The Post Mordem

 It's important to remember the good times.

When the Yankees were good this past season, they were very good. And Aaron Judge had a season for the ages, capped by a 62nd home run that felt like catharsis. 

Then there was the rest of the season, and then, inevitably, there were the Houston Astros and their infuriating ability to make the Yankees look like someone's AA team. A four-game sweep that felt like it was at once a seven-game sweep and a one-game playoff. The Yankees just didn't show up. Even Judge looked like a ghost, and in the the sense that it could have been his last appearance in pinstripes, maybe he was.

But after all that disappointment came a "joint press conference" with Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman.

I'm not one who thinks that Boone is the main problem here. He works with the roster Cashman (and by extension, Hal Steinbrenner) gives him. Sometimes his lineups and in-game decisions can be puzzling, but by and large he's not the obstacle standing in the Yankees' way.

Until recently I was a big Brian Cashman supporter. I think he doesn't get enough credit for making savvy trades (except for pitchers) and finding scrapheap players who suddenly blossom into amazing talents (see Cortex, Nestor). I think he's a very smart man and he'd really like to be remembered someday for the championships he brought to the Bronx. 

Both Boone and Cashman gave the impression that they thought there was nothing fundamentally wrong with this team, that injuries had done them in. But that wasn't true. The first half was an extended hot streak this team has been having for three years. It always ends and they regress to their true selves, a .500 team. Or worse.

But Hal Steinbrenner, while thankfully not inheriting his father's hair-trigger temperament and blustering incoherency, also didn't get the old man's passion. Say what you want about George Steinbrenner, and I do, but he wouldn't accept losing. Sometimes he was borderline psychotic after a loss, particularly in the playoffs. The phantom fight in the elevator? That was George.

Hal is a businessman who has inherited his father's prized possession and doesn't really know what to do with it except make money, which seems from the outsider's perspective to be the only priority. Not spending over the luxury tax limit is an obsession. 

The problem is Hal has also inherited Yankee fans, and it's on us to teach him what that's about. If Judge does not return - and I'm getting a bad feeling about that - Hal will pivot, make some noises about "letting the kids play," (which would be fine with the right veterans in the clubhouse) and not support them. Expect the Opening Day lineup in 2023 to look very roughly like this:

Harrison Bader CF

Anthony Rizzo 1B

Brandon Nimmo LF

Giancarlo Stanton DH

DJ LeMahieu 2B

Josh Donaldson/Oswald Perazza 3B

Oswaldo Cabrera RF

Isiah Kiner-Falefa SS

Jose Trevino C 

Bench: Rortvedt, 4th Outfielder, Backup infielder

The pitching will be the same roughly, without (thank goodness) Aroldis Chapman and (not as thank goodness) Zach Britton, Miguel Castro, Jameson Taillon and maybe with a 5th starter who could be gotten for Gleyber Torres. I'm guessing Aaron Hicks will be gone for a bucket of Gatorade with the Yankees paying some of his salary. There'll be a new name or two in the bullpen.

Not terribly exciting, is it?

The only way Hal will get the message is if we send it to his wallet. If the Yankees DON'T pay Judge enough to keep him, if they DON'T at least try to rid us of Donaldson and if they DON'T realistically explore the free agent market, we have to stop going to games. We have to stop watching on TV. We have to make it hurt on the bottom line.

Because that's where Hal lives and that's where he gets his messages. 

I don't think that'll be easy. I've been a Yankee fan since 1966 and rarely miss a game on TV. I go to the Stadium at least once a year and spend on food, but not parking (gave up driving to the Bronx on game days in the early 2000s). It would be hard for me to go cold turkey, especially on the televised games. But then, I've been muting Michael Kay for a number of years so I'd only be losing half the game experience. 

But they had such a great first half. Yup. And it ended in the same way it has ended for 13 years now. And for the third time in six years, at the hands of a team we know has cheated and is proud of it.

It has to end. The plan of attack goes through Hal's bank account. 

We need to be strong and vocal.