MLB Rumors: How long do Yankees fans have to deal with Brian Cashman?
The Yankees dropped another game to the league-leading Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, falling to .500 on the season. On the surface, losing to Atlanta isn't much to be upset about. But for New York, this sort of symbolism only happens once every 28 years.
The Yankees haven't been THIS bad THIS late in the season since 1995. It's true.
Yes, that does say a lot about the sustained success of one of the great sports franchises of our time, but it also shows how far they've fallen of late. On Tuesday, they went down without a whimper, as they have so many times this past season. Aaron Judge grounded into a double play to end the game.
While fans of truly struggling franchises take the complaints of the average New York baseball pundit as a 'woe is me' approach, it's unfair. The Yankees have massive expectations every season. To fall short on those expectations for much of the last decade — not just the few times a competitive window opens — is a lot for any fanbase to deal with. Not to mention, the losses have come in painful fashion of late.
In fact, fans are so displeased with the on-field product that a 'Fire Brian Cashman' night is expected to take place at Yankee Stadium in late September.
Cashman's name is regularly mentioned as a source of frustration from fans, but his job is safe for now. In fact, it's been safe for the better part of three decades. As much as his father George was largely willing to make any decision necessary to move the needle, Hal Steinbrenner is far more patient. It's getting the best of his franchise.
MLB Rumors: John Mozeliak has a long leash for Cardinals
Prior to the start of the 2023 season, Bill DeWitt extended president of baseball operations John Mozeliak's contract through the 2025 season. This is to suggest that by no means is Mozeliak on the hot seat entering the 2023-24 offseason. If anything, the Cards ownership realizes this is the multiyear process, especially after the failure of the 2023 season.
Mozeliak traded the likes of Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, Paul DeJong and more for young talent to restock the farm system. There's little chance he would've been so eager to move proven MLB players for prospects were he fearing for his job.
To be fair, Mozeliak has built a contender in St. Louis before. Trades for Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt played a big role in that, as well as the core of Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina. Without Molina and Albert Pujols in the clubhouse every day, it seems something is missing. Oli Marmol hasn't been able to reach this group just yet, though his job appears safe as well.
If Mozeliak's Cardinals fail to reach expectations again in 2024, then perhaps we can start counting down the days until he's gone. For now, though, the best bet is to believe in the regime the Cards have in place. They're not going anywhere.
MLB Rumors: Red Sox great calls out Chaim Bloom
The Boston Red Sox are falling out of postseason contention, ever so slowly and painfully. Of course, they are not the rival New York Yankees, who are doing so with a bang against the Atlanta Braves. That distracts some of the media discourse, but not all of it. In Boston, former players like Jonathan Papelbon are well aware of the issues this front office faces moving forward.
"The great thing about the game now is with the wild card you really have a chance, every team still has a chance… The Red Sox have done absolutely nothing to make them any better. If you're in the hunt for the postseason and you need a whole lot more and you don't go get anything, what does that tell you as a player?" Papelbon said on Audacy's The Bret Boone Podcast.
Papelbon, who was a six-time All-Star and won the 2007 World Series in Boston, then slammed Chaim Bloom for considering his own team an underdog in the playoff race.
"If your general manager is saying you're underdogs and why should you add on, how do you think everyone else feels around here?… So to me, the statement says everything and that puts the mood, 'Oh well, we're not going to win.' So what else do you expect? If the general manager's going to create that mood around here and in this city, why should you expect them to be in the playoffs?" Papelbon continued.
The former closer then went on to praise the job Alex Cora has done to keep this team in tact despite the changes around the trade deadline, and the limited investment from the Red Sox front office.
