Cash back on smooth-sailing Yankees ship

Welcome to the Yankees. Your model of American League East stability.

No good?

Well, you've got the Red Sox, whose general manager and manager took off before the fried chicken grease and beer suds could be cleaned up from their stunning collapse.

You've got the Rays, a brilliantly run franchise that nevertheless can't draw fans to poorly located, aesthetically unappealing Tropicana Field.

You've got the Blue Jays, a team unquestionably on the rise but still looking for their first postseason berth since 1993.

You've got the Orioles, who have much more work to do, even with the always compelling Buck Showalter around.

Which leaves the Yankees, whose general manager, Brian Cashman, officially re-upped yesterday for another three years. Who completed their most important assignment, retaining CC Sabathia, before open free agency even kicked off.

"Baseball in the American League East is a different game," Cashman said in a telephone news conference. "I think baseball in the AL is a different game. It certainly takes its toll.

"All of these jobs are hard. Your challenges are your challenges. If you're in a small market, you're fighting to get people in the stands. If you're in a big market, you have money, but there's the extra stuff that comes with it . . . I think that if you're doing the job right, you're going to get the job right, no matter where you're doing it."

Cashman is doing the Yankees' job right. He isn't perfect, which puts him in a group alongside the other 29 GMs. As I wrote in my column for Newsday yesterday, for instance, the Yankees' urgency to keep Sabathia (and pay him more) reflects their inability to come up with other front-end starting rotation options.

When you take a holistic look at the Yankees organization, however, you can see how well they run from top to bottom. The uniformity of process and message from Hal Steinbrenner to team president Randy Levine to COO Lonn Trost to Cashman to Joe Girardi to the coaches to the scouts and development people.

And Cashman serves as the traffic cop, ensuring a smooth flow of communication and execution between ownership and the clubhouse.

They have their blips. Hank Steinbrenner finds a microphone once a year or so and says something flammable or Cashman gets overruled on an acquisition like Rafael Soriano. Yet I say, props to them for dealing out in the open with matters like these: Acknowledging the difference of opinion on Soriano, or letting Hank talk himself back into seclusion.

"I think it's healthy not to feel in control," Cashman said. "I have bosses. I have a big seat at the table, but I don't sit at the head of the table. I know my place. I know my responsibilities.

"I know my recommendations can carry a lot of the weight. They don't necessarily carry the day every day."

Last week at Wrigley Field, Theo Epstein introduced himself to Cubs fans in part by explaining his abrupt departure from the Red Sox. Citing legendary football coach Bill Walsh, Epstein promoted the idea that a sports executive or coach should switch locales after 10 years, to the benefit of both the person and the team.

Cashman, as he enters years 15 through 17 of his GM tenure -- although he dramatically gained authority after 2005 -- represents the counterpoint.

"I think there's power in knowing your environment," he said. "That type of knowledge is powerful and helpful. I'm not afraid of the unknown, but why volunteer yourself for it . . . you've been part of building the process for a while? I appreciate that they still want me."

With Cashman and Sabathia back, it looks to be a quiet winter in the Bronx. Which, George Steinbrenner's legacy notwithstanding, has become pretty common around here.

It's what occurs in a stable environment.