David Cone, John Flaherty and Sting all want to manage Yankees

If you don’t ask then you won’t know. That’s the strategy David Cone and John Flaherty are taking when it comes to getting an interview for Yankees manager.

OK, so super musician Sting doesn’t really want to manage the Yankees, but he does live in New York City. So why not give him an interview too? After all, it seems like everyone is throwing their hat into the managerial ring.

On Wednesday night at Joe Torre’s Safe at Home Foundation dinner, five-time World Series Champion (the last four coming with the Yanks) and current Yes Network analyst, David Cone, made it known to the New York Daily News that he’s more than interested in filling the vacant field general position.

"“I wouldn’t turn down an interview if one came my way, that’s for sure,” Cone said. “It’s a difficult job. It’s a prestigious job and I know there’s a process in place to find the right guy.”“I think I understand how to strike a balance between old school and new school,” Cone said. “You can’t be leveraged one way or the other too much, otherwise you lose the clubhouse.”“You can’t be leveraged one way or the other too much, otherwise you lose the clubhouse. You lose dealing with human beings. There’s more to it than numbers, obviously, but I understand the numbers. I’ve educated myself on them.”"

Cone, the 1994 AL Cy Young winner has gained high praise over the years for his analytical approach and advanced metrics he relied upon not only during his 17-year, 196-win professional career, but the 10 years he’s spent the booth with YES.

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If you’ve ever listened to Cone speak about the finer points of pitching, and what it takes to call an effective big league game, then you rightfully know the guy is a cornucopia of knowledge.

Now 54, Cone had his fair share of personal ups and downs as a young player, so to speak to those experiences and what it takes to come through the other side would go a long way towards appealing to a younger generation and thus, unite a clubhouse.

Having acknowledged that he’s already spoken to Cashman a number of times since Joe Girardi’s departure, Cone is said to have a strong relationship with the man who will make the final managerial recommendation to owner Hal Steinbrenner.

Technically we can’t call Cashman the Yankees’ general manager anymore — you know since he doesn’t have a contract! What are we waiting for?!

Former backup catcher and 12-year YES Network veteran, John Flaherty, also laid his cards out on the table for Cashman to see.

Though he doesn’t expect much to come from his initial inquiry, Flaherty, 50, has been itching for an on-field role in recent years.

"I just wanted Cash to know that I’m at a time in my life that I would be interested,” Flaherty said."

After insisting that he is still very happy as a color analyst, the George Washington University graduate is open to the opportunity of working his way up through a major league coaching staff.

However, the chance to work with Gary Sanchez is something Flaherty deemed, “a fun challenge.”

Flaherty says that Sanchez is close to being great behind the plate, but needs to put as much focus on his defense and pitch-calling as he does his offense.

Next: Sabathia endorses A-Rod for manager

"“Gary’s an incredibly talented guy that can be, in my opinion, an All-Star offensively and defensively. To me, he’s (Ivan) ‘Pudge’ Rodriguez waiting to happen. So that being said you have to find a way to do a better job with passed balls, blocking balls in the dirt, all of that stuff.”"