Winning with Broken Bombers? - A Yankees Dynasty

[LondonYankee]

New York, March 2013

As one of Hank Steinbrenners PA's led me to the boardroom - as if I'd never been there?- a very upset looking Brian Cashman stormed past me without even a glance in my direction. Weird. I've worked as Cashman's Asst GM for the past 3 years and we've always got on great.

Once I was in the boardroom and they'd dispensed with the pleasantries Hank & Hal Steinbrenner, along with Randy Levine took their seats and asked me to sit down.
As always Hank took the lead, 'Stuart I'm gonna cut to the chase, Brian Cashman has left this ball club by mutual consent, with immediate effect'

To disguise my discomfort and thoughts that my 'mutual consent' departure was about to be announced I reached for the glass of water in front of me.

Hank continued 'obviously we're sorry that Brian's gone but the season gets underway tomorrow so we need to move quickly and get our house in order. We need a new direction...'

I felt sure the dread was written all over my face.

'...but we all also believe that continuity is important...'

My expression now turned from fear to confusion.

'....you've been an integral part of this front office for, what, 3 years now? I know you've worked closely with Brian but I'm also aware you have your own ideas on how this ball club should run'

He wasn't wrong there, I have the utmost respect for Brian Cashman and I've learnt so much from him since coming here from the Colorado Rockies, but I certainly believed that we could make changes for the better.

'So, Stuart, time to walk your talk, how would you like to be the new GM of New York Yankees?'

In the space of a few minutes I'd mentally gone from the unemployed queue to sitting on top of the world, being offered the best job in baseball.
I suddenly realised that since I'd sat down I'd not said a word, but I couldn't sit there mute any longer.

'Mr Steinbrenner....'

'Please, call me Hank'

'I'm sorry that Brian's gone, he's had a big influence on me. That said I'd be absolutely crazy to turn this opportunity down. Thank you for having faith in my abilities, you've got your man' this last sentence was said with the biggest smile I've ever had in my life.

'Excellent news, Stuart' Hank beamed across the table at me. We all exchanged handshakes before Hank got back down to business.

'Ok, you're gonna have to hit the ground running, so we won't keep you any longer, but I don't want you to have any doubt about the following: One, you're in absolute control of the baseball operations of this club. The budgets are set and as long as you work within them, we won't interfere and you'll have our full support. And, two, this is the Yankees, we must win and win well.' I'm sure he meant his smile to be reassuring, it was actually a little sinister, that's the Steinbrenner way I guess.

After thanking them again and reassuring them of my desire to succeed I took my leave.

The hard work starts here........

[LondonYankee]

New York Yankees Press Release, March 31st 2013

'It is with great pleasure that the New York Yankees announce the appointment of their new General Manager. With immediate effect Stuart Dubb, Assistant GM for the last three years, will assume total control of the baseball operations of the Yankees. Owners, Hank & Hal Steinbrenner along with President Randy Levine met with Stuart this morning to confirm the appointment and they all offer Stuart their congratulations and total support. A press conference will be arranged for later this afternoon'

- NYY Press Office

[LondonYankee]

My first order of business was to go and meet with Joe Girardi and ensure that he and I got on the same page.

I'd always got along with Joe Girardi but like many old school baseball men he had an ingrained mistrust of 'people like me'.
'People like me' being college grads from 'fancy schools' - Yale in my case - who never played ball and who think they can run ball clubs.

Regardless of Joe's beliefs, he's going to have to deal with me as the GM now and he knows it. I also know that while it won't be deliberate, he isn't gonna make my life easy.

This first meeting was crucial in ensuring everyone knew where they stood.
As I entered the clubhouse Joe walked over to me smiling, 'so when I heard that Cashman had gone, I was asking myself - who's crazy enough to take the job? - now I have my answer. So, what you doing about the roster I've been saddled with?'

According to the consensus of the reporters around the league the 2013 Yankees roster was full of too many players who were either; banged up, overpaid or overrated. And in some instances, all 3 of those!

