Any Yankee fans that are hoping for a managerial change shouldn’t hold their breath.
General manager Brian Cashman spoke with reporters for 45 minutes on Tuesday, and the prevailing message was that he, the coaching staff and the Yankees “are in this together,” and Cashman still believes that the Yanks have the right leaders in place to correct what has become a disappointing season for a team that is one loss away from falling to .500.
“We’re in this together,” Cashman said. “I’m trying to figure this thing out. If I can find a way to get some opportunities that present themselves over the course of time, I’ll take that to ownership. But we have what it takes in this clubhouse already. That’s the real question that I don’t have an answer for, why we are where we are today. But we don’t intend to be here in the future, doing the same conversation.”
Asked if Cashman still thinks Boone is the man for the job, the GM noted his lack of in-season changes in the past, while reinforcing that he still believes in Boone, who began his managerial tenure with back-to-back 100-win seasons before hovering near the .500 mark since the start of the shortened 2020 season.
“I think losing invites the scrutiny on us all,” Cashman said. “My best answer to that is that we’re in this together. We made this bed, and we’re going to sleep in it and make sure we find a way to fix this together…we have the same coaching staff and the same manager who has had a lot of success here. Ultimately, we are charged with finding a way to fix what’s ailing us. The ultimate responsibility on that is me.”
A lot of scrutiny has been on the team’s baserunning, as the Yanks lead the league in outs at home plate and outs on the bases, but that hasn’t wavered Cashman’s confidence in the coaching staff, even if fundamentals have appeared to be glaringly lacking so far this season.
“There is not a weak link in that clubhouse that is responsible for that play on the field,” Cashman said. “In a small example, we have the same group of players that have had some baserunning mistakes that right now lead in a bad category. That does not diminish what a good baserunning coach Reggie Willits is. In fact, I would say he’s one of the best baserunning coaches this game has got.”
With his faith still in the current coaching staff, Cashman is now putting the onus on himself to turn the 2021 season around as the Yanks sit nine games back of first place.
“I have told our personnel that I don’t intend to let us fail,” Cashman said. “I will find a way to try to get us back online. I believe every player in that room is capable of more than they’ve provided, in some, not all...we are doing everything in our power behind the scenes to navigate that to get us back online and to consistency in a positive way.”
Despite reinforcing his belief in Boone and company, Cashman consistently reinforced the need for the team to show better results, though he believes the people leading the way are capable of bringing that, and drastic changes aren’t necessary.
“We’ve got really good coaches who know what they’re doing,” Cashman said. “We have a really good manager who knows what he’s doing. That doesn’t mean you’re going to get the results you want. But you gotta stay at it, and they’re doing it, even if the results don’t show it.
“Talk is cheap. Nobody really cares about all the hard work and the good intentions. All they care about, understandably so, is the results, and the results just have failed so far, and we need to get on that winning track and get our numbers where they belong in that win column, and become relevant again. Right now, we haven’t been that relevant powerhouse in the American League, we’ve been anything but.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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