Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Brian Sabean has the experience, knowledge and savvy to help the Yankees. What he doesn't seem to have is a specific job.

Note to commenters: From now on, please address future bile - be it flaming or frozen - to "The Brians." 

Yesterday, longtime SF Giants GM Brian Sabean rejoined his old franchise as a utility executive, a Bert Campaneris of the office, capable of cooking contracts, handling w9 tax forms and maybe even scouting a pitcher.  

What the Death Barge yesterday didn't do was identify a specific role for Sabean, 66, who spent nearly 30 years filling the Giants with ex-Yankee coaching talent, such as Dirt Tidrow, Dave Righetti and Hensley Meullens. What will he'll do in Tampa - beyond the mandatory yessing of Prince Hal and the delivery of Mr. Judge's laundry - nobody knows. But that's okay. Some of the best periods in Yankee history came via imported brain trusts, such as George Weiss, Gabe Paul and Bob Watson. And if you're carping about Special Assistants to the GM, the franchise currently boasts five: Reggie Jackson, Tino Martinez, Stump Merrill, Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui. WTF do they do? Good luck answering that. 

Sabean's contract with the Giants ended Oct. 1, and the team let him go. (He was out the loop before the Aaron Judge bidding war began.) Here are five reasons - albeit desperate ones - to be hopeful about his arrival:

1. Maybe he'll be the guy who says no to a bad Brian Cashman trade. Right now, that role is filled by - um - Dopey Dildox. Sure, Prince Hal is the final arbiter of all moves, but lately, he seems to simply set a budget and let Cashman do the rest. Over the last two years, the Yankees have clanked on several mega-trades. Could Sabean have talked us out of chasing Joey Gallo? We'll never know. But another layer of due diligence can't hurt.

2. He brings a vast knowledge of the Giants' system. Yeah, they sucked last year. But that's not nothin.' Every MLB franchise houses a secret trove of info on players - their strengths, weaknesses, mentalities and bimbos. Surely, Sabean knows SF's farm from top to bottom, plus with all the scouting reports he can memorize on the rest of the league.  

3. Okay, this may be a stretch, but I like the idea of poaching executives, even if it's more like a retirement perk. In the back of every GM's mind lurks the notion that, hey, someday you might work for this team. Some young GMs seem to boil with the intensity of screwing the Yankees in a blockbuster trade. This reminds everyone that, hey, there's no need for acrimony, we're all friends here, and maybe someday, if you treat us nicely, you'll be on our side...

4. Sabean brings an outsider's eye to the entire Yank organization. In recent years, the Yanks have steadily touted "the gas station," their system for developing young pitchers. Following a splurge of trades, it seems to be drying up. Maybe Sabean has some ideas. Also, when it comes to evaluating players, Sabean will have no dog in the competitions. He didn't draft or trade for them. He's not inherently tied to their success. This can't hurt. 

Or maybe he'll just turn out to be an old fart who sits around remembering Orlando Cepeda's salsa music and how great it used to be when Pete Wilson ran California.  Oh, well. Aint my money. 

18 comments:

AboveAverage said...

Me likes this Brian.

Hopefully he makes an immediate impact.

The Archangel said...

Not to pick nits, but I think the the ever-after self-promoter, Reggie Jackson, now "advises" the Astros.

AboveAverage said...

That correct about Jackson - and there’s an interesting typo in our leader’s article as well - everyone makes mistakes. Even El Duque. It’s what makes us human.

One additional thought is Sabean left SF to get away from this nasty storm . . .

HoraceClarke66 said...

Yeah, yeah: two "l"s in Meulens, no apostrophe in "Aint."

C'MON, Peerless Leader, get it together!!!

el duque said...

Hey, they're all still listed as Yankee special assistants on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia
The perfect media,
Facts for you,
And they might be true!

The Archangel said...

El Duque,

Your fallibility is disconcerting.
Next thing you'll tell us that Cashman really isn't an imbecile and that the moon is not made of cheese.
C'Mon man!

The Archangel said...

I only meant to mention Reggie because, although he was a WS hero, he never was quite a Yankee like Thurman, Roy White, La. Lightning, Sweet Lou or Willie.
He proved that by trying to maintain relevance by joining the Astros.

AboveAverage said...

Respectfully - Mr Duque - what caught my eye as the rain pounds down upon us quivering, earthquake fearing denizens of Otisburg is this epic brain teaser:

What will he'll do in Tampa -

Well done Sir Duque!

Stay dry, neighbors….





edb said...

Sabean Brian: So Brian, what do you want to ask me? Genius Brian (Mumbles) Hal made me hire you. Sabean: You must have some questions. Genius Brian: Okay, what can I improve on? Sabean: Stop bringing in stiffs like Calhoun. You mts be aware that in 2022, there was only one player 25 years old or under. You had a 42 year old catcher on the roster. Genius Brian: Fishman likes Calhoun. He had a good ops , opd, lcd, etcc...,, Sabean: May be stop listening to Fishman, who is a putz. Calhoun hit a combined .135 in 2022. What can he possibly do to impove the Yankees?

Carl J. Weitz said...

Here is the take on Brian Sabean from The Athletic:

https://theathletic.com/4054634/2023/01/03/yankees-brian-cashman-brian-sabean/

If this link doesn't clear the paywall do this:

1- Go to archive.today

2- Copy and paste the link above into the red box at the top of the page.

3-Hit "save" and wait. Article will appear anywhere from almost instantly to a few minutes.

This can be used for to circumvent almost all publication's paywall.

Doug K. said...

Brian Cashman had a nothing short of terrible trade deadline last year. Historically bad.

Compound that with his off-season trade for Donaldson, an expensive, reviled anchor on the roster, and IKF, who lost his job already, and it is obvious to all that the he needed some help in the evaluation and trade department.

Yet, despite this he got rehired.

Perhaps it was "suggested " to him, not as a condition of the rehire per se, but as an offer, that he find someone to assist him in his duties.

Sabean is, at least, a proven winner.

BTR999 said...

I think…I like this?

AboveAverage said...

Great read, Carl - thank you.

I always found Sabean to give great interviews while with SF.

Liked listening to him speak. Comes across as thoughtful, honest and direct.

And who knows - maybe he wanted to be closer to his roots in New Hampshire. Sabean has a ton of children - so maybe this was a family decision to get out of Northern California so as not to get burned and drowned and earthquaked . . .

AboveAverage said...

And Doug is on to something there . . . maybe with Sabean directly pitching his availability to the Yankees - perhaps it was indeed "suggested" to Cashman to bring him on board to help steady the ship and turbo charge the "oversight headspace"

Carl J. Weitz said...

Now that we know what roles Sabean will have, I'd bet that Jean Afterman, Michael Fishman, and Tim Naehring will have their positions phased out due to redundancy.

Carl J. Weitz said...

Well, maybe they wont be fired but their input and power will be reduced to almost nothing. They will probably end up in other organizations as soon as their contract ends with the Yankees.

Doug K. said...

"The Red Sox and Devers this week agreed on an 11-year, $331 million extension that will keep the 26-year-old third baseman in Boston through 2034, a major-league source confirmed to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Devers is represented by Rep1 Sports. His new contract is the sixth-largest in major-league history "

Apparently this is the new normal. So by 2034 half the league will be on the Permanent IL.

AboveAverage said...

331 million is a "spit-ton" of Devers'chaw