I knew that this roster wasn't all it could be but I also needed Joe to know that I wasn't going to be pushed around.

'Surely a man of your talent isn't going to start making excuses before the seasons even underway? We all know we're stuck with a very talented DL, so our hands are tied in some respects. Why don't you guys talk me through your thoughts on the roster and let's get the starting lineups sorted?'

[LondonYankee]

Up for discussion first:
The rotation

CC Sabathia - looks to be the main man again. No real concerns here.

Andy Pettite - at 41 can we really get another good season from him? Joe thinks so but we're all aware he'll need a bit of nursing

Hiroki Kuroda - will fight Phil Hughes for the 3rd spot. I'm not overly convinced but Joe is happy enough.

Phil Hughes - I think he should be ahead of Hiroki but there isn't much between them

Ivan Nova - is he really ready to start for the Yankees? Well until Michael Pineda is off the DL he'll have to be.

Bullpen

Mariano Rivera - no discussion needed. He is THE closer.

Mark Montgomery - Rivera's eventual replacement, so no pressure there then! We'll be looking for him to show that at AAA Scranton.

Shawn Kelley - a strong option coming out of the bullpen

David Robertson - possibly our best reliever. Petitte especially will need him to have a good year

David Phelps - is he a reliever or a back up starter? No one is sure, he'll start the year in the pen

Boone Logan - another strong arm we can call upon.

Joba Chamberlain - needs a good year to live up to his own hype

Cody Eppley - we hope he can continue to improve and develop


All in all, the pitching staff look set. Offense is where we're going to struggle.

'So Joe, which one position is your priority to improve at?'

'First base, third base, catcher & left field'

'I know I'm the college grad in business but surely you know that's four positions? Which is the priority for you Joe?'

'If you push me...'

'I am'

'...I gotta say catcher'

'Ok, so what have we got there?'

'Stewart, Cervillo & Wilson are all pretty close, I'm edging towards Wilson & Stewart as 1 & 2'


So what about the rest of the lineup?

1B - Lyle Overbay will carry the load until Teixera's off the DL.

2B - just about the only position that no one is worrying about, Robinson Cano is the main man and will shoulder a lot of the load for this club on offense. His contract will be one of my main considerations over the next couple months. If Cano needs a rest, David Adams will step in. That's not a very reassuring thought.

3B - Kevin Youkilis will hold the fort until A-Rod gets healthy. It's clear that Joe & (hit coach) feel shortchanged here. I'm a little more optimistic that Kevin can hold his own

SS - it's looking like Derek Jeter is going to be back by May. In the meantime the guys have Jayson Nix just edging Eduardo Nunez for the start.

Other infielders - very few options, luckily Nix & Nunez can both cover multiple positions

RF - even at 39 Ichiro Suzuki has still got what we need. His age means he'll need rest days, Ben Francisco will likely fill in

CF - Brett Anderson. Our lead off hitter and base stealer supreme needs to stay healthy. No one else offers what he does in our organization at the moment

LF - Vernon Wells is getting paid a lot of money. And he's going to have to play out of his skin to give us any kind of RoI. Once Granderson is fit, Anderson will slide over to LF.

Other outfielders - Zoilo Almonte, Mason Williams and Shane Heathcott are all prospects. Almonte may get some time in the bigs this year. I'd hate to have to rely on any of them at this stage.

DH - Travis Hafner can hit. Can he stay healthy? Seeing as he won't be playing a position I'd certainly hope so. Bobby Wilson, Eduardo Nunez and at a stretch Nix could do a job if needed.

If and when everyone is healthy, this offense could still be dangerous. Of course age is creeping up on a few of them but that aside its not a complete write off. The problem will be staying competitive til after the All Star break when we'll hope to have Jeter, Teixera, A-Rod and Granderson back out there.

I'm reluctant to go out and get players for their positions as this clubs already paying top dollar across the board. What I could do though was try and improve us at catcher. If I can bag someone who provides offense as well then even better.

