Posts tagged BrianCashman at FanHouse

After being introduced as the newest member of the Yankees, Mark Teixeira revealed to reporters how he was able to make up his mind: by listening to his wife:

"We were really waiting for teams to drop out," Teixeira said. "I said to Leigh, we were sitting at dinner, 'Everything's equal. Where would you want to play?' Finally, she broke down and said, 'I want you to be a Yankee.' That's what did it for me."

Smart man: life is a lot easier when you keep the missus happy. Up until that point, the Yankees were lingering in the background while the Red Sox positioned themselves as the favorite, but once Teixeira told Scott Boras to revive talks, a deal was struck within 11 days.

It's an amusing anecdote ... unless you're a member of Red Sox Nation. Leigh admitted her preference on Dec. 12; Red Sox owner John Henry, president Larry Lucchino and GM Theo Epstein made their trip to Texas on Dec. 18. Had they known they were suddenly the underdogs and not the favorites about to seal the deal, it's likely they would have re-considered the trip.

In hindsight, the trip did prove fruitful, at least from Teixeira's perspective: Boston's final offer provided the leverage Teixeira needed for the Yankees to step up with the highest offer on the table a week later, making Mark and (more importantly, for his sake) Leigh one happy couple.

Fresh off of yesterday's announcement that Jay Mariotti had penned (typed?) his debut column for AOL Sports/FanHouse, we are now extremely pleased to introduce our next big "get" of this young 2009, as former New York Daily News sportswriter Lisa Olson has written her first column for FanHouse. Her topic? The Yankees' megabucks signing of Mark Teixeira, natch.

Yes, Olson got exclusive access to Yankees GM Brian Cashman in the article (who knew that Twisted Sister was such a key ingredient in the Bronx Bombers' recruitment process?) And yes, she was wise to bring up the Yankees' gala signing of another certain No. 25 just a few years back. But honestly, what we are most excited about is what Olson's contributions will mean to the 'House down the road. You might be familiar with Olson's story already, but if you aren't, I encourage you to check out her Wikipedia page. Besides being known for quality sportswriting, Olson's principled approach to her craft has broken down barriers for women sports journalists the world over.

So welcome to the 'House, Lisa. We're happy to have you here. And now that you've made yourself at home, please try to find out what's up with that gray-bearded gunslinger who may or may not be starting at quarterback for the Jets next season. We're kind of curious around these parts.

We mentioned last month that Bobby Valentine is entering the final year of his contract in Japan and how he had his sights set on returning to the major leagues. Nothing has really changed in that regard, but a recent profile of him in the Stamford Advocate has Peter Abraham of the Journal News thinking ahead:

Joe Girardi is going to get every chance to succeed from the Yankees. Brian Cashman wanted him, as did Hal Steinbrenner. But the Yankees can't tolerate another season out of the playoffs. Their business model pretty much demands a postseason appearance.

[...] There will be no shortage of candidates to manage the Yankees if Girardi falters. But keep an eye on Valentine.

Is there anything actually linking Valentine and the Yankees? Absolutely not. But after investing $423 million in Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett this winter, you don't need a wiretap on Brian Cashman's phone to realize Girardi will be on the hot seat from Day 1 this year. And while choosing a manager who's been overseas the last several years may not be the most conventional choice to take over the Yankees, few options have as much experience winning in New York as Valentine. He posted a winning record in five of the six full seasons he managed the Mets.

Again, don't expect anything to come of this now, but file it away in the back of your mind just in case the Yankees spend yet another October watching from home.

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

Season's Greetings. Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

As baseball fans across the country gather to celebrate the holiday season with their loved ones, we here at MLB FanHouse have come up with a present we'd like to give to fans of every team -- even the ones who root for the Yankees, it turns out you folks don't have quite everything just yet.

On a day like Christmas, baseball season can seem an awfully long way off, especially here in the Northeast, where the snow banks are piled four and five feet high. In reality, pitchers and catchers can report to Spring Training in a mere 52 days.

Enjoy the hypothetical gifts for now; it won't be very long before we can all unwrap a very tangible one -- a brand spanking new baseball season.

It is only a surprise that the Yankees wound up with Mark Teixeira in the end when viewed through the prism of the last few weeks. Unlike with CC Sabathia, New York general manager Brian Cashman lurked quietly in the weeds as the Angels, Nationals, Orioles and Red Sox bid for the first baseman.

Had you taken a straw poll of baseball insiders at the outset of the offseason, the Yankees very well may have been the favorites to land him.

So while the baseball operations people in Anaheim, Baltimore, Boston and Washington might be feeling stunned today, they can't be all that surprised that Teixeira is being fitted for pinstripes.

Things change quickly in baseball and now the hard-working folks who lost out on Teixeira will have to shift their focus to Plan B, whatever that may be. Before running down what each team will do now, let's state the obvious. Now is not the time to panic for any of these clubs.

Teixeira was a singular force in this free-agent class. There are certainly plenty of bats available that can roughly replicate his offensive production, but there is no complete package like him on the market -- splurging for one of the pretenders out there (Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, even Manny Ramirez) won't solve the problem that losing out on Tex created.

