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Are the New York Yankees suffering from the Brian Cashman elf curse?

By Kevin Henry|
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talks on the phone prior to a Grapefruit League spring training game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees at FITTEAM Ballpark of The Palm Beaches on March 12, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Many professional and college sports are canceling or postponing their games due to the ongoing threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talks on the phone prior to a Grapefruit League spring training game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees at FITTEAM Ballpark of The Palm Beaches on March 12, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Many professional and college sports are canceling or postponing their games due to the ongoing threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

On Sunday night, with the holiday season gearing up, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman once again rappelled down the side of a building in Connecticut dressed as an elf.

You read that right. The general manager of the New York Yankees spent part of the holidays (and time during this year’s Major League Baseball lockout) dressed as an elf and doing some high-flying acting as a part of a holiday celebration.

We aren’t meaning to sound like The Grinch here (which, by the way, Cashman battled in this year’s holiday extravaganza in Stamford, Conn., that you can watch below), but we have to make a point here.

The New York Yankees haven’t won the World Series since 2009 and Cashman began his elf rappelling ritual in 2010.

Described as an “adrenaline junkie,” Cashman has been a part of Stamford’s holiday celebration for 11 years. It’s also something that he has joked in the past that “nothing is scarier than general managing the Yankees.”

While the elf act was part of the holiday routine again this year, what was different were reporters who were waiting at the end of the battle with The Grinch to ask about New York pursuing Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki. Cashman avoided the questions as mightily as he battled the Christmas villain, saying the lockout was keeping him from commenting.

"“I can’t speak to even that. If he comes over here, it would be a major-league situation. So I can’t speak to that,” Cashman said."

With the Yankees being relatively quiet before the lockout, perhaps it’s time for Cashman to stop confronting The Grinch and start battling Hal Steinbrenner and anyone else who is keeping his team from returning to the top of the Major League Baseball world. As an elf, one of the best presents he could help deliver to Yankees fans this season is a strong offseason after the lockout ends and a World Series win.

Curses are nothing new in baseball. The Yankees should be well aware of that after acquiring Babe Ruth long ago, but maybe it’s a topic worth examining again as Cashman’s annual holiday cheer may be resulting in a gag gift for his team when the season begins.

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