April Fool: New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman over 2017 Astros cheating scandal

New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman has had a big fall from grace with Yankees fans in the last decade. After all, the franchise won four World Series since he became their GM in 1998 but they haven’t even been to the World Series since 2009.

However, that is something that Cashman is “offended” by. Not because the team hasn’t been there in over a decade but that people are (factually) stating that. Why? He thinks that the Yankees would have made it in 2017 if not for the Houston Astros.

That absolutely ludicrous claim is why Brian Cashman is an absolute fool on this April Fool’s Day.

New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman is a fool on April Fool’s Day

New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman is an absolute fool on this April Fool’s Day because he is blaming the 2017 Houston Astros on the Yankees not making it to the World Series.

Cashman was crying foul to The Athletic over the situation.

“The only thing that stopped [us] was something that was so illegal and horrific,” Cashman told The Athletic. “So I get offended when I start hearing we haven’t been to the World Series since ’09. Because I’m like, ‘Well, I think we actually did it the right way.’ Pulled it down, brought it back up. Drafted well, traded well, developed well, signed well. The only thing that derailed us was a cheating circumstance that threw us off.”

Is the sign-stealing scandal from the 2017 Astros deplorable? Absolutely. Did the Astros, the players, and the coaches get barely a slap on the wrist as a result? Absolutely. Should MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred strip the Astros World Series title? Absolutely (but he never will because Manfred is a bad commissioner).

But saying the only thing that stopped the Yankees was the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal is a) complete and utter nonsense and b) total fiction.

The Astros were cheating with hitting. They only hit .187 with a .565 OPS in the series but they still defeated the Yankees in the seven-game series because they had good pitching. In Game 7, the Yankees were shut out 4-0. You can’t win if you don’t score.

They also scored one run each in Game 1, Game 2, and Game 6 so if the Yankees scored more than three runs in four games, they could have made it to the World Series … but they didn’t. Those were home games for the Astros where they, in theory, we able to cheat more or, at least, more easily.

They still scored only 15 runs in those games, for an average of less than four per game. It looks even worse when you look at Game 6. If David Robertson didn’t choke in the 8th inning (allowed four hits and four runs without retiring a batter) in Game 6, that’s a 3-1 Astros win. In other words (excluding that inning), the Astros would have scored 11 runs in four games, or an average of fewer than three runs per game.

Kudos goes to the Yankees pitching staff for holding the Astros to that when they were cheating but you can’t win if you don’t score.

Maybe they would have won had the team been better constructed to not have a lineup with these names in it.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/1/2022.

A 3-4-5 lineup of Didi Gregorius, Gary Sanchez, and Greg Bird? That’s embarrassing.

For his comments and still whining over a playoff series from half of a decade ago, Brian Cashman is a fool for April Fool’s Day. Good luck with your .500 team, Brian.