A star going to Sox? Rejected by Cashman!
General manager Brian Cashman of the New York Yankees talks with the media prior to the game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Cashman may be called as a witness in the Roger Clemens perjury trial. (June 9, 2011) Credit: Jim McIsaac
August has a unique rhythm to it in the baseball world because of waivers. Trades can't be completed now without every team getting a look at every player and deciding whether to place a claim.
The Yankees, upholding tradition, have been one of the most aggressive teams in terms of blocking players. And if there's any advantage to sitting behind the Red Sox in the American League East standings, it's that the Yankees can control the flow of players to Boston.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke generally about the process Friday, saying, "You claim guys to acquire them and you claim guys to block. You don't want anyone getting better."
In other words, they are claiming players whom they know won't ever be traded because they're too valuable to their current clubs. But by claiming them, they prevent paranoid, worst-case scenarios in which the Red Sox somehow wind up with an extra star player.
The waivers process awards claims beginning with the worst team in the waived player's league and going up to the best team, then goes through the other league in the same fashion. That's why the Yankees hold the "edge" over Boston here. If no one claims a player, he's free to be traded anywhere, whereas once a team pulls back its claimed player, he no longer can be dealt.
It isn't just the Red Sox, in other words. For AL players being waived, Cashman can make sure they don't wind up somewhere like Philadelphia or Milwaukee.
The downside to this strategy is that the Yankees can wind up with a player they meant only to block, not acquire. Most famously, the Devil Rays simply handed over Jose Canseco back in August 2000, giving the Yankees unwanted gridlock at designated hitter and the outfield.
Yes, the National League has won the last two All-Star Games and two of the past three World Series, but here's what Angels pitcher Dan Haren-- who has pitched for two teams in each league -- had to say about the difference between the NL and AL:
"I think pitching in the American League has made me a better pitcher. Talking to other guys who have come from the National to American League, even hitters, they've become better players and pitchers from coming to the American League. Just because the level of competition is a tick higher."
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