NFT: Yankees discussion- current failures on Cashman or Boone

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The team was flawed and has been for numerous years. Everyone thought this was going to be a down year before the season started because we didn’t change the team enough to make a difference. Some people were even picking the yanks to finish fourth in the AL East. The Yankees started the season red hot and won a lot of close ball games, which led to irrational optimism, including myself. The Yankees aren’t as bad as we have been since the All Star break but the same flaws that prevent it from being a championship team has struck again. Injuries and no timely hitting, especially with runners in scoring position. This has to go to the architect, not the field general (assuming he is calling the shots and not being a stand-in for Cashman).

In comment 15781956 robbieballs2003 said:

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never understood the "Boone is a puppet" posts, followed by "fire him, his lineups stink".

Boone is just a puppet for the analytics dweebs who make the lineups and put the team together. Cashman would rather cut off his nose to spite his face over Hicks because he signed him to that atrocious contract.

This team has a deeply flawed lineup from a roster constructed by Cashman. Four guys in the lineup are batting below .250 and two of them (Rizzo and Donaldson) were hitting third and fourth in the lineup last night and they're both hitting in the .220's.

Shutout four times in the last 11 games. Sure Gallo was a bust here but there are other guys on the team that cannot hit a lick right now which is indicative of an overarching problem from coaching. Yankees have three hitting coaches on their team, do they do anything?

In comment 15781960 UConn4523 said:

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In comment 15781956 robbieballs2003 said: Quote: ? never understood the "Boone is a puppet" posts, followed by "fire him, his lineups stink".

He is a puppet, which is why my critique is of Cashman. At the end of the day both need to go. The only reason Boone got the job is because during his interview he put a lineup together based off analytics that matched how the Yankees analytics dept.

Blaming Boone is lazy. He's not the reason guys like Torres, Hicks, Donaldson, etc. have been awful at the plate and he can't do anything about Stanton and Carpenter (and now LeMahieu) all being on the shelf.

They can shuffle the lineup any which way. If players aren't coming through with runners on base and the Yanks aren't scoring runs, they're not going to win games.

In comment 15781958 Essex said:

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The team was flawed and has been for numerous years. Everyone thought this was going to be a down year before the season started because we didn’t change the team enough to make a difference. Some people were even picking the yanks to finish fourth in the AL East. The Yankees started the season red hot and won a lot of close ball games, which led to irrational optimism, including myself. The Yankees aren’t as bad as we have been since the All Star break but the same flaws that prevent it from being a championship team has struck again. Injuries and no timely hitting, especially with runners in scoring position. This has to go to the architect, not the field general (assuming he is calling the shots and not being a stand-in for Cashman).

I'm not sure where you're getting the "everyone thought this would be a down year" narrative - I'm pretty sure Fangraphs had the Yankees projected for the highest win total in the AL prior to the season starting. The "4th place" stuff was all coming from hysterical fans who couldn't get over not signing Seager, Correa, Story, etc. Rational minds knew this would be a good team. Championship team? Doesn't look that way right now, but it's also August 16th.

Stanton's presence in the lineup is big and it's notable when he's not in it. It's not a coincidence that the yankees have been woeful offensively since he went on the IL.

Donaldson at #4 is not. Rizzo actually saves his 22% success rate for big moments. Donaldson has a few big hits, maybe.

The constant moving of batters around the lineup is just stupid.

Hicks needs to sit or be released. Locastro would be better in the lineup.

Losing DJLM is huge - that is a killer. Meantime Benintendi should be the leadoff.
Losing Carpenter is a killer.

Maybe:
Benintendi LF
Judge RF/C
Rizzo 1B
??? DH
Torres 2B
Trevino C
Donaldson 3B
IKF SS
Locastro/Andujar CF/RF

The core of the team is Judge, Stanton, LeMahieu. That's not bad. But the failures of Cashman have been big. Gallo, Donaldson, IKF, Hicks all terrible, all brought in by Cashman. Cashman decided it wasn't time to go all in with the team and so we nickeled and dimed at the deadline. Every offseason we nickel and dime. We don't make any big signings in the offseason but we take Donaldson's awful contract. We move a gold glove 3b to play SS. We trade for an injured CFer and are playing the worst CFer in baseball there instead. Upgrades available at AAA but we're playing the 40 man roster long game instead of trying to actually win something this year.

