tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Now What Mr. Cashman??

Well it's official, Robinson Cano is no longer a Yankee. Do I think the Yankees were wrong not to succumb to a 10 year contract, absolutely not. I would not have given a 31 year old second baseman a 10 year contract. But I also would not have given a 30 year old center fielder, known more for his speed than power, a seven year contract and that is exactly what the Yankees gave Jacoby Ellsbury. If you were giving Ellsbury a 7 year deal worth $21 million dollars per year, then why wouldn't you have given Cano an 8 year deal at $200 million dollars.

Don't get me wrong, I don't believe Robinson Cano is worth $25 million dollars per year. But he certainly is a better ball player than Ellsbury. In my mind, regardless of what Brian Cashman and Company say, the Yankees were only going to re-sign Cano on their terms otherwise he could walk. To me that means they weren't really interested in keeping him.

I don't have a problem with that assessment, except that I don't see what the overall plan is by allowing their best offensive player to leave who also happens to be a Gold Glove second baseman. Moreover, not only do they lose Cano but they also lose Curtis Granderson. Granderson received a 4 year $60 million dollar contract from the NY Mets. That's $15 million dollars per year for a guy who has hit 40 -45 home runs as a Yankee. So you lose Granderson's 40 homers and Cano's 30 homers and you replace it with a center fielder who is a better Brett Gardner and Brian McCann.

McCann was a good signing by the Yankees and should hit 30-35 home runs playing half of his games at Yankee Stadium. But that still leaves you lacking power and holes at second base and possibly at third base as they await a decision on ARod. Not to mention that they will be relying on 40 year old Derek Jeter to play shortstop and have a 34 year old Mark Teixiera coming back from a wrist injury at first base. I really don't care what anyone says, the Yankees did not need to sign Jacoby Ellsbury. He will be another Johnny Damon who after 3 to 4 years will be a shell of himself and that is provided he doesn't find himself on the disabled list for extended periods of time.

Nothing has been done about the starting rotation or the bullpen. Hiroki Kuroda has signed to come back for another season. That makes the rotation CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Kuroda. All 3 have question marks. Kuroda struggled at the end of the season which leaves one to wonder which Kuroda we will see: the effective inning eater of the first half or the pitcher who struggled badly in the second half. Sabathia had one of the worst seasons of his career and the Yankees have to hope that he will bounce back. And will Ivan Nova continue his improvement or will he fall back to the pitcher who was sent down to Scranton.

The bullpen is David Robertson and Shawn Kelley. After that who knows. Will Robertson be up to the task to replace the greatest closer in the game or will he crack under the pressure? Who will be the set-up man?? All major question marks for a team that for nearly 20 years never had to worry about the back end of their bullpen.

The Yankee organization has sold the importance to get under the $189 million dollar self-imposed cap for two years. If they had let Cano go and kept Granderson for 4 years at $15 million per year, picked up an Omar Infante and signed a free agent pitcher and went with Michael Pineda or David Phelps as your fifth starter, then I could understand what was going on because they have told us that they would have a ton of money to spend in 2015 because of a reduced luxury tax. And I'm not even considering what is going to happen with ARod.

As I have been saying for the last two years, what really aggravates me is the lack of transparency on the part of Brian Cashman and Company. Hal Steinbrenner wants to know why their are no young kids coming up yet he keeps the two men who head up his farm system and throws money around at a guy like Ellsbury. There are rumors flying around that they are interested in Ervin Santana. Really?? Check out the guy's career stats. Hardly someone I feel real confident in.

The pressure is on Brian Cashman. I just am having a hard time seeing where this team is better than the 2013 edition. It's a long way from spring training but it is hard to figure out where this team is going. Hopefully, Cashman knows but that may end up being the problem for all of us Yankee fans.