PAT MURPHY, STOP APOLOGIZING. YOU WERE RIGHT ABOUT THE YANKEES.

I'm getting really tired of this.

I'm tired of people speaking their minds, telling the truth as they see it, and then suddenly backpedaling because somebody got offended. Have the stones to stand behind your words. Own them. Mean them.

Pat Murphy, I'm talking to you.

The Milwaukee Brewers manager was caught on a hot mic telling former Yankee Jake Bauers exactly what he thought about the Yankees and their selfish brand of baseball. He called them out for playing for themselves instead of playing for each other.

And you know what? HE WAS RIGHT.

But now Murphy is apologizing. He called Brian Cashman. He explained himself. He clarified that he wasn't talking about the 2026 Yankees. He regrets what he said.

Seriously, Pat?

Why?

You just won a World Series with a team that understands what winning baseball looks like. You watched your players sacrifice, execute, compete and play for one another. Meanwhile, the Yankees were sitting home again, wondering why their expensive collection of talent couldn't get the job done.

And somehow, you're the one apologizing?

Give me a break.

Here's what bothers me most. Murphy didn't say anything that millions of frustrated Yankee fans haven't been screaming for years. This organization has become obsessed with individual statistics, home runs, contracts and analytics while seemingly forgetting that baseball is a team sport.

The fundamentals stink. The accountability is nonexistent. And the same people keep making the same mistakes while Brian Cashman and company tell us everything is going to be fine.

It's not fine. It hasn't been fine for years.

The Yankees haven't won a World Series since 2009. Think about that. All that money. All that talent. All those promises. And nothing.

Pat Murphy wasn't the problem here. He was simply saying out loud what this organization desperately needs to hear.

And here's another thing. Why is everyone so concerned about protecting Brian Cashman's feelings? Maybe instead of accepting an apology, Cashman should be asking himself why opposing managers look at his organization this way in the first place.

Maybe Murphy should have doubled down.

Because the Yankees don't need another excuse. They don't need another carefully worded explanation. They need someone to look them square in the eye and tell them that what they're doing isn't working.

Pat, you had it right the first time.

Stop worrying about who heard you. Stop worrying about who got offended. You have a championship ring and the credibility that comes with it.

The Yankees have excuses.

And as far as I'm concerned, the only people who should be apologizing are the ones running this once-proud franchise into the ground.

Don't apologize for speaking your mind, Pat. Have the stones to stand by it.

Because every frustrated Yankee fan knows exactly what you meant.

CASHMAN CAN FIND A FLAW IN EVERYBODY EXCEPT HIS OWN ROSTER

The Yankees apparently have concerns about Teruaki Sato’s defense.

Of course they do. Put an exciting player in front of this organization, and somehow the conversation becomes an explanation for why improving the team might be too difficult.

According to a Yanks Go Yard article discussing Joel Sherman’s assessment, questions about Sato’s ability to handle third base could discourage the Yankees from making a major push. That is an insider’s read, rather than an announced organizational decision. But if that thinking guides their offseason, fans should be furious.

Because this is exactly the kind of talent Brian Cashman should be figuring out how to acquire.

Sato, 27, just hit .306 with 39 home runs and 106 RBIs for the Hanshin Tigers. Add 40 doubles, 100 runs scored, a .383 on-base percentage and a .609 slugging percentage. That produces a .991 OPS over 143 games. Those are substantial numbers from a hitter capable of punishing mistakes and producing damage throughout a lineup.

He also won the Central League Triple Crown. The man led his league in batting average, home runs and RBIs. That deserves an aggressive evaluation from a club looking for an upgrade at third base.

Instead, we’re discussing whether the Yankees can accommodate his imperfections.

Funny how that works.

Anthony Volpe is still on this team. Yet a potential addition has to clear an obstacle course of hypothetical problems before the Yankees can imagine putting him in pinstripes.

Volpe gets another opportunity. Sato gets another question.

