Brian Cashman is looking at Yankees’ disastrous issues all wrong

SAN ANTONIO — Brian Cashman kept defaulting to nan large picture. Yes, location were problems successful basal areas connected defense and particularly baserunning, but that successful nan GM’s position did not forestall nan Yankees from being a terrific squad that reached nan World Series.

But it judge did a batch to support them from winning nan championship. The Yankees coughed up Games 1 and 5 to nan Dodgers pinch unsound play, which Cashman acknowledged connected Tuesday astatine nan GM meetings by saying, “Our crippled didn’t show up erstwhile it counted nan most.”

Except location are times your crippled doesn’t show up because shot is fickle, and successful a short burst, nan champion teams tin look unspeakable and vice versa. But what nan Yankees suffered successful blowing Games 1 and 5 to nan Dodgers was not mercurial. It was predictable. They never cleaned up nan finer points of nan game. If anything, they worsened arsenic nan play progressed. This was not an October problem aliases a World Series problem. You could spot this mounting from April onward.

“I said we had a struggle pinch our baserunning this year,” Cashman said. “We were a bad protect team, without a uncertainty astatine times this year, but we also, erstwhile you return it all, adhd it each together, we were a really bully shot squad that earned nan correct to triumph nan American League and get each nan measurement to nan World Series, and we’re really ace proud astir it.”

He’s nan designer of this and, thus, I understand his pridefulness — and defensiveness. Cashman was feisty astatine these aforesaid meetings past twelvemonth aft a playoff-less 82-80 play he himself termed a “disaster.” Cashman defended his lieutenants and nan organization’s processes, insisting nan Yankees were an elite cognition and that would beryllium proven out. And he utilized nan connection “vindicated” a twelvemonth later.

But harping connected nan basal shortcomings made Cashman feisty again. Nevertheless, they were worthy harping on. First, because nan Yankees are bully capable to triumph it each and authorities annually they are title aliases bust. Thus, nan modular they should beryllium held to is nan highest and not, say, nan middling betterment we mightiness spot adjacent twelvemonth from nan White Sox. Second, while of people Cashman is correct that each players person strengths and weaknesses and nary roster is without defect, for $300 million-plus nan Yankees should not person had specified a glaring deficiency of fundamentals. The Dodgers play successful nan aforesaid stratosphere and spell talent for talent pinch nan Yankees, but they besides played a cleaner marque of nan game.

Joe Kelly, a Dodger reliever who was inactive successful nan postseason, clobbered nan Yankees connected a podcast arsenic nan eighth- aliases ninth-best squad successful nan playoffs owed to their basal shortcomings. Cashman dismissed it, saying nan disapproval felt “personal.” Cashman said he reached retired to Dodger officials who did not corroborate that viewpoint. But I will guarantee that nan Dodgers’ pre-World Series scouting appraisal was that nan Yankees were talent complete fundamentals and that putting unit connected nan Yankees would lead to blunders.

Which brings america to nan 3rd logic I americium harping connected this — what happened ALL YEAR positive successful nan World Series cannot beryllium retroactively changed. But it tin beryllium learned from. Cashman made it beautiful clear that he is an admirer and protagonist of Aaron Boone and intelligibly wants him backmost to grant astatine slightest his 2025 action if not more, pending ownership support (and ownership has ne'er deviated from really overmuch it likes Boone).

Historically, location is simply a tolerance for beingness miscues for illustration Aaron Judge dropping a alert shot — nary matter really routine. But intelligence errors are thing else. And intelligence errors bespeak upon a head and his coaching staff. And this was a Yankee play of nan absent-minded and deficiency of item and adjacent indifference to nan regular excessively often.

Cashman said nan Yankees will “target each area of weakness” to effort to amended adjacent year. This can’t conscionable beryllium articulator work astir playing nan crippled amended and tighter. Yes, Job 1 is trying to support Juan Soto, and nan bullpen has to beryllium refashioned and nan area infield fixed. But, again, nan Yankees should beryllium reasoning of having it all.

And Cashman was again protect connected each of this arsenic questions mounted connected nan basal issues. He pointed to nan World Series appearance. He noted that galore of those asking questions had picked nan Yankees to triumph nan title (I didn’t, if that matters), arsenic if those inquiring being incorrect someway disqualified them from delving into Yankee shortcomings. He dismissed nan Yankees being 7-0 successful playoff bid vs. nan AL Central since 2017 and 1-7 vs. everyone other arsenic “silly” alternatively than schematic of nan type of teams nan Yanks tin and can’t hit successful October. He said nan Yankees “baserunning program” was “considered 1 of nan champion successful nan business” contempt nan results successful nan fields being atrocious and backed it by saying nan organization’s baserunning caput Matt Talarico is being interviewed by 3 different teams.

Again, I get nan defensiveness. Cashman is very successful astatine his job. His labor respect him for really overmuch he protects them.

But this has to beryllium a deep-breath infinitesimal for him and nan organization. Not to de-emphasize elements that are much adjuvant to winning, specified arsenic talent accumulation and hitting homers connected discourtesy and missing bats from nan mound. Instead, nan problem existed each year. It did not get capable attraction and surely not capable correction and it was different benignant of “disaster” successful nan end.

The Yankees don’t person to determine connected Soto aliases sound play. They should beryllium doing everything imaginable to guarantee some moving forward.