FanNation

Johan Santana didn’t dominate the Yankees on Saturday, but his workmanlike performance in a win for the Mets probably sealed Brian Cashman’s fate. Barring a stirring recovery by the youngsters on the Yankees pitching staff, and a long October run, Hank Steinbrenner will declare the youth movement a failure and the blame will be placed squarely on Cashman’s shoulders.

It seems obvious now that the Yankees have been run for the last few seasons by committee. George was still officially in charge, but he was clearly no longer active in the day-to-day management of the team. One of the signs of an organization run by committee, one without a clear leader who has 51% of every vote, is that the biggest decisions never get made. The Yankees’ era of indecisiveness ended with the official elevation of Hank Steinbrenner as evidenced by the “firing” of Joe Torre last fall. Brian Cashman is the next head on the chopping block.

Cashman will be let go for two reasons. First, is Santana. He is the petard on which Cashman will be hoisted. Hank can look down on the field, see his young pitchers struggling, and KNOW that he could have had Santana if only Cashman hadn’t convinced him that it wasn’t the right move. It doesn’t matter that the Yankees offense is in the bottom half of the league in runs per game and Santana can’t fix that problem. It doesn’t matter that Santana can’t heal the injuries that have, predictably, struck down various members of the aging line-up. No, what matters is that Santana is better than Phillip Hughes, and that simple fact is an itch that Hank is going to have to scratch.

The second reason Cashman’s reign as Yankee GM will end this year is Hank himself. His recent pronouncements are straight out of the George Steinbrenner songbook. There is no question that if the Yankees suffer through another disappointing October or, God forbid, fail to make the playoffs at all then Hank is going to do something about it. He is his father’s son after all and deep in his DNA he just won’t be able to help himself. The focus on player development is going to be scrapped in a quest for proven major league talent. Somewhere I’m sure that Billy Beane is smiling because the Yankees are going to be willing to part with any number of fine prospects for a chance to grab Huston Street and Joe Blanton and any other arms Beane can dangle in front of them.

There are a lot of people, myself included, who believe that Brian Cashman has set a course over the last few years that would result in a sustainable Yankee dynasty. Using the franchise’s financial resources to draft, sign and develop the best young players in the game and then augmenting the homegrown talent with the occasional free agent maximizes the Yankees’ advantage. It’s exactly the plan that brought them the late 90’s World Series run. Unfortunately, I don’t think Hank Steinbrenner can live with the fact that this type of approach means that sometimes young talent isn’t ready precisely when you need it. His lack of patience will mean that Brian Cashman will be looking for work at the end of the year. His desire to “win now” every year will bring a bevy of high dollar free agent signings and the return of the “boom or bust” Yankees teams of the 70’s and 80’s.