Shame(s) on You: Brian Cashman

There are a lot of things that don't make sense. Such as Alex Rodriguez leaving his hot wife for a 50 year old anorexic version of Madonna. Or the Tampa Bay Rays appearing in the World Series one year after finishing with the worst record in baseball. But nothing makes less sense than New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman, not only keeping his job after a year in which the Yankees failed to make the playoffs, but actually parlaying his performance into a three year extension.

Need I remind everyone that the Yankees haven't won the World Series in 8 years. And when they were winning it was because of the foundation that had been built by Gene "Stick" Michael and Bob Watson. Cashman has been riding their coattails for a close to a decade now with nothing to show for it but a littany of bloated contracts, free agent busts, and failed expectations.

What bothers me about this is that Cashman's own ego is to blame for the rapid descend from dynasty to laughingstock. His decision to not trade for SP Johan Santana last off season was not based on the notion that Santana was about to decline nor was it based on a belief that players like Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Melky Cabrera were about to become stars. It was made solely because Cashman wanted to shed the "evil empire" label and proove to the World that he could win with a team filled with homegrown talent. Talent that he assembled. Moreover that he could win without having to go out and buy superstars from other organizations. Sure, winning 4 World Series Titles in 5 years in the late 90's was great. But doing it again, from the ground up and without having to outspend other teams would be even better.

Cashman even admitted to this line of thinking in his media session to announce his contract extension saying that while he may have been tempted to leave he didn't want to go and leave doubt about his legacy. He knew that if he left he would have received little credit for the Yankees success in the late 90's and almost all of the blame for their recent failures even if they weren't all his fault. So he decided to stay and see his vision through. And while that's commendable it also exposes a flaw in his logic.

To succeed in baseball or anywhere for that matter you have to have the courage of your convictions. You can't care about what other people think about you or about what other people say about you. And you sure as hell can't worry about your legacy. Any time you make a decision based on how other people perceive you it's game over. You've already lost. And no amount of championships won from here on out can ever change that.






How is this man still employed?