[LondonYankee]

After finishing up with Joe Girardi, I called Damon Oppenheimer, our Scouting Director to my office to discuss potential targets at Catcher.
Damon and I tossed a couple of names around but we kept coming back to Ryan Hanigan of the Reds. He looked able to be both a solid catcher and provide some offense too.
I picked up the phone and got through to Cincinnati GM, Walt Jocketty. After accepting his congratulations and shooting the breeze for a few minutes I cut to the chase and tried to work a deal for Hanigan.
Eventually we agreed that the Reds would get C Francisco Cervili and SP prospect Brett Marshall in exchange.

Well hows that for a day? A promotion to GM of the biggest sports franchise in the world and already concluding a trade to improve the team.

[LondonYankee]

May 1st 2013

So my first month in charge is done. It's gone better than I could have asked for:



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Cano and Ichiro have been the hot bats along with Travis Hafner, while Pettite is rolling back the years from the pitchers mound. Hughes and Kuroda are worrying me when they start but there is still time for them to turn things around.
Jeter made an earlier than anticipated recovery and while he's still finding his feet, his sheer presence lifts the team.



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During the month I opened talks with Cano regarding his contract extension. He was after a 10 year deal, but was accepting of the fact that I'm not prepared to take that route any more with this club. I'm certain we'll soon reach an agreement, for 6-7 years.

[LondonYankee]

1st June 2013

May was another decent month, a few more losses than we'd suffered in April but we were still keeping pace in the wild card race.



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Cano and Suzuki continue to light up the offense. Pettite is still pretending he's 10 years younger. He also picked up his 200th career win this month. He was joined in the starting rotation by Francisco Liriano. Pittsburgh got Phil Hughes and minor leaguers, SP Adam Warren and RF Tyler Austin in return.
Ivan Nova also made a bit of a splash in this month. He pitched a winning game at Citi Field and hit a solo homer to score the clinching run. If he doesn't get another hit all year I'll be happy with that one.



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Meanwhile I got Cano's contract finalised, $127 over 7 years keeps both parties happy. Not so happy was Robi picking up a 6 week injury towards the back end of the month. I'm not sure how we'll cope without our biggest bat through June.

[LondonYankee]

July 1st 2013

June was a tough month, Cano's absence making runs a valuable commodity.
The team record for the month was 15-12, leaving us 3rd in AL East, 3 behind leaders Boston.



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It was an eventful month, starting off on a sour note. Michael Pineda's careers is over. His shoulder injury was meant to be healed by now, but doctors broke the news that he'll never play pro ball again. A blow for the team and a huge one for the man.
Brett Gardner hit for the cycle against the A's at the Coliseum as we blew Oakland aside 12-3.
CC Sabathia racked up his 200th career win with a shutout against the Mariners.
Travis Hafner and Andy Pettite continue to roll back the years on both sides of the plate. Hafner has contributed way more than I'd have imagined while Pettite is pushing for a new contract with a 10-3 record.
Derek Jeter meanwhile has returned to form with some real standout performances towards the end of the month.
The bad news continues though as Ichiro's season was all but ended with a broken ankle. He'd been hitting .368 to that point and his contributions cannot easily be replaced. Zoilo Almonte will be the one who tries.



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[LondonYankee]

16th July 2013

It's All Star break time. Only two Yankees make the team this year, the two vets, Pettite and Rivera.

We're into 2nd in the AL East, 2.5 games back from Tampa



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Here's a look at the batting and pitching leaders across the MLB at this half way point:



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[mpejkrm]

Looks good. I'll be following along.

[LondonYankee]

August 1st 2013

July was a good month for us, going 19-7 and now just 0.5 game behind Tampa



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With A-Rod (just) and Texeira returning all our pre season injuries are behind us. Granderson and Jeter have come back to good effect. I hope the other two can get back to form too.
I decided to strengthen the rotation before the trade deadline with Ricky Nolasco joining with Shawn Kelley, Brennan Boesch and Eduardo Nunez all going the other way.



