When the Yanks are once again piling up World Series Trophies in a few years, they will have Brian Cashman to thank for it.
There was an enormous amount of pressure on the embattled GM to land either Mark Teixeira or Eric Gagne at the end of this trading deadline. But Cashman did the right thing by holding on to the young arms in the system. The Yanks still have the homegrown Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, and Phil Hughes as part of their hopeful future.
Granted, Cashman has done a poor job these last few years when it's come to player acquisitions (too many to name here and that article has been written many times already). For that he should not be excused. But rather than dig a deeper hole, Cashman showed restraint and that will really help this organization down the road, even if he is not at the helm. He deserves some credit for that.
The thought of dealing Kennedy, or even Melky Cabrera-the only true centerfielder on the team-for a declining veteran like Gagne who will throw approximately 20 innings the remainder of the season, is illogical.
The trade the Yanks did make, Scott Proctor to the Dodgers for Wilson Betemit, struck me as curious. On one hand, Betemit will certainly help the Yanks' bench. But it remains to be seen how much he will actually play. Joe Torre is not exactly the most imaginative manager when it comes to working in young bench players. Hopefully, Betemit will contribute down the stretch. He certainly has some pop from the left side.
Speaking of Torre, if he doesn't seem himself these next few days, you'll have to forgive him. The departure of Scott Proctor is bound to cause him severe separation anxiety. The question is who will Torre choose to burn out now? Luis Vizcaino? Stay tuned and we will find out.
Torre may even get a chance to abuse some of the coveted young arms, notably Joba Chamberlain who is likely to get called up over the weekend. Cashman said: "There are certain guys in my system right now that I have people telling me could replace Scott Proctor. And if that's the case, that's what made me consider the opportunity for Wilson Betemit. We have needs, there's no doubt about that. But there's a belief that some of those needs might very well be met from within."
Unlike the mercenary Red Sox, who opened their bloated bank vault to secure the oft- injured Eric Gagne, the Yanks will count on their farm system, and that's refreshing. Remember when Chien-Ming Wang was rumored to be traded in 2004 and 2005? No one in baseball has more wins than Wang these last few seasons. He is the team's undisputed ace.
Holding on to Cabrera was essential as well. Since April 30 he is hitting
.317/.377 /.475. Melky's also been playing stellar defense and is among the leaders in outfield assists. Given the make-up of this team right now, he is indispensable. Johnny Damon, one of Cashman's many follies, is now the worst hitting starter on the team, and his defense is so bad, well, he doesn't even play defense anymore.
I was truly surprised that Cashman did not unload the disgruntled Kyle Farnsworth, however. Reports indicate that the Yanks could have dealt Farnsworth to the Braves for Bob Wickman, provided that the Yanks picked up the remainder of Farnsworth salary, about $7 million.
It's not my money, but I would have performed this addition by subtraction. Farnsworth's sour attitude and atrocious pitching is not going to help this team this year or next. The $7 million is already spent, why make it worse by allowing Farnsworth to ruin games and then throw his manager under the bus? For Cashman's sake, the Yanks better not miss the playoffs by 1 or 2 games that Kyle will surely blow.
By the way, that 1-2-3 inning Farnsworth threw on Tuesday night was only the 5th out of 45 appearances. The two homers he surrendered on Thursday are more typical of his New York performances.
On the other hand, Luis Vizcaino has really straightened out, and it's likely he or Chamberlain will assume that coveted 8th inning role. Since May 29, Luis has been very impressive:
29.1 IP
19 H
12 BB
0 HR
28 K
1.24 ERA
There are two months left to play, the Yanks are just three games out of the wildcard, and Phil Hughes joins the rotation Saturday.
2007 may not be lost after all…
And for 2008 and beyond? Yankee fans can taste that champagne.
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