Yankees Fans Voice Their Displeasure With GM Brian Cashman
The New York Yankees have one of baseball's biggest disappointments, and the team's fans know who's to blame.
Despite one of baseball's highest payrolls and retaining all world superstar Aaron Judge in the offseason, the Yankees entered Wednesday in last place in the AL East and several games out of a wild card spot.
Frustrations with the team's performance were also exacerbated by Tuesday's trade deadline. As others moved to acquire meaningful talent, Yankees GM and head of baseball operations Brian Cashman did little.
The only "improvement" came in the form of Kenyan Middleton, a reliever with 0.0 Fangraphs WAR on the season. While there's an argument to be made that investing in a disappointing team chasing a wild card spot isn't wise, many fans wanted Cashman to take a bigger swing. Especially considering Judge's recent return from injury.
READ: AARON JUDGE CAN’T SAVE THE LAST-PLACE NEW YORK YANKEES BY HIMSELF
And on Wednesday, frustrations with Cashman's relative inaction boiled over in the first inning.
Wander Franco launched a massive two run homer against Gerrit Cole and some anti-Cashman chants were clearly audible on the YES broadcast.
Not ideal!
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 08: New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman speaks to the media prior to the start of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on April 08, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Yankees Fans Justifiable Frustrations
Naturally, Cole settled down and the Yankees took a 5-2 lead into the 7th inning. But the underlying frustrations are reasonable, considering the context.
The Yankees have had opportunities to add superstar talent but, for example, let Juan Soto go to the San Diego Padres last year. Investments in key players like Giancarlo Stanton haven't paid off as expected.
And with multiple top tier shortstops available in free agency, the team instead committed to playing rookie Anthony Volpe. While Volpe's been far from the worst player on the team, fans have frequently felt like the Yankees are thinking smaller than their market.
Based on Wednesday's news about Domingo German, the pessimism around the team isn't going to improve much.
READ: NEW YORK YANKEES PITCHER DOMINGO GERMAN LANDS ON SEASON-ENDING RESTRICTED LIST, CITING ALCOHOL ABUSE
Cashman acknowledged the frustrations in a press conference on Tuesday.
“You can’t stop (the booing) until you play better and put some wins on the board,” he said. “It’s as simple as that. There’s nothing I can say to it other than that we’re out there fighting and competing and trying to hit that win column. And if you don’t, that’s what comes with it.”
But it's hard to put wins on the board if the talent isn't on the field.
The Yankees' season isn't quite over yet, but it's on life support. And the fans clearly want some more accountability for the architect of another season without a championship.