Brian Cashman: "I Would Not Pass Myself Off as an Evaluator of Talent"

In early February, 1998, Yankees' general manager Bob Watson resigned. George Steinbrenner never gave Watson the credit he deserved for putting together the nucleus of the 1996 World Champions, which Watson admitted rankled him. Bob Watson became the Yankees' general manager on October 23, 1995 and struggled mightily to get along with the Yankees' owner. When Watson acquired Graeme Lloyd from Milwaukee,Steinbrenner openly criticized the trade until Lloyd helped the Yankees beat the Braves in the World Series. Steinbrenner often intervened in trade negotiations, which made Watson's life difficult. Other general managers said that in dealing with the Yankees, they first had to find out if they would be dealing withSteinbrenner or Watson.

Bob Watson Acquired Some Outstanding Talent

Besides Graeme Lloyd, Bob Watson was responsible for the acquisition of Tino Martinez, Jeff Nelson, Mariano Duncan, Joe Girardi, Cecil Fielder, Charlie Hayes, David Weathers, Mike Aldrete, and Luis Sojo. Steinbrenner obtained Darryl Strawberry, his good friend Dwight Gooden, and Tim Raines. When Steinbrenner and his "baseball people" were discussing signing either Chuck Finley or Kenny Rogers, Watson and manager Joe Torre recommended Finley. The Yankees'braintrust voted 12-3 in favor of Finely, but in the Steinbrenner system of mathematics, 3 overruled 12 and Steinbrenner signed Rogers. Steinbrenner was responsible for getting David Wells at the end of 1996 and for signing Scott Brosius as a free agent.

George Steinbrenner SIgned Some Excellent Players