CASHMAN: WE ARE GOING TO BE A PHOENIX RISING OUT OF THE ASHES IN '24.

I have never laughed so hard in my life. Well, maybe once. But it was for a good reason and certainly not at the silly little one-liners Brian Cashman is dishing out in Arizona this week to the media. Now, Casey gave a great overview on what has been said by both Cashman and baby boy Hal Steinbrenner in his piece THE NEW YORK SPANKEES. I want to focus on one of the final soundbites that Cashman spooled out this week, “This winter, we go back at the wheel and it’s now about ’24,” Cashman added. “We look to be a phoenix rising out of the ashes to find a way," reported The New York Post. Yeah. Let's pause that for a moment and unpack.

Does Brian Cashman actually think that the Yankees are going to rise out of the ashes to find a way to a pennant? That's like me saying, I am going to a sub four-hour marathon without making any changes to my running discipline, training and work sessions. If the Yankees want to bring change, then they actually need to back that up, not skate the questions of how with nonsense like rising from the ashes. This is not Harry Potter for God's sake. 

“I know people want change just for change’s sake,” Cashman said. “I remember seeing great people walk in and out of this place like Pat Gillick before I got here, a Dick Howser or Lou Piniella, all these guys, because of impatience or we’re not tolerating the ebbs and flow of what the game brings sometimes," reported The Post. I'm sorry, has the last 14 years been just ebbs and flow? These are years we simply won't get back. And the fact that they don't realize this and are staying the course is just making us look foolish.

Cashman has no answers except to say that we need to win more ball games. How Brian? How do you propose the Yankees do that? What is the plan? What is timeline? What are the milestones and expectations? Throwing out silly cinematic lines, similar to the puppet they have in the dugout game after game, just isn't going to be tolerated anymore. I think the Kool Aid tank is empty. No one is buying this. I can't imagine the players are. 

What I hope is that the players take more matters into their own hands. Almost managing themselves and pushing back. Back in the day, we had player managers in baseball. Maybe it is time for that again. Because right now, the narrative isn't being written by the players. It is being written by public relations puppeteers and the last straw is the phoenix analogy.

If I was a free agent, I wouldn't want to come to the Yankees to play. They no longer hold the status they once did. I would rather go play for a manager and organization that backs up their claims to win. Like the Chicago Cubs and their new manager Craig Counsell, or Ron Washington at the Anaheim Angels. Of course, there are the clubs that actually made it to the ALCS and NLCS, and their leadership (minus Houston of course). They are the teams to watch. Backed by leadership, unafraid of change, willing to accept and use their mistakes as opportunities. 

So, until Cashman and his clowns consider some wise words by a franchise herself, Taylor Swift "It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me. At tea time, everybody agrees. I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror. It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero," they will go nowhere but right where they are now. Yea, I can be cute and creative too, Cashman. Stop treating us like fools. 

-- Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof