Friday, December 21, 2018

Yes, Is Brian Cashman Available?...


Mr Cashman, Dan Lozano is on Line 1…

And now we wait.

The Manny Caravan completed its tour yesterday with dinner last night in downtown Philadelphia at Royal Boucherie in Old City with Phillies executives.   


Rumors continue to swirl that Manny prefers the Yankees, but we all know at the end of the day, the team pulling up to Manny’s doorstep with the most Benjamins will be the winner. I have no clue how this is going to turn out. Many Yankee fans are confident he’ll be wearing Pinstripes while others feel it is a foregone conclusion that he’ll be calling the City of Brotherly Love home. The Chicago White Sox remain a strong possibility although I’d have to question why.  I know they have a strong farm system but a great network of prospects does not automatically equate to a World Series contender. Former top prospects Lucas Giolito and Yoan Moncada have not exactly set the World on fire. I know I’ll offend White Sox fans with this comment but I’ve always looked at the White Sox as a second class citizen compared to the Cubs when it comes to Chicago. Well, kind of the way I view the Mets.  

I think as a baseball player, there is always sentimental attachments for your original team. Maybe that’s not true since I never played professional baseball but it seems to me that you’d be fond of the team you grew up with regardless where the Major League road may take you. With the Yankees, Manny would have multiple opportunities every year to play at Camden Yards.  Sure, the White Sox visit once a year and the Phillies might show up every three years in interleague play, but the Yankees and O’s have annual multiple home and away series as divisional foes. Opening Day at Yankee Stadium next season will bring the Manny-less Orioles to the Bronx.  Plus, there is the added incentive of staying in Baseball’s best division after a brief hiatus and World Series visit in the NL West. If you want to know how great the AL East is, just follow Marcus Stroman on Twitter. I hear he’s been tweeting up a storm about it.



The Phillies are a fine organization and I personally enjoy the City of Philadelphia. When I was younger, I worked across from Independence Hall and used to love the history within the city during my walks through the streets of downtown Philly. But c’mon, nothing compares to the bright lights, big city of New York. Putting the money aside, I feel the attraction of New York City and the history and tradition of the Yankees places them head and shoulders above the White Sox and Phillies. Regardless of Manny’s ultimate decision, he’s going to make more money than he’ll ever need. Imagine having so much money you could live anywhere you want.  In the United States, it would have to be NYC for me.  I love Los Angeles and San Francisco but nothing compares to the Big Apple. 


We know the Yankees have the money to make an offer to Manny that he cannot refuse. But times have changed under Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner. A bean counter by education, he’s so much more conservative than his father. I’ve often wondered how much influence Hank Steinbrenner has on his brother since they are Co-Chairpersons of the Yankees. Somehow, I get an image of Hank sitting in the board room saying, “F’ it!  Let’s sign both Harper and Machado!”. Or at least I hope that’s what he is saying even if the Steinbrenner Family would never allow it. I guess we should say the Steinbrenner Siblings now with a hat tip to the departed Joan Steinbrenner. 

I don’t blame the Yankees for not making an offer to Patrick Corbin after the Washington Nationals blew away the field with their six-year, $140 million contract to snag the left-hander. But there’s a big difference between Corbin and Manny Machado. Corbin may have been the best free agent pitcher, but he’s certainly not elite and he is far from a sure thing. Manny is one of the best players in MLB, as is Bryce Harper. No, they’re not Mike Trout but then again who is?  Well, I guess that would be Mike Trout. But aside from baseball’s best player, Machado and Harper reign supreme. Regardless of whether you give them 8 or 10 years, these are guys who will still be performing at the back end of their contracts. Like I heard someone say, this is not like getting a 36-year old Robinson Cano with five years left on his massive contract. Rare is the opportunity to grab a potential future Hall of Famer for only money. This is not about paying huge dollars for past performance, this is compensation for the best yet to come. Sign Machado.  Sign Harper. I really don’t care which one. Just do it, Hal. 

Manny enjoys the role of the villain. Actually, thinking about it, I feel it would help deflect some of the heat off Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton crushed the baseball last year in Pinstripes and was still booed unmercifully at times.  Shift the focus to Manny.  I think the guy would eat it up. Manny, despite his Miami roots, was made for the Main Stage in New York.

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (Bill Streicher)

 I know the Yankees have been working hard behind the scenes, but we can’t really see the efforts from the outside looking in. I really wish the Yankees would make the moves to shore up the bullpen before all the best options are gone. It was tough to see Andrew Miller sign earlier today to play with Chasen Shreve in St. Louis. I get the injury and age concerns with Miller but he remains one of my favorite Yankees in recent memory and I would have loved a reunion in Pinstripes. I didn’t really want Joakim Soria but the Yankees were slightly connected to him earlier in the off-season. He represented one of the cheaper options on the market with the potential to help, but he’s now gone as the Oakland A’s scooped him up last night. I really want one of David Robertson, Adam Ottavino or Zach Britton. I am losing confidence the Yankees will re-sign D-Rob and fear that we’ll see him in a Red Sox uniform in the not-so-distant future. I had a dream last night which featured D-Rob wearing that ugly “B” cap on the mound at Fenway Park. I guess you could call the dream a “nightmare”.  Ottavino, a New Yorker, would easily assimilate onto MLB’s biggest stage, and I think Britton will be much closer to his dominant 2016 self as he distances himself from the recent series of injuries. Give me one and get him now! I’d love two of them but I recognize that the second may need to be an under-the-radar type with potential (i.e., “cheap”). 

I’d love to see the Yankees do something before we hit the lull between Christmas and New Year’s. I know, they’re working hard and there is so much we can’t see.  After all this watering, I’d love to see a little fruit. Hey Hal, throw us bone! We want to dethrone the Boston Red Sox but we need your help. It’s only money. Come on, brother, it’s Christmas. Please give to those of us less fortunate. 





 As always, Go Yankees!