BALTIMORE — Brian Cashman put the underachieving Yankees’ roster together and is more than willing to accept a large part of the blame for the club being among the worst in baseball.
What he wasn’t in the mood to do Tuesday night was speak for Hal Steinbrenner and the managing general partner of a team that was a desultory 8-15 entering a game against the Orioles at Camden Yards.
“I am not going to represent ownership, but clearly they are not happy,’’ Cashman said. “I am sure at some point you will have a chance to talk to Hal. It’s a catch-all. I am sure no one would be happy other than our opponents.’’
And those betting against the Yankees, who had lost five straight, 13 of 17 and were last in the AL East, six lengths back of the first-place Red Sox.
Monday, Cashman mentioned Chase Headley’s slump as a reason the lineup has underperformed. Tuesday, the GM pointed at himself for the woeful start that has jeopardized the Yankees’ season before school is even out.
“I put this roster together and it’s my responsibility,’’ Cashman said. “We have five more months to show what they are really capable of.’’
Twenty-three tilts into a 162-game season, the everyday players haven’t been capable of much. A .234 team batting average was 11th among 15 AL teams. Seventy-six RBIs was 13th. The 81 runs were tied with the Royals for next to last.
And it wasn’t as if the pitching staff was picking up the “Dead Bats Society.’’ The staff 4.79 ERA was 14th in the AL. The starters were a combined 4-10 with a 5.16 ERA, which was last in the AL. They ranked 13th in innings pitched (129), 14th in batting average (.285) and tied for 13th in wins.
Clearly the hitting problem runs deeper than Headley, who was hitting a miserable .156 (10-for-64) without an extra-base hit and had a .423 OPS.
“It’s not just Chase, it’s most of that lineup,’’ Cashman said of the switch-hitting third baseman. “Hopefully that Sunday night game against Boston is something we can count on looking forward to because that is more in line with what this team is capable of.
“We got to get it going, that’s the bottom line. The season started a month ago and the type of baseball we are playing is far this team’s capabilities and enough is enough.’’
Cashman, the GM since 1998, doesn’t recognize what he is seeing from a team he felt good about at the end of spring training and one that hasn’t suffered a debilitating injury yet.
“I am the general manager, and I am not used to sitting there and watching this type of baseball,’’ said Cashman, who said Joe Girardi and his coaches aren’t in danger of getting axed and explained he isn’t worrying about his status. “It certainly affects me.’’
Adding to the problem, there is very little in the way of change Cashman can pull off. Triple-A outfielder Aaron Judge isn’t better than Carlos Beltran. Rob Refsnyder struggled defensively at third in spring training. Cashman’s quote when asked about Nick Swisher’s running ability at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was hardly an endorsement. “He is running,” Cashman said. “He is out there on two legs.’’
As for a trade, significant deals don’t usually happen until after the June draft unless a team is looking to dump big money and another club has a glaring need.
Cashman never rules out changes via any method, but he and Girardi believe the 25 players on the roster are enough to turn a miserable first month of the season around.
“The talent level we have in the clubhouse is good enough,’’ Cashman said. “We shouldn’t have to be thinking this way.’’