NEW YORK — Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, faced with the team’s worst season in more than 30 years, admitted “it’s been a disaster” and promised a search to find out the cause.
New York entered Wednesday with a nine-game losing streak and was on the verge of losing 10 in a row for the first time in 110 years.
“It’s definitely a shock,” Cashman said before the Yankees played Washington. “We’re embarrassed by it.”
New York (60-65) had lost nine straight games for the first time since Sept. 13-21, 1982, hitting .176 during the slide with 21 runs. Another defeat would give the Yankees their first 10-game skid since May 21 to June 6, 1913, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Cashman said all options will be examined in looking at injuries, evaluation and underperformance. He said those evaluations would include the status of himself and Boone.
“There’s definitely going to be a lot of internal assessments going on,” he said.
The Yankees began the night 10 1/2 games back for the AL’s third and final wild card, also trailing Toronto, Boston and the Los Angeles Angels.
“You have to be a realist with how far we’re back now from the wild card, who we’re chasing,” injured first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “We’re certainly not out of it, but we have a very, very long shot from being in it.”
The Yankees were 24-40 since peaking at 36-25 on June 4. During that stretch, they were last in the majors with a .220 batting average and 237 runs — 10 fewer than lowly Oakland.
“It’s all-consuming. That said, you always try to have a level of perspective that I certainly do in my life,” manager Aaron Boone said. “School’s getting ready to start, a couple going off to college and trying to be as present as you can be there, too. So you do try and separate, and I think I’m decent at it.”
Boone has discussed the slide with owner Hal Steinbrenner.
“He’s certainly frustrated, obviously, as we all are,” Boone said. “But I think we’re all in this together and share that kind of same feeling. So I don’t think he’s necessarily pointedly angry at me in these meetings.”
NOTES: Rizzo, sidelined by a concussion, took on-field batting practice and thinks he will return this season. “I don’t think it’s a certainty or it’ll all be predicated on if he’s good to go,” Boone said.
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