In his first interaction with the media since August, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman did not mince words, addressing the team’s turbulent 2023 season during an intense one-hour press conference.
The seasoned shot-caller vehemently defended the Yankees baseball operations, slamming critics for their perceived attacks on the team’s management and player development.
With an animated demeanor, Cashman reiterated the need to separate facts from “bullsh*t,” asserting that critics had unfairly maligned the team during a challenging season.
“I’m proud of our people and proud of our process … It doesn’t mean we’re firing on all cylinders. It doesn’t mean we’re the best in class. But I think we’re pretty f*cking good,” he said.
That comment right there is why the vast majority of the Yankees fan base is disgusted with Cashman and the direction the franchise has been heading.
There is a clear arrogance and entitlement within the organization despite them routinely underachieving year after year after year.
Cashman, like Hal Steinbrenner had earlier in the day, pushed back on criticisms of the Yankees analytics department or that the team has leaned too heavily on analytics.
He cited the Yankees having the smallest analytics staff in the American League East and the largest pro scouting department in the majors.
“Is that a shocker to everybody?” Cashman said. “Shouldn’t be, but no one’s doing their deep dives. They’re just throwing ammunition and bullsh*t and accusing us of being run analytically.”
“Analytics is an important spoke in our wheel but it should be in everybody’s wheel and it really is. It’s an important spoke in every operation that’s having success. There’s not one team that’s not using it … We’re no different.”
“But to say we are guided by analytics as a driver, it’s a lie,” he added.
“Obviously got a lot of injuries that took guys offline, and then we had underperformance in certain areas, too. That’s what added up to our 82-win season, and more so than anything else, but there’s a lot of narratives that got carried away in my opinion, and a lot of people that have been unfairly portrayed in my opinion.”
“The same people that were responsible for us having a lot of success are somehow being focused as the blame game for the reason the 2023 season went south,” Cashman said.
“I think you can start unpacking all of a sudden there’s a lot of discussion about player development and how we develop our players and analytics, and then it’s like, you got to come back to why did we lose and why do we have such trouble with many of the same players coming back that won 99 games last year with bringing certain guys into that roster mix.”
Cashman has always been a smooth-talker and has the ability to ramble on and on and on without ever saying anything.
However, yesterday he felt the need to come out firing and defend the job he and the front office has done.
You can understand the pride he takes in the job … But the reality is the Yankees haven’t sniffed a World Series title since 2009.
“I think we’re pretty fucking good, personally.” -Brian Cashman pic.twitter.com/8DrDGVRtx1
— Jonny's Lasagna ⚾️ (@JLasagna43) November 7, 2023
His interaction with the New York Post’s Jon Heyman was particularly interesting…
I can’t lie, Jon Heyman vs. Brian Cashman today was awesome
Personally giving Round 1 to Cashman because the argument of “your ‘best teams’ wanted my players” is pretty hard to rebuttal pic.twitter.com/O6P9jOPOXI
— Calico Joe (@CalicoJoeMLB) November 7, 2023
The GM didn’t shy away from discussing the team’s recent trades, acknowledging that some of their bold moves hadn’t panned out as expected. “We had been victimized… [for] trying to go for it,” he said.
Brian Cashman is a huge piece of shit after the comments today. And Hal Steinbrenner isn't much better because he's not holding Cashman accountable one single bit for a disaster of a season. Today's press conference was a total disrespect to us fans. We deserve better.
— Jon from Maspeth (@JonFromMaspeth) November 8, 2023
Cashman concluded by staunchly defending the team’s player development group, arguing against the perception that the organization struggled to foster successful transitions from the minors to the majors.
He emphasized that the focus on player development and analytics as reasons for the team’s decline was misleading, urging a comprehensive examination of the various factors that led to the Yankees disappointing 82-80 season.
Yankees MLB Team Hitting Ranks:
AVG – .225 (29th)
Hits – 1,122 (29th)
OPS – .699 (26th)
RBI’s – 611 (25th)
Runs – 634 (26th)
HR’s – 209 (8th)
2B’s – 198 (30th)
3B’s – 13 (27th)
AB’s – 4,986 (30th)Brian Cashman: pic.twitter.com/yHZsUQcVpD
— ZT🗽 (@NY_EvilEmpire) November 7, 2023
What are your thoughts on the job Cashman has done?
Do the Yankees have an arrogance and entitlement problem within their organization?
Looking at the big picture, what do they have to do to improve the team this offseason???