The GM meetings won't be the same without the Casherino

Breaking News Drivel: The annual GM swap meet in Vegas is underway, and for the first time in his 27 years at the helm, Yankee super-wiz Brian Cashman will be missing in action. 

That means no big Yankee signings, no colossal Yankee deals, and no epic, until-dawn hoisting of boilermakers in the Hoodle Dasher  lounge, as the world wonders: Where's Pitbull? 

Dunno. Climbing Everest, because it's there? Hiking the Appalachian Trail, grokking nature (with the Pilates instructor?) Or maybe he's just burnt out - tired of the grind, the crapola, the lost Octobers. Could you blame him?     

What could Cashman's absence mean? Some possibilities...

1. Absolutely nothing. Nada, zip, no sir. The GM meetings are not the Winter Meetings. They're probably an excuse to drink, chase hotties and urinate in public. Cash has been Yank GM since 1998. He's 58, and the Yankees are no longer the apex predator in every bidding war. In fact, they're in the second tier of ownership wealth. It's gotta be depressing for a guy who began his GM career with annual parades down the Canyon of Heroes. Could anybody blame Cashman if he's simply doesn't give an airborne shit anymore?  

2. A little, but not much. Supposedly, two years ago, the GM meetings spawned the Juan Soto trade with San Diego. Still, the heavy lifting came later. By not being there, Cashman could conceivably miss out on some 3 a.m. dick measuring contest that eventually unlocks the Pirates' grip on Paul Skenes. But I doubt it.  

3. You can say you went. Right now, the Yankees can't do much of anything. They're waiting for Trent Grisham to decide if he'll accept their $22 million qualifying offer and stay a Yankee, or take his chances on free agency. Everything the Yankees will do this winter hinges on Grisham's decision, which is still a week away. Why go without a plan? 

4. Gossip. The Yankees are sending a contingent. Who knows? Maybe without the boss, the underlings can stay later at the bar, and snap some incriminating photographs, to be used in later negotiations? 

Let's face it: Aside from signing somebody off the scrap heap, everything that happens must be signed off by Cashman - and then by Food Stamps Hal - and if it means busting the budget, probably the rest of the Steinbrenner family. Remember those t-shirts in the 1970's? MY FAMILY WENT TO VEGAS AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT? Sums it up.