Hal Steinbrenner takes auditing Yankees' baseball operations a step further

Are the New York Yankees -- specifically owner Hal Steinbrenner -- serious about potentially making sweeping changes ahead of the 2024 season? The last time fans heard from Brian Cashman, the general manager felt like everybody was being evaluated regardless of position rank or tenure.

Many have figured manager Aaron Boone would be the easy scapegoat once the 2023 season concludes because it's a big enough change to lessen the noise from the fan base. Additionally, Boone isn't exactly a well-liked figure among Yankees fans, so it would at least satiate some sort of desire for change.

But it appears Steinbrenner is going the extra mile. He hinted at bringing in an outside company to evaluate the team's analytics department a few weeks ago and kept his promise. There's now a third-party audit on the Yankees' advanced baseball operations department.

Though the Yankees have dug out of their hole somewhat and are now a safer bet to finish the season above .500 and outside of last place in the AL East, this still wasn't how the 2023 campaign was supposed to go. And the team's recent stretch of encouraging play (or, at least more encouraging than previous months) might've been Steinbrenner's doing, too.

Per rumors, the owner was the one who orchestrated the promotion of Jasson Dominguez and others against the analytics team's wishes. Perhaps because he's been validated, it could indicate heads will roll when the regular season concludes.

Hal Steinbrenner takes auditing Yankees' baseball operations a step further

The conversation surrounding the Yankees and their expectations will always be a heightened debate, but the fact of the matter is that a team with all of the resources imaginable simply can't endure a pennant drought for 14 years, all the while finding new ways to screw up along the way.

There's always an argument for the most powerful team in baseball to spend more, but a payroll of $250-$290 million should, in theory, get the job done if the baseball operations and scouting departments are also adept at maximizing potential and finding the right talents. Beyond that, it's on the general manager to construct a roster that's well-balanced and not redundant.

Nobody's arguing the Yankees should be winning World Series constantly. All any reasonable fan is asking for is that they're not an embarrassment once they reach the playoffs and that they don't deal with injury after injury and laughable storyline after laughable storyline along the way.

Even 2022, a season that featured the Yankees on pace for the all-time wins record, ended as if the team had missed the playoffs and let everybody down. But that's what happens when you completely fall apart in August, limp into October, and get steamrolled by your chief postseason rival since 2017.

Changes need to be made. It's evident Steinbrenner now feels the heat after all that's transpired in 2023. Fans are just hoping his measures aren't a front to make it appear the team is considering a different direction. All anybody's asking for is accountability, and his audit should find somebody responsible for whatever's been rotting since 2020.