According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner “provided input” to Brian Cashman just before Cashman executed his first in-season firing of a coach during his tenure as Yanks GM.
Per Heyman, Steinbrenner reached a “tipping point” after the Yanks were shut down by former teammate Jameson Taillon, who tossed eight shutout innings of one-hit ball despite entering the night with a 6.93 ERA.
Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson was fired two days later, and replaced by Sean Casey.
Steinbrenner has said that he will “ask tough questions” if the Yankees miss the playoffs this year, and now that they are four games back of the final Wild Card spot, that disastrous outcome certainly seems possible.
As for Steinbrenner’s reported desire to make a change at hitting coach after Taillon’s gem, that change hasn’t helped the Yankee offense, which continues to struggle brutally against previously struggling starting pitchers, most recently Angels struggling starters like Chase Silseth and Griffin Canning.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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