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[LondonYankee]

September 1st 2013

August was a bit of a let down, we went 12-15 and slipped to 3 games back from Tampa.



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Teixera has started to find form but A-Rod has struggled big time. Youkilis has been rotating back into the line up to try and rest Rodriguez from time to time, but really I just got to hope he can hit through this form.



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[LondonYankee]

October 1st 2013

So the regular season is in the bag. Despite a strong finish to the schedule, we just couldn't close the gap on Tampa. We finished 96-66, 3 games behind the Rays. We did enough to clinch a wild card spot and will go to Texas to contest that and try to go deep into October.

During the month I made a waiver trade, sending Vurnon Wells to San Diego with reliever Huston Street coming to New York. This represents a big wage saving and Wells just wasn't worth the money he was on.

One of the biggest moments of the month came from young OF prospect Mason Williams. He'd been blowing up AA ball all year and I don't think there was a single GM who didn't make an offer for him. I decided to give him a chance after roster expansion and the boy didn't disappoint. He hit a 2 run homer from his very first Major League at bat and went on to hit .388 for the month. Big things in his future.



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Here are the AL Batting stats:



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And the AL Pitching stats:



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These are the teams hitting stats:



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And the teams pitching stats:



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The seasons top peformers?

Travis Hafner led our batting line up, hitting .302 with 35 jacks and 94 RBI's. Jeter also hit .302 although he missed the whole first month. Cano was slightly underwhelming but it's hard to complain at .285 with 23 homers and 92 RBI's. I was also very pleased with Ryan Hanigan's performance, being my first trade I had a lot riding on him and he didn't disappoint with a slash line of .288/.389/.396.

From the mound, Andy Pettite rolled back the years, going 20-8 with a 3.70 ERA. Liriano impressed after coming over in May, registering the lowest ERA of my starters at 3.36 as he went 12-7. Ricky Nolasco struggled after his arrival with a 4.83ERA to post 5-4.
The bullpen was impressive. Mariano Rivera led the way, natch, with 38 saves a 2.33ERA and a WHIP of 0.86. He was supported by Joba Chamberlain with a 5-2 record adn 2.53 ERA. David Robertson also impressed with his 8-2 record and 2.66 ERA.

Now onto the serious stuff. Texas pose a big test, we went 1-6 against them all year and got hit all over the place by them, time to reverse that trend!

[LondonYankee]

November 1st 2013

My first season with the Yankees is over. It ended in defeat to the Chicago White Sox 4-2 in the ALCS.

The wild card game at Texas was looking decidedly dodgy with them having a 3-0 lead going into the 6th. Then it was Cano-time! Robinson banged a 2 out grand slam and then Travis Hafner followed it up with a 2 run homer to blow the doors off the game we eventually won 10-3.

This set us up to play Oakland in the ALDS. We went down 2-1 before winning the last 2 to take the series.

Against the White Sox in the ALCS we never really got going and struggled to stay in the series at times. They blew us away in games 5 & 6 to leave our World Series dreams in tatters this year.

In all honesty we didn't deserve it, Teixera, A-Rod and Jeter all failed to deliver in the post season. As did CC Sabathia, big time. His ERA was over 9 by the end of our run.

The White Sox went on to lose 4-2 to the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.


December 1st 2013

No individual awards for any Yankees this year, apart from Hanigan and Gardner picking up Gold Gloves.

This month we'll have the winter meetings, before that I'm due to sit with Hank Steinbrenner to discuss my performance and plans for next year.

Before all that though I had to deal with the arbitration hearings:

Brett Gardner got $3.2m, the panel siding with him
David Robertson got $4.08m again the decision going his way
Jayson Nix got $1m this one going our way
Ivan Nova got $1.1m again the panel went our way
Finally Ryan Hanigan got $8.75m, even though it went his way I won't begrudge him that.

Other news from MLB:

Hall of Famers -
Moises Alou
Tom Glavine
Greg Maddux
Mike Mussina
Frank Thomas

John Henry sold the Red Sox to Dana Moore.
Baltimore parted ways with their GM whilst the Indians and Marlins ditched their skippers.

Next up, my meeting with Hank and then the Winter Meetings.

[LondonYankee]

December 2nd 2013

As I entered Hank Steinbrenner's office I wasn't sure how this meeting was going to pan out. We hasn't won the World Series but according to all the media around the game we'd performed better than had been expected by getting to the ALCS. Lets hope Hank will see it that way.

'Stuart. Good to see you. Joe and Damon will join us in a half hour but I'd like to speak with you alone first.'

'Of course Hank' I breathed a slight sigh of relief. If I was going to be canned he wouldn't have me meeting with Joe and Damon.

'I gotta say Stuart that I'm disappointed. I thought we could have taken the White Sox. Seemed the team just couldn't push it over the line huh?'

'Well that's one way of looking at it. I prefer to look at how well we did all things considered. I had $100m of talent sat on the DL for the majority of the year. That we got as far as we did is a plus. Of course I wanted to win it all, that's the Yankee way but sometimes that just isn't possible. This teams in transition...'

'Don't talk about to me about transition or rebuilding. This is the Yankees. We win!'

I was not shocked at Hank's reaction but sometimes you've got to stand your ground. This was one of those times. If it meant he sacked me then so be it.

'Whether you like to hear it or not, this team is in transition. Due to the huge salaries sitting with declining players we're in a bit of a hole next season. Now I'm up to that challenge but I need your support in this and I need you to understand that next year might not be pretty'

'Stuart, you got balls. I'll give you that. I don't remember the last guy to sit in here and tell me how it is. Well actually I do remember, it was my father, God rest his soul.'

I think I've made a breakthrough.

'So. What's your plan?'

'Well. We got to look at strengthening at 1B and 3B so we can use Teixera and Rodriguez as the highest paid DH's ever. Then I gotta hope that Jeter can give us another strong year while we work on a back up for him. We also need to make sure we use some of the prospects like Mason Williams to keep salary down in other areas.'

'Tell me why you extended Granderson another 3 years?'

'Curtis came back strong from his injury and can still produce. Him, along with Brett and Ichiro give us a veteran core in the outfield while we bring Williams and Almonte up to Major League standard. If Curtis keeps producing we can even look at getting decent trade value at the back end of next year.'

'Ok. I'll buy that, though I think $15m was steep. Especially when you decided not to re-sign Pettite or Kuroda'

'Listen, Andy had a great year but he wanted $15m for 2 more years and at 42 I honestly don't think we were gonna get value. He struggled the back end of the season and in the playoffs. Sure he'll win some games next year but he isn't the future of this ball club...'

'The fans weren't happy....'

'....They rarely are Hank but the sensible ones know this was the right move. Damon agrees with me, he'll tell you that when he gets here'

'And Kuroda?'

'He wanted more than Andy and unlike Andy he wasn't even winning. Refusing his arbitration was a no brainer.'

'And you convinced Mo Rivera to stick around another year?'

'Yeah. Another no brainer. $2m for the best closer ever? No brainer'

'Agreed. So what's the Sabathia story?'

'I gotta be honest if there was a market for him I'd move him in a flash. But there isn't, plus I'm sure he'd veto anyway. We're stuck with him and will just have to hope he can find some of that old magic. Joe is still holding onto that idea, but I've warned the skipper that the first sign of trouble he moves CC down the rotation or even into the bullpen'

Hank's phone rang. It was his PA, Joe and Damon were outside now. Hank asked the PA to keep them outside a couple more minutes.

'Well Stuart I got to say you seem to have a plan and I may not like this transition thing but you've got my backing. I was really impressed with some of the trades you made. Hanigan especially, but Liriano and Nolasco too. Keep that record going and we'll be working together a long time.'

'Thank you Hank, I'm glad you've got my back, that means a lot. I love this job and I honestly believe that another World Series is not far off.'

'Good. Now lets get Joe and Damon in here to see what they've got say for themselves......'

