Yankees GM Brian Cashman was feeling rather frank on Friday while speaking to the media, as he discussed some of the moves and non-moves (Carl Crawford) he made last offseason.

From ESPN:

“I actually had dinner with the agent to pretend that we were actually involved and drive the price up,” Cashman said. “The outfield wasn’t an area of need, but everybody kept writing Crawford, Crawford, Crawford, Crawford. And I was like, ‘I feel like we’ve got Carl Crawford inBrett Gardner, except he costs more than $100 million less, with less experience.’ ”

Surprisingly, one could argue that Gardner has had a better season than Crawford. Gardner is batting .261 and leads the league with 46 steals. Crawford never got going in Boston and is hitting .259 with only 18 steals, the fewest he’s had since his rookie season.

Going into the season, Cashman said Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, who also landed Adrian Gonzalez, “kicked my a– in the offseason.”
How does he feel now after winning the division?

“What I said was accurate: The Red Sox had a great winter, and I had a bad winter,” Cashman said. “But as it turned out, I had a better winter than anybody would’ve expected, including myself.”

It’s hardly a genius act to fane interest in a free agent that you don’t want so that you can drive up the price for your most hated division rival. But either way, it worked as the Red Sox shelled out big coin for a player in Crawford who has given them the same production as what a Triple-A hitter could have. Plus, and this is a biggie, the Yankees are heading to the postseason after winning the AL East, while the Red Sox are doing their best to give away the Wild Card.

Of course, who knows what’s going to happen next. Things look bad for Boston now but maybe it reaches the playoffs, Crawford goes gangbusters and the BoSox will the World Series. Then all of Cashman’s talk will go for naught. The season isn’t over yet so let’s just see how everything plays out.

According to a report by Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, designated hitter Jorge Posada told GM Brian Cashman that he wanted off the Yankees when he found out that he was hitting ninth against the Red Sox last Saturday. But a friend of Posada’s says the former catcher was just speaking out of frustration.

In the heat of his anger and frustration Saturday night, Yankee icon Jorge Posada told general manager Brian Cashman amid a flood of F-bombs that he not only wanted out of the No. 9 spot in the Yankee batting order – he wanted out of the Yankees, too, according to team sources.

“It was just something said in the heat of anger and frustration,” a close friend of Posada’s said of the former catcher’s angry comments to Cashman and manager Joe Girardi in which he took himself out of the lineup an hour before Saturday’s game against the Red Sox.

“What happened had nothing to do with being dropped to ninth in the batting order. It was just the combination of everything building up in him – his frustration at not helping the team and the feeling that, right now, he sucks, and that everything in his world is pretty (expletive).

“He didn’t want out, and doesn’t want out,” the friend added. “He was just frustrated and said a lot of things.”

Posada is currently hitting .165 as the Bombers’ DH and is going through some personal issues as well. His son, Jorge Luis, is scheduled to undergo surgery to correct craniosynostosis, which is a condition in which normal brain and skull growth are affected. The procedure, which will take place on June 8, is hoped to be his last surgery to correct the problem.

There have been many fans on the internet boards that are screaming for the Yankees to cut ties with Posada and move on. But nobody knows what this guy is going through and he has already apologized to the team for his immaturity over the weekend. He was in the wrong and he apologized. If he doesn’t start hitting then Cashman and Joe Girardi can figure out what’s best for the team and go from there.

But how many of us get so tired of our situations that we burst out in frustration and say things we don’t mean? Hell, I think I do it on a weekly basis. Let’s cut Posada some slack and see how the situation plays out. He’s a four-time World Series champion and a five-time All-Star. If he’s done, the Yankees will make that decision when the time comes. For now, let’s give the man a little time.

Brian Cashman has been one outspoken general manager recently. A couple of days after making the Derek Jeter/centerfield comments, the Yankees’ GM said people who question the club’s management of Joba Chamerlain are “stupid.”

From ESPN.com:

“Those people are stupid,” Cashman said of critics of the Yankees’ handling of Chamberlain. “It’s just an easy, stupid, idiotic thing to say. There’s no screwing anything up. That’s how Andy Pettitte came in, that’s how guys have been broken in for years. They’re starters in the minor leagues, they come up and we use them in the ‘pen, and eventually they break into the rotation. So what’s the problem? I just think it’s naïve.”

