In case you missed it, Donald Trump last night welcomed Nestor Cortes to his Florida rally, and I gotta think it helps Agent Orange more than Nasty Nestor.
In this polarized political spectrum, I'm not sure its wise for any player to throw in with MAGA or Uncle Joe. Nestor will be a beloved Yank, as long as he can pitch into the 6th. But as he returns from a lost season, I'm not sure he needs the extra stress of wearing a red hat in a blue-hat fan base - midnight blue, that is.
For posterity, here's the clip.
Johnny Damon and Paul O'Neill both supported Trump, and so be it. My problem with Trump recruiting Yankees: He didn't poach Randy Levine, who was rumored to be a possible White House Chief of Staff for about 15 minutes, back when Rudy G was going to be U.S. Attorney General.
Which brings us to Brian Cashman's meltdown Tuesday, which has already spawned a global avalanche of copy. For nearly an hour, the GM-for-Life pissed and moaned about Yank fans, his job, and the fact that nobody appreciates him.
He sounded like a man who is tired of running the Yankees.
I believe Cashman's outburst will haunt him for the rest of his career - even if he turns the Yankees around. When he eventually retires, they'll play the footage of him tossing F-bombs - this, while representing in an organization that bans facial hair.
Thus far, Cashman has been mostly known for good deeds - rappelling down a building in New Haven to launch Christmas, or sleeping on the streets to shine a light on the homeless. Now, he'll also be remembered for cursing out his critics. Bad juju.
But but BUT... Cash got one point right: Winning aint so easy anymore. The Yankees face a crosstown rival who will outspend them on any player, plus billionaire owners in smaller markets who view teams as extensions of their manhood. Ten years ago, the Yankees could win every auction. That window has closed.
I gotta think a double-secret probation clock is ticking on Cashman's time with the Yankees. This week's outburst didn't help.
I think a lot of Yankees fans are right-wingers. So no problem with the base.
ReplyDeleteIn any other corporate environment, Cashman would be fired immediately for his outburst. You don't go after the cash cow--fans--in public like that. You just don't.
1) From the clip: "They call him The Hialeah Kid."
ReplyDeleteAnyone ever heard that? Uh ever?
2) Cashman
He really is Queeging. Or Joe Johnsoning. One can only hope that he Gettlemanizes and gettles the fuck out of here.
I thought the Cashman Rappels took place in Stamford and not New Haven.
ReplyDeleteNew Haven is more know.n for Pizzas, a University, and our own Branford Karl eating burgers at Louis’ Lunch.
A grown man dressed as an Elf seen sliding down a building at night in New Haven would be tossed in a sack seconds after hitting the ground and be taken over to Bridgeport Hospital for a extended psychological evaluation.
(So maybe Cash SHOULD change venues this year)
Shame to hear that about Nasty Nestor.
Orange is just not his color.
I’ll eschew any political angles.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think Cashman’s outburst will have any effect on Steinbrenner. He simply doesn’t care enough about winning, only about money. If his lapdog bites someone occasionally that’s OK with him.
Back in the day, many ballplayers were Democrats, mostly because they came from working-class backgrounds and/or were Catholics. Babe Ruth, for instance, endorsed Al Smith and FDR. Stan Musial was a Democrat.
ReplyDeleteIn more recent decades, players have turned right-wing. I think that's because they come from "no excuses" cultures now, which is fine for playing ball—and because they're worth a ton of money.
What they never seem to get is—no matter how tough they are, or how hard they worked—there's a huge element of luck still involved in being a major-league ballplayer. That ACL held up, the flyball came down just before you hit the wall, that scout took a chance on you even though the numbers weren't that great. Your friend knew where to find the best PEDs (looking at you, Mike Piazza).
I think people blessed with amazing, God-given talent should be generous, no matter how hard they work.
I don't believe that Cashman is Queegeeing. (Great word, Doug!) I think that his tongue lashings were a calculated effort to put down the fan/media mutiny, to show us all that he's still got it, he's still in charge, and we should all pipe down and watch his next, wondrous Yankees team tear through the competition.
ReplyDeleteWhat he doesn't get is how fast time is running out on this motley group of mutts he has assembled.
I'm with you, Hoss.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, though, I disagree with Duque that the Mets are coming.
ReplyDeleteI think that David Stearns has all the smirking arrogance of a young Brian Cashman—and will likely be just as effective. His very first move promises to be a disaster: replacing a HOF manager when he did NOT actually have the replacement he wanted lined up, and turning instead to a guy who has never managed above Single-A.
That doesn't fill me with confidence. Cohen, like HAL, can spend all he wants, but if he can't identify effective, front-office personnel, it won't help.
Do the HOSS-EL!