Cashman gets his marching orders from Hal and has clearly promised Hal that a young, cheap core is coming soon. We'll see if he's right. But injuries and regression to the mean have caught up to the Yankees big time. There's no reason to believe they'll win anything meaningful anytime soon.

In comment 15781965 arcarsenal said:

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In comment 15781958 Essex said: Quote: The team was flawed and has been for numerous years. Everyone thought this was going to be a down year before the season started because we didn’t change the team enough to make a difference. Some people were even picking the yanks to finish fourth in the AL East. The Yankees started the season red hot and won a lot of close ball games, which led to irrational optimism, including myself. The Yankees aren’t as bad as we have been since the All Star break but the same flaws that prevent it from being a championship team has struck again. Injuries and no timely hitting, especially with runners in scoring position. This has to go to the architect, not the field general (assuming he is calling the shots and not being a stand-in for Cashman). I'm not sure where you're getting the "everyone thought this would be a down year" narrative - I'm pretty sure Fangraphs had the Yankees projected for the highest win total in the AL prior to the season starting. The "4th place" stuff was all coming from hysterical fans who couldn't get over not signing Seager, Correa, Story, etc. Rational minds knew this would be a good team. Championship team? Doesn't look that way right now, but it's also August 16th. Stanton's presence in the lineup is big and it's notable when he's not in it. It's not a coincidence that the yankees have been woeful offensively since he went on the IL.

He’s right. I was a poster here saying 4th place. I’m sure there were others. That being said, this is Cashman’s mess. If they go down in an ALDS, he’s gotta be fired. If not that, then Hal has to allow him to operate with zero financial restrictions because, as sad as it is to say, Cash has now proven over many years he can’t build a winner with a limited payroll mandate.

Athletic had Yankees 8th in pre season power rankings third in AL East. It wasn’t just “fans.” But that is such a bizarre point to contest in my post, the point I was making was the Yankees are reverting back to the mean of where many thought this team would be. A good, but not great team.
Link - ( New Window )

...why they continue to try to build this team for power at the expense of everything else is unbelievable. 5 years of the same outcome, and nothing changes. This team is built to wow customers and put butts in the seats against weaker opponents. It is and has not been built for playoff baseball in half a decade. I'm still saying they won't advance past the first round of the playoffs. And nothing will change.

I don’t remember seeing you start a thread asking which one was most responsible for their historical start to the season. But as soon as things go sideways, we must blame someone!!!

In comment 15781976 BigBlueShock said:

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I don’t remember seeing you start a thread asking which one was most responsible for their historical start to the season. But as soon as things go sideways, we must blame someone!!!

Because the batting lineup is poorly constructed via how the roster was designed.

In comment 15781978 Costy16 said:

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In comment 15781976 BigBlueShock said: Quote: I don’t remember seeing you start a thread asking which one was most responsible for their historical start to the season. But as soon as things go sideways, we must blame someone!!! Because the batting lineup is poorly constructed via how the roster was designed.

It was constructed this way when they were on a tear. Is Judge batting 8th now or something?

In comment 15781979 UConn4523 said:

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In comment 15781978 Costy16 said: Quote: In comment 15781976 BigBlueShock said: Quote: I don’t remember seeing you start a thread asking which one was most responsible for their historical start to the season. But as soon as things go sideways, we must blame someone!!! Because the batting lineup is poorly constructed via how the roster was designed. It was constructed this way when they were on a tear. Is Judge batting 8th now or something?

The problem is mostly with the BP shiting the bed. Probably have lost 10 games with the BP failures.

I didn't like the batting order when they were winning, but when you win nobody gives a crap. I am not a fan of shifting players every night. O'Neill has said players prefer their spot in the order.

have the autonomy that they once had. As I see it, Yanks problems are the results of a series of poor decisions and disappointing performances. In no particular order:

* Stanton trade. No knock on him, I liked him as a Marlin, but they already had Judge, leaving Stanton as full time DH which we've seen adversely affects his hitting. Add in the injuries and it's a total bust

* Sanchez should have been DFAd. His $$ impact was minimal and then keep Urshela, not take on Donaldson. He's terrible and another year at $25 million.

* Cole is mentally weak, not a true ace. Immensely talented, but as soon as something doesn't go his way he loses his focus.

* Hicks is awful. nothing else to say.

