If I had to give the Yankees’ hierarchy a grade for their post-mortem press conference on Wednesday, it would be a big, fat D — as in delusional.
Here’s a franchise that hasn’t won a championship in 17 years and still doesn’t understand why. When general manager Brian Cashman observed “every year every team’s different … players come and go,” it raised the obvious question:
What’s the common denominator?
It’s ownership. It’s management. It’s the business model that can’t find the right combination of players. But it would be too much to ask owner Hal Steinbrenner to take responsibility for the shortcomings at the top.
That would require accountability that’s been missing for nearly two decades. It’s easier for Steinbrenner to blame the hitters. It’s been the same stale response since 2009.
That’s precisely the description offered by a veteran executive I spoke to on Thursday. He called the Yankees a “stale” franchise.
“Something is holding them back,” the executive said, recalling the era when the Yankees were the envy of the industry.
The most iconic players, the best teams, the fiercest owner. He meant the late owner, George Steinbrenner, who would never forgive his son’s passivity if he were alive today.
Slowly but surely, ever since their last championship, the Yankees have morphed from a baseball dynasty into a slick entertainment brand.
The new Yankee Stadium is a tourist’s dream. The once-a-year visitors are thrilled by the Jumbotron screen and the 90-decibel two-strike Imperial Alarm from Star Wars.
There are the ubiquitous “DAAAAAY-OH,” hand claps, drum rolls, bugle calls and the P.C. Richard strike-three whistle.
All wrapped up in those easy wins against the mostly mediocre American League. Everyone heads back to Iowa happy.
But the real fans can’t be conned. They’re the ones who die a little every October. They’re the ones Steinbrenner needs to reach.
They don’t want to hear that the 2026 Yankees were capable of winning the World Series — those were Steinbrenner’s words — after watching the Bombers fall flat yet again.
And no one wants to hear manager Aaron Boone say, “I believe we can win with me at the helm … I think I’m good at my job.”
Not when he’s failed to win a World Series in his nine years in the dugout.
It’s time for Steinbrenner to ask where his $300-plus-million payroll goes every year. What’s he getting in return on that investment?
If Steinbrenner really wants to know what’s wrong, here’s a roadmap.
Stop Calling Criticism ‘Noise’
That’s how Cashman dismissed the harshest assessments of the Yankees’ failure, but they weren’t coming from WFAN callers or the media. They were from former legends like Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia, Paul O’Neill and Anthony Rizzo.
Just because they’re retired doesn’t disqualify them from pointing out what’s obvious to everyone else. The Yankees are just another contender.
O’Neill said it best.
He told me last week, “You’re the New York Yankees. You’re different because of the tradition and because of the name: New York Yankees.
“You had something to live up to. You were proud about that. Sometimes I think that’s lost.”
Admit The Clubhouse Was A Problem
Boone was defensive about the culture in the room because, let’s face it, that’s supposed to be his strength.
Contrary to what his fiercest critics say, Boone is a smart guy, and he’s quite likeable. But his leadership style is based on permissiveness. That comes with a cost.
The day that Jazz Chisholm was seen with a lollipop in his mouth, Steinbrenner and Cashman should’ve asked Boone how any Yankees could think that was ok.
It’s bad enough that Chisholm could be so unserious about his job. But the fact that Boone didn’t bench him was even more unacceptable. It made this nice-guy manager look weak.
It’s time for Boone to accept that it’s his job to make the players feel uncomfortable when necessary. I can’t help but think of Giants coach John Harbaugh, who’s already benched four players in less than half a season.
Find Players Who Actually Fit
This one is on Cashman — who, like Boone, is more skilled than the haters want to admit. That needs to be said.
But the GM has lost something off his fastball. He’s brought in, or hung onto, too many players who had no business being Yankees.
They had bad energy (Josh Donaldson, Marcus Stroman, Alex Verdugo) or lost their skills by the end (Aaron Hicks, DJ LeMahieu) or were never good enough from the start (Joey Gallo, Ryan McMahon).
Add Chisholm to the list for his unfocused, undisciplined style — “The guy looks like he’s just floating through life,” said one National League scout.
The best word to describe Trent Grisham’s work in center field was lackadaisical. At times, he even looked uninterested.
That led one American League scout to pointedly ask, “When was the last time you saw the Yankees play like their hair was on fire? Maybe (Anthony) Volpe. Maybe the (George) Lombard kid. But otherwise, do the Yankees know what they’re looking for anymore?”
Accountability From the Players Matters, Too
Cam Schlittler is arguably the Yankees’ most honest and accountable player. He’s not afraid to admit when he pitches poorly. He didn’t hold back after the Yankees were swept by the Rays.
“We didn’t show up,” the ace right-hander said.
Quite accurate, even if Schlittler tried to walk back that comment a little later. He was right the first time.
Contrast that with Austin Wells defending his Game 1 baserunning blunder against Tampa Bay. You make a mistake like that in the eighth inning, down by one run, it’s imperative to own up to it.
Wells said he was trying to make something happen, and didn’t entirely regret getting thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. That’s unacceptable from a smart guy like Wells.
Killer Strikeouts
The Yankees struck out 1,480 times — just two shy of the franchise high in the Boone era. This year’s crew would’ve set the record had Game 162 of the regular season against Baltimore not been rained out. (They whiffed 1,482 times in 2021.)
The MLB trend towards contact hitting will eventually impact the Yankees. In the meantime, how’s this for an incentive for the next generation of the Yankees?
No one gets promoted above Class-AA until they strike out fewer than 100 times a season.
Crazy? It might actually work.
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