Cashman Speaks to XM Radio

Brian Cashman just wrapped up an interview on one of Sirius XM's MLB morning shows. Here are some highlights of the interview, with my comments bolded and italicized:

• He thinks camp is proceeding nicely. I agree.
• He's extremely pleased to see the SPs improving start to start. I agree.
• He thinks Phil Hughes is having a great spring and when asked if he was pleased with his performance, he said, "absolutely." He's noticed that his breaking ball is "much stronger and sharper." The goal is to have Phil improve/develop his changeup. He thinks he'll be a very productive SP for the Yanks assuming he stays healthy. He's not in consideration for the long man role and will start in AAA unless somebody gets hurt. I am a big Hughes guy and it's nice to know that Cash has a lot of faith in him. It doesn't sound like Phil's going anywhere anytime soon.
• His hopes are high for Mariano having another Mariano-type year. He knows that at his age (39) that any year could be the year where there's a decline. It wasn't a knock on Mo but more of a comment about skills declining with age. As much as we don't want to admit it, mo won't be Mo forever. A time is going to come when he gets less and less effective. Hopefully that time is a ways off and he leave s the game 2 years too early rather than 2 years too late.
• He's pleased with all of the rehabs. He said those guys coming back healthy are very important to the Yankees. He said there wouldd be no way to ever replace Mariano or Jorge. They could only hope to "cushion the blow" as best they can. Knock on wood that these guys stay healthy. Mo at the back of the bullpen and Jorge in the lineup are two key factors to their success. As we saw last year, losing Jorge was a huge blow to the offense. Let's hope it doesn't happen again.
• There was a light-hearted moment when the XM crew said they were in Lakeland last week for the Yanks/Tigers game and the PR team wouldn't let them get 5 minutes with Cody Ransom. Cash said "maybe Cody was busy with his Details magazine interview." That got a chuckle from all. It got a chuckle from me too.
• The Yankees are going with Cody at 3rd unless something comes up that's cheap and doesn't hurt the club. I applaud that line of thinking. The Yankees should be able to make due with Cody Ransom. He may not be the ideal choice but he's already accounted for on the books. Anything else would end up costing the team. So unless it's cheap, I stand pat and roll with Ransom.
• He thinks "the WBC is a fantastic idea" but thinks it needs to be moved to a better time. His preference would be to have it all at the All-star break. He said "the players involved need to follow the training regimen put forth by the clubs to make sure they're ready to go from zero to sixty when it starts." It sounded like his point was that it's on the players to make sure they're ready. I love the WBC. I don't think it would hurt to have it at the ASB. It would be once every 4 years. It's a more optimal time than during spring training.
• The interview concluded with Seth Everett saying it was "refreshing not to have to talk about Torre's book or A-Rod and steroids." Cash agreed and ended his interview by saying, "it's been a long spring training and he just can't wait to get to the new stadium." Amen to that.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie