Let go after a decade in the job, Joe Girardi deserves the distinction of being the last field manager of the New York Yankees. Replacing Girardi with a head coach, the term used in football and basketball, would be more accurate and would help introduce the person who is selected as the first head coach of the Yankees as someone who is not expected to fit into the traditional role of manager.
That's a nice way of saying that Brian Cashman, who has just completed his 20th season as general manager (GM) of the Yankees, does not want a decision maker in the Yankee dugout. Cashman wants someone who carries out team policy, established through consensus but ultimately is Cashman's will. The dugout person can even say so, that he/she made a certain move because that is the organization consensus. Hey, Gary Sanchez, you don't like what I just did? Go speak to the man upstairs.
There is no small irony in this. Try to think of the most recent GM of any team who had been a successful major league player. The position has evolved into one for a computer version of a pencil pusher.
Team owner George Steinbrenner ran the Yankees for many years. In February 1998 his GM, Bob Watson, resigned and George Steinbrenner named non-player organization man Brian Cashman as Watson's replacement. What that really meant was that George Steinbrenner would make all big decisions and Brian Cashman would handle the clerical details. So, for the first of the two decades of Cashman's GM tenure, the big money of George Steinbrenner was spent on free agent talent. Cashman could make recommendations but George Steinbrenner already knew the big names and Cashman knew that he had better sign those big names in order to please George Steinbrenner.
There were several occasions when George Steinbrenner threatened to fire Cashman, maybe even some when George Steinbrenner actually did fire Cashman. But somehow Cashman survived by essentially being a highly paid non-entity, who swallowed his pride and did the bidding of his boss.
By now the irony should be obvious. About ten years ago George Steinbrenner faded from control of the Yankees and that control passed to his four adult children, two boys and two girls. George Steinbrenner had already tried two sons-in-law because the two sons of George Steinbrenner had shown little interest or aptitude. Eventually the sons-in-law were ejected, both from being club executives and husbands. The sons of George Steinbrenner, first the oldest, Hank, then the youngest, Hal, reluctantly became chief executive of the Yankees. Hal Steinbrenner has run the Yankees as principle owner most of the last decade. Hal Steinbrenner has depended on the people he inherited from father George: team president Randy Levine and GM Brian Cashman.
Levine was/is basically a political operative, who facilitated the construction of the current Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. Other than deprive Alex Rodriguez of his homer hitting bonus for reaching 700 in his career and forcing out Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre, it's not clear what Levine contributes. And Cashman is the GM version of Levine.
Hal Steinbrenner doesn't seem capable of replacing either Levine or Cashman, so when Cashman told Hal Steinbrenner that Girardi had to be replaced, Hal Steinbrenner acquiesced. Since all other recent vacancies for manager have been filled and since Cashman is making it abundantly clear that he is no rush to replace Girardi, it is now increasingly obvious that Cashman has little need for a field manager, that the next such person will merely carry out team instructions, plans, policy, blah, blah, blah ... whatever weasel talk Cashman may apply to the tasks.
In one sense, Cashman is being bold. He is making himself the one and only person to blame for future failure. That could be commendable. However, when the inevitable happens and Cashman is the victim of a bloodless coup, who will offer a valedictory eulogy? Not his former managers Joe Torre or Joe Girardi. Maybe the first ever big league head coach. Maybe but don't count on it.
Is Brian Cashman a good enough general manager to fire both Joe Torre and Joe Girardi? Thursday, October 26, 2017
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