Brian Cashman isn’t interested in what people claim about the Yankees’ payroll or their lavish spending last offseason.
“You can call us anything you want,” the victorious GM said in response to a question about the Yankees’ unparalleled spending last winter.
“You’re also going to have to call us world champions.”
Cashman’s team won it all last night in The Bronx, capturing the World Series in six games over the Phillies to take their — and his — first title since 2000. And while manager Joe Girardi earned vindication last night with his bold pitching decisions, Cashman earned it for his season-long (and offseason-long) maneuverings.
Cashman’s contract was up after last season, a campaign that saw the Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993. But Cashman re-upped with the team, and one of the things he said was that he was returning in order to change the story. He did exactly that.
“I’m glad that we were able to finish what we started,” he said.
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“It’s not like you can make something instantly. It takes a process. And I think you saw with this team, you had major-league free-agent additions that cost a lot of money. You had some trades that came in, that sprinkled in that helped in a big way. And then you had a lot of homegrown guys, old and new, that led us here.
“And that involves a lot of people, a lot of people. … And we’re very proud of it.”
Cashman’s offseason work — and let’s be fair, the Yankees’ checkbook — landed CC Sabathia (seven years, $161 million), Mark Teixeira (eight years, $180 million) and A.J. Burnett (five years, $82.5 million) via free agency. He then acquired Nick Swisher in a trade with the White Sox. Those were the major additions, and the Yank payroll was an MLB-high $209 million.
Cashman also saw young players develop — Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, David Robertson — and added midseason pickups Chad Gaudin, Eric Hinske and Jerry Hairston Jr.
“This team was built to win a championship,” Johnny Damon said, “and that’s exactly what we did.”
And exactly what Cashman built.