CASHMAN & BOONE SAY THAT PITCHING DID NOT COST THE YANKEES THE SERIES

Source: Forbes.com

I can barely get that headline out of my mouth let alone stroke them on the keyboard.  Are Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone out of their minds?  Seriously? Now I have heard everything.  Get a load of this nonsense courtesy of the New York Post:

"Pitching is not what cost us that series with the Astros, at least in my opinion,’’ Cashman said. “I felt that our hitting with runners in scoring positions is what sent us home.” Okay, it does take two to tango but the pitching put us in undesirable positions of which hitting could not undo.  Even DJ LeMahieu, who was nothing short of stellar, couldn't do enough to carry us to victory.  But, okay, let's blame the hitting.

Source: N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg 

According to the Post, "Manager Aaron Boone said he didn’t think they needed an additional ace to win a championship next year." Another bold and ridiculous statement.  We need starting pitching.  We've needed pitching since 2010 and we waited, and waited, and waited and nothing. We picked up some pitching here and there.  We built up the bullpen.  But we do not have rock star pitching.  We have opening act pitching and that is simply not enough.

Source: SNY.com

"In the five games the Yankees used a regular starter in the ALCS, those starters had a 2.28 ERA. They didn’t get much length — both Paxton and Severino having short outings, while Green flopped as the opener, when he allowed three runs in the first inning of Game 6," reported the Post.

Source: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports 

And rumors have the Yankees signing a big time pitcher in the off season to make up for another failed season for the Savages.  Could this signing be Gerrit Cole? "Coming off a season where he had a 2.50 ERA and 0.89 WHIP with an astounding 326 strikeouts in 212.1 IP, Gerrit Cole will hit the free agent market this offseason as the biggest starting pitching prize. The Yankees, again being second-guessed for their lack of reliable top of the rotation pieces after another playoff ouster, could be among the teams competing for Cole's services," reported SNY.com.

Source: NY Times

We never had a fully functional starting rotation.  CC Sabathia tried to push out one more season and he did okay through about July but his body could not sustain anything more.  Luis Severino was out the entire season.  James Paxton got hot in August.  J.A. Happ just is not consistent.  Masahiro Tanaka needs six days rest to be great.  And I won't even mention the other starter in this piece.  We need starting pitching and if Cashman and Boone want to bring home a championship in 2020, they better stop their ignorant banter and get out there and get some.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof