Davidoff Less Sure Cashman Will Return To Yankees

Newsday’s Ken Davidoff says he’s still betting that Brian Cashman will return to the Yankees next season, but he’s adjusting his odds.

Will Cashman come back? I’m downgrading my odds of his return from 65-35 to 55-45. I think his season has been very draining for Cashman. While he thought the team might miss the playoffs this year, he fingered the pitching, not the hitting. The fan and media criticism has been strong, and while Hank doesn’t actually do much, comments like the ones he made Thursday put Cashman in a position he knows all too well: Reacting to outrageous comments by people named Steinbrenner.

In other words, it might not be the advisory board, per se, that pushes Cashman out the door. But it might be the Hank chatter.

Davidoff believes the Steinbrenners will ask Cashman to return, and that they will again offer him full autonomy. But that might not be enough. Working for the Steinbrenners obviously requires patience, and Cashman’s patience may be running out.

Davidoff suggests Yankees Vice President of Scouting Damon Oppenheimer or Assistant GM Jean Afterman could replace Cashman. He also says the Yankees "would be foolish not to reach out to Pat Gillick, who worked with the Yankees in his pre-GM days and is retiring from the Phillies" and that "Gerry Hunsicker, currently with the Rays, would be another natural candidate, given his strong work with the Astros."

Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. You can reach him here.