“Listen, he had a full chance to make a run at it [in spring training 2010], and he failed at it,” Cashman said. “His stuff does not play the same way as a starter anymore since the injury in Texas. He’s pedestrian as a starter but he still has pretty wicked stuff as a reliever. So his job is just to get outs when Joe calls on him. It’s as simple as that.”

On one hand, I don’t blame Cashman for being a little annoyed that he’s constantly asked about whether or not the Yankees screwed the pooch with Joba’s development. But part of his job is to answer questions about why a young starting pitcher with elite stuff has turned into a broken down old Chevy in a matter of a couple of seasons.

That said, pitchers get hurt and sometimes they never recover. It’s just part of the game. Just because Joba hasn’t turned into a dominant starter doesn’t mean that the Yankees mishandled him. Brien Taylor never panned out either and he was supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. It happens – guys get injured.

Ask the Cubs if they know anything about young pitchers who broke down too soon. It’s not just the Yankees who have had a stud not pan out. The good news is that Joba may wind up being a solid reliever and that’s better than nothing.

On Monday, Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman told the media that he could envision Derek Jeter moving from shortstop to the outfield before his new contract runs out in 2014. But as Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk writes, that kind of move would be unprecedented for a 37-year-old shortstop.

* Exactly 16 players who have played as many as 100 games at shortstop and 100 games in left field. None of them did both after the age of 35;

* Exactly 17 players who have played as many as 100 games at shortstop and 100 games in center field. None of them did both after the age of 35;

* Exactly 17 players who have played as many as 100 games at shortstop and 100 games in right field. None of them did both after the age of 35.

Maybe Jeter could be a utility guy who can cover the outfield from time to time, but there is no precedent whatsoever for a guy his age moving from the everyday shortstop position to an everyday position in the outfield. And no, Robin Yount — everyone’s favorite go-to guy on this subject — didn’t do it either. His last game at shortstop came when he was 28. Past the age of 30 he was an outfielder/DH with some occasional starts at first.

And that’s before you factor in Jeter’s bat, which unless he bounces back to 2009 form and stays there for the next four years, will not be stout enough to justify a position in the outfield.

I can’t see Jeter moving to the outfield either, although my reasoning is way more subjective than Calcaterra’s take.

Jeter won’t move to the outfield because he’s Derek Jeter. He’s the New York Yankees shortstop and will be the New York Yankees shortstop until he finally gives way to a protégée. For as classy as Jeter is, he still has an ego and I highly doubt he would OK a move to the outfield – even as his defensive numbers continue to decline.

I’m not suggesting that Jeter is too pompous to help his team, but for the life of me I can’t see him sauntering out to left field when his time is up at short. I could see him moving to third if the Yankees figure out what to do with Alex Rodriguez. But the outfield? Nah.

Whatever Derek Jeter and his agent are smoking, I want it. Because that stuff must be fantastic if they think they’re getting $150 million from the Yankees.

Per Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, Jeter and the Yankees are at least “$80 million apart in negotiations.” Jeter’s initial contract request called for six years and $150 million, while the Yankees are “only” offering three years at $45 million.

I’ve been a Jeter fan since he dazzled everyone in his rookie year but what is he thinking? Six years and $150 million? For hitting .270 last year and playing a very average shortstop? Unless he recently found the fountain of youth and drank it bone dry, then there’s no way the Yankees will/should come close to $150 million for this guy. I know he’s a legend and the Bombers have already put him on the Babe Ruth pedestal, but get real.

Brian Cashman said it best when he told Jeter that he should test the open market if he feels as though the Yankees are shortchanging him. Because there’s no way in Hades that Jeter would receive a three-year deal worth $45 million from another team – not to mention a six-year contract worth $150 million. He’s a 36-year-old shortstop coming off a down year offensively and just doesn’t have it any more defensively. Don’t get it twisted – he’s still a nice player at the right price. But that’s the key: at the right price.

As I wrote on Wednesday, he’s going to wind up back in pinstripes next season. But this storyline gets juicer by the day.

Normally, whether or not a 36-year-old shortstop with declining skills gets a new contract isn’t big offseason news in baseball. But when that shortstop is Derek Jeter, it’s somewhat compelling stuff. (Ok, so “compelling” might be too strong of a word. “Interesting” would probably be more like it.)

