Major League Baseball

CASH ON THE MONEY - ACQUISITIONS BOOST STOCK OF YANKS' GM

Published Oct. 11, 2010 10:08 p.m. ET

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Brian Cashman ran into his old boss, Bob Watson, before Game 1 of the ALDS in Minnesota.

The two stopped and had been talking for a minute when Lance Berkman came up in the conversation. Cashman told his predecessor as Yankees general manager that Berkman had a rough start in New York, but felt positive about what the designated hitter would do in the playoffs.

"I just had a feeling he would get a big hit for us," Cashman said.

It didn't take long. Berkman came through in Game 2 Thursday night with a home run, a double and two RBIs, and made Cashman look good for making the deal at the trade deadline to get him from the Astros.

Cashman looked even better when Kerry Wood pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning to get the ball to Mariano Rivera. Cashman brought Wood over from the Indians at the deadline, too. Berkman and Wood were brought in to fix two flaws the Yankees had in the first half - the designated hitter spot and the bullpen.

The bullpen had suffered with erratic performances from Joba Chamberlain and the injuries to Alfredo Aceves and Damaso Marte.

"We felt [in] the bullpen that we had the pieces but we needed some extra coverage," Cashman said. "We thought Kerry Wood was one of those guys that could potentially help us."

The Yankees had scouted Wood in June and thought he was pitching better than he had in a long time. But a blister on his right index finger put him on the disabled list for most of July, forcing the Yankees to make a decision on trading for a player whom they had not seen pitch in the major leagues for weeks.

Wood delivered for the Yankees from the moment he arrived, and became manager Joe Girardi's eighth-inning setup man in August.

"He stabilized it," pitching coach Dave Eiland said. "He strengthened the back end of that bullpen and he made guys around him better."

Berkman was like a do-over for Cashman, who signed Nick Johnson to be the team's DH after Johnny Damon's asking price proved to be too high. Johnson went down with a season-ending wrist injury in May, and Girardi rotated DHs until Berkman and Marcus Thames emerged as a platoon combination late in the year.

Cashman made the deals for the two players without giving up any of his top prospects.

"In both trade cases, we felt that if we didn't have to hurt our farm system in a significant way we'd pursue it and if the price is right," he said.

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