I think it's really hard to judge a GM. Many factors are out of his control. Just like there is a lot of RCNB in the game itself, there is also some (granted to a lesser extent) in the successes/failures of a GM.

Pete Abe says Brian is extremely hard working and dedicated, and well respected in the GM community. Is he the best? 2nd best? 5th? That's silly. He's the right man for the job, and I am VERY relieved he's back.

Another thing to consider is that Cashman is a home grown GM. Just as we tend to favor home grown players, I kind of like the idea of the Yankees being run by a Yankee. What's more, I am extremely confident that Cashman always has the best interest of the team at heart. I would hate to see the Yankees bring in a Syd Thrift type whose main motivation would be to build his resume. That's how you wind up making very bad trades.

So, welcome back Brian! Now get to work!

That's when I became a Cashman supporter for life. Some people work the job, some people are the job. As William said, Cashman is family. This is not just his job but his life, and yet, both then as now, he had the balls to walk away before he let the Steinbrenner(s) fuck it up. This is a man of integrity.

anyone watching Twins-ChiSox??

i already miss baseball and the playoffs havn't even started yet.. :(

10 Yeah I'm watching, but I can't tell if I should be underwhelmed or impressed. Both of these teams pretty much suck. Maybe it's because I'm not invested.

Even though I'm sure some (many?) Twins fans would claim (wrongly) that Gomez saved at least that many games with his glove alone. Which ignores how awful his bat was (.297 OBP!) and how much he killed the offense because Gardenhire insisted on batting him leadoff for 4 months. Span had a heck of a year, was no slouch with the glove, and posted a great OBP (.386) himself.

Even if they had to play a replacement level guy in RF when Cuddyer was hurt, I think they made a huge mistake in trading Santana.

Or they could have just brought Liriano back sooner and booted Livan sooner.

Too late now.

The Yanks need to pay however much a year it will take to get him to sign a 3 year or 4 year deal. For too long, the Yanks have used their resources to overwhelm guys the wrong way. Why pay for a guy's decline - and have to pay someone else to pick up the slack - when you can pay the guy more upfront, and end up getting more value out of the shorter deal? Go 4 years/$105M if that's what it takes, or 3 years/$81M. You get a great 1B and miss out on his decline years.

And, if you think he's going to decline slowly, you just sign him to an extension!

Besides, Boras will love to get Tex back on the market when he's 32.

23 Interesting, but he's wrong on the A-Rod situation. Alex opted out, but then came crawling back. Nothing there undermined Brian.
And I'll still stick with the Joba/Hughes/IPK model over Santana. At least with CC we're only giving up $, not $ and prospects.

24 I agree, if the Yankees get Sabathia. Otherwise, I'd have to conclude that the Yankees decision was a failure. A top-3 of Joba, Santana and Wang would be very formidable over the next few years. Of course, C.C., Joba, Wang and Hughes seems even nicer, but that big piece has to fall into place. Otherwise, Hughes has to come close to Johan-level, and that's asking way too much of anyone. Also, I think you can throw IPK out of the equation because I really don't expect him to ever pitch meaningful innings for the Yankees. In fact, I think he will be traded for a "piece" this off season.

And now Ben Sheets is out of the playoffs due to a torn elbow muscle. Avoid him at all costs.

... While we may not have any Doc Gooden's on the farm, looking ahead over the next 3 years, I think we may produce a number of MLB pitches.

... Since Phil and IPK literally could not be any worse then 2008, logic says there's a fair chance they will be better.

... Barring injury, Joba is a stud. It's simply a question of how good he will be.

So baring injury, even with ZERO FA pitchers, we really should have at least a better then average staff 2009-1011.

... looking ahead over the next 3 years, Montero (Tabata is gone!) looks to be the only impact bat. Outside of AJax and Miranda (and Miranda is basically already a DH) we might not have many, if any, above average MLB bats.

Looking at Jeter, ARod and Po, and losing Giambi, Bobby, JG and Mats aver the next year, leaves us with almost no impact offense after ARod and Cano, and MAYBE Po, if he can still catch.

So.... if I have stated the case fairly....

While Tex for 8 years or more could ultimately be worse then the Giambi deal (which wasn't bad.... but ya know...), and I like being headshy of long, expensive contracts, I'm not sure we can afford to pass on Tex. Over the next few years we will need to acquire a number of impact bats, and it would be really helpful if these guys ALSO knew which hand their gloves went on.

So while in philosophy, I am leary of the Text deal, in reality (as William points out), I think he is the type of player we MUST take a chance on.

Between Wang, Joba, Phil and the farm, it's at least possible we have anywhere from good to excellent pitching. But our O is going nowhere but down.

I don't want Manny, but if we get him, Tex MIGHT not be necessary. If another true impact bat comes our way, again, Tex MIGHT becomes a toss us. I just don't know if we can pass on him because 'Po might play 1B'.

So as much as 'pitching is key' and I would love to see a top 3 of CC, Wang and Joba, the way this team is constructed and with the talent on the farm, I think offense must be our priority.

I will bet one of Giambi/Abreu in on the 2009 team. I like Mats, but he is absolutely NOW the definition of a one-dimensional player (no glove, no arm, no speed, no knees). Trade him while he still has value. At least JD is still somewhat above average in LF. If they focus on Brett, and 'train' him to hit based on his skills, considering his speed and defense, he won't be a bad 'worse guy in the team'.