Remember how Dominican news outlet Impacto Deportivo recently shocked the world with the news that Manny Ramirez was *gasp* signing with the Yankees? Yeah, it was crazy.

Crazy enough, actually, for Brian Cashman to shoot it down. Or, if you believe ID, just crazy enough to work. Because they have now confirmed the rumor that allegedly isn't real. Translation props to FanIQ.

Although Yankees GM Brian Cashman has rejected the first report saying he will sign Manny Ramirez for three years and $75 million, our source of confirmed Monday evening that it's still in the works.

According to our source, the Yankees feel that they need Ramírez.

[...]Manny is in Brazil in this moment and upon his return, will immediately go to the press conference announcing the signing.

It will happen as reported.

Well then. Now, I'm not sure if that's exactly how the feeling behind the Spanish wording is supposed to play out in English, but I've got to say, the next time I'm confirming some sort of crazy rumor, "It will happen as reported" is my Costanza walk off line.

Brian Cashman wasted no time (and fewer words) pouring water on last night's "Manny Ramirez to the Yankees!" rumor. In a text message to MLB.com beat reporter Bryan Hoch, Cashman said, "Not true."

Taken at face value, his response would suggest the entire report is wrong ... but what if he only meant the part about a deal being close?

Is he disputing that the team even has interest in Manny? Or just that the team hasn't begun actual contract negotiations with Manny? Who knew a two-word response could leave so much room to read between the lines? Stay tuned.

For a brief minute last week it seemed certain that Mike Cameron and Melky Cabrera would switch teams, but Brewers GM Doug Melvin confirmed that the proposed trade with the Yankees has officially died. What happened? Apparently both sides took the "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" mantra a little too far, refusing to follow up discussions that began during the Winter Meetings with a phone call.

Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "I haven't heard from (Yankees general manager) Brian Cashman, and I haven't called him. Cashman confirmed as much to the New York Post, saying "He hasn't told us, we haven't talked since Vegas.

Pick up the phone, fellas, there's still time to get this deal done! Or ... maybe not. Talks first began to stall when the Yankees asked the Brewers to either pay a portion of Cameron's $10 million salary or take on the remaining $12 million Kei Igawa is owed over the next three years. The Brewers balked, and uless they have a change of heart, this deal will likely stay dead. As a Yankees official told the New York Daily News:

"Maybe he thinks we'll be upset and jump back in," the official said when informed of Melvin's comments. "We didn't think Cameron was worth $10 million - and we still don't. I guess (Melvin) finally got the message."

It sounds to me like the Yankees drew a line in the sand. Unless Melvin suddenly feels like subsidizing the Yankees' outfield, this one probably isn't going to happen.

Trade talks that would send Mike Cameron to the Yankees and Melky Cabrera to the Brewers were moving along swimmingly yesterday until the Yankees insisted the Brewers pay a portion of Cameron's $10 million salary.

Objectively speaking, it makes sense: the Yankees are giving up a 24-year-old hitter with potential for a guy who turns 36 next month who's almost certainly going to be a one-year rental. Long-term, there's no question the Brewers are getting the better end of the deal, so asking Milwaukee to chip in a few dollars doesn't seem unreasonable.

That said, it's the freaking Yankees! After doling out $161 million for CC Sabathia (dashing Milwaukee's hopes in the process), arguing about a few dollars now seems insulting. It's kind of like a yard sale: everyone is expected to haggle a little bit, but if you pull up in a Lexus and can only pay with hundred dollar bills, you're paying full price.

As it happens, it seems the Yankees finally came around: talks eventually picked back up yesterday afternoon via phone and ended with Brian Cashman and Doug Melvin agreeing to resume talks today.

Mike Cameron for Melky Cabrera? That's the word coming out of Vegas.

After giving CC Sabathia 161 million reasons to love New York and negotiating competitive offers for Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett, Brian Cashman apparently found time to fill the hole in center field by setting up a trade with the Brewers. According to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, the deal is all but done. (Update: We spoke too soon -- Ken Rosenthal says talks have stalled. Stay tuned.)

We could see an official announcement later today once the details are ironed out. Dan Graziano of the Star-Ledger reports those details might include the Yankees giving up an unnamed pitching prospect, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has a source suggesting the Brewers might be trying to squeeze the expensive but versatile Bill Hall into the trade, as well.

We'll have to wait and see how big this deal gets, but it's clear the Cabrera-for-Cameron swap is the heart of the trade. After hitting .280 (95 OPS+) as a rookie in 2006, Cabrera has regressed each season, hitting just .249 (68 OPS+) this past year while even earning a mid August demotion to Triple-A. . He's only 24 years old and obviously has potential, but right now his direction is going in the wrong direction.

Cameron, on the other hand, may be 35 but still plays a mean center field and has yet to see a decline in his power. He'll probably strike out 150 times but will also draw a fair number of walks and top 20 home runs with ease. Plus, he's only signed through 2009, so there's no long-term commitment should he start to slip.