Top 5 Reasons Why Brian Cashman Should Be Fired As GM of the New York Yankees
The New York Yankees' offseason has been marked by inactivity, as they have sat on the sidelines and watched teams like the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies load up with big-name free agents.
Other than the signings of their two key free agents, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, the Yankees' two main signings have been lefty reliever Pedro Feliciano and catcher Russell Martin. The team has been on a downward spiral that started right after the Yankees won the 2009 World Series. The man most responsible is general manager Brian Cashman.
Without further ado, let’s look at the top five reasons why Brian Cashman should be fired.
5. Signing Chan Ho Park
1 of 5
A complete bust for the Yankees, Cashman signed Park as a free agent in 2010.
Park only lasted part of the season and was released. He later caught on with Pittsburgh.
While with the Yankees, Park pitched in 27 games, pitching just 35.1 innings, in which he gave up seven home runs, 40 hits, 22 earned runs and a 5.60 ERA.
4. Trading for Javier Vazquez
2 of 5
Cashman decided that Javier Vazquez should get another chance with the Yankees after the debacle in 2004.
Vazquez gave up the grand slam to Johnny Damon in the memorable seventh game of the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox. Vazquez had the sixth-best ERA in the National League in 2009, with a 2.87 ERA while with Atlanta, and he had a 15-10 won lost record.
Back in the American League in 2010, Vazquez’s ERA ballooned to 5.32, and he had a 10-10 record. If Cashman had done his homework, he would have seen that Vasquez’s ERA in the AL with the Chicago White Sox just two years earlier was 4.67 with a 12-16 record.
Vasquez’s record shows that he is just not equipped to pitch in the AL, which has stronger batting lineups and uses the DH.
3. Letting Hideki Matsui Go and Signing Nick Johnson As the DH
3 of 5
After the 2009 World Series where the Yankees won and Matsui was the MVP, Cashman announced that the team was looking to get younger, and one of his moves was to let Matsui go in place of Nick Johnson.
Johnson played in just 24 games, had 12 hits, two home runs and eight RBIs in 72 at-bats, as he spent most of the season on the disabled list. Matsui, on the other hand, played in 145 games, had 132 hits, 21 home runs and 84 RBIs.
.png?w=256)
2. Refusing To Sign Rafael Soriano
4 of 5
As of this writing, Cashman says that he is not interested in signing Rafael Soriano because he doesn’t want to give up his first-round draft pick, which is No. 31. Soriano led the American League in saves in 2010 with 45 and an ERA of 1.73.
Soriano has publicly said through his agent, Scott Boras, that he would be willing to be the setup man for Mariano Rivera. Signing Soriano would give the Yankees a shutdown bullpen and much better chance of winning in 2011. A first-round draft pick—even if the Yankees get a gem—will not be ready for another four to five years, not counting injuries.
The signing of Soriano would also lessen the blow of not getting Cliff Lee.
1. Putting All His Eggs in One Basket Trying To Get Cliff Lee
5 of 5
Cashman announced at the end of the season that his No. 1 goal was getting Cliff Lee.
He let Cliff Lee and his agent dictate the pace of the negotiations and let free agents like Carl Crawford slip through his fingers and go to the arch rival Boston Red Sox. By getting Crawford, the Yankees might have been able to put a package together that could have included Brett Garner and or Nick Swisher for a No. 1-type starter.
Lee spurned the Yankees and signed with the Phillies. Cashman was left with no real plan for helping the starting rotation.
.png?w=480)
