Brian Cashman Tells us Not to Give up on the Yankees

Somehow, through all the insanity that took place over the past three days, the Yankees found a way to win the series against the Guardians. I have a question: Why is every game with this team a melodrama? It’s exhausting watching this team. Hope you enjoyed the latest edition of Hardball Hyperbole. If you missed it, check your email, or go here: https://salmaiorana.beehiiv.com

I’m at the point in my life where I can truly say I’m getting too old for this shit. You turn 60, and you’ve earned that right. So yes, watching these Yankees games is becoming worrisome because I swear they are taking years off whatever life I have left to live.

For Christ’s sake, every night with this team there’s something to scream about, and my 65-inch TV is lucky it doesn’t have a hole in it because I was tempted to fire the remote a dozen times during this series, maybe more.

Wednesday was the shining example of how maddening this team is. They won the game 4-3 in 10 innings. I repeat, they won the game, yet smoke was billowing from my ears during that ridiculous ninth inning when Aaron Boone made yet another idiotic bullpen decision involving Clay Holmes which almost cost the Yankees the game. Which was better than Monday when going to Holmes did cost the Yankees the game.

I could not believe Boone walked out to the mound with two outs and nobody on to yank Ron Marinaccio so that he could bring in Holmes. What!? Why? Marinaccio had thrown only 23 pitches and had retired all five men he faced. He blew away his last batter, Will Brennan. Yet here comes Holmes. What?

What was left of the Yankee Stadium crowd booed Boone all the way to the mound, booed him all the way back to the dugout, and then the boos and the chants of “Fire Boone!” really picked up after Holmes did exactly what Holmes has been doing lately.

First guy up, Miles Straw, sinking liner to left and Isiah Kiner-Falefa sort of lost it in the lights and misplayed it into a double. Should have been caught, but hey, he’s an infielder playing out there. Then Oscar Gonzalez looped one out in the same area, IKF and Harrison Bader wound up colliding and no one caught the ball as Straw scored the go-ahead run. Holmes then wild-pitched Gonzalez into scoring position before getting Steven Kwan to ground out.

Boone’s press conference was another indication that he has no pulse, no feel for the game. He admitted that his plan all along was to bring Holmes in at some point in the ninth. For what? Why did that have to happen? It made zero sense. If he was coming in, and you still have faith that he’s your closer (which I don’t know why he would), then bring him in to start the inning.

Boone then said, and he was right on this, that Holmes got burned by two bloop hits, one that should have been caught by IKF, and then another that just fell in the perfect place in shallow center. But that wasn’t the point at all. The point was that Holmes had no business being in the game!

“Look, I understand with Clay, there’s been a couple of outings,” Boone said. “Obviously, we’ve got to get him to the Clay we know, but he’s a lot closer to that than the noise.”

No, he’s not. He’s a liability who should not be anywhere near the ninth inning until he gets his shit figured out.

Most of this all gets forgotten because the Yankees rallied to tie it in the bottom of the ninth on Willie Calhoun’s RBI single, then won it in the 10th on Jose Trevino’s pinch-hit single. But I forget nothing. It was a shit show and the Yankees were damn lucky they won the game.

➤ Brian Cashman met with reporters before Wednesday’s game, something he seems to do only when things are going poorly. “Don’t count us out,” he said. “Don’t give up on us. We got a good group of people player-wise, staff-wise, support-staff-wise. It’s a championship-caliber operation.”

This from the guy who built a team that is currently in last place and is clearly inferior to perhaps three other teams in the division, the same guy whose team hasn’t won a championship since 2009. “We have time to make up ground, and we’re going to compete with who we have here,” Cashman said. “We look forward to getting who we need back at a later date.”

➤ What would a Pinstripe People newsletter be without more depressing injury news? Jonathan Loaisiga needs elbow surgery, so he’s out until at least some time in August, but knowing the Yankees, probably later than that. Lou Trivino is done because he needs Tommy John surgery. So, that trade that brought Trivino and Frankie Montas to the Yankees last year has really worked out well, huh?

As for the big-ticket free agent signing of the offseason, Carlos Rodon? Yeah, we’re not seeing him anytime soon either because his back is still bothering him which is so hysterical given that his original injury had to do with his shoulder. As we expected, Aaron Judge went on the injured list Monday and the hope is he can get back this weekend, but I’m not holding my breath. Wednesday, within minutes, Bader had to leave the game after he banged his head on IKF’s knee, and Oswald Peraza rolled his ankle trying to steal a base. Lastly, Nestor Cortes won’t be making his start Saturday because he has strep throat. It’s truly amazing. Seriously, it’s truly amazing.

Here are my observations on the three games against the Guardians.

May 1: Guardians 3, Yankees 2

➤ Wow, this series started with the Yankees reaching a new low. Without question, the most despicable loss of the season, the kind of loss that in George Steinbrenner’s day would have cost someone his job. It’s almost hard to fathom how utterly ridiculous this loss was and on the evening of May 1, thanks to the Red Sox beating the Jays, the Yankees were all alone in last place in the AL East. And I think you’d agree with me, that’s exactly where they belonged.

