YANKEE NOTES
The Yankees’ Double-A Trenton manager, Bill Masse, says he has been fired for a reason that doesn’t exist.
Minor league head Mark Newman told Masse on Tuesday that he would not be coming back for a seventh season as a manager in the organization following his second year with the Thunder. A phone call to Brian Cashman followed and what Masse heard from the GM blew his mind.
“Obviously, it’s Cash’s call,” Masse told The Post. “I talked to Cash and I am floored and shocked. According to Cash, I put winning ahead of development.”
According to Masse, not once in six years did anyone suggest he was ignoring the development principles of protecting pitchers’ arms or ignore instructions on where to hit certain type hitters in the lineups.
And Masse said until hearing it as the reason he was boxed, he never heard it this summer when he led the Thunder back from a 1-13 start to win the Northern Division of the Eastern League. Nor was it mentioned to him that he was mishandling pitching prospect Phil Hughes.
“It never came up during the season because it never happened. I didn’t know what to say to Cash because it’s all a lie,” Masse said.
Cashman didn’t return a call seeking comment.
Masse, who admits to wanting to win as much as any manager, believes a personality conflict with minor league pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras led to his dismissal.
“Yeah, there were a lot of things that didn’t sit well with me,” Masse said when asked if he had differences with Contreras. “I hate to be let go for a reason that never happened. That is unacceptable. If it was a personality conflict, I can accept that.
“I told Cash, ‘My main goal was to develop players and you just lost the best guy you had.’ ”
Dave Eiland, Masse’s pitching coach, will be Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre’s pitching coach next season. According to sources, 2006 coach Neil Allen left on his own.
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Johnny Damon said his left knee already was discolored less than an hour after taking a foul ball off it in the ninth inning of yesterday’s 4-3 loss to the Tigers. The Yankees’ leadoff hitter didn’t think it was serious enough to keep him out of tonight’s Game 3.
“Hopefully it doesn’t swell too much and I will be ready to go,” Damon said.
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Gary Sheffield said his surgically repaired left wrist didn’t suffer damage when he collided with 230-pound Sean Casey at first base in the opening inning . . . Chien-Ming Wang didn’t accompany the Yankees to Detroit because he wouldn’t be available until Game 5 at Yankee Stadium.