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       #Post#: 48--------------------------------------------------
       Brian Cashman addresses struggling Yankees, says fans 'deserve
       better baseball'
   DIR By: The Referee
       Date: September 8, 2020, 9:06 pm
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       Marly Rivera
       ESPN Writer-
       General manager Brian Cashman held a team meeting Tuesday
       afternoon, a day after the New York Yankees were embarrassed in
       a 12-7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, and the message was clear:
       "Talk is cheap and all that matters is the performance."
       Cashman, who does not often travel with the Yankees, showed up
       in Buffalo to witness one of the worst losses his team has had
       this season. In a game they led 6-2, the Yankees' bullpen
       imploded and gave up 10 runs in the sixth inning for their sixth
       loss in seven games, prompting the GM to speak to the team
       collectively.
       "[I wanted] to just remind them, first and foremost, that I
       believe in them. They all were acquired for various reasons, to
       come together as a group as a team for high expectations. And so
       reminding them of who they are," Cashman said. "Remind them of
       where they've got to get back to and who they are, and by taking
       the opportunity to do that from time to time and see if it
       helps."
       Before the start of this madcap coronavirus-shortened season, it
       seemed to be a foregone conclusion that the Yankees would be one
       of the two top teams in the American League East. The Yankees
       were flying high after a 16-6 start, but after losing 14 of
       their past 19 games, they are now barely holding onto the eighth
       and last AL playoff spot.
       "It's not something that we're accustomed to, having a slide
       like this," Cashman said. "We're used to better baseball than
       this, our fans deserve better baseball than this."
       The Yankees' 5-14 record in their past 19 games matches their
       worst 19-game span over the past 20 seasons. The 'Bombers' are
       hitting .204 as a team over their past 20 games, their worst
       batting average over a 20-game span since 2014.
       Over those 20 games, nine of the Yankees' 16 hitters have an
       average below .200, with Mike Ford (3-35, .086) and Gary Sánchez
       being the worst. Sánchez was benched for two games amid a
       5-for-40 slide, hitting .130, with an inordinate 48 strikeouts
       in 32 games.
       But Cashman, as well as manager Aaron Boone, have stressed that
       the Yankees' slide doesn't have a sole culprit, including their
       numerous injured stars. The Yankees have had 10 players on the
       injured list this season, an All-Star group that includes Aaron
       Judge (calf strain), Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring strain), DJ
       LeMahieu (thumb sprain) and Gleyber Torres (hamstring and
       quadriceps strain).
       While LeMahieu and Torres are active, Judge's and Stanton's
       return remains unknown. Boone said both players have resumed
       baseball activities but would not commit to a timeline beyond
       "before the playoffs."
       Cashman also reiterated that bringing in new players by trade
       was an impossibility because of the high asking price, and that
       the Yankees need to turn things around with the present roster.
       He said they shouldn't count on Stanton or Judge, though he
       stressed both are expected to be back before the end of the
       regular season.
       "Bottom line is we're working on our own. There's no help coming
       from anywhere and the challenge is to find a way to get through
       this storm," Cashman said. "Obviously, the work's got to be done
       now while the storm is upon us, and clearly we all know the
       storm is upon us. We haven't played well now for quite some time
       and we all know we're capable of more, significantly more, both
       individually and collectively and that responsibility starts
       obviously with me."
       He added: "I don't think that's ever crept into any of our
       player's or staff's minds of, 'Oh, you know, those guys are
       coming down the line and they'll be riding in with a white hat
       on.' No, that's not, you know, that's not what we're looking
       for. We're dealing with they're due back at some point. And it'd
       be nice, obviously, if it was today, but it's not. Our complete
       focus is on what we have here that's available to us."
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