Yankees Deliver Tone Deaf Excuse That Should Have Fans Livid

New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman spoke to the media on Wednesday, just a couple of weeks after the team was eliminated by the Tampa Bay Rays in the Division Series.

Cashman announced he had received a contract extension, which was already enough to drive Yankees fans up a wall. But it was everything Cashman and Steinbrenner said afterward that was the icing on the cake.

Neither really accepted accountability for New York's failures in recent years, and Cashman channeled former Athletics GM Billy Beane — perhaps the most overrated executive in the history of sports — in essentially calling the playoffs a crapshoot.

"The first step of the process is making sure you can punch a ticket and get there. Then, everything gets reset," Cashman said. "... You need to have as many talented players as you possibly can on both sides of the ball."

Well, no; everything doesn't get "reset." You're still the same team you were during the regular season. The difference is that the stakes are higher.

And we've seen what has happened to the Yankees when the pressure has risen for the last 17 years: they haven't delivered.

Beane famously called the postseason a "crapshoot." Analytics nerds will agree. The Athletics' playoff record during Beane's tenure will not.

The A's frequently reached the postseason throughout Beane's 19-year run as general manager, making it eight times. And how many playoff series did they win throughout that span? One.

Sorry, but that isn't "bad luck"; it was just evidence of a team that was constructed well to win regular-season games, but not well enough to legitimately contend for a World Series.

Now, the Yankees aren't quite on that level. They do regularly win playoff series. But the fact that they can't seem to win a championship is no accident.

How do you explain the Tampa Bay Rays — the Rays — having two World Series appearances the last seven seasons while the Yankees just have one? And why have the Los Angeles Dodgers managed to win three over that time?

Clearly, those clubs have done a better job of putting together better October rosters. New York is generally always a lock for the playoffs, which is great. But the fact that the Yanks have made just one trip to the Fall Classic over their last 13 postseason berths is inexcusable, and it isn't due to misfortune.

It's because the Yankees simply haven't been good enough, and Cashman clearly can't seem to come to terms with that.

New York must undergo some changes this offseason. I don't think the Yankees necessarily need an overhaul, but obviously, things need to be different heading into 2027.

Whether or not Cashman actually identifies the team's faults and makes a concerted effort to repair them remains to be seen.