I’m back!
Like Dr. Dre, or Eminem, I have returned to bring my six or seven loyal readers blog updates for the 2011 season. Unlike Dre or Eminem, I will not make claims that “this is the last time, really.” (See how I avoided making a Brett Farve joke there?)
Law school has ended and as I prepare for surgery and not the bar exam, I will have a lot of frigging free time on my hands. So those that care to read – I’ll be here. We’ve settled in to living in Massachusetts – now I look for employment. In my free time, though. I’ll be looking for six or seven outlets to alleviate nerves and to keep from going batshit crazy watching my girlfriend prepare for the bar. (Fingers crossed, but she’s brilliant – she’ll do well.)
It’s late May, so a lot has happened since the start of the season. I also have a lot of free time on my hands, so my seven loyal readers may get sick of longer, more involved posts. Hope you all enjoy.
Yankees Front Office Pros:
How brilliant does Brian Cashman look in his suggestion the team shy away from signing Soriano? Admittedly, he would look even smarter had he held his ground. Yet another grossly huge, unnecessarily large contract the team will come to regret soon, if they don’t already.
Yankees Front Office Cons:
Where to begin? Soriano. The treatment of the Posada situation. (Note the careful use of the word situation, and its inclusion. Not the front office’s treatment of Posada, but of the situation. Cashman, in all his middle school glory, went to reporters in the middle of the third inning to out Posada. Come on Cashman, you’re better than that.) The loss of the Cliff Lee sweepstakes. And, perhaps related, the growing realization that the Yankees are less and less the proud image of George Steinbrenner, and more the weasely, rat-like, sneaking snake-like image of Swindel.
Every front office has at least one. Swindel has clearly mucked up many of the Yankees’ dealings going back as far as at least 2007. Fred Wilpon famously showed his true colors in a recent interview. Larry Lucchino is just an asshole.
In Boston, though, at least the benevolence of John Henry prevails. After the famous standoff in 2006 in which Cashman FINALLY got full control of baseball operations (why he needed 8 years to do so is beyond comprehension), Swindel has clearly slowly gathered more power for himself. As such, an organization once universally recognized for its class now appears, at times, to be shockingly classless.
Such horrendous policy is now driving away the free agents once assumed to end up in pinstripes. Mark my words, Cliff Lee was just the beginning. What player will want to sign a contract with a team that torpedoes the face of the franchise publically? Is Jeter worth his contract? Absolutely not. No one thinks so. But what I do know is this: neither is A-Rod. Neither is CC. Neither is Posada. You don’t all of a sudden draw an organizational line with the man baseball loves.
You simply don’t threaten to not negotiate with A-Rod if he opts out of his contract, then give him a raise when he does and there are no other offers. You certainly don’t then turn around and try to get your franchise player, the captain, of all people, to take a pay cut. Come on. You CERTAINLY don’t publically cajole and threaten him.
There may be those reading who are properly thinking “but Jeter’s agent started the public statements.” He did – but not the negative statements. He said the position the Yankees were taking was baffling. And it was. He didn’t tear into anyone. He didn’t name names.
Cashman did. He publically challenged Jeter to shop for other offers. He pointed out Jeter’s weaknesses. Stories were leaked that were not flattering to Jeter.
Listen – I’m not saying Cashman wasn’t right when he said those things. I don’t even blame him that much for wishing he could get a more value based contract for Jeter. I am, though, saying that every decision needs to be made in a business context with the big picture in mind. Those nonsense publicity stunts were made in a myopic fashion. What player is going to feel comfortable signing a long-term deal with the Yankees now? “If they treat the face of their franchise that way,” each prospective player will think, “how will they treat me?” Surely, each of these players asking himself that will determine whatever extra dollars the Yankees offer will not be worth being treated horribly.
Of course, the Cliff Lee saga was unfolding before most of this happened. This didn’t cause Lee to sign elsewhere. It may, however, act as a deterrent to future free agents. This problem could also potentially get worse. The episode with Posada and the Jeter contract fiasco are just the beginning. Think of what may happen should the front office stay on its course when the time comes for Jeter to change positions? (A change far in the future, as there is really no quality shortstop prospect in the system at all – watch the upcoming draft carefully.) Then there will be the eventual and inevitable parting of ways with Posada, Jeter, and Rivera. Hopefully the brass has learned a lesson or two since its disgraceful handling of the Joe Torre situation.
Stay tuned . . .
Over the next two days, I hope to cover an interesting discussion I had with my brother on scouting/signing power high school arms versus pitchers who throw with great movement.