* poor use of organizational talent. This is the big one. I'm all for building from within, but if they're not going to play these guys and give them a shot, then you have to trade them while they're playing well and get some value. Florial is having the season of his life, but they won't play him over Hicks? At least he can field. Shouldn't be difficult to find a reason to put Hicks on the 15 day DL to give Florial a look. Donaldson here taking up space, so Peraza is stuck in AAA. DJLM out and they STILL won't give him a shot.

Heyman wrote that FLA wanted one of either of Volpe, Peraza or Gleyber for Pablo Lopez. WHY NO DO IT?! If you won't play them, trade them for a need. Personally I'd have given them Gleyber in a heartbeat. He'll never be what we hoped. Too dumb, too lazy. And they have DJLM.

Very frustrating.

he is clueless about roster construction...his contract is up, anything less that a WS appearance, and he should be gone.
Boone is no bargain as a manager, fans are tired of listening to his poppycock crap as well...

I'm sorry, there were folks trying to tell us that Hicks was a good ballplayer earlier this year...
People trying to convince us that he gets a few walks and that OBP crap? How about Stanton, I have been saying since they got him, it's a bad contract, some liked to disagree.
Reliability is availability, well he's not available enough!
I might have been happy with Bader if he was available,
no one is sure when that may be either? He's had this foot issue all season. They are hoping he will be available in September? Get Hicks the FOH in the offseason, eat about 10 mill. to get it done. They have eaten money to get rid of
AJ Burnett years ago, and more recently, Brian McCann.

In comment 15781983 Victor in CT said:

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have the autonomy that they once had. As I see it, Yanks problems are the results of a series of poor decisions and disappointing performances. In no particular order: * Stanton trade. No knock on him, I liked him as a Marlin, but they already had Judge, leaving Stanton as full time DH which we've seen adversely affects his hitting. Add in the injuries and it's a total bust * Sanchez should have been DFAd. His $$ impact was minimal and then keep Urshela, not take on Donaldson. He's terrible and another year at $25 million. * Cole is mentally weak, not a true ace. Immensely talented, but as soon as something doesn't go his way he loses his focus. * Hicks is awful. nothing else to say. * poor use of organizational talent. This is the big one. I'm all for building from within, but if they're not going to play these guys and give them a shot, then you have to trade them while they're playing well and get some value. Florial is having the season of his life, but they won't play him over Hicks? At least he can field. Shouldn't be difficult to find a reason to put Hicks on the 15 day DL to give Florial a look. Donaldson here taking up space, so Peraza is stuck in AAA. DJLM out and they STILL won't give him a shot. Heyman wrote that FLA wanted one of either of Volpe, Peraza or Gleyber for Pablo Lopez. WHY NO DO IT?! If you won't play them, trade them for a need. Personally I'd have given them Gleyber in a heartbeat. He'll never be what we hoped. Too dumb, too lazy. And they have DJLM. Very frustrating.

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Your last paragraph RE: Heyman makes me want to scream...
especially because they didn't wind up with their first choice in Castillo (looking dumb so far).
Do you have to keep both shortstops in the minors? Since it's obvious the Yanks really like Volpe...

organizationally, they have CLEARLY taken their foot off the gas - doesn’t the Monty trade make that obvious. Most nights they aren’t even really trying to form their best roster. For the most part, they are taking this month off to get ready for the stretch. It’s stupid. And as a fan it’s weird. But if they are fresh in October we’ll feel good.

It wasn’t all that along ago they seemed like they couldnt lose a game.

He’s the one who keeps Hicks on the roster and kept Gallo on the team for so long. He’s the one who won’t call up the good minor leaguers like other teams do to see if that young talent can give this team a boost. And he sends useful young guys down because they have options even though they’re more helpful being on the team. And trading for guys like Donaldson was terrible. Even at the trade deadline, the Yankees needed to go all on this year and they just kind of went half-in with safe moves.

