Here’s a really interesting read from Full Count Pitch, courtesy of the Baseball Think Factory.

Billy Campione, the writer, attended a WFAN-organized question and answer session with Brian Cashman in which Cashman details the process that led him to hire Joe Girardi as manager.

According to Campione, the interview process took eight hours per candidate and included a written test. An excerpt:

One example cited by Cashman presented each applicant with a statistical breakdown of three anonymous players. They were asked who they would prefer to have on their roster and why. Cashman said some managerial hopefuls were obviously ignorant of what some of the advanced statistical measurements even meant. Another query asked the contender to create a lineup to face CC Sabathia on June 1 using the current Yankee roster. They were then asked what lineup they would use against Sabathia in the playoffs. Cashman found fault with the applicants who would sit their lefties in June yet start them in the playoffs. He wanted a consistent approach to do what it takes to win, regardless of hurt feelings among veterans who may face the indignity of sitting against a tough lefty in the postseason.

Cool.

Now I should mention that I have no idea the process by which other teams hire a manager, so maybe this is standard fare. Plus, I know plenty of Yankee fans who would say that whatever method arrived at Joe Girardi was an imperfect one.

The article mentions that Cashman called Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro, among others, for advice, which lends a lot of insight into why the Indians hired Baseball Prospectus reader Manny Acta this offseason.

And it’s reassuring to hear that at least one team goes through a process like this to make important internal decisions.