This week, reports have circulated that the Steinbrenner boys have made it clear to Brian Cashman that they would like to re-sign him at the end of his current contract, apparently believing that the man who built the disappointingly mediocre 2008 Yankees also has the insight to craft the roster of the (it is hoped) surprisingly good 2009 Yankees. The only thing that’s not clear is why they think that.

No insult to Brian Cashman is intended. He clearly is intelligent and experienced, and is an affable and generally forthright communicator with the public. As with all general managers, he’s made some good moves and some stinkers. He is a perfectly workable general manager, emphasis on general — if you use him for the purposes described on the box and respect the “no user-serviceable parts” warning, he should be perfectly fine under standard operating conditions. Unfortunately, the Yankees are about to enter a period that’s anything but standard, a period in which they may require a complete rebuilding, one that takes not one overhaul, but several. The Yankees will say that they don’t need to rebuild, that they are only a few pieces away — Mark Teixeira, perhaps, or C.C. Sabathia — from being back in championship form. Cashman will say this, and when you hear those words, you should know to a cold certainty that things are going to get worse before they get better. Consider the near-term outlook: Four key members of the team are potential free agents. Arguably none of them should be re-signed based on their age and other limitations; Bobby Abreu (35 next season), Andy Pettitte (37), Jason Giambi (38), and Mike Mussina (39) are year-to-year players at best. Of the regulars under contract, just one, the supremely disappointing Robinson Cano, will be younger than 30 next year. Alex Rodriguez will be 33. Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui will be 35. Mariano Rivera will be 39, and as great as he has been this season, all things must pass. The day of these players is passing and there are few replacements in the system for the position players, while the Yankees have shown little intuition when it comes to turning their prospective pitchers into major leaguers.