Yankees: An inside look at the genius of Brian Cashman

Yankees General Manager, Brian Cashman, is not the only GM of late who has soared to the top of his field. But he keeps coming back with more and the organization is looking forward to his contribution to the team again this year.

Yankees fans can look forward to a book that hopefully will be written detailing the inner-workings of the Yankees organization, but in particular the efforts of Brian Cashman to transform the team from an aging and overpaid group of veterans who had seen their day in the sun, to the Baby Bombers who will bloom over the next decade.

It’s no accident. It took months of planning and, in some cases as with Aroldis Chapman‘s flip-flop from the Yankees to the Cubs and back to the Yankees, for the stars to be aligned just right. But whatever the case may be, Sports Illustrated, as far back as August 2015, saw fit to publish a story about Cashman with the headline, declaring Cashman as an iconic and fearless figure  in the annals of Yankees history.

Unless I missed something, Greeenspun has yet to launch a “venture” that contributes anything to the guys sitting in the clubhouse awaiting their next game against the White Sox.

And they don’t usually get it wrong.

I think I’ll take a nap

As sportswriters, we’re all engaged in the fantasy of being the General Manager of the team we write about. It’s part of the fun just as participation in a fantasy league itself can be.

But when it comes down to the nitty gritty day to day decisions, that not only involve your 25 man roster, but also a move like Cashman made today in promoting Jorge Mateo to Double-A ball, the complexities involved quickly become apparent.

And when you add on to that the fact that each move you make has a trickle down effect on rosters below the guy you just promoted, you might just be ready to take a nap.

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Moreover, when you look at the Yankees front office hierarchy, you see Cashman listed with the title, Senior Vice President, General Manager. And just below him is Marty Greenspun with a mysterious title that reads, Senior Vice President, Strategic Ventures.

So where is the help coming from? Because unless I missed something, Greeenspun has yet to launch a “venture” that contributes anything to the guys sitting in the clubhouse awaiting their next game against the White Sox.

Leave it to Bob Watson to put it all in perspective. As a former Yankees GM himself, Watson once explained to Sports Illustrated:

"“He survived in the biggest sports city in the world, the biggest media center, working for the toughest owner in the world—and delivered how many world champions?” says Watson. “The Yankees have been relevant since ’95. We’re talking about the kind of baseball man he is, and the type of man. He’s a survivor. A winner.”"

It’s a lonely job that Cashman has, though undoubtedly he has a small team of loyal supporters under him, along with the full force of the Yankees scouting department working tirelessly behind him.

The buck stops there

But at President Harry Truman once said, “The buck stops here”. And much like the POTUS, Cashman is paid handsomely (around $3 million per year), he falls well beneath the earnings of many of the players whose fate he decides on.

Still, when that book is written, it’s likely to say that Cashman wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

And as we reach a critical jumping off point in the Yankees season, following a rash of injuries that have sidelined the central force of the team, Cashman is the man that fans and the Yankees organization will be looking towards to set the ship, not only back on course, but pointing in the same direction they were when they were 20-9 not too long ago.

Yankees Cashman is slowly, but surely, making his presence felt

The Yankees are built on a winning tradition and there is no reason to believe they will abandon that mode this season. Cashman is ready to launch.

And if Sports Illustrated is correct, the final chapter has yet to be written as to the legacy of Brian Cashman and his tenure with the Yankees.

He’s launched a start, but again, it’s never how you start – it’s how you finish.