Yankees: Kevin Cash clearly threatened NYY and made everything worse

Kevin Cash didn’t like Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman’s brushback pitch, and he tried to incite more violence.

When the Yankees visited the Rays at the empty Trop in early August, both teams’ chirping rang out loudly after rattling around the empty bleachers.

The combination of losing three out of four, as well as being chased off the plate, was too much for Aaron Boone’s crew, who made it known they didn’t appreciate being crowded. Of course, it was to no avail; the Rays owned the plate, the series, and the upper hand.

But several weeks later, things have very much gotten steered incorrectly.

Something possessed Aroldis Chapman to throw a flaming fastball above Michael Brosseau’s head with two outs in the ninth inning on Tuesday night. Whether it was slippage or suspension-worthy is anyone’s guess, but Rays manager Kevin Cash made his decision immediately, and escalated the situation tremendously in his postgame media session.

Yes, that’s Cash complaining about what he deemed to be headhunting, claiming (as all the Rays did) that a Joey Wendle HBP in the first was intentional and should’ve ended all violence, and then threatening the Yankees with a cadre of 98-mph fastball-possessors waiting for them in the bullpen. He also put the blame on the Yankees’ coaches and culture rather than Chapman.

The Wendle situation is confusing — it didn’t register as anything more than a two-out blunder, and it also came from Masahiro Tanaka’s hand. This was a must-win game. The stately Tanaka was sending a message in the first? The entire Rays roster perceived it that way?

It’s Cash’s finisher that turned Tampa into the aggressor again, though, which Aaron Boone shrugged off after the game repeatedly before pausing to admit he was scared by the insinuation.

When the media writes this story, no matter what happens on Wednesday night (and potentially in the postseason), Cash cannot be lauded as blameless. He turned speculation into an absolute, and threatened to repeat the exact behavior he found to be so objectionable.

Of course, Chapman could’ve potentially cleaned things up a little if he’d taken to the bully pulpit himself after the game.

He declined to do so, which we can all agree is a bit damning.

At the very least, though, he didn’t do the postgame equivalent of the Pedro Martinez point to the head in Jorge Posada’s direction in the Don Zimmer game.

That was Kevin Cash’s territory.

Defending your guys is one thing. Throwing inside is another. But following up a questionable decision where the Yankees are clearly villainous by muddying the waters and adding threats of your own isn’t how this is done.

Cash’s comments are the kind of thing that try to escape your mouth in heated moments, but usually don’t. He let it slip and opened the floodgates, and that portends disaster on Wednesday.

DJ LeMahieu, your thoughts?

Got it. Let’s go play a baseball game.

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