➤ Blindly oblivious to the fact that the Guardians could not touch Domingo German for 8.1 innings, Boone once again highlighted his complete lack of feel for what’s unfolding in front of him and stuck his nose into the goddamn nerd playbook filled with his precious analytics. He pulled German after super pest Kwan singled with one out in the ninth, and the fans at the stadium couldn’t believe it. No one could. German was at 88 pitches. Let me type that again - 88 pitches. He had retired 25 of the 28 batters he faced. Dominant. But dipshit Boone didn’t want him to face Amed Rosario and Jose Ramirez for a fourth time, even though they had done nothing against him in their first three at bats.

➤ So on comes Holmes, otherwise known to me as Aroldis. This guy has been a bum since the All-Star break last year, and right on cue, he booted an easy tapper back to the mound for an error, gave up a single to Ramirez to load the bases, and a two-run game-tying single to Josh Naylor. All of German’s great work exploded in the span of five horrendous minutes. Holmes left to a chorus of loud boos, and in came Wandy Peralta, normally reliable, but a stiff on this night. He walked two guys to force in the winning run, capping an inning that defines who the Yankees are right now. A last-place team.

➤ “Of course you want the opportunity to finish the game,” German said through a translator. “But at the same time, you understand the decision the manager makes. I’m never gonna disagree when he comes out.” Man, German’s a bigger man than me because I would have been cursing Boone in every imaginable way. Oh wait, I actually did do that.

➤ Meanwhile, all that misery in the ninth wouldn’t have mattered had the Yankees pathetic offense done anything against Cleveland starter Cal Quantril, he of the 4.70 ERA coming into the game. Trevino homered and DJ LeMahieu had an RBI single in the third, and that was the offense. They had two singles the rest of the way, opening the door for Cleveland to burst through. Just a sickening night.

BOX SCORE

May 2: Yankees 4, Guardians 2

➤ When Gerrit Cole gave up two runs in the third inning, was anyone confident the Yankees were going to find a way to come back and win? For some context, this was the 14th time where the opposition has scored first and the Yankees had only won three of those games, so no, I had no faith. Alas, they found a way because Cole was great over his last three innings and the bullpen work of Marinaccio, Peralta and Michael King was just as impressive

➤ Anthony Volpe was the sparkplug as his homer in the sixth off Tanner Bibee, who was making just his second MLB start, got things started. Gleyber Torres then doubled and came home on an Anthony Rizzo single off James Karinchak to tie the score at 2-2. That led to the night’s most shocking moment in the seventh, Calhoun’s homer off Karinchak - who usually dominates the Yankees - that put them ahead for good. Then it was Volpe in the eighth manufacturing an insurance run when he singled, stole two bases, and scored on a LeMahieu single.

➤ The Yankees are now 7-0 when Cole starts. He wasn’t great early as seven men reached based in the first three innings, but in his final three innings he gave up just two singles and struck out three. He still hasn’t given up a home run in 46.2 innings.

➤ King has been awesome. He came in with a man on first and one out in the eighth and whiffed Mike Zunino and Brennan, and then in the ninth he walked Rosario which meant he had to face Ramirez as the tying run, but he got Cleveland’s best hitter to ground out. King’s ERA is now 1.56, and there is no doubt that he should be the closer, not Holmes.

➤ Bader finally made his season debut and he went 1-for-4 and made three putouts in center field. It was good to have him back in the field, but as a hitter, keep in mind he’s a career .245/.317/.405 guy, so I really don’t think the Yankees offense is suddenly going to get a jolt.

BOX SCORE

May 3: Yankees 4, Guardians 3 (10)

➤ Well, I covered most of this up top, but a couple other things. Clarke Schmidt started and he wasn’t terrible. He wasn’t great, but he didn’t get blown out which I guess is progress. He gave up two runs in the first because he got burned by lousy fielding including an error by Rizzo. Thereafter he got out of a two-on, one-out jam in the second, walked two men in the third but got bailed out by a double play, and then Boone decided he’d seen enough when Ramirez singled with out in the fifth.

➤ From there, Ian Hamilton, Jimmy Cordero and Marinaccio were great, Holmes sucked, and then Albert Abreu left the free runner stranded at second base in the 10th thanks to a slick double play turned by Torres and Volpe.

➤ The tying rally in the ninth came off excellent Indians closer Emmanuel Clase, the second time the Yankees have gotten to him this year, the first one back on April 12 in Cleveland. Rizzo led off with a single, Peraza pinch ran and then got hurt so Aaron Hicks came in. He went to third on a groundout and Calhoun drove him home before Cabrera grounded into a double play. Then in the 10th, Jake Bauers drew a walk, IKF bunted the runners over, and Trevino dumped one into left center to win it.

➤ Bauers, injured in his first game with the team last weekend, was back in the lineup and in the fifth, after Calhoun homered to make it 2-1, Bauers homered to tie it. I can’t even believe I’m typing that Calhoun and Bauers homered for the Yankees.

BOX SCORE

➤ May 4, 1981: In an era in baseball when strikeouts happened far less than they do today, Ron Davis put forth quite a performance at Anaheim Stadium as the Yankees beat the Angels 4-2.

A pitcher I did not remember, Gene Nelson, made his MLB debut and pitched six strong innings for the Yankees. He would go on to a 12-year career, but he ended up making only seven appearances in pinstripes in 1981 before being traded in 1982. This should have been his night for the spotlight, but he was overshadowed by the man who relieved him in the seventh inning.

After getting the first batter he faced, Don Baylor, to pop out to second, Davis struck out the last eight Angels to set an MLB record for relief pitchers that still stands. The previous mark of seven consecutive whiffs by a reliever was set on June 15, 1965 by Denny McLain who would go on to make his own history in 1968 when he became a starter for the Tigers and was the last pitcher to win at least 30 games.

Davis’ eight straight K’s also tied the AL record for all pitcher which was accomplished twice by, no surprise here, Nolan Ryan. At the time, the MLB record was 10 strikeouts in a row set by the Mets’ Tom Seaver in 1970. That mark has since been tied by Corbin Burnes of the Brewers and Aaron Nola of the Phillies, both in 2021.

The day before in Oakland, Davis struck out all five batters he faced and in his last four games, he had whiffed 18 of 25. “I’m not a strikeout pitcher; I just get lucky every once in a while,” he said.

Well, maybe not. That season Davis led the Yankees staff with a 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings average, three more than Ron Guidry. For his career from 1978 to 1988, the first four of those spent with the Yankees, Davis averaged 7.2 which, again, was pretty good at that time.

The Yankees are in last place with a 17-15 record, 8.5 games behind the Rays.

➤ Tampa Bay 25-6: So much for the big showdown against the pretend Pirates. Somehow, Pittsburgh is in first place in the NL Central and was 20-8 coming into this series. Well, now they’re 20-10 after getting their asses kicked in the first two games with the series finale happening Thursday. The Pirates scored two runs in the first two games so yeah, I can’t wait to watch the Yankees try to hit against Tampa this weekend. That’ll be fun. The Rays did have to put reliever Pete Fairbanks - who has owned the Yankees - on the injured list.

➤ Baltimore 20-10: On Thursday the Orioles are going for their seventh straight series victory. They’ve split the first two with Kansas City as they won a wild one 11-7 on Tuesday, then were shutout 6-0 Wednesday by Zach Greinke and four relievers. That was the first time in nine games they hadn’t scored at least four runs in a game. Shortstop Jorge Mateo is becoming a star. He’s hitting .325 with six homers, 18 RBI and 10 stolen bases. They head to Atlanta for three games against the best team in the NL this weekend.

➤ Toronto 18-13: Nice job by the Jays as they lost the first three at Fenway to the Red Sox with the finale coming Thursday. Their closer, Jordan Romano, gave up a walk-off homer to Alex Verdugo in the first game, and then Tuesday, someone named Erik Swanson gave up a game-winning homer in the eighth to Connor Wong. Wednesday, no late-game drama as the Red Sox rolled them 8-3 as Alek Manoah got burned for three unearned runs in the fifth which put Boston up 5-3. The Jays host the Pirates for three starting Friday.

➤ Boston 18-14: By winning five straight, the Red Sox made sure the Yankees stayed in last place. People laughed when I said the Red Sox aren’t going to be terrible and since a 5-8 start they’re 13-6. Rookie Masataka Yoshida is proving to be a pain in the ass as he’s now hitting .303 after a two-hit game Wednesday and has a 13-game hitting streak. Next up they go to Philadelphia to play a Phillies team that just got swept by the Dodgers by a combined score of 36-11. Ouch. They should be mighty pissed off.

The Yankees get the day off on Thursday (good for all of us, too), and they’re going to need all the rest they can get because Friday they open a three-game series against the Rays, a weekend that could tell us an awful lot about whether we should believe Cashman or not. My initial thoughts: It won’t go well for the Yankees because as currently constructed, they are no match, on any level, for Tampa Bay.

Obviously this is the best team the Yankees have played this year. Of course, the Yankees have played several good teams already this year while the Rays have fattened up on one of the easiest schedules in MLB through the first month-plus. That said, as much as I hate to say it, the Rays are a juggernaut. They hit better than any team in MLB, and they pitch better than any team, a pretty tough combination to crack.

All three games will be on YES - Friday at 6:40, Saturday at 4:10 and Sunday at 1:40. The pitching matchups haven’t been released, but the Yankees are scheduled to throw Jhony Brito in the first game, German in the second, and Cole in the third.