Memo to Yankees: Get Rid of Cashman!

Those of you who have followed my dissatisfaction with this year's player acquisitions and deacquisitions by the New York Yankees, and those of you who have suffered through some pretty insufferable games at the stadium in the Bronx these past few months, might appreciate YANKS TRADE STAR PLAYERS, KEEP DUD G.M., by Murray Chass, a former New York Times sportswriter. On this I think he is spot-on. If the Yankees have any hope of getting my complete devotion back, they really must get rid of Brian Cashman. Dud G.M., indeed!

Yankee Stadium, June 11, 2016.

I keep hearing how the Yankees traded Andrew Miller for prospects that will build the team in the future. As I've noted before, there are still about two months more of baseball left this year (for the Yankees, that is), and I haven't been enjoying the games recently. I have posted my remaining tickets for sale. So far, no bites (I'm not taking a loss, so won't discount below what I paid for them). So I do resent the abandonment of the current licensees for some unknowable "future" team. And if Cashman behaves as he has in the past, he will trade many of these great "prospects" in the off-season for more has-been players. My prediction, agree or not as you believe.

My sales rep says that I will be letting him down if I don't renew my season tickets. Ah, well, never knew it was my duty to keep my rep happy, but if so, so long, farewell, and goodbye. I imagine I will be buying single tickets here and there next year, at a discount whenever possible.

By the way, I actually enjoyed the Mets-Yankees game last night. I figured I'd mention that, since I've been whining so much recently. I don't expect I'll enjoy that many more games, but since I haven't been able to sell my tickets so far, I imagine I'll be hanging out in the Bronx more days than not. I'll be there tonight, for the last Mets-Yankees game of the season.

I intend to cheer for Andrew Miller if he comes in to pitch for Cleveland this weekend. The two photos below are from the game on July 22, when he pitched against San Francisco as a Yankee (I saw him in the stadium the last time as a Yankee on July 23, but didn't take photos).

A rainbow over Yankee Stadium on June 11.

I have enjoyed several double rainbows at Yankee Stadium over the years. Unfortunately, they don't occur all that often, and rarely predict that the Yankees have a pot of gold at the end of the rainbows. And I do understand that in order to see the rainbows, you often have to survive the storms. I hope the current storm passes quickly. I'd like more rainbows.

Goodbye, Andrew Miller! Goodbye, Yankees!

This morning the Yankees announced that they've traded closer Andrew Miller to Cleveland.

With that trade, they also lost a full-season ticket holder for next year (and I've put up for resale most of my tickets for the rest of this year). Andrew Miller was the last Yankees player I could cheer for unabashedly. I like a few of the players who are left, but none enough to buy a T-shirt with their number or chant their names. I do like Carlos Beltran, but he won't be a Yankee much longer, nor will some of the other players I've rooted for in the past.

As I wrote in Andrew Miller Is Still the Closer on May 26, Aroldis Chapman was a disgrace to the Yankees uniform. I was thrilled when he was traded to the Cubs last week. I thought that meant that I could now stay for full games and not leave after the eighth inning.

But now I have no reason to even go to the games. The Yankees have no outstanding players left, and they are playing mediocre baseball — they're not even bad enough to be a joke.

If my tickets sell, I will happily be in Central Park or some other outdoor location to photograph nature. If my tickets don't sell, I will drag myself reluctantly to Yankee Stadium and cheer the players on the opposing teams who used to be my favorite Yankees. It's one thing to get my money back, it's another to just throw it away altogether.

On June 26, I went to the Canon Photo Day at Yankee Stadium (one of the perks of being a full-season ticket holder) and had my photo taken with Andrew Miller. It was one of the highlights of my year.

Andrew Miller on June 26, at the Canon Photo Day at Yankee Stadium. The highlight of my year.

I wasn't going to watch today's game, but turned it one while I wrote this. I just heard one of the announcers saying that it's hard to imagine the Yankees making it to the playoffs this year. Yes, indeed. Or next year, or any other year, as long as Yankees management signs players who are abusers and trades players who are worth cheering for.

Goodbye, Yankees. As I've learned from dropping other season tickets and subscriptions, after a while, I won't miss them. As long as Brian Cashman is general manager, and the Yankees are more concerned about making money than in playing good baseball, I'll spend my money elsewhere.