Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke to the media Monday afternoon, the announcement of which quickly fueled speculation there may be a shakeup of some sort within the organization.
There is not, and in fact, Cashman gave manager Aaron Boone and his staff a vote of confidence, and admitted that he simply didn’t want to “run and hide” from the Yankees’ 5-10 start.
“I don’t want to run and hide from our disappointing play, but I also want to reinforce that we’re not going to readjust our course after 15 games,” Cashman said via Zoom. “We are confident we are going to fire our way out of that start, and hopefully by the end of the month you’ll see a more reflective record that gets confidence back to where it should be.”
When asked to rate Boone’s performance, Cashman’s main talking point was that the skipper is doing everything he can do, and is supposed to do.
“I think we’re all in the same boat – our record is reflective of our organization. Aaron is a piece of that, as am I. Otherwise, he’s doing everything he needs to do and cross-checking all of his duties,” Cashman said. “He spoke to the team last week and engaged the group in a strong way, so he’s doing everything he needs to do and supporting these guys. We trust the abilities of our players, and believe that over the course of time, it will correct itself. I think Aaron is doing everything he can do.”
As far as making changes goes – in the lineup or on the roster – Cashman reiterated that it is up to Boone to “utilize the roster as he sees fit,” and noted that a lot of people are playing below where they’re capable.
That said, Cashman remains confident that despite the struggle, progress will come.
“This is the same squad that dominated Cleveland in the postseason. It comes down to playing to the best of your ability. I think we have great players, and the same core players are still here that have wreaked havoc on many a great pitching staff,” Cashman said. “You get judged on that trophy at the end – it’s hard to get a hold of, we know that, but we’re going to keep taking our shot with what we have. We like what we have, and we’re just not firing on all cylinders or playing good baseball.”
And he’s confident that Boone, and the coaching staff in place, is the right leadership.
“I have a lot of trust in the people we have. I’ve been around the block a long time now, and had a lot of coaches faced with these situations year in and year out. It comes down to putting your players in the best position to succeed, giving them the info and letting them play,” Cashman said. “When you have a talented roster, you want to be able to let them be who they are, plug and play and let them go. I’ve seen a lot of magic along the way. I’m proud of the fact we’ve had a lot of storms hit along the way, and change doesn’t happen without a great deal of effort and though t behind it. We’re not reactive in that way, so our message to our team and our staff is that we do believe in you, and we’re going to get through this together.”
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