 years, I've been searching for something better than the Panama Red we used to be able to get in college - - and you may have hit upon it.

and, what the hey?? Quoting that wise-ass, Dummy Rummy TWO days in a row?? Yikes!! I'd rather take the known unknowns than the known we know - - or - - well, anything BUT unknown unknowns - - those are scary. It's bad enough that we can't KNOW what we THINK we know - - what, are we living in Nazi Germany, or something. I mean, give us a break - - the man obviously vets his prostitutes THOROUGHLY & EXTREMELY for germs & hidden cameras.... LB (No J)

Unknown said...

Just like Trump, Ells will be gone before his term is up.

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