Less than a week ago, the Yankees reportedly offered Jeter a three-year, $45 million contract. Based on his age, his numbers last year and his declining defensive play, most would agree that that’s a pretty fair offer. But Jeter’s agent Casey Close said that the Yankees’ negotiating strategy during contract talks for his client have been “baffling.”

“There’s a reason the Yankees themselves have stated Derek Jeter is their modern-day Babe Ruth,” Close said. “Derek’s significance to the team is much more than just stats. And yet, the Yankees’ negotiating strategy remains baffling. They continue to argue their points in the press and refuse to acknowledge Derek’s total contribution to their franchise.”

Chances are if Jeter were to test the open market, he wouldn’t find a better deal than the one the Yankees are offering. And it just so happens that that’s what GM Brian Cashman instructed the Yankee captain to do recently.

When asked about the negotiation process, Cashman said: “He should be nothing but a New York Yankee. He chooses not to be.” He went on to say that Jeter “should test the market” if he doesn’t approve of the club’s offer and that the Yankees have offered multiple deals and received just one counter offer.

But more recently, SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote that the Yankees will likely sweeten their current offer to the free agent. If they do, it should be viewed as a generous move by the club, especially in light of how they would already be overpaying him at three years and $45 million. While Jeter certainly has meant a lot to the Yankees organization, he seems to be overestimating his worth right now. There’s no way he’d come close to earning that much money for that many years on the open market and if the Bombers were to sweeten the deal, it would be staggering if he and his agent declined their offer.

In the end, Jeter will most likely remain in pinstripes. The Yankees aren’t going to let one of their legends play for another club and while these talks have gotten somewhat ugly over the last couple of days, it’s just business in the end. He’ll be back, but grab your popcorn because if these last couple of days are any indication, things are about to get interesting in the Bronx over the next month.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees are on the brink of trading for Mariners’ ace Cliff Lee.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik have been in constant contact over the last week, but it was only last night that the Seattle GM told Yankee officials he wanted to move quickly, possibly before the All-Star break.

The Yanks were not assured of obtaining Lee since other clubs such as the Mets, Twins and Rangers were in talks. But the Yanks were definitely making the strongest move last night, coming from seeming disinterest into the clear front-runner and last night it seemed they were all but certain to obtain the 31-year-old lefty.

In an odd twist, Lee is scheduled to pitch against the Yankees tonight in Seattle. Lee is 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA and an amazing 89 strikeouts to just six walks. He beat the Yankees twice in the World Series last year, the only two games the Yankees lost in the Fall Classic.

This would be a surprising but predictable outcome. For the past month, the Rangers, Mets and Twins were the clubs that were centered on trading for Lee. But of course, seemingly out of nowhere, Brian Cashman swoops in and nabs another stud for his all-star roster. (Lee, Sabathia, Pettitte, Burnett and Vazquez? Dear, Barbara…)

If this deal goes down, the collective heads of Yankee haters are going to explode. “Typical Yankees” they’ll say. But keep in mind that this would be a trade; the Mariners can deal with whichever team they want and if they decide that it’s the Yankees, then you can’t blame Cashman for wanting to make a deal. Yes, the Bombers have a sizeable advantage when it comes to signing and retaining free agents. But when it comes to trades they have as much to lose as anyone seeing as how they’re giving up more than money in a deal. It’s up to Zduriencik to get fair compensation for Lee and if he were smart, he’d play all of the teams against each other in order to get the best deal possible. (Don’t rule out the possibility that he’s using Cashman and the Yankees to get more out of the Rangers or Mets either.)

This isn’t a done deal and the Rangers (who were reportedly the front-runners for Lee just yesterday) could still make a play. But history tells us that if Cashman and the Yankees are involved, they’ll probably get their man.

Typical Yankees.

Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post writes that Joe Torre has ruined his legacy in the wake of his new book, which trashes Yankee management and takes shots his former players like Alex Rodriguez.

This book of yours, “The Yankee Years,” is that classy, Joe? Does it dignify what those 12 remarkable years were to baseball, to this city and, not incidentally, to your career? Was it necessary to air the fact that his teammates call Alex Rodriguez – an awfully easy target, by the way, Joe, and also a guy who won two MVPs while playing for you – “A-Fraud,” or to liken him to the crazed Jennifer Jason Leigh character in “Single White Female”?

