Yankees' Dungeon

The occasionally honorable George Steinbrenner once ruled the New York Yankees with an iron fist. There was good, bad but never indifferent during this infamous time in Yankee history. The "Boss" has faded away leaving a bloated empire in his wake. A new regime takes over and and the transition is anything but smooth.

Bob Raissman of The New York Daily News, writes an article titled," Bombers' brass gets an 'F' in Pr" which profiles Lonn Trost, the Bombers' chief operating officer and president Randy Levine. Here is an excerpt: " They portrayed Trost as an executive' once hidden away in the dungeon' when George Steinbrenner was in control, now in the spotlight without a clue on how to handle it. While recognizing Levine as an unnecessarily 'combative bully,' they are still surprised over the defensive posture he has struck, publicly, over any criticism of the new ballpark." (Note: "They" are a "number of executives" currently doing business with the Yankees.)

This article struck a chord with me because it echoes my take on Yankee GM Brian Cashman. Cash also spent years in Steinbrenner's "dungeon" and was thrust into the spotlight. The transition from lackey to decision maker lead to a long series of pratfalls followed by a defensive, shift the blame routine.

The short-term fate of the New York Yankees is buttressed by Dad's bloated bucks. Long-term prosperity will require quality decision making. Safe to say that a "dungeon" is not the best environment to develop managerial talent.