SSTN Mailbag: Injuries, Cashman, The Front Office, And Rizzo!

This is the strangest I've ever felt blogging or speaking about the Yankees. From 2014-2016, it felt like the Yankees had a really good plan, an exciting farm system, and a team that didn't push away its fan base by tanking. While prior to 2023, I felt like the front office at least had a plan (even if part of it involved working around an ownership group that didn't care about rings as much as they did saving face), it has been largely frozen as that plan has unraveled before their eyes. In so many ways, this team feels more lost than at any time in my conscious existence (for reference, I started watching the Yankees in earnest as a small boy in 1993/1994...so I missed all of the years George ruined the team in the 1980s and the CBS debacle in the 1960s). I have probably been one of Brian Cashman's staunchest defenders writing on the Yankee blog universe, but it is nearly impossible to defend much of what has happened this season.

...and yet...it becomes terribly exhausting to merely vent the same frustrations each and every day. I believe strongly about writing the truth; I won't sugarcoat my takes on the Yankees, and there are plenty of times over the last 8 years of blogging that I've been called out (both rightly and wrongly). That goes with the territory of writing in a public forum, and I applaud other writers who do the same, including everyone who writes for SSTN, a community we have all built together. However, the constant stream of negativity is becoming a bit much. I will be writing a lot about how I would fix what ails the organization, as that feels constructive and instructive, but you won't find much more venting from me regarding the 2023 season (save for my initial reactions to bad moves and mismanagement).

I applaud our Editor-In-Chief's attitude expressed in his Game Recap yesterday. To paraphrase: we are all disappointed in how the Yankees have been managed; we'll continue to be honest with those opinions; yet, for the remainder of the 2023 season, I'll root for the team and hope to be surprised, no matter how unlikely that seems. That is the attitude I am choosing to take through the end of the season. The last two nights have been oddly encouraging. Let's hope for a run.

As always, thanks for the great questions and keep them coming to SSTNReadermail@gmail.com. In this week's SSTN Mailbag, we'll discuss the training staff's management of injuries, the media's treatment of Brian Cashman, what to do with the front office if the Yankees make the playoffs, and the implications of Rizzo's injury revelation! Let's get at it:

Michael G. asks: Trevino has been playing hurt all year. Rizzo appears to be playing hurt since 5/28. Why are they trying to gut it out? Both for their own good and the teams good. Why isn't the training staff taking them off the field so that they can recover properly and preform at their best when they return?

It is particularly grinding that the team that has been so overly cautious about "load management" with an older roster is the same team that has allowed multiple players to drag a struggling team down with very real injuries. I honestly can't come up with even a semi-reasonable response from both the front office and training staff's perspective to justify the manner in which Jose Trevino and Anthony Rizzo's injuries were managed.

Jose Trevino is a fringe MLB-hitter at his best, but his defense made him playable; with a bum wrist? He was basically unplayable, because his offense was worse than a AAA catcher. They had (have) a capable catcher down in the minors in Ben Rortvedt; why wait?!? It was clear to anyone watching that he was hurting, not helping the team.

As far as Rizzo is concerned? I simply don't have words. Sure, he passed the MLB concussion protocol the day of and day after his impact with Tatis on 5/28. However, Rizzo promptly morphed into one of the 5 worst hitters in baseball over the next two months (not an exaggeration) immediately following impact. How do you not send him for additional tests? How do you not sit him? This is someone in whom you have significant money invested over the next couple of years, and someone that is critical to your success as a team. There is absolutely no excusing what happened with Rizzo.

I'll take it a step further. Say what you will about Brian Cashman's plans for roster construction. The training staff has been a known problem for at least half a decade now. Cashman tried to fix it once...and failed spectacularly. More than anything else during Cashman's last couple of years, I think this is the strongest mark against him continuing as the guy that runs baseball operations.

Alan asks: Why does the media always let Cashman off the hook? I keep hearing from the talking heads how the Yankees need to get younger and more athletic but in the next breath they're talking about the next veteran they need to trade for or sign, and never criticizing him for not giving the kids a chance, and trotting out guys like Shane Robinson or Cordero, and not giving guys like Peraza or Florial a chance even when in season injuries occur?

I am not really sure what media you are consuming, but I think Cashman is taking his fair share of (mostly deserved) beatings in the media. I don't think I've read or heard any genuinely positive media for Cashman lately. While I agree that Cashman has made some serious missteps, I also believe he has gotten tired working around an ownership group that frequently becomes paralyzed by money and marketing.

Brian asks: If the Yankees manage to somehow squeak into the wild card round, should Boone or Cashman be spared?

Personally, I think not, but could be interesting to analyze.

No. At the very least, I think that it's time for Boone to go, and I think there's a good chance that were I in the ownership chair, Cashman would be gone as well, regardless of what happens at the end of the season.

Boone has never been my idea of a good field manager (and I don't want to hear about how his hands are tied by the analytics staff; that's a tired trope), and shouldn't have been renewed when his contract was up. Cashman has attempted to fix the training staff, and failed spectacularly, meaning that ownership's investments are not protected properly. Those are the facts, and I think both should have a hard time explaining their job performance.

David asks: Now that Rizzo is out, ignoring the obvious issues about the diagnostics, how does the lineup shift as the Yankees make their final push?

Actually, this will force something that I have been an advocate of for some weeks: play Jake Bauers at his natural position, 1B, at least against right-handed pitching. He has been the most consistent offensive threat in the lineup when healthy, and he got hurt slamming into the wall while playing his backup position, the outfield. I think Bauers is a good, cheap bat who is an excellent source of left-handed pop. DJLM can play 3B every day, and I would go as far as to bring in Luke Voit, who was just given his requested release, to play against lefties, as he's been mashing the ball now that he's finally healthy in AAA.

I actually believe there's a non-zero chance that this lineup is stronger than the one that contained Anthony Rizzo.