In comment 15782002 Carson53 said:

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In comment 15781983 Victor in CT said: Quote: have the autonomy that they once had. As I see it, Yanks problems are the results of a series of poor decisions and disappointing performances. In no particular order: * Stanton trade. No knock on him, I liked him as a Marlin, but they already had Judge, leaving Stanton as full time DH which we've seen adversely affects his hitting. Add in the injuries and it's a total bust * Sanchez should have been DFAd. His $$ impact was minimal and then keep Urshela, not take on Donaldson. He's terrible and another year at $25 million. * Cole is mentally weak, not a true ace. Immensely talented, but as soon as something doesn't go his way he loses his focus. * Hicks is awful. nothing else to say. * poor use of organizational talent. This is the big one. I'm all for building from within, but if they're not going to play these guys and give them a shot, then you have to trade them while they're playing well and get some value. Florial is having the season of his life, but they won't play him over Hicks? At least he can field. Shouldn't be difficult to find a reason to put Hicks on the 15 day DL to give Florial a look. Donaldson here taking up space, so Peraza is stuck in AAA. DJLM out and they STILL won't give him a shot. Heyman wrote that FLA wanted one of either of Volpe, Peraza or Gleyber for Pablo Lopez. WHY NO DO IT?! If you won't play them, trade them for a need. Personally I'd have given them Gleyber in a heartbeat. He'll never be what we hoped. Too dumb, too lazy. And they have DJLM. Very frustrating. . Your last paragraph RE: Heyman makes me want to scream... especially because they didn't wind up with their first choice in Castillo (looking dumb so far). Do you have to keep both shortstops in the minors? Since it's obvious the Yanks really like Volpe...

I didn't realize the Marlins wanted Torres, that would have been a NO BRAINER to send him to FLA.

In comment 15782003 wigs in nyc said:

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organizationally, they have CLEARLY taken their foot off the gas - doesn’t the Monty trade make that obvious. Most nights they aren’t even really trying to form their best roster. For the most part, they are taking this month off to get ready for the stretch. It’s stupid. And as a fan it’s weird. But if they are fresh in October we’ll feel good. It wasn’t all that along ago they seemed like they couldnt lose a game.

I’m not buying the “take their foot off the gas” angle. They’ve surrendered the top seed to Houston. Houston is going to spend the month of September battering the AL West, meaning it’s very likely they get the 1. If it comes down to Yanks-Houston, which right now I’m skeptical of, they’re going to have to win games in Houston.

then Mr Cole needs to put on his big boy pants, twice, like he's paid to do. And that needs to happen regardless of who has home field.

In comment 15782032 UConn4523 said:

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then Mr Cole needs to put on his big boy pants, twice, like he's paid to do. And that needs to happen regardless of who has home field.

EXACTLY!

In comment 15781979 UConn4523 said:

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In comment 15781978 Costy16 said: Quote: In comment 15781976 BigBlueShock said: Quote: I don’t remember seeing you start a thread asking which one was most responsible for their historical start to the season. But as soon as things go sideways, we must blame someone!!! Because the batting lineup is poorly constructed via how the roster was designed. It was constructed this way when they were on a tear. Is Judge batting 8th now or something?

Well, yes it was flawed then. That is the point. It wasn’t as good as it was then and it isn’t as bad as it is now. It’s just a flawed product and the average will always lead to good, but probably not great results unless it gets hot at the right time (but the hardest time to do so against better pitching).

I see as the biggest flaw. Ever since Stick left I can’t count more than 1 or 2 that have succeeded. It’s upon us once again and for whatever reason we have to wait for their process to unfold even as we struggle. Forget the numbers, why would you worry if someone gets plucked even though they suck. Your paying them away, move on. At the end last night I actually felt bad for Hicks. No one should have to go through that shit. Let him move on and now that Torres got 2 hits he’ll be batting 4th….During The post game Boone was feeling good about that move. 2 for 26 is it.

both starting and relief pitching was outstanding in the first half of the year and it has gotten progressively worse. The bats obviously had their moments and we are always going to hit a lot of home runs, but don't forget how our pitching was holding up its end of the bargain. Now, because of some varying degrees of slumping by Cole and Taillon specifically, Holmes falling apart and King and Green out for the year--that has changed as well.

I simply think Houston has their number, much like the Yankees did with Boston until the curse was broken. Kinda just is what it is, hoping that one year they break through.

"The Yankees looked into Marlins righty Pablo Lopez, but were asked about Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza or Gleyber Torres."

UGH
Yankees looked into Marlins’ Pablo Lopez at deadline but price was too steep - ( New Window )

was available as a one-for-one deal.

He doesn't say that and Joel Sherman expressly reported something different:

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In addition, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports “The Marlins were asking for Gleyber Torres plus more for Lopez. It was too rich.”

I'm quoting from an nj.com article because the Sherman NYP piece is behind paywall.
nj.com - ( New Window )

Boone is only there to handle media . Cashman has not built any of the recent rosters to win short series playoff games. A lineup of righthanded DH's has failed to produce. In postseason we make hero's out of Cole, Verlander, Charlie Morton...etc...etc...

