Leave The GMing To Cashman

As I was looking up stuff for my 2008 look back on Jorge Posada, this headline on Yahoo.com catches my eye: Rumor: Yanks need to bring in Holliday, ship out Cano, Hughes. The actual article can also be found here.

Now when I first read the headline, my fantastical brain processed it that there was a rumored deal in place. Then I read the article and find it's just a writer, Bill Madden from the NY Daily News, wildly speculating as to what the Yankees should do, not what they are doing. He's basically proposing that the Yankees deal Cano and Hughes for Holliday, and then try to sign Orlando Hudson. The "proposed deal" in my opinion is absolutely ridiculous.

The last thing I think the Yankees need to do is deal either Hughes or Cano. Hughes is 22 years old and is widely thought of to be one of baseball's best pitching prospects. His 2008 campaign was affected by a cracked rib and poor eye sight. Hughes pretty much kicked ass in September. In his final 2 starts, he went 12 innings, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits, walking only 2 and striking out 10. Prior to those 2 starts, Hughes was allowing 5.3 walks per 9 innings. I know 2 starts and 12 innings is not a huge sample size, but he seemed to have no control issues in his final 2 starts as he only walked 2. I think it's way to early in Phil's career to give up on him. Pitching is a hot commodity and I see no reason why they should trade a potential stud for offense, especially when they already have a plethora of OFs anyway, namely Damon, Nady, Matsui, and possibly Abreu.

And giving up on Cano after one down year is even more ridiculous. A lot of Cano's shortcomings in 2008 can be attributed to Joe Girardi not managing him properly. Cano is a career 300 hitter and is a future batting champion. He's been widely compared to HOFer Rod Carew. Not a bad guy to be compared to. And he'll be 26 next year. The Yankees would be wise to hold onto Cano. Orlando Hudson is going to turn 31 soon. The Yankees need to stay young.

I love how writers, and occasionally we fans, concoct these crazy deals that they think we'll help the club. Sometimes we're dead on. Sometimes, like here, they're way off. there are so many reason why the Yankees shouldn't even pursue a deal like this. One of the problems that has plagued the Yankees in recent years is that they continue to bring in high priced vets and forgo developing their in house talent. One of the things that made the late 90's Yankees so successful was they had the right mix of young homegrown players and talented role-playing veterans. They need to get away from bringing in all-star after all-star as it's not a formula for success, as we've seen in recent years. This deal is the exact opposite of what they need to do. I like Matt Holliday and all, but not at the expense of Hughes and Cano.

I started writing this at 10:30 this morning. It's now quarter to 5 and I can't remember for the life of me what my point in all this was. I think what I'm trying to say is that it would be stupid for the Yankees to give up on their young talent. We've seen what trading for, and signing, high priced talent gets us, and that's no titles since 2000. It's time to get back to basics and develop what we have within. Cashman would be smart to hold onto what we've got and look to make that the core of what's to come.

I think that was the gist of it. It's been a long day.

J-Boogie