Is Brian Cashman a good enough general manager to fire both Joe Torre and Joe Girardi?

Brian Cashman has just completed his 20th season as general manager of the New York Yankees. In those 20 years (1998-2017) Cashman has hired only one field manager: Joe Girardi, who was the starting catcher on the 1996 championship Yankees team. Girardi just completed his tenth and, as it turns out, final season.

Joe Torre managed the Yankees 1996-2007. Torre has been inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager. When he became general manager Cashman inherited Torre. It could be said that Joe Girardi was Cashman's man, the one and only manager Cashman hired in 20 years as GM.

Both Girardi and Cashman issued separate statements with euphemisms stating that Cashman had fired Girardi.
- Girardi: "the Yankees have decided not to bring me back"
- Cashman: "decided to pursue alternatives for the managerial position"

Girardi's contract had expired, so technically he was not fired.

Torre record managing Yankees: 1,173- 767 (.605); four championships
Girardi record managing Yankees: 910-710 (.562); one championship

Cashman has now fired both Joe Torre and Joe Girardi. Girardi managed the Yankees to the 2009 championship. Both Torre and Girardi managed Yankee teams to more wins than what was expected by the "Pythagorean" estimate (definition below). That number is sometimes interpreted as luck but at least part of it could be interpreted as a good job by the field manager. It could be reasonably interpreted as both Torre and Girardi making Cashman's record look better than it was.

It's reasonable to conclude that both Joe Torre and Joe Girardi kept Brian Cashman in his job long enough to fire them. Irony abounds.

https://www.sports-reference.com/blog/baseball-reference-faqs/

What is pythagorean winning percentage?

Pythagorean winning percentage is an estimate of a team's winning percentage given their runs scored and runs allowed. Developed by Bill James, it can tell you when teams were a bit lucky or unlucky. It is calculated by

               (Runs Scored)^1.83
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 (Runs Scored)^1.83 +  (Runs Allowed)^1.83

The traditional formula uses an exponent of two, but this has proven to be a little more accurate.

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