Time for Hal Steinbrenner to give Cashman an ultimatum
NEW YORK — In the coming days, if it hasn’t happened already, Hal Steinbrenner is going to have a sit-down with Brian Cashman to assess this latest disappointing Yankee season, the 12th straight since they last appeared in the World Series despite having the highest or second-highest payrolls in baseball in all but two of those seasons. During that time, the Tampa Bay Rays, in Hal’s own back yard, have been to the Series once and could very well make it a second time this year, despite payrolls about one-third of the Yankees’.
By this time, one would have to assume one of the questions Hal has for Cashman is: “How do you explain this? How can this team down here in Tampa, which draws 15,000 fewer fans a game than us and has only one long-term contract of $50 million, be so much better than us?” Hal should also want to know how the Yankees under Cashman have sunk millions of dollars into their analytics operation, and are also being so thoroughly out-analytics-ed by the Rays. Another question Hal might want to ask Cashman: Why are the Rays so much better at spotting talent on other clubs?
By contrast, at the trading deadline, two of Cashman’s three acquisitions — the strikeout machine Joey Gallo and mediocre lefty Andrew Heaney - were total busts and Hal would be entirely justified in asking his GM why his people didn’t do a better vetting job about their ability to play in New York?
These are all reasonable questions for Hal as he and Cashman decide the fate of Aaron Boone and how this mess of a Yankee team Cashman put together — so lacking in athleticism and fundamentals — can be fixed. Because if Hal is satisfied that Cashman’s analytics team is doing a good job — even though the Rays are a better team at almost every position except right field and maybe DH - then it really doesn’t matter who the Yankee manager is going to be next year.
In his parting words after the wild card loss to the Red Sox last Tuesday, Boone incredibly said: “The league has closed the gap on us.” For 12 years? He added, “We’ve got to get better in every aspect.” And in that, he was certainly right.
Winning baseball teams are traditionally strong up the middle, and right now the Yankees can list catcher and shortstop as their two primary offseason needs while they continue to delude themselves that Aaron Hicks — who’s played all of 493 games in six seasons for them — is the answer in center field. They also need a left fielder, a first baseman and at least one more quality starting pitcher (which they hope will come from within), all the while wondering if Gerrit Cole might actually be somewhat less of a $324 million ace without the benefit of the sticky stuff.
With all these pressing Yankee needs, it is rather amusing that so many media types are already beating the drums for Hal to extend Aaron Judge a year before he can be a free agent. These are the same people who, last spring, implored Steve Cohen to lock up Francisco Lindor to a megabucks 10-year contract without the benefit of having seen how he would perform in New York. As George Steinbrenner always maintained, when you’re the Yankees, there’s no upside in signing players to long-term contracts before absolutely necessary. With the exception of Goose Gossage (and that wasn’t about money), the Yankees never lose players they want to keep.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if anyone, other than a couple of coaches, is held accountable for this latest championship-less Yankee season. Cashman has one year left on his contract and he’s fortunate that he’s always been considered part of the Steinbrenner family.
But if Hal truly cares as his dad did (and there is some doubt about that) he should give Cashman an ultimatum this winter to re-examine his analytics department and drastically change the complexion of this team - and that once again finishing a distant second or worse behind the Rays with their payroll one-third of the Yankees’, will leave him no choice but to change direction and clean house with his baseball operations.