The Yankees are trying to win their first World Series title since 2009, but general manager Brian Cashman thinks there should be an exception.
In an interview with The Athletic on Wednesday, Cashman said that the Yankees are not in a title skid and that the team that lost in the American League Championship Series to the Houston Astros was punished by Major League Baseball.
Cashman told The Athletic that the only thing that stopped the Yankees was something that was illegal. I think we did it the right way and pulled it down. It was drafted well, traded well, developed well and signed well. The only thing that derailed us was a cheating circumstance.
The Astros used a center-field camera, video monitor and trash can to relay pitches to their hitters in real time during the 2017 season, according to MLB. The Astros defeated the Yankees in seven games in the ALCS before defeating the Dodgers in the World Series.
The Yankees have been among the Astros' harshest critics since MLB announced the sign-stealing scandal two years ago, and Cashman acknowledged Wednesday that he still considers the scandal when evaluating New York's recent dry spell.
Cashman told The Athletic that he is past it now. I cannot tell you we would have won. We would have beaten the Dodgers. I feel pretty confident that the Astros were not stopping us because of those advantages. That is all.
Since their loss to Houston in the ALCS, the Yankees have reached the playoffs every year but have not advanced beyond the ALCS and have only won one division title.
Their last trip to the Fall Classic was in 2009, when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies for the 27th championship in franchise history, but Cashman still considers the Yankees a World Series team.
People are saying that we haven't been to a World Series.
I understand that people don't want to hear that. That is real to me. I think it is realistic to all of us.
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