Could the Philadelphia Phillies cash in on the failures of the New York Yankees? That’s the subject of a recent article by Jim Salisbury from the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Yankees are currently sitting in fourth place in the American League East, three games back of hated rival Boston, with their two young superstars, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, a combined 0-6. Hughes has just landed himself on the disabled list with a stress fracture to one of his ribs. He is also going to start wearing glasses to correct his recently diagnosed near sightedness. Kennedy is just one bad start from going back down to the minors. Meanwhile, playing for crosstown rival New York Mets, Johan Santana is 3-2 with a 2.91 ERA and 47 strikeouts.

To many Yankee faithful, including Senior Vice President Hank Steinbrenner, Santana is the fish that got away, with much of that blame placed upon the shoulders of GM Brian Cashman. Steinbrenner was a very vocal proponent of trading for the Cy-Young winner, but Cashman talked him out of it, stressing that Hughes and Kennedy were too talented to trade away. It is certainly still too early to bail out on the Hughes/Kennedy train, as they are just 21 and 23 respectively. Perhaps, though, it is too early for either to be in the majors; perhaps they need more time to develop; perhaps the Yankees needed to show more patience with them. Unfortunately, as Salisbury writes, “The word patience and the name Steinbrenner have never fit well in the same sentence.” Steinbrenner has already started rumbling that he is unhappy with the outcome of the Santana situation and that Cashman’s job could be in jeopardy, which is an annual occurrence in the New York press.

Cashman’s contract is up at the end of this season and if the Steinbrenners decide not to renew it, then he would certainly be a hot commodity in the coming off season. And the Phillies will be in the market for a new GM as Pat Gillick is set to retire this fall. Most likely Phillies President David Montgomery will look to hire from within, either Ruben Amaro, Jr. or Mike Arbuckle. However, Cashman expressed interest in 2005 in the Phillies GM job and if the Phillies decide not promote one of their own, keep an eye on him, as he would be a very intriguing choice.