Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman embarrassed themselves and the entire organization this past week. A lot of talk and lip flap to the press... but literally offered nothing about how they are going to change this Yankee team. In fact, Brian Cashman was on his heels the entire time he spoke to the press... totally defensive... gaslighting the Yankee fans that pay thousands and thousands of dollars a year on this team, the tickets, the overpriced food, the merchandise.
In the end, what did we learn? Well, it was more of the same. There are "big changes" coming... but when you listen to them, there is ZERO SUBSTANCE. It's like kicking a can down the road. Sooner or later all you have is a can on the other end of the street, but it's battered and broken down and dented... and nothing else.
That will be the New York Yankees as we start spring training in 2024. There is panic among the top executives in the front office of Yankee stadium. And I will say this again... Despite what Cashman says about utilizing analytics way too much in 2023, it doesn't take more than the eye test to know that that is EXACTLY what the Yankees were doing. There were no gut moves... there was no managing with the eyes... there was none of that, and if there was, Boone is DEFINITELY not qualified to manage.
I am quickly noticing that Brian Cashman doesn't have a baseball mind at all. Brian Cashman's big ideas are quick fixes on guesses when it comes to wrangling players. His trades have been disastrous. His signings have been flops. The other day he mentioned to the press that the Yankees had the largest Scouting department in the MLB. Well, it doesn't show Cashman. You clearly have hired to wrong people.
The Athletic demolished Hal and Cashman almost as bad as BYB does on the daily. Check this out:
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Steinbrenner said in no uncertain terms that changes were coming to the Yankees. When pressed on multiple occasions to provide some clarity, Steinbrenner dodged questions by citing private (meetings)...
Steinbrenner said. “These were private meetings, and they need to stay that way, or else we’re going to have a more difficult time getting things done.”
Steinbrenner was mostly vague about the potential different processes and personnel changes fans can expect in 2024.
“There’s going to be some big changes,” Steinbrenner said. “There’s going to be changes some people might not consider significant, but (Aaron) Judge and I may because we’re doing this every day.”
The most bizarre moment of Steinbrenner’s media availability came when he said the team discussed the importance of bunting back in August. Steinbrenner said manager Aaron Boone raised the point that he believes the team has not taught young players coming up through the minors to bunt enough."
Anyone who has seen this Yankee team understands they are built for home runs, not bunting. Let's also talk about the fact that Steinbrenner just revealed his cards when he offered that the advice of "bunting" came from Aaron Boone who literally has no real baseball mind, and his only baseball moment came when he hit a home run against the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS to advance. What we need to remember about that moment is this; We did not move on to win the World Series... and that moment is so old it's insignificant to the now. The Yankees suck now and so the more the YES network plays that moment as a part of Yankees history, I want to throw a baseball through the television. It no longer matters... one would argue it didn't matter then.
Here's the most outrageous part of Hal's chat. Backing the medical staff:
"...when the Yankees finished sixth in MLB in injury list placements with 28...
“Believe me,” the owner said, “we’ve looked at it and looked at it and there doesn’t seem to be a smoking gun at all. I’m very comfortable with our training staff and very comfortable with our strength and conditioning staff.”
Steinbrenner added that players “really have respect for” the staff."
When leaders aren't ruthless... when leaders aren't honest with themselves or the investors, us fans, a company cannot survive. Sometimes you can't be nice as a boss. Sometimes you need to go hard on the players, the personnel and fire a few people to make an example. Is it fair? No. Is it business? Absolutely.
Hal Steinbrenner will not make the needed fixes to turn this Yankee team around. I know people that have cancelled their season tickets like me, it appears to be the most unrest among some of the greatest Yankee fans on earth, all yearning for the past, when we didn't always agree with George Steinbrenner, but we knew he was in it just like us and he wanted the Yankees close to perfection.
The Yankee fans of this generation are getting hosed. They don't truly know how good we were. They don't understand that the turmoil of the early 70's was to make the Yankees truly great in the late 70's. They don't understand that
Stick Michael was a genius in the early 90s which was why we were so successful on the late 90's and 2000s. And let's face it.... 2009, while a solid team was orchestrated by George because he made huge free agent moves of
CC Sabathia,
Mark Teixeira,
Nick Swisher and
AJ Burnett. But that's where it ends, folks. George is dead and the kid and his pawns are really not sure how to fix the team.
And I guess that's just the way it's gonna be. Buckle up... I see nothing good coming out of this offseason. Just a big headache.
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