Friday, April 25, 2008
Friday
Yeah, well I don't count February because I started it late in the month. I've been lazy but also I don't have internet access at my computer at work and I usually spend most of my lunch away from the computer. oh well. Rob, I wouldn't talk too much after the Angels' came in and smacked you guys around. Now with Beckett hurt, no Shilling, and Buchholtz & Lester not pitching well, the world series isn't yet yours. Plus, your bullpen got knocked around the past two days. But, here's my question. Who's under more pressure this season in NY, Willie Randolph or Brian Cashman? I think Cashman is because Georgie T's sons are just like him. I also think there's more pressure because he didn't pull the trigger on the Santana deal and so far Phil Hughes hasn't pitched well. If the Yankees don't make the World Series then I think that's the end of the Cashman reign. I think Willie will be saved if the Mets make the playoffs or if they're close to making it. It wasn't Randolph's fault the Mets pitching sucked at the end of last year. Omar didn't make any trades to beef up the bullpen. What does everyone else think? More pressure on Willie or on Cashman?
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5 comments:
I agree that Cashman is more on the hot seat. In fact, I think he's closer to being fired than a lot of people think. 1) The Steinbrenner brothers are volatile and subject to impulse decisions. 2) Cashman was almost part of the house-cleaning after last season but was barely spared. He won't make it another year. 3) He didn't make any meaningful additions to the team this offseason. Offensively they're just the same bunch of over-the-hill, overpaid Yankees and in terms of pitching they're either over the hill (Mussina, Pettite), in over their head (Kennedy, Hughes), or overrated and shaky (Wang). Plus the Mets don't have to play Boston 19 times or Toronto, who has a better than .500 record over the past 3 years against New York and Boston combined.
The Yankees are held together by chewing gum and scotch tape and the new Steinbrenner brothers taking charge isn't going to help this situation. And admittedly, I love watching them fail.
I would say that Willie is under more pressure, only because Cashman has less to lose. His body of work speaks for itself, and he'd have no trouble getting another job. The jury is still out as to whether hanging on to the young guns was a good idea. I also get the sense from listening to him in interviews over the last several weeks that he really doesn't care what Hank says, he's going to do what he thinks is best for the organization, and if they don't like it, he'll go help someone else win.
Willie spent a lot of years trying to get a job managing, and if his first opportunity is seen as a failure, the second one may be even more difficult to get. I also get a sense that he and Omar don't see eye to eye on some things. He's getting killed on talk radio and in the papers by Mets fans who think he needs to be more animated, just like him mentor Joe Torre was last year. Hank should really quit running his mouth. Mussina looked sharp on Wednesday. His fastball had a lot of movement, and he was changing speeds enough to make his fast(slow)ball effective. The key for him is getting first pitch strikes and staying ahead of hitters. When he doesn't do that, it's a horror show. Hughes looked good yesterday, at least for 2 innings until they yanked him after the rain delay. The problem with young pitchers is that they are typically inconsistant. Hopefully a few more starts will level things off a bit. If not, the next option you'd probably see would be Darrell Rasner, who has done very well in Scranton. Even Kei Igawa has been good down there, but I'd rather not see him any time soon. Wang is not overrated. He has has more wins in the last 3 years than any other pitcher. But he's not a power pitcher, so he doesn't get the strikeouts. What he does do is frustrate a lot of hitters, and give the bullpen a lot of rest. He's also developed more pitches so that it's not a complete trainwreck when his sinker doesn't sink.
Anyway, it's hard to say who's more likely to lose their job between Cashman and Randolph, but I think Willy is feeling more pressure. Personally I think both of them are doing fine and shouldn't have to deal with any of this crap, at least through this season.
I have to agree with rob in the fact that cashman is on a shorter leash, but i also agree with mike that neither should get fired. of course, they are employeed in the city of new york and therefor the team owners have way to short of a leash, which is unfortunate. i pick cashman because the yankees have to do more this season for cashman to keep his job than the mets have to do for willie to keep his job.
This isn't even a debate, Cashman is always under more pressure. The main reason is because the Yankees expect to win every year and if they don't it's a let down. I don't think any other team in sports has that same problem.
Hmmmm... I think I disagree with Perrotti on that comment. I think there's more pressure on Cashman because the Steinbrenners are insane. All teams, no matter who's on their roster will have at least 1 or 2 down years and going out and you can't just go out and buy a world series everytime they want. Who do they think they are, the Marlins(I'm referring to their first world series title when Mr. Blockbuster went out and bought a World Series and then sold the players off and then sold the team). But, I think there are other franchises out there who think they should win every year like the BoSox. I think that Red Wings fans expect to win every year because they always seem to go out and hire good players. I think you see it more in college sports, you know like North Carolina & Duke always expect to win in b-ball. USC, OSU, Michigan, Florida, Notre Dame fans always expect their team to win every year. I just think that the Yankees take it to another level since George took over. It's actually quiet entertaining to see it happen.
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