ReplyDeleteCashman is looking a bit more flogged and stressed of late - so hopefully he’s feeling the heat - even if he is coming across like a slimy little arrogant tadpole
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ReplyDelete1) Hoss -
ReplyDelete"put down the fan/media mutiny"
Loses it trying to put down a mutiny? Hmmnn.
2) "The Hialeah Kid"
Discarded name from first draft of Guys and Dolls?
Worst Danny Kaye movie?
Worst Jerry Lewis Movie?
Wait, I've got it...
The Hialeah Kid
1965 Disney film starring Tony Curtis as a nice guy in trouble with "The Mob" whose precocious eight year old has an uncanny knack of picking winners. Hilarity ensues when "The Mob" doesn't take kindly to this talent.
Also stars Natalie Schafer as the kid's patrician aunt (Look for her great hat in the Kentucky Derby scene.) and a young Larry Storch as "The Mob's inept enforcer.
Was there ANY movie Tony Curtis wouldn't do?
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Doug—but I don't think this is a crazy, paranoid, out-of-control Capt. Cashman, but a fully calculating individual, operating as he usually does.
"Hey, how come we can't win the World Series anymore?" "Shut up! We get there, don't we?" "Hey, how come we can't get to the World Series anymore?" "Shut up! We get to the playoffs, don't we?" "Hey, how come we can't make the playoffs?" "Shut up! We had a winning record, didn't we? And our process is GREAT!"
Soon, he will be out of "shut ups." Next will come the ritual sacrifice of Boonie, then the announced "rebuilding" program. By the time that fizzles, the little toad will likely be ready to retire, or mired in a new sex scandal.
Hoss - I agree, Brian's not there yet. But, as you point out, he's on that road.
ReplyDeleteWhat needs to happen is, the next time he's rappelling down the building in his elf costume the Ghost of Gabe Paul needs to appear in a window like in the TV show Batman and tell him,
"It's time to retire, Old Chum".
With all due respect, Doug - if someone opens a window on Cash whilst he’s rappelling ala 60s Batman - I think he should just lose his grip and plummet Rickman style from Die Hard.
ReplyDeleteJust saying….
Ownership needs to change first. Not gonna happen.
ReplyDeleteHopefully not the guy mentioned in this article:
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2023/nov/08/las-vegas-sphere-reports-984-million-loss-cfo-quit
@ Hoss, "Was there ANY movie Tony Curtis wouldn't do?"
ReplyDeleteThere were an awful lot of crappy family fun movies. One that I enjoyed was "The Black Shield of Falworth". Had lots of scenes of squires training to be knights, including pell work with swords. Was worth watching just for that.
@ AA...., yes-Cashman scales down the facing of Landmark Square in Stamford. Basically right down the street from Rich Studios where the Jerry Springer Show was taped. Also his bodyguard's show and Sally Jesse Raphael. But this Carl would eat at Louis' Lunch only if it offered some version of a veggie burger. By the way, historians now seem to agree that that place did not serve up the first burger in America.
ReplyDeleteHorace....your analysis of the historical leaning of baseball players is exactly so. Most American baseball players now come from predominantly middle-class or upper-class families. But not so much the Latino/Hispanic players. But because of the extremely high incomes that come with the profession, players tend to become more conservative and support a party that endorses tax manipulations and benefits for its wealthier members. They disassociate from their old neighborhoods by either leaving completely or ensconcing themselves in gated communities on the outskirts.
@ Doug....Cortes is actually from Hialeah (his family arrived when he was just 7 months old) and that city is now over 95% Hispanic/Cuban due to the Cuban influx that started in the early 1960's. It's obviously the reason Trump called his name. But I doubt anyone has ever applied that nickname to him.
Spot on!
DeleteAlas, Carl - Louis has yet the add veggie burgers to their menu.
ReplyDeleteWhere’s the place to feast on one in your neck of the woods?
Also, people who emigrate to the US are generally very protective of their new home, hence the tendency towards Nationalism. As they say, the most devout followers are converts.
ReplyDeleteAA...there are so many places that currently serve good veggie burgers. Hell, even joints like Burger King, McDonald's, and Wendy's do. My favorite is the Impossible Burger which even "bleeds". Claire's Cornercopia and Edge of the Woods in New Haven are two of the most popular venues.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, "Falworth" was the movie where Tony Curtis supposedly uttered the unforgettable line "Yonda lies the castle of my fada." But I think it's a hoax; it doesn't exist, at least in Falworth. Nor would he have had cause to utter such a line in that movie. He played a disgraced knight's son who was secretly raised from infancy by a peasant.
ReplyDeleteRufus -
ReplyDeleteYeah nobody wants that guy!
BTW really disingenuous headline. Of course The Sphere lost money for the quarter ending on Sept 30th. It didn't open until September 29th.