And we don't have an ACE to compete with opposing pitchers. Cole is good but laid an egg in Boston last year.

A lineup of HR/K sluggers will win many regular season games feasting on scrub teams but will fail every year in postseason. This is on Cashman .

You’re gonna be disappointed. We’re talking about this franchise as it they have been bad the last 5 years. They have been good or very good. Now this mess due primarily to a rash of injuries.

Blaming anyone isn’t going to help anything right now. And it’s august. Wait things out and see how they look come October. It’s still a long season and the good start allowed some wiggle room. Yes it’s bad right now, doesn’t have to stay bad.

are missing the point. Cash has totally bought into the 3 outcomes philosophy- K's, BB or HR. OBP is king. Batting average doesn't matter. Bunting is throwing an out away. Rizzo, a good, solid ballplayer, is certainly capable of hitting for a better average. His role is to hit the ball over the RF fence, and he has changed his hitting style accordingly.

Now, IMO the whole philosophy is problematical and questionable because (a) it attempts to apply the conclusions derived from large sample sizes to situations (an individual game) that are by their nature small sample sizes; (b) it deprives managers of options for in game situations; (c) it seems to ruin some players; (d) it depends on the opponent engaging in predictable behavior (ex. the opposing pitcher doesn't want to walk a hitter. Alas, some pitchers will engage in the unintentional "intentional" walk); (e) over time, I think it makes the hitters passive where they won't swing at strikes, (remember, the walk is considered the 2nd best play in baseball) early in the count; and (f) it's a philosophy from the steroid era which has passed its sell by date as teams have invested in better pitching.

The "build through the farm" philosophy hasn't worked either. It's not hard to see why- predicting who on the farm will contribute on a MLB level is very, very difficult. Even great prospects typically struggle in the majors and many fail. The Yankees have been notorious for pumping up their prospects chances, so I think fan expectations for some of these prospects get out of whack.

Until such time as Cash dumps his devotion to this philosophy, these teams will continue to resemble each other, and they will lose in the playoffs to teams that give their managers options and pitchers who are willing and capable of throwing strikes early in the count and aren't afraid to strategically walk batters.

In comment 15782072 shyster said:

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was available as a one-for-one deal. He doesn't say that and Joel Sherman expressly reported something different: Quote: In addition, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports “The Marlins were asking for Gleyber Torres plus more for Lopez. It was too rich.” I'm quoting from an nj.com article because the Sherman NYP piece is behind paywall. nj.com - ( New Window )

no, I realize that was the starting point, one of the 3, so I would have parted with Torres no question. And again, the point is if your not going to play these guys then you have to trade them before the bloom is off the rose.

In comment 15782078 djm said:

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You’re gonna be disappointed. We’re talking about this franchise as it they have been bad the last 5 years. They have been good or very good. Now this mess due primarily to a rash of injuries. Blaming anyone isn’t going to help anything right now. And it’s august. Wait things out and see how they look come October. It’s still a long season and the good start allowed some wiggle room. Yes it’s bad right now, doesn’t have to stay bad.

They haven't been to the WS in 12 years. It hasn't always been injuries.

Here are the teams who have been to the Series since: SF 3x, Texas 2x, St Lo 2x, Boston 2x, Detroit, KC 2x, Mets, Cubs, Cleveland, Hou 3x, LAD 3x, Wash, Tampa, Atl.

Cashman can't even get the Yankees to the Series, never mind win it, and it hasn't been 12 years of injuries.

because I think a lot of it over the last few years has just been a top down tone that the winning is less important than the money.

But the Donaldson/IFK trade was fucking terrible. I didn't want to see Sanchez in pinstripes anymore either, but Donaldson has been plain awful and it's hard to accept that deal as the one where they were willing to take on $50M of salary commitments.

In comment 15782009 illmatic said:

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He’s the one who keeps Hicks on the roster and kept Gallo on the team for so long. He’s the one who won’t call up the good minor leaguers like other teams do to see if that young talent can give this team a boost. And he sends useful young guys down because they have options even though they’re more helpful being on the team. And trading for guys like Donaldson was terrible. Even at the trade deadline, the Yankees needed to go all on this year and they just kind of went half-in with safe moves.

Couldn’t say it better myself.