That is the double standard that makes this front office so exhausting. Cashman’s own projects can remain unfinished. Somebody else’s player apparently has to arrive fully assembled, polished and carrying a certificate guaranteeing nothing will ever go wrong.

Does Sato have risks? Absolutely. His 164 strikeouts in 614 plate appearances deserve attention. Japanese production does not automatically become identical major league production. Nobody should promise 39 home runs in the Bronx because he hit 39 for Hanshin.

But evaluating those risks is Cashman’s job. So is determining whether the bat can outweigh the defensive limitations, whether coaching can help, and whether the roster can accommodate another position if necessary.

A general manager is supposed to solve those problems.

If Cashman’s answer is simply that the fit is complicated, what exactly are the Yankees paying him to figure out?

Sato offers the offensive upside this team should pursue: power, extra-base production and the ability to make a pitcher pay dearly for a bad pitch. A dangerous left-handed hitter deserves serious consideration in Yankee Stadium. The opportunity should excite an organization with championship ambitions.

And if the Yankees conclude he cannot handle third base, they should have a convincing baseball case. Fans deserve more than vague defensive concerns deployed as cover for another passive winter.

To me, Cashman looks clueless when he treats the flaws in his existing roster as manageable while treating the flaws in a possible upgrade as disqualifying.

That approach makes the Yankees look weak. It suggests a front office more comfortable defending its previous decisions than making a consequential new one.

Pursue Sato. Establish his value. Make a competitive offer. Give the scouting and coaching staffs a meaningful role in making the investment work.

Fans are tired of being told why a talented player might fail while watching this organization keep finding room for its own disappointments.

Cashman needs to build a better team. Finding something wrong with every available player is the easy part.

THE YANKEES PUBLIC RELATIONS NIGHTMARE CONTINUES - BUT HAL DOESN'T CARE!

At what point, do the Yankees finally realize there is a serious problem and fix it? A problem that needs action to fix it and not just a bunch of "accountability" babble from Hal Steinbrenner. We've all been waiting for the day when hell freezes over....because that's when things MIGHT change. Maybe? Big fat maybe. Or maybe Hal needs to be blasted some more first.

He's certainly had enough blasting over the years, and especially lately. Here's a very recent breakdown of the Yankees getting criticized:

1. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez got the recent Yankee ridicule started the night the Rays eliminated the Yankees on the Fox Sports post-game show.

2. Then Paul O'Neill gave some pointed commentary to Bob Klapisch on NJ.com HERE.

3. CC Sabathia and Dellin Betances discuss the Yankees that have no standards or expectations of excellence, HERE. 

4. Joe Girardi calls out the Yankees for having no fundamentals and a culture problem HERE.

5. Jorge Posada feels "unwelcome" around the Yankees so he stays away HERE.

6. Last but not least Brewers Manager Pat Murphy calls the Yankees a "horseshit team" HERE.

Sure, Pat Murphy is backpedaling on the "horseshit" comment but he still thinks it. Next up we have Hall of Famer Goose Gossage sharing his thoughts HERE. It's not the first time he's shared his brutally honest thoughts but it is his latest contribution. Sometimes it sounds like he doesn't even like the Yankees anymore, but "I love the Yankees! Are you kidding me? It's this whole regime that I don't like."

Another thing we can all agree on. This regime sucks. No fundamentals, no coaching, lots of coddling and then failure. He's tired of watching it. "Yankees coaches aren't allowed to coach. You get on a player, you're gone. When I was there, I saw the fundamentals were gone and we all know what was going to happen. Look what happened. Gerrit Cole didn't cover first base in the World Series." He's tired of watching the Yankees not do the small things that need to be done over a long season to win.

The older not modern methods that worked are not allowed. The guys that used the old methods and proved that they worked because they won with them can't bring those back either. When they show up as guest instructors they just stand in the corner to watch the analytical nerd methods that produce the same results over and over again.

More and more backlash coming from Yankees past. It all paints the same bad picture - but Hal continues to stand by and do nothing. Is this what rock bottom looks like? Serious question!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj