Brian Cashman is Nobody’s Fool…
Brian Cashman’s words are rarely exact. The translation of his many quotes can also seem to be as difficult as translating the Bible. Cashman’s history of deceptive comments and politician-like remarks never seem to lend a clear picture of what he actually means.
Cashman’s statements like “Why are you guys still asking me about this? I never said I was in the market for an outfielder” get immediately translated by the press into a narrative that the Yankees are not in on Bryce Harper. This may very well be the case, but in that quote, Cashman also didn’t say that he wasn’t in the market for an outfielder or specifically Bryce Harper. It seems that people tend to make more of Cashman’s words than what is really there.
Then there’s the famous mysterious “High Level Sources” that many media outlets seem to have. Let’s think about this. What are the odds of there being a leak in the Yankees organization (and every other ball club’s for that matter)? This type of reporting has been commonplace for the last 40 years or so, or, at least that’s how many years I have been following the game and that’s how many years there has been someone speaking anonymously, off the record, or as a secret insider source. If this was true, that there were people leaking important information to the press, wouldn’t that say something about your company’s security? Would it be possible to have someone (or even a collection of individuals) who were leaking “secret” information to the media for that long?
Obviously if these secret sources do exist, other than to say that the information they are leaking was perhaps intended to be leaked, might they possibly be a tactic to try to get other ball clubs believing you intend to do something so you can do something else entirely? Remember when Brian Cashman insisted that Bubba Crosby was going to be the Yankees’ center fielder? Remember, even last year, when the Yankees had no interest in Giancarlo Stanton?
Brian Cashman is way smarter than to let out information as to what his intentions are unless there is some advantage for him to do so.
Then there are the stories that get told over and over that perhaps started as a speculative piece and somewhere down the line become taken as fact.
For instance, are there any direct quotes from Brian Cashman saying that he wasn’t willing to spend $300 million on Manny Machado? Either this was someone’s opinion and it is being reported as a fact, or the Yankees leaked this information intentionally in an attempt to lower Manny’s expectations when he meets with the club.
Don’t believe the speculation. Believe it only when it is announced. There are no high-level leaks in the Yankees organization. Information Security is taken very seriously by companies these days and I am certain that the Yankees are no different.
Whether Bryce Harper or Manny Machado get signed by the Yankees is just speculation. Anything can happen. I don’t believe any of the leaks provide any real information. The Yankees, and Brian Cashman, are too smart for that.
