Debunking 5 common myths about the Yankees, Aaron Judge, Hal Steinbrenner
There’s nothing like the Hot Stove to fuel the obsession of the baseball-starved masses, the ones who happily spend the winter months game-planning next year’s roster. It’s a unique addiction — what other sport keeps its fans in a year-round frenzy — although it’s been a dark off-season for the Yankees community.
On one hand, they’re hoping (praying) Aaron Judge decides to finish his career in the Bronx. Yet, the bitterness of being swept by the Astros still lingers. For some fans, the hard feelings have only intensified.
The finger-pointing is directed at the usual suspects: owner Hal Steinbrenner (aka Mr. Cheapo), general manager Brian Cashman (Mr. 13-year championship drought) and manager Aaron Boone (Mr. Softy). But even Judge (Mr. 1-for-13 in the ALCS) is taking heat.
I understand the rage, but let’s put these myths to rest before they calcify. The Yankees are not a terrible team. Cashman is not incompetent. And Judge doesn’t deserve the derision of being called Mr. May.
Ok, the Bombers are not a perfect franchise. They’re lagging behind the Astros in virtually every category. But some of the narratives on talk radio and social media are too extreme to be ignored.
Here are five Yankees myths that should be put to rest:
The Yankees don’t need Judge.
This one belongs at the top of the list because it’s so ludicrous. To those who think the Yankees should let Judge walk, ask yourself how the lineup is going to replace 62 home runs and 131 RBIS.
Seriously, from whom? From where? The Yankees would’ve never won the division without Judge. He literally carried the team in the second half, even as the world was suddenly breathing down his neck during the home run chase.
Judge is the major leagues’ best allaround player. He didn’t just stumble into the MVP Award — he crushed the voting, placing first on 28 of the 30 ballots cast. Judge plays a stellar right field, runs the bases with precision (16 of 19 swipes) and is their most effective clubhouse leader since Derek Jeter.
The Yankees should pay whatever it takes to keep Judge. We’re looking at you, Hal Steinbrenner.
The Yankees haven’t won anything with Judge, and he was terrible in the playoffs. Yes, he needs to go.
No, he doesn’t. Take Judge off the roster and chances are the Yankees will be an 88-92 win team in 2023. Oh, they’ll dress up the lineup by re-signing Andrew Benintendi and promote the kids (Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera) as the new generation of Baby Bombers
They’ll take a run at Justin Verlander (good luck with that) and try to acquire Shohei Ohtani (who has no desire to play in the Bronx). Plan C is to ditch the kids and go after Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts or Dansby Swanson.
All great players, but the Yankees would still be diminished without Judge, the face of the franchise. Ideally, Steinbrenner signs Judge and a free agent shortstop.
As for Judge’s performance against Houston, I’m giving him a pass for the sheer exhaustion of chasing Roger Maris’ home run record. Think of the what the Home Run Derby does to contestants every year at the All-star Game. They return to their teams gassed. That’s one day.
Now multiple that over two months. Judge was a dead man walking in October.
Hal Steinbrenner is too stingy to bring honor to the family name.
Sorry, that’s a lazy narrative. Steinbrenner spends tons of cash on this team. He’s just not as impulsive as his father, and the Yankees are no longer fixated on being the game’s highest spenders. But that’s not the same as counting pennies.
If you want to say the money isn’t being spent all that wisely — bingo. You have a point. Trading for Josh Donaldson at $25 million per and signing Aaron Hicks for $70 million over seven years were colossal mistakes. But that’s more on Cashman than Steinbrenner.
But the point is, neither one of those trades would’ve happen with a cheapskate owner. Nor would the Yankees have signed Gerrit Cole.
Hal’s real problem is in his messaging: he needs to make Cashman and Boone uncomfortable with losing. The baby Boss shouldn’t be afraid to exert pressure from above — and that includes his players. But his passivity is not the equivalent of shutting the spigot.
Just wait and see how much Judge pulls down from the Yankees. My hunch is they’ll be the top bidders when all is said and done.
The Yankees will never win with Cashman and Boone.
Hold on, what do you think the Yankees have been doing for 24 years under Cashman? And the last five under Boone?
The Yankees have never had a losing season on Cashman’s watch. Boone has a .603 winning percentage. He’s yet to win a title but, hey, it took Dusty Baker 25 years to get there until finally breaking though in 2022.
There’s value in getting to the playoffs every season, don’t diminish that. But I’m not white-washing Cashman’s and Boone’s flaws, either. Cashman should’ve known better than to acquire Joey Gallo. Acquiring Frankie Montas was a stinker too. Donaldson needs to go. But Cashman doesn’t deserve to be replaced because of that, not after a 99-win season.
As for Boone, I’ve always felt he was the perfect manager for a 100-win team. He keeps the clubhouse in a state of harmony, which is not an insignificant skill. I’ve seen great teams turn on each other; the cancer starts with a weak manager whom no one respects. Not so with the Yankees.
What Boone lacks, however, is the harder edge that a 90-win team needs from its manager. Boone is a unifier, a consensus-builder, but so far, he’s failed to be a motivator. This deficiency needs to be addressed, although it’s not a firing offense. Not even close.
The Yankees were swept by the Astros because of injuries.
This misinformation originates not from social media but Steinbrenner himself. More than once this off-season, the young Boss has tried to blame the Yankees’ humiliation in the ALCS on the compromised roster.
Return DJ Lemahieu, Benintendi, Michael King, Chad Green and Ron Marinaccio from the Injured List and the Astros would’ve met far greater resistance on their way to the World Series. That’s what Steinbrenner is selling. It’s possible, but the outcome would’ve been the same.
The Astros were simply the better team. More talented starters up and down the rotation with a lights-out bullpen the Yankees couldn’t touch.
For the sake of his own credibility, Steinbrenner should stop trying to peddle the idea that fate had a hand in the Bombers’ demise. That’s simple not accurate.