This week I spoke with long time NY Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman. This was supposed to be a year of rebuilding, however today we find the Yankees in first place in the American League east. Last week team president Randy Levine praised Cashman and his staff on my ESPN radio show and also in my column that is published on Newsmax.
Here is the brief question and answer session with Cashman and his take on the 2017 season.
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Negron: Brian How do you feel about what is happening?
Cashman: I sleep better at night. The players are doing their job and playing great and we are winning games so all things are good.
Negron: I just came back from all the Little League openings in the city and all the parents were talking about the great comeback last night. What are your feelings about that great comeback game against the Orioles?
Cashman: It was a special game. Who would have predicted down 9-1, down 11-4, and have that type of comeback. These are special moments. Everybody here watching, that’s a memory you’re going to have for a long time. Hopefully all those kids you were talking about are running around practicing their swing, pretending they are Gary Sanchez or Holliday (Matt) , or Judge (Aaron) or Starlin Castro.
Negron: At the beginning of the season when they were taking the polls at ESPN and NY Sportsday my prediction was that the Yankees were going to take the division and everybody laughed at me. What is your reaction to those predictions?
Cashman: Guess we will have to find out in the next five months. We go five more months banging it out, try and stay healthy and we will see where we stand when the dust settles. Obviously our dream is to win the division and get an automatic bid in the postseason, if not the division, the wild card. This team is capable of a lot of good stuff. Most important thing is to take care of one day at a time.
Negron: You sit behind home plate with your baseball people at spring training. I see you everyday at every game. Your guys sit there taking notes. Is this ballclub over achieving after starting the season winning one of your first five games and getting off to such a great start?
Cashman: No, we are not over achieving. We are playing good baseball. We got out of the gate poorly. And obviously the last three weeks were more representative of how we played in March. This has been a good two months. Our guys feel good about each other, their game, the results they have been following. We just want to keep riding that positive wave.
Negron: Let me ask you about the pitching. How do you feel about the starting pitching now?
Cashman: Its been great- Our starters didn’t look good in the spring. We won a lot of games in the spring because of our offense. After that first week of the season it’s been just tremendous and one of the big reasons why we are where we are at.
Negron: They are talking about doing a major motion picture in New York City this year, a baseball story about a kid from the Bronx who needs a second chance in order to start his life again. The name of the movie is called Stano, being done by the same people who produced Rocky. There is talk about you doing a cameo. Are you going to do it?
Cashman: I am in!
Negron: Ladies and gentleman you heard it here first –The next Al Pacino is the Yankees general manager Mr. Brian Cashman. Thank you so much.
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