HOUSTON — Baseball is almost here and what would opening day be without a little trash-talking from the Bronx Bombers?
Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman was recently interviewed by The Athletic and had an absurd response as to why the boys in pinstripes didn't win the World Series in 2017.
"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."
That's right. Cashman blames the Astros' sign-stealing scandal for the missed opportunity.
Houston was "caught" stealing and relaying signs that season. They paid the price for the cheating scandal. But the 'Stros still earned the title of World Series champions for that year and that will never be taken away. The Yankees, however, haven't won a title since 2009.
In fact, the Yankees haven't even been in the World Series since their 2009 win. Houston has been in three of the last five World Series and has been to the ALCS in five straight seasons.
Sign stealing definitely could be seen as something that could benefit hitters (it could also be seen as something that could bother some hitters) but let's take a look at how the Yankees performed on the offensive side of the ball in that American League Championship Series against Houston.
Houston was caught stealing signs at home, so for argument's sake, let's just look at the games played at Minute Maid Park.
- Game 1: Astros 2, Yankees 1
- Game 2: Astros 2, Yankees 1
- Game 6: Astros 7, Yankees 1
- Game 7: Astros 4, Yankees 0
So, New York scored 3 total runs and no more than 1 run in any game. But Houston's sign-stealing is the reason they lost? That's a bit of a stretch.
"People are like 'Oh, we haven't been to a World Series . . .' and I'm like, 'Yeah, I don't think that's as true a statement as it could be,'" Cashman said. "We had a World Series team. And either you get it done or you don't."
Well, the Yankees didn't get it done and the argument saying it's due to the Astros' cheating is questionable at best.