Brian Cashman has heard his share of criticism from the Yankee fanbase, which is quick to point out that the longtime general manager has not won a World Series title since 2009, a drought that feels like decades when weighed against the spectrum of much of Yankees Universe, which grew up watching championship celebrations on a yearly basis.
But Cashman resents that criticism, even points out the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal as a reason that he and the franchise should not be hearing that form of frustration from Yankee fans. As he told The Athletic’s Andy McCullough, the 2017 Astros don’t have an asterisk next to their World Series title, but Cashman’s lack of titles in the past decade should have one.
“The only thing that stopped [us] was something that was so illegal and horrific,” Cashman told McCullough. “So I get offended when I start hearing we haven’t been to the World Series since ’09. Because I’m like, ‘Well, I think we actually did it the right way.’ Pulled it down, brought it back up. Drafted well, traded well, developed well, signed well. The only thing that derailed us was a cheating circumstance that threw us off.”
Many thought the Yanks were destined to return to October glory after that 2017 season, when they came one win shy of reaching the Fall Classic with a core of youngsters that Cashman helped assemble in what was a rapid-fire rebuild from just a year before. But Houston knocked them out of the ALCS that season, and again two years later, representing the main obstacle between his team and that elusive title.
For Cashman, looking back on the Astros celebrating twice at his team’s expense, and knowing what he knows now, only adds to his frustration when he hears criticisms.
“We did it all right, by building it to a certain level that could have gotten us to a World Series,” Cashman said. “People are like ‘Oh, we haven’t been to a World Series...’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I don’t think that’s as true a statement as it could be. We had a World Series team. And either you get it done or you don’t. People don’t want to hear that. I get it. But that’s real to me. I think it’s real to all of us.”
Cashman has received criticism for more than the Yankees’ World Series drought. He has consistently peppered questions about the team’s spending habits in recent years, and the team’s seemingly dedicated desire to limit luxury tax penalties while watching big-name free agents sign elsewhere. A large portion of the fanbase wants to see the team fully flex its financial might like the Dodgers, but so far, the team continues to believe it has what it takes to end the dry spell in New York. But whenever Cashman hears about the team’s last parade, he can’t help but fume at the memory of the Astros, and what they did to beat the Yanks.
“I’m past it now,” Cashman said. “But it does bother me when it comes up…I can’t tell you we would have won. I can’t tell you we would have beat the Dodgers. But I do feel pretty confident that [Houston] wasn’t stopping us, if it wasn’t for those advantages.
That’s all.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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