It’s not Cashman it’s the players. It’s not the players it’s fhe up and down of a season. It’s not the team it’s us fans expecting too much. It’s not Hal and his billion dollar revenue because we are the oblivious ones giving him the money. Baseball is supposed to be entertaining. If they don’t win, don’t complain.

The is happens every fall where the players just leave the bats at home

In comment 15782106 bigbluehoya said:

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because I think a lot of it over the last few years has just been a top down tone that the winning is less important than the money. But the Donaldson/IFK trade was fucking terrible. I didn't want to see Sanchez in pinstripes anymore either, but Donaldson has been plain awful and it's hard to accept that deal as the one where they were willing to take on $50M of salary commitments.

Bingo. If it's about $$, isn't it better to eat Sanchez $9 million than pay $50 million to Donaldson? Totally illogical.

In comment 15782149 Victor in CT said:

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In comment 15782106 bigbluehoya said: Quote: because I think a lot of it over the last few years has just been a top down tone that the winning is less important than the money. But the Donaldson/IFK trade was fucking terrible. I didn't want to see Sanchez in pinstripes anymore either, but Donaldson has been plain awful and it's hard to accept that deal as the one where they were willing to take on $50M of salary commitments. Bingo. If it's about $$, isn't it better to eat Sanchez $9 million than pay $50 million to Donaldson? Totally illogical.

there wasn't anything to eat on Sanchez. He was an arb guy, they could have just non-tendered him and let him walk. His money is actually irrelevant.

But yeah -- THAT's the one that you walked into Hal's office and convinced him to take on the $50M bucks for? Yikes.

Interesting thought I had - the Yankees aren't purposely losing but they don't seem to eager to shake things up. Supposedly Stanton is healthy and they're being overly cautious.

Cashman's contract is up this offseason, I wonder if he's feeling heat and is doing everything to ensure the team is 110% healthy for the postseason. Maybe his job depends on it.

The Yankees are 10 games up and heading for a 1st round bye...

In comment 15782137 Jim in Hoboken said:

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It’s not Cashman it’s the players. It’s not the players it’s fhe up and down of a season. It’s not the team it’s us fans expecting too much. It’s not Hal and his billion dollar revenue because we are the oblivious ones giving him the money. Baseball is supposed to be entertaining. If they don’t win, don’t complain.

Says the chronic complainer…

In comment 15782151 bigbluehoya said:

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In comment 15782149 Victor in CT said: Quote: In comment 15782106 bigbluehoya said: Quote: because I think a lot of it over the last few years has just been a top down tone that the winning is less important than the money. But the Donaldson/IFK trade was fucking terrible. I didn't want to see Sanchez in pinstripes anymore either, but Donaldson has been plain awful and it's hard to accept that deal as the one where they were willing to take on $50M of salary commitments. Bingo. If it's about $$, isn't it better to eat Sanchez $9 million than pay $50 million to Donaldson? Totally illogical. there wasn't anything to eat on Sanchez. He was an arb guy, they could have just non-tendered him and let him walk. His money is actually irrelevant. But yeah -- THAT's the one that you walked into Hal's office and convinced him to take on the $50M bucks for? Yikes.

EVEN WORSE!

In comment 15781974 rnargi said:

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...why they continue to try to build this team for power at the expense of everything else is unbelievable. 5 years of the same outcome, and nothing changes. This team is built to wow customers and put butts in the seats against weaker opponents. It is and has not been built for playoff baseball in half a decade. I'm still saying they won't advance past the first round of the playoffs. And nothing will change.

It's all about Cashman -- again. Don't the analytic guys work for him? Exactly what factors they look at and weigh and how (and can show Cashman and Boone) when making recommendations is not knowable, I guess. One doubts it is all just about power when it comes to batters, though, ignoring fielding for a sec, which of course has to be taken into account, too, just as personality, discipline, and age do. Pitching is a whole other set of factors, one that cannot be quite right for the Yanks since they just got rid of a pretty good SP for a new not so good SP and bad RP. Finally the owner's bank account and stature also have to play some part in this -- both damaged notably in the case of Cashman's embarrassing Hicks contract. One hopes the owner is paying some serious attention to all this and to who might be available as a new, better manager.

They all stink.

And before you try to blame it all on Cashman, remember, Boone has totally destroyed his bull pen by overuse for two seasons in a row.

