Brian Cashman calls out Astros in what Yankees fans are praying won't be a jinx

Nobody was thinking about the Houston Astros. Not a single soul. Not with MLB finally getting its desired World Series matchup between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers — one that's felt like it was in the making since 2017.

Oh, speaking of 2017, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman decided to open up old wounds when he was asked about the franchise's 15-year World Series drought (for both appearances and championships) by Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo.

Much of the talk over the last few days has been about the Yankees finally capturing that elusive AL Pennant after making six ALCS appearances since 2010. But everyone knows the real struggle began in 2017, when the team made an improbable run to come within one game of the Fall Classic.

Who did they run into that year? The buzzsaw that became the Astros dynasty. Only problem? They were absolutely cheating that year, and there's belief their sign-stealing scandal may have persisted through the 2019 campaign.

Cashman cited that as the main reason the Yankees were mired in the "15-year thing" that he "hates" discussing.

Brian Cashman calls out Astros when asked about Yankees' 2024 World Series berth

Don't jinx us now, Brian. We've made it too far. Why are we giving the haters fuel from their couch this October? Plenty of fans are already whining about this World Series matchup because it apparently happens too often despite this being the first time in 43 years NY and LA both made it all the way.

What's also frustrating about Cashman's comments is that 1) the Yankees shot themselves in the foot in both of those ALCS matchups against the Astros and 2) everybody is fully over the Astros compromising the integrity of the game.

In the 2017 ALCS, the Yankees scored THREE RUNS across four games in Houston. Even though the Astros had introduced some slimy tactics, none of them were stopping the Yankees from averaging more than one run per game. Fast forward to 2019, and the Yankees blew their home field advantage when they dropped Games 3 and 4 in the Bronx. They also scored only eight runs in their three home games.

So, yes, the Astros' scandal will forever remain one of the game's biggest "what ifs" for other contenders during that time period, but the Yankees' shortcomings in those matchups ran far deeper, and this definitely doesn't hold enough weight as an excuse since New York's other playoff failures over that span (two losses to Red Sox, loss to Rays, another loss to Astros, missed postseason entirely) probably do a better job of telling the story of the organization's failures.

The silver lining here, though? Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw put the Astros on blast out of nowhere, too, so the cosmic imbalance isn't as large as it could be.