N.Y. Yankees: Because Stone Cold Cashman Says So

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Sun Sets On Joe Girardi's Career With Yankees

New York Yankees: If There Were Any Lingering Questions Before, There's No Doubt Who Runs The Evil Empire Now.

David Lennon quotes Brian Cashman in Friday's Newsday saying, "Everything this organization does is with careful and thorough consideration, and we've decided to pursue alternatives for the managerial position."

Sharp words ... cut like a knife.

I just finished putting the Jets on blast for what I believe is their general manager's lack of conviction.  So it would be hypocritical of me to harangue Brian Cashman after parting ways with Joe Girardi.

There's no escaping, however, he did after all tell a man who owns a 910-710 (.562) record in ten seasons as manager of the Yankees; who never even had a losing season; who led them to six post-season appearances and a World Series title in 2009; and who this year piloted a new batch of young Bombers over the defending American League champions; that his services are no longer wanted by the organization.

First, let's play along and suppose this was a financial move.  What they say about baseball and life mimicking each other is true.  If a manager is being made to merely comply with front office metrics, then there's no reason to pay multi-millions for practical experience and length of service, when they can just as easily employ a younger person to serve the same purpose at a fraction of the cost.  That is the epitome of corporate America.  Lest we forget, Hal Steinbrenner is an accountant by trade.  He signed off on this.  Even though he grew up witnessing George's wanton spending up close; and is proving himself a good baseball man in his own right; this kind of negative cost/return must make the back of Hal's head tingle.

Brian Cashman has said on numerous occasions, be it in print or on radio, that he prefers a manager utilizing all the information provided by the organization.  Which essentially means he does not necessarily want a manager thinking for her/himself, regardless of their baseball experience or intellect.  That, however, was not Cashman's issue with Joe Girardi, who played by the book just as the front office wished.

Who knows?  Managing with limits could have been a point of contention for Joe Girardi, but we may be waiting until he writes a book before finding out.

Being as I went there ... Joe Girardi had one shot at relying on his instinct and better judgement, and still blew it.  Game Two of the ALDS against the Indians at Cleveland, when he failed to challenge a potential foul-tip/strikeout.  He needlessly waited on his scouts in the sky for a determination; that came too late; when he absolutely should have asked for a replay post haste, not because Gary Sanchez implored him to, rather, just because(!) the situation demanded it.

Perhaps a packed Yankee Stadium raining down boos upon Joe Girardi during Game Three's opening introductions somewhat served as confirmation in Brian Cashman's mind that it was indeed time to move on.

I've always felt Joe Girardi is wound too tightly.  Many Yankee fans do too.  Even on the heels of success, it winds up being his downfall in the Bronx.  He means well, and maintained the respect of his players and opponents alike throughout his ten year managerial run with the Yankees.  But let's face it, time marches on, and Girardi's dogged/nose in the dirt/no-nonsense/grinding style is better tailored for the Boss' era, when veteran stoicism still ruled the day.  In fact, it's still the Yankees legacy.

But take a look at the post-George atmosphere today.  His own children christened the Judge's Chambers in right field.  There's open camaraderie and levity in the dugout.  As a result, Joe Girardi suddenly became an overly rigid square peg straight out of the 1960s, trying to fit into a round, younger, more hipper scene, man.

In truth, Girardi has been on the major league level for 26 years now.  To help put this in perspective, that's a full generation.  In Girardi's defense, what if his vast experience, and intensity, are what actually kept a young team in line?  Were it not for Girardi's tight grip on matters, could youthful exuberance have gotten out of hand?

We'll find out next season, won't we?

Regardless, this is Cashman's Yankees now, built according to his own specifications and by his own device, and he saw little sense in moving forward with a manager of Joe Girardi's vintage.

Sure, Steinbrenner money was still good enough to by a championship in 2009, but that was eight years ago.  I believe Brian Cashman knew he was doing himself no favors by spending nearly another half-billion dollars in 2013 (with only Masahiro Tanaka to show for it today).  At the time, Hal Steinbrenner may have had no choice but to keep feeding the machine.  And I think both knew this flew in the face of the very bones Cashman originally picked with George.  He and Cashman had a falling out in the mid-2000's that made him consider accepting the general managerial position in Washington.  But once the two reconciled their differences, Cashman has been slowly separating the Yankees from past practices ever since.

This is Brian Cashman's new world order.

He dictated the end of Bernie Williams' career with the Yankees.  He coldly handled the team's separation from Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre with the greatest of ease.  Also recall how Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi acting in tandem offered no quarter to Yankee legends, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, and Derek Jeter, in the last years of their respective careers.

Is it any wonder, then, despite his winning three rings as a player with the Yankees, then a fourth as their manager, that Cashman should end Joe Girardi's Yankees career in similar fashion?

He decides these Yankees, and future pinstriped talents to come, will march to a different beat.  Cashman now wants someone more affable, who will negotiate the team through this new age with more simpatico.

Oh, the irony!

You have to give it to him, though.  Brian Cashman successfully flipped this team on the fly without ever dipping below the .500 mark.

Now it appears as if the young Yankees and the young Red Sox have the American League East to themselves again.  That's why there's more to this than just trying to establish better communication with players.  Competition is the real impetus here.  This rivalry has been about managers as much as players, featuring the likes of Joe Torre and Joe Girardi, Grady Little, Terry Francona, and the recently excused John Farrell.

The Red Sox were first to act, and have already replaced Farrell with a well respected graduate of the new age school of baseball.  I have no doubt this factored in Cashman's decision.  He knows he needs to counteract, and oppose, the hiring of Alex Cora in Boston.

And on a completely different level, this is Brian Cashman's attempt at seizing his own enduring Yankee legacy.

Hear him.

Believe it.