[Austsaint]

In your batting stats for the year, you have Matt Joyce. I he the Matt Joyce from the Rays? and if so how did you acquire him?

[LondonYankee]

Originally Posted by Austsaint

In your batting stats for the year, you have Matt Joyce. I he the Matt Joyce from the Rays? and if so how did you acquire him?

It is indeed Matt Joyce from the Rays. Completely forgot to mention him. I got him, Kelly Johnson(2B) and $2m for David Adams (3B), Zachary Wilson (3B) and Charlie Blackmon on a deadline day trade. Blackmon was flipped after I got him and Luis Castro(SS) from Colorado for Lyle Overbay and 2 minor leaguers the day before.

Glad to see someone's paying attention! Even if it isn't me!

[Austsaint]

Am a Rays fan, so I always see what is happening with the team. The three prospects you gave up? what were they like?

[LondonYankee]

Originally Posted by Austsaint

Am a Rays fan, so I always see what is happening with the team. The three prospects you gave up? what were they like?

Adams was poor. Wilson had a lot of potential, while Blackmon was a serviceable yet unspectacular major leaguer. Joyce never really did it for me and I refused his arbitration and he went free agency.

[LondonYankee]

January 1st 2014

Winter Meeting Round-up

Before the Winter Meetings got underway I tied up some other business. Two international free agents were signed, Kiyonori Katayama a closer from Japan and more bullpen help, reliever Pablo Perez out of Cuba. Both would be likely to start out at AAA but looked like they could potentially push for time in the big league pretty quickly.
I'd also picked LF Jaff Decker as a rule 5 draft acquisition from the Padres. I didn't see Decker sticking around, I just figured he could be used in the trades I was hoping to get going at the upcoming meetings.

Heading into the meetings I'd opened talks with free agent SP Ubaldo Jimenez from Cleveland and was confident I could get a $1.2m one year deal closed. Jimenez hadn't had the best of seasons but Damon had good things to say about him and I trust the scouts judgment.
My three main aims for the winter meetings were to get a top class starting pitcher, an offensive force at 1B and look for a SS who could share time with Jeter.
1B was the first situation sorted. I sat down with the Pirates GM and sealed a deal for my 1st choice target. Brandon Belt had joined Pittsburgh mid season from the Giants and hit .297/.382/.450 for the two clubs combined. We sent two SP's to Pittsburgh, David Phelps and Ivan Nova. Belt has a year left on $5m deal and he's then arbitration eligible.
Next up I worked a deal for Reds SS Zack Cozart. The Reds took Jaff Decker and another outfielder Melky Mesa in exchange. Cozart wasn't about to blow things up offensively with a .248 average but he was a solid SS with a 1.100 efficiency and could also cover 3B.

Between those two deals Jimenez confirmed that he would sign for $1.2m for a year.

The next deal was also with the Reds. This is one I'd really wanted but had tried to keep my interest quiet. SP Josh Johnson had been traded to Cincinnati from Toronto mid season and had a combined record of 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA. He'd also signed a 4 year $58m deal with the Reds going on to win the World Series with them. The Reds however were keen on some prospects we had coming up and I eventually gave up LF Zoilo Almonte, RF Slade Heathcott and 2B Angelo Gumbs to get my man.

During the meeting I'd also made contact with Kevin Youkilis' agent. There weren't the quality of 3B available and although he was unspectacular last year for us, Youk was solid and I figured he could do a job for another year as a stop gap. I hadn't extended him earlier due to his salary demands. Now as a free agent he clearly wasn't attracting much interest and his services were going cheaper. I think I'll get a deal done for around $3m for the year.

While no other deals were concluded at the meetings I'd started talking to the Astros about adding some depth in the outfield in the shape of JD Martinez. The Mets were showing interest in SP Vidal Nuno and Minnesota were chasing Jayson Nix. We'll see how these deals pan out over the next few weeks.

I was very pleased with the work done at my first winter meetings and was convinced we'd come out of it stronger than we went in.