Brian Cashman and to a lesser extent Randy Levine are the reason the Yankees are what they are. Not Hal who basically just signs the checks to the budget he approves and has spent over 2 billion dollars in salaries over the past 10 years which usually buys a playoff spot in MLB but nothing more when your GM and team president are incompetent. IMO Brian Cashman is the biggest problem. Levine is a political hack and starf**ker with no baseball background he shouldn’t be anywhere near the baseball operation but Hal is weak so it is what it is.

Brian Cashman has been and is a slow to trend follow GM who has proven to be a poor talent evaluator, awful at resource allocation and worst of all, he has no balls.

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What could’ve been. Right-hander Luis Castillo turned in his third straight strong start for the Mariners, striking out nine batters over six innings Monday in Seattle’s 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Castillo has made three start since the Mariners acquired him before the trade deadline from the Cincinnati Reds. He’s 1-0 with a 2.18 ERA, collecting 24 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched. The New York Yankees made a push to trade for Castillo but ended up watching him go to Seattle for a boatload of prospects.

What MLB GM couldn’t make the playoffs with this spending by their owner for a decade plus? What owner would authorize that amount of spending over that time and keep the same GM in place with zero World Series appearances? Cashman’s contract expires the day the Yankees get eliminated this year. How does Hal justify another contract for Cashman if the Yankees don’t make the World Series again? Where is the accountability?

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YANKEES PAYROLLS 2012-2022 (MLB rank) Year Competitive Balance Tax 40-man roster 2022 $259,310,834 (3) 2021 $208,418,540 (4) 2020 $239,823,270 (1) 2019 $234,570,109 (3) 2018 $192,980,833 (6) 2017 $224,224,707 (2) 2016 $243,793,306 (2) 2015 $241,217,569 (2) 2014 $225,653,896 (2) 2013 $234,227,890 (2) 2012 $234,439,158 (1)

The Red Sox use of analytics in the early 00's caught Cashman with his pants down and let them pass the Yankees. It's Red Sox 4 Yankees 1 since Theo brought in Bill James and changed the way the Red Sox built their teams. The typical Yankees/Cashman response of trend following was to swing wildly away from a scouting based org and spend enormous amounts of money to build their own analytics department. But they suck at interpreting the data to this day because they don't use enough human scouting with it.

There are so many examples of this kind of GM malpractice but let's take a few recent glaring ones.

Clint Frazier and his legendary bat speed.

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"Frazier has an electric bat," Cashman said. "His bat speed is already legendary. He's got all the tools --he can run, he can hit, he can hit with power, he can play all three outfield positions. A very exciting, high-energy guy that shows up for the National Anthem in a dirty uniform."

Didn’t anyone working for the Yankees know who Clint Frazier was before Cashman traded for him? Cashman had no use Frazier as soon as he met him. If you’re going to play for the Hal Steinbrenner/Cashman Yankees you can’t stand out, can’t have a non corporate personality, no loose cannons or fun allowed. Whether you think that’s a good thing or a bad thing it’s a fact. The Yankees have gotten so corporate and so boring that Cashman spent 50 million dollars to trade for the corpse of Josh Donaldson so he could bring some “edge”. The Yankees owe Donaldson almost 30 million next year. Anyone want to see another year of Josh Donaldson? Anyone think this trade was a good idea when it was made?

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“He's got a chip on his shoulder that he brings every day; he’s an uber-competitor who is not afraid, and maybe that’s something we were lacking,” Cashman told Meredith Marakovits on YES. “He’s definitely got an edge to him, and maybe that type of personality will be good for us. He’s been wreaking havoc, but the big thing for him is health – when he’s healthy, he can do a lot more than what we’ve seen in the past. We appreciate what Gio has done, but he’s not Josh Donaldson.”

2022 Salary G@3B PA HR AVG OBP SLG wOBA wRC+ WAR
Donaldson 21M 70 389 11 222 306 386 305 99 1.4
Urshela 6.6M 92 358 11 261 304 429 315 105 0.8

Next year the Yankees owe Donaldson almost 30M including his buyout. Gio has no contract for next year. He's a free agent.

Cashman was right I guess Gio is not Josh Donaldson but you could make a good case at 1/3 the 2022 salary he’s better and the twins owe him nothing when the season ends.

IMO 90% of MLB managers don't matter much at all over 162 games. Occasionally a team has manager that helps them win like the Mets and occasionally a team has a manager that is the reason they don't win more like the White Sox. But it's pretty rare that a MLB manager makes any difference. See Joe Girardi Yankees and Joe Girardi Phillies. IMO Boone is JAG. He doesn’t matter either way.