Seriously, Joe. Did you even see “Single White Female”?

Why would you take shots at Brian Cashman? All he did during that lengthy post-2000 time, when you weren’t winning championships, was defend you exhaustively – to fans, to the press, to fellow Yankee executives, to various and sundry Steinbrenners, to your old front-office pal Randy Levine.

You never much cared to admit this, Joe, but Cashman was your boss. He could have sold you out. He didn’t.

Cashman deserved better, Joe. So did the Yankees. And, most important, so did you. You transformed yourself as a Yankee, earned yourself a certain Hall of Fame plaque.

There were lots of people who thought you were exiled wrongly in 2007, who winced when you hinted at a possible grudge with the Yankees, who figured, no, Joe is bigger than that. Joe is better than that.

Were we really that wrong, Joe? Really?

If you wanted to hurt the Yankees, Joe, understand this: Yesterday at Legends Field in Tampa, workers were manicuring the field, watering the lawn, getting ready for another spring training once the Super Bowl leaves town.

At the minor-league complex just down Dale Mabry Boulevard, kids were working out. Jorge Posada was said to have taken some swings. Derek Jeter will be here this week.

The Yankees have moved on, Joe. Isn’t it time you did, too?

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – this doesn’t seem like Joe’s style.

I haven’t read the book, but already this doesn’t seem like a classy way to go about things. No matter how wronged Torre believes he was by the Yankees, you always take the high road. Most people in New York were going to remember Joe as the World Series-winning manager in pinstripes – and they still might. But this book definitely casts a shadow over Torre’s great career. Instead of remembering how great of a manager he was in the Bronx, people are going to point to when he called Alex Rodriguez, “A-Fraud” in his book. Is that how Joe wanted to be remembered?

According to the New York Daily News, several members in the Yankees’ front office are split on whether or not to pursue free agent Manny Ramirez.

Two other officials are skeptical that the Bombers would commit three years to the enigmatic Ramirez, who has already seen the Dodgers make and withdraw a two-year, $45 million offer this winter. Both of them believe the Yankees will linger in the background while agent Scott Boras works to gather offers, and if the market is limited, the Yanks will try to jump in with a two-year, $50 million package.

According to a source familiar with the Yankees’ thinking, Brian Cashman has been lukewarm to the idea of signing Ramirez, but the rest of the front office – most notably Hal and Hank Steinbrenner – believes he is precisely what the Yankees need to bolster a lineup that underachieved in 2008.

It’s unlikely that Boras will let Ramirez sign anywhere until Mark Teixeira makes his decision, since the teams that fail to land the first baseman could decide to take a run at Ramirez as an alternative. The Red Sox, Angels, Nationals and Orioles are believed to be the final four teams in the running for Teixeira, and aside from the Red Sox, the other three could try to sign Ramirez if they don’t get Teixeira. The Dodgers could also jump back in the mix once the market for him clears up.

Well, if it’s the Steinbrenner brothers vs. Cashman, there’s no question who’ll win that battle. The Yankees are going to make a push for Ramirez, but not before they drive the asking price for Mark Teixeira through the roof. After handing out huge contracts to CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, it’ll be interesting to see how much the Bombers wind up offering Manny if they eventually do decide to pursue him.

According to Newsday, Brian Cashman has agreed to a three-year deal to remain general manager of the New York Yankees.

STATEMENT FROM BRIAN CASHMAN
NEW YORK YANKEES SR. VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER
RE: RE-SIGNING WITH YANKEES THROUGH 2011

“I know I’ve said it before, but it’s an incredible opportunity and honor to hold the title of general manager for the New York Yankees. With it comes a great responsibility to ownership, the people who wear the uniform and our fan base.

“I’ve got a job to finish here. That’s the bottom line.

“I consider coming off a season where we didn’t reach the playoffs for the first time since 1993 as a personal challenge. I’ve never been one to run from a challenge, and I look forward to having the chance to go after this thing again.”

And with this news, it’s pretty much a guarantee that the Yankees will target CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero, Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, Adam Dunn, Carl Crawford, Ben Sheets, Rafael Furcal, Milton Bradley and Pat Burrell this offseason. Wait – that was going to happen with or without the club re-signing Cashman.