The Houston Astros were crowned 2022 World Series Champions on Saturday night, perhaps only consolation to any fans out there in New York, Philly, and Seattle that hoped their team would lose to the eventual champions.
Quite frankly, though, as of Friday, when Houston still held just a 3-2 lead going back home (where they lost two games in the 2019 World Series in a similar situation) – it seems even the Yankees’ brass believed the ‘Stros were a better team.
“I thought Houston was better team that series and we were the underdog. When we lost, I saw (GM) James Click and talked to (manager) Dusty Baker and congratulated them. I know in the postseason the better team doesn’t always win, but in that series, it did,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman had said Friday. “I wish we gave them a better go of it, but we didn’t. Ultimately the goal is to find a way. I think we did a lot to move from a one-game knockout at Fenway Park last year to the ALCS, but we got swept by a team that has wreaked havoc on us the last number of years.”
Perhaps, both Cashman and manager Aaron Boone noted, had the roster been healthy going into that series, things would have been different, but availability is often the most important ability.
“We have teams on a yearly basis that enter the postseason with a chance to win, but this year we got depleted going into October, so referencing the record doesn’t reflect the talent – it reflected a lot of havoc wreaked on the roster that put us in a position to figure things out,” Cashman said of the Yankees’ second-half swoon and playoff exit. “We were rehabbing our closer, giving at-bats to someone who hadn’t played in 2 months…it is what it is. All hands on deck. We clearly weren’t the defined roster that you know what you’re going to get – it turned into, in certain places, auditions or curiosity and hope for the best. All the players were team first, but no one knew what results would be like. Ultimately, that’s why the second half played out the way it did.”
“It’s not ideal,” added Boone. “In the first half, we had flexibility and good health and consistency. Unfortunately, we were having to try some things on the fly in the postseason and that’s not ideal, but necessary at times. Part of it helped us get through a series, but obviously, you want to roll in with what got you there.”
Both Cashman and Boone agreed that this Astros team had perhaps the best and deepest pitching staff of any of the teams that have knocked them out in recent years, with Boone saying “we haven’t been able to slay that dragon and it hurts,” and Cashman admitting that “I knew we’d have to play our best baseball” to win the series.
That didn’t happen, but the GM can take away some positives from the Yankees’ situation and eventual exit.
“In one case you respect the competition, but it’s not just the Astros – our division alone was the best division I baseball, so I’m proud we got 99 wins fighting through that,” Cashman said. “Teams are getting better throughout the league, so it’s not just the Astros, even though that’s where we fall short. It’s going to come in different forms and fashions, and we need to be in a position to first qualify, and then navigate.”
And as for the skipper, well, he does admit the postseason is always a crapshoot, but adding more teams to the playoff mix isn’t going to change that one way or the other, really.
“There is part of that is luck – it’s a tournament of the league’s best teams, so you try and construct a roster to get there,” Boone said. “It’s hard to get it exactly right because things come up, but you’re trying to build the best team you can, and try and coach them up and prepare them as best you can to be in the best situation to put the odds more in your favor. Sometimes you’re in a better situation come October than others, but I don’t think (expanded playoffs are a factor). Like I said, ultimately, you’re trying to put yourself in the best position and be the best team you can be and win a division. The length and the grind of the season ultimately puts your team in different spots at different times and things come up that alter the equation. You just have to try and put your best foot forward.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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