Brian Cashman is a bust. And so is Hal Steinbrenner
Stretch worse than mid-60s Yankees
Good morning, all and happy Monday!
As we continue to clean up from that massive storm that swept through my neck of the woods in Connecticut, there is one MLB club in major need of a clean up - the New York Yankees. When the Yankees lose two-out-of-three at home to their favorite punching bag, the Minnesota Twins, that should trigger alarm bells everywhere.
The cost to attend Yankees games is exorbitant. The price for a subscription to their YES network, where more-and-more of their games are not being televised, is nearly prohibitive. The product they put on the field is becoming an embarrassment. The starting lineup fielded by the Yankees against Minnesota, in yesterday’s 6-1 loss, featured no .300 hitters. The highest average was Ben Rice’s .267, while seven hitters were batting below .250, including catcher Austin Wells, who was batting .154. It’s no wonder when YES shows the Yankees lineup, they post the hitters OPS, although those numbers are nothing to be excited about either.
We are not talking about your run of the mill losing streak all clubs can expect, during the course of a 162-game season. The Yankees have now lost nine of their last 10 games, which includes their horrendous seven-game losing streak. They are 4-13 over their last 17. To put it in perspective, when the Yankees dynasty of the 1960s collapsed, following the 1964 World Series, the 1965, ‘66 and ‘67 Yankees, never lost nine-of-10. And those teams all had losing records with the ‘66 Yanks finishing in last place. Mickey Mantle was in a precipitous decline, Roger Maris was a shadow of himself and the offensive was practically nonexistent, until this season’s offense. The current Yankees offense makes those losing 60s clubs look like Murderers Row.
What we are witnessing here is not a club going through a bad spell, but a team that has become easy prey for opposing pitchers. They are exposing the weaknesses of suspect hitters up-and-down the order.
Critics of the team like to blame both manager Aaron Boone and GM Brian Cashman for the club’s current championship drought. The once mighty Yankees have not won a World Series since 2009 and been to just one Series since in 2024, when they were embarrassed by the Dodgers in five games. I’m not the biggest Boone fan but the organization’s failures fall squarely on Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner. Unless the Yankees pull off a miracle - and I do not see that happening - Cashman should be fired! Given the boot! Shown the door! Gone!
The only reason the Yankees are even in the postseason conversation is because the American League is mediocre and the current playoff system rewards mediocrity. But make no mistake about it, this is Cashman’s mess and has been for nearly three decades.
When Cashman became the team’s GM in 1998, all he had to do was stay out of the way. He did, as those Yankees clubs dominated the landscape. Since then, it’s fair to say his baseball acumen is suspect. And that’s being kind. He had to buy that 2009 World Series, but his record of drafting and developing players has been nothing short of abysmal. To wit:
The signing of Jacoby Ellsbury was a bust.
The trade for Curtis Granderson was a bust.
The firing of Joe Girardi and the hiring of Aaron Boone was a bust.
Most recently the drafting and development of Anthony Volpe has been a bust.
Jason Dominguez, who was supposedly the next big five-tool player, has been a bust.
Catcher Austin Wells has been a bust.
Spencer Jones has been a bust.
Second round draft pick, pitcher Brandan Beck has been a bust. The Twins hit him Saturday like they were taking batting practice.
The signing of free agent Cody Bellinger, after the Yankees traded for him last year, may turn out to be a bust.
The trade for Jazz Chisholm has been a bust
The trade for reliever Camilo Doval has been a bust.
The trade for Giancarlo Stanton has been a bust.
The signing of oft-injured free agent pitcher Carlos Ródon has been a bust.
The signing of free agent pitcher Max Fried, may turn out to be a bust. Steady at best last year, he flopped in the playoffs and has been on the IL this season since May 15.
Despite winning a Cy Young award, Gerrit Cole has been mediocre at best. I refer you to the one-and-done playoff start against the Red Sox in 2021 or anytime a big game is on the line. Cole is not the lights out pitcher he was with those dominant Houston Astros teams.
The plan to convert pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange, who is consistently clocked at over 100 MPH, from starter to reliever has been a bust. Lagrange has come down with shoulder problems and will be out for at least six weeks. Figure he is gone for the season.
The pitchers who have undergone arm surgeries, during Cashman’s reign, are too numerous to mention. Put that down as a bust.
Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice you say? We will see. Schlittler has not been himself in his last three starts and Rice is being exposed with no Aaron Judge to hit behind him
Cashman’s so-called baseball kitchen cabinet, comprised of former big league general managers Brian Sabean, Jim Hendry and Omar Manaya, has also been a bust. Maybe there is a reason their former clubs showed them the door.
I do not want to hear about the Yankees injuries. Despite winning three MVPs, Judge has had a history of being injured, and is now on the downside of his career. Injuries are a part of the game and good general managers build depth. The Yankees have little depth. As putrid as Wells has been, he looks like Jorge Posada when compared to his backup Ali Sanchez. And are you telling me, because your number one draft pick Spencer Jones has been a bust, the best you can do is washed up Athletics utility player Max Schumann?
In case you missed it, the National League Rookie of the Month for June was TJ Rumsfeld of the Colorado Rockies, the former Yankee prospect, a left hand hitter with power, who has the perfect stroke for Yankee Stadium. Who did Cashman get in return? Hard-throwing reliever Angel Chivili, who has been on the 15-day IL twice at AAA. New York has just called him up for another try.
The Yankees play at first place Tampa Bay for a four-game series, starting tonight. Anything less than a series split will only make the drumbeat for Boone’s removal grow louder, but the reality is this all falls on the GM and the owner.
I can go on-and-on about Cashman’s failures, which far outnumber his successes. In truth he should have been gone a long time ago. With the resources the Yankees have, they should be right up there with the two-time defending World Champion Dodgers, baseball’s biggest spenders. Instead, they are barely holding on against Tampa Bay, a club with one of the lowest payrolls. This is all on Cashman and his boss; every bit of it. Like the players he has drafted, like the trades he has made, like the free agents he has signed, Brian Cashman has been a bust, and so has Hal Steinbrenner for allowing this charade to perpetuate.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a marvelous Monday!
DAN