Those attempting to assess the greatest flaws of the New York Yankees do not have to go much further than their owner, Hal Steinbrenner, who further showed his cards of incompetence — and his very clear anti-player stance — on Wednesday afternoon.
In a Zoom availability, Steinbrenner pinned yet another postseason flop on the players rather than the men responsible for building the roster and leading it.
“The bottom line is the players didn’t live up to their end of the bargain in the playoffs,” he said. “…The offense, not the pitching, but the offense, had a big part [of]… why we didn’t get to where we strive to get every year.”
What Steinbrenner apparently fails to realize is that it was an offense that once again constructed to rely far too heavily on Aaron Judge — one that has not had the necessary investments to be deemed a proper, well-rounded unit.
That ultimately falls on Steinbrenner, whose frugal approach has hampered general manager Brian Cashman at times, and Cashman himself for failing to identify core issues until it’s far too late. In this case, until after the Yankees were swept aside by the eventual pennant-winning Tampa Bay Rays in three games.
While Steinbrenner lambasts his players, he has rewarded Cashman with a new contract.
“Cash is great every season,” Steinbrenner said. “The roster that he put together, the team that we rolled out of spring training with, was as good as any in baseball. It was a world championship-caliber team.”
Except it clearly wasn’t, and a few injuries showed the severe lack of depth that most legitimate contenders possess.
Judge implored the Yankees’ front office to go “all in” this winter to get the missing pieces necessary to build a winner and end this 17-year World Series drought. Steinbrenner pushed back on that.
“Was I upset about it? No. If I was a player, I would have expectations that my ownership group would have everything in their power every offseason to field a team that can win the championship,” Steinbrenner said. There’s nothing wrong with expectations. We did that this year. We had the highest payroll in the history of the organization. We got to a point later in the offseason where we still felt we weren’t good enough, so we signed [Cody] Bellinger to a huge contract. Glad we did. He’s a good player.
“I definitely think we went all-in this season. I definitely think we had a team that was every bit capable of winning a championship. No, it did not work out.”
The framing of the Bellinger reunion is puzzling. The Yankees were in dire need of a difference-making bat all winter, and with the veteran outfielder hitting the free agent market after a solid first season in the Bronx, it was a no-brainer to bring him back. But the Yankees dragged their feet and entered a significant stalemate during negotiations with Bellinger, and his return only ensured that the lineup remained practically identical to the year before. That team was dominated by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS.
Manager Aaron Boone, who certainly is not blameless in all of this, was guaranteed his return to the bench in 2027, which is the final year of his contract. Beyond that, though, there have been no discussions about a possible extension.
This is, of course, assuming that there will be baseball in 2027. A fierce lockout hinging on the age-old issue of a salary cap looms on Dec. 2.
To no surprise, Steinbrenner isn’t siding with his players.
“I helped craft one of many [owners’] proposals that we have given at the bargaining table, and I support those proposals in their entirety,” Steinbrenner said. “That’s absolutely the case.”
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