'The Whole World Knows Why He Was Benched' - Brian Cashman Absolutely Destroyed Gary Sanchez In Response To His Catcher Not Knowing Why He Wasn't Playing At The End Of Last Season
Corey Sipkin. Shutterstock Images.It's no secret to anyone with a working set of eyeballs that Gary Sanchez's 2020 MLB season was nothing short of an abomination. Through his first 100 at bats he had over 50 strikeouts for christ's sake. It never really got better from there as the catcher was eventually benched in October for Kyle Higashioka. I love Higgy and he performed very well in his new role at the end of the season, but Gary Sanchez shouldn't be out the lineup in the postseason. At the end of the day this roster isn't playing to its potential with his bat out of the lineup. His at bats, however, gave the team no choice. Gary was unplayable.
Gary's first two seasons in the big leagues were nothing short of historic out of the catcher position, yet somehow he's been rendered useless to this roster. Now I do love that Gary went to the D.R. in the offseason and played in winter ball. The guy clearly cares and wants to get better so you have to appreciate that, BUT his interview with ESPN's Marly Rivera last month was jarring. Gary somehow questioned why he was benched at the end of the season. He didn't realize his performance offensively and defensively was bottom of the barrel across the sport. Motherfucker was hitting .147 and he's wondering why he's not out there. You threw him a half decent breaking ball out of the zone, odds are he was going to wave at it. I mean what are we doing here?
Well, Brian Cashman heard those comments loud and clear and decided to set things straight in an interview on WFAN…
"I think the whole world knows why he was benched. …it’s pretty much self-aware[ness] at that point," said Cashman. "You had a horrible year on both sides of the ball, you lost your job in the most important time of the season, which is October baseball. I’m not sure if there is an explanation necessary. …Your play speaks for itself, and you either play well enough to keep playing or you don't."
"Whether you were told directly - I'm not saying he wasn't, I'm not saying he was -- I don't really care," Cashman said.
MY GOODNESS. You won't find a more brutally honest answer than that. Oh you wanna know why you were benched? Want it spelled out for you? Well, you fucking suck dude. You were a complete zero for this team in 2020. You want your explanation, well here you go. Say whatever you want about Cashman, but that guy gives it to you straight every single time. Doesn't matter who he's talking to, he'll give you the honest truth if you ask for it. The man doesn't know how to give half ass, beating around the bush answers. It's always been a thing I love about him. He doesn't have time for political answers that keep everyone happy.
Assuming Cash's comments didn't force Gary into retirement, I think Sanchez is actually going to have a resurgent 2021 season. The message has been delivered. The fire has been lit under his ass. Boone's baby sitting ain't going to cut it with Gary. Girardi was hard as shit on him and it kinda worked. I don't hate Cashman going with this rout to try and rediscover Gary's bat. I mean this is it for him. Either show consistent signs of the "El Gary" from a few years ago or you'll be playing elsewhere for the rest of your career. The long, long leash that once was given to number 24 has just about evaporated. I think you see a brand new Gary next season and I'm very excited to see how he looks in a few weeks down in Tampa. It's wild that if this man is able to hit in the .230+ range this lineup becomes that much more deadly. That's all they need from him.
We recapped all the Yankees recent moves including Jameson Taillon and Darren O'Day in our recent episode. Never doubt Brian Cashman.