Gleyber Torres plus is too much for 26 year old Pablo Lopez? A smart GM would have dumped Torres at this years deadline before his value due to service time drops even more. I wanted the Yankees to trade him 3 years ago. He's a good player with a low baseball IQ. Nothing special. The farm system has several middle infielders that could replace him at a very low cost. Torres is about to get expensive and Hal/Levine/Cashman have such a top heavy roster of older players that inexpensive youth is exactly what they need to be adding where they can.

That’s before we even discuss the fact that the best player the Yankees have developed since Derek Jeter is a free agent and can leave with only a draft pick as compensation once this season ends. Look at those payrolls. Look at this roster and what’s on the books going forward. What owner would give this GM another contract if the Yankees are an early out in the playoffs again this year?

especially "Gleyber Torres plus is too much for 26 year old Pablo Lopez? A smart GM would have dumped Torres at this years deadline before his value due to service time drops even more. I wanted the Yankees to trade him 3 years ago. He's a good player with a low baseball IQ. " Torres is dumb and lazy.

And as I said earlier, if you're not willing to bring up these prospects and play them, you have trade them before the value is gone.

In comment 15782490 Victor in CT said:

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especially "Gleyber Torres plus is too much for 26 year old Pablo Lopez? A smart GM would have dumped Torres at this years deadline before his value due to service time drops even more. I wanted the Yankees to trade him 3 years ago. He's a good player with a low baseball IQ. " Torres is dumb and lazy. And as I said earlier, if you're not willing to bring up these prospects and play them, you have trade them before the value is gone.

Always hold on too long. Refused to trade Andujar and now look at his value.

since mid-May. He has won one of his last six starts.

He did get off to a great start this year, and that might be all that those with a short attention span can remember.

But he hasn't kept it up. And no one here knows what the Marlins were asking in return.

Yanks' problem has been hitting and Torres is all the more needed with DJL out. Andujar is an example of the fact that Triple AAA stats do not necessarily translate to the Show.

and pitching. The Yankees macro problem is that they have an old expensive top heavy payroll team and their farm system never produces anyone that can help the MLB team. Lopez is a better pitcher than anyone the Yankees have except Cole and Cortes this year. Including Montas who has been a disaster since he was traded for.

For several years now, they seem to be poorly constructed, which is on Cashman. Even at that, Boone's lineups and bullpen decisions leave a lot to be desired several times a week.

In comment 15782595 arniefez said:

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and pitching. The Yankees macro problem is that they have an old expensive top heavy payroll team and their farm system never produces anyone that can help the MLB team. Lopez is a better pitcher than anyone the Yankees have except Cole and Cortes this year. Including Montas who has been a disaster since he was traded for.

Yes, you can find issues wherever you look, but subtracting a major league bat from the hitting side would be a questionable tactic the way events have developed.

Montas and Lopez have almost the exact same metrics overall in 2022: ERA, WHIP, FIP SO/9. The difference is that Montas has been pretty much steady all year, while Lopez was very good early on and very mediocre since mid-May.

I'd have no doubt that, in trade talks, the Marlins were trying to price Lopez as the guy who was pitcher of the month in April.

Montas has two starts with the Yanks, one of which was the 3-2 win in Boston that is the only game the Yanks have won in the last six.

In comment 15782595 arniefez said:

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and pitching. The Yankees macro problem is that they have an old expensive top heavy payroll team and their farm system never produces anyone that can help the MLB team. Lopez is a better pitcher than anyone the Yankees have except Cole and Cortes this year. Including Montas who has been a disaster since he was traded for.

Never produces or they never give anyone a chance to help? Florial, this year, wouldn't have made a ton more sense than Locastro or Gonzalez in the OF? Peraza wouldn't have made sense while Donaldson was in the toilet, IKF was struggling in the field and meh at the plate, and Torres a K machine?

if it was up to me 2 or 3 of the AAA players would be playing in MLB and I'm not including Schmidt or Marinaccio. IMO Florial, Cabrera and Peraza would contribute a lot more than the three players they would replace.

a Yankee works more against the players then it does for.

The amount of pressure on Montas right now is something he has never been a part of before.

There needs to be a acceptance for an adjustment period otherwise the fans and media will crush these guys.

Just my outside view point.