Major changes. Yea, we all know this. He have all felt the pain of losses, bad losses for this Yankee team over the last week. And to answer the questions, provide feedback about what their next move is, Brian Cashman talked to the media on Tuesday night ahead of the Yankees 6-5 win against the Blue Jays in Buffalo. The Yankee GM told reporters that the team was his responsibility and it was up to him to figure out what was ailing this them, noting he will not allow them to fail.
“Losing invites scrutiny on us all,’’ Cashman said prior to Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field. “We are all in this together. We made this bed and we’re gonna sleep in it and make sure we find a way to fix this together,” reported The New York Post.
The Yankees are hovering just around .500 and down 8+ games in the AL East. They are hurting for consistent starting pitching, their fielding and base running are atrocious and there is a big gap in center field to fill before the trade deadline.
Now the Yankees have not made a big deal at the deadline since the 2016 trade that shipped out Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran and Ivan Nova. But this year, the Yankees are buyers. Specifically, center field and the starting rotation appear to be two areas in need of improvement."As the July 30 non-waiver trade deadline gets closer, Cashman said he expects more players to become available. If a high-priced addition becomes an option, he said he will go to ownership to see if that player is in the budget," reported the Post.
But adding to the frustration is the lack of fundamental baseball which includes smart baserunning, and clean defense. So, my question is what is the coaching staff doing about that? And who is responsible for ensuring that this team actually takes infield practice and coaches are providing instructional discourse to this team, which includes simulated game play to keep the team sharp.
“We’ve got really good coaches that know what they’re doing and I think we have a really good manager who knows what he’s doing,’’ Cashman said. “That doesn’t mean you’re gonna get the results you want. You’ve got to stay at it. We’re in this together and I’m trying to figure this thing out. We have what it takes in this clubhouse already,” reported the Post
So, my takeaways are this:
1. Cashman is at least talking to the media and facing the music
2. Cashman acknowledges that changes need to be made, noting this was not the performance he was anticipating and will figure out how to go from here
3. Cashman stands by his coaching staff and believes in them
4. Cashman is going to be a serious buyer ahead of the July 30th trade deadline
Not sure I am satisfied, but as I said in point #1, Cashman showed up on the road to address his team, his coaching staff and reporters. He isn't hiding. And I can appreciate that. Now let's see if we get some action to those words and we really do see changes. Otherwise, this is going to be a long summer.
--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
Being buyers means trading low on prospects & overpaying for moves you should have made in the previous off-season but didn't. The only thing that will save the Yankees next couple of seasons is Hal Steinbrenner recognizing that the ship is sinking and intervening. Time to fire Brian Cashman and also Aaron Boone. Many of the other front office advisors and leaders could also be let go at this time. The time is now. Randy Levine should have been fired a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteBuck Showalter should be the next GM. He could also function as the bench coach. He is a baseball lifer and he's the kind of person you want making personnel decisions. Making him a manager is undervaluing what he could bring to the organization and he's at the stage in his career where he needs to lead, not be told what to do by some upstart GM or analytics department.
The Yankees also need an extremely strong personality to be manager. Someone who could end the buddy buddy culture, make sound baseball decisions & deal eye to eye with players and media alike.
The next GM should be Mike Francesa.
Hal Steinbrenner would come off looking like he actually had a backbone and intervened. This would take a very bad situation and charge it with energy and electricity. New York City would be buzzing because of the Yankees (not the Mets, who have quietly become New York's only relevant team)
In order for the Yankees to be the second wild card team they would have to catch the Houston Astros. Houston is presently 10 games over .500 with a differential of +89.
ReplyDeleteThe Yankees are 2 games over .500 with a differential or -6!. Folks, do the math!! Houston is outscoring people well enough to be consistent.
The Yankees are an inconsistent team with many glaring issues. Talk of being buyers at the deadline is foolish. Is Hal Steinbrenner really going to trade assets in order to what? Finish 3rd in the East?
Cashman needs to go. Now! Before him & his circle of analyzics whiz kids with i-pads and subscriptions to FanGraphs can negatively impact the team further.
We're at the point where it's clearly time for an intervention. Failure to intervene between now and the trade deadline makes fixing this team for next season & beyond all the harder.
The Yankees have some really good young pitching coming up in A & AA. Other teams know this and if they're going to sell at the deadline they're going to want prospects.
They don't want Clint Frazier, Odor or any other underperforming Yankee. More than likely teams that will be selling will be building for the future. They are going to want young pitching!
Brian Cashman has no idea what he's doing at this point. He's in total denial which anybody looking at this from the outside can see. Hal Steinbrenner - for the love of God! Please intervene soon.