Yankees scapegoats: 1 to fire, 1 to put on the hot seat, 1 to be patient with

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The New York Yankees haven't gone on a firin' spree since the days of George Steinbrenner, but did undergo a mini remodel a few years back when both Aaron Boone lieutenant Phil Nevin and hitting coach Marcus Thames found themselves out of a job in an attempt to shift the culture.

It seemed to work ... insanely well for the first half of 2022, but all's been rolling downhill ever since. The Yankees have been a roughly-.500 club since the 2022 trade deadline -- or, more specifically, they fell way below .500 in August, rallied in September, found themselves embarrassed in the ALCS, and are in danger of drowning yet again following Aaron Judge's toe injury.

Something has to change, given the spotlight that's eternally on this team. But how many heads must role? And will it really make much of a difference?

If this season ends in turmoil, out of the playoffs, the Yankees might have to make some high-profile changes yet again to appease the masses. How far will they go, and who has the best chance of staying?

Firing Yankees Scapegoats: Who should go if Yankees miss 2023 MLB Playoffs?

1 Yankees scapegoat for the hot seat: Dillon Lawson

Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson seems to have done admirable work in the Houston Astros' minor-league system in the mid-2010s, and was part of an effective revolution in the Yankees' minor-league ranks from 2018-2021. When the Yankees promoted him to be their big-league hitting coach, they thought they'd found the man who was responsible for so much accelerated offensive development below the MLB surface.

They might've picked the wrong guy yet again.

Lawson's Yankees haven't made a tangible leap from the middle-of-the-road offense that wrapped 2019. Through June 2022, he looked like a world-beating genius, but that team's horrific second half (non-Aaron Judge division) and 2023 swoon have left him reeling and taking postgame hostage interviews in front of a brick wall at Fenway.

Lawson's simplistic message -- "Hit Strikes Hard" -- is prime fodder for the media if his team is struggling. Certainly, his philosophy goes deeper than that, but it's an easy phrase to latch onto when things aren't working. Anthony Volpe seeking swing solutions at a chicken parm dinner rather than in several meetings with his hitting staff also isn't a fantastic look/endorsement of trust in Lawson.

If the Yankees are raking, "Hit Strikes Hard" sounds like a powerhouse motto. If they're flailing, whiffing, and hitting the ball into the ground, it's laughably reductive. Lawson might not be actively hurting the team's patchwork offense, but he's not helping much these days (though, yes, the cast also stinks). He'd be the easiest name to dismiss if the end of the season matches the first half.

1 Yankees scapegoat to be patient with: Aaron Boone

Be honest with yourself: Most of the time, when you conjure up the words, "Fire Aaron Boone!" there isn't really a reason behind them. You're just furious with the way a certain game played out, or you're consumed by this possibility you've created that this team "just can't get over the hump" with Boone in charge, a logical fallacy that can never be proven, and grows clearer in your mind with every title he doesn't win.

Boone's in-game management and bullpen decisions leave a good deal to be desired, and there's certainly a lingering worry that he'll never be able to out-maneuver a master tactician in a head-to-head matchup. But wouldn't you have said the same about Dusty Baker just a few years ago? It remains unclear if Boone improves this team's chances of capturing a ring. Ultimately, the Yankees can do better. But, of all the problems with this team's ethos, it's certainly reductive to pin the franchise's entire malaise on his "fine-not-great" stewardship.

Was Joe Girardi a great manager? Absolutely not. His moribund 2013-2014 rosters overperformed and finished over .500, but Boone's trainwreck of a 2019 roster, filled with hundreds of injury replacements, won 103 games. He was chased out of town when he lost the next generation, led by his public distrust of Gary Sánchez. The same thing happened to him in Philadelphia last season, when he was replaced by former Yankees lieutenant Rob Thomson, who immediately took his same, dead roster to the World Series. But ... he won a World Series, didn't he? He rode the binder, he employed a three-man rotation, and he won a World Series. Boone's peak may very well have been 2019, when he legitimately guided a bizarro world Yankees roster to the edge of a title. His fate may have been completely different if Mike Tauchman hadn't gone down in September, unable to replace Giancarlo Stanton in the ALCS, a legitimately crazy thought. He certainly hasn't done enough to earn the leash he was given this offseason by the Yankees' brass.

But, more often than not, Boone isn't the problem when the offense dies or the player development staff can't translate a prospect's minor-league production to the majors. He's just the face of it all. In another year, he might meet his expiration date, But it's tough to pin this 2023 slumber on him, unless you think some random firebrand veteran voice could wake Josh Donaldson up overnight. Remember when you all wanted Buck Showalter? He might be available again soon.

1 Yankees scapegoat to fire: Brian Cashman

Will Brian Cashman be fired? You already know the answer to that. He was extended after an ALCS dismantling where someone under his watch decided to show the 2022 Yankees motivational footage of the worst postseason collapse in franchise history. Often a circus, it's possible the modern Yankees have never been more embarrassing.

But should Cashman be fired? He's certainly made a number of shrewd, low-dollar deals over the years, adding relievers and below-the-radar bats like Gio Urshela and Luke Voit to supplement his highest earners. But it's difficult to argue he's maximized his resources. The Yankees might not carry a $450 million payroll like some fans wish, but $290 million is more than enough to hold the trophy at the end of the year. Even the most ardent Cashman defenders, at this point, have to admit it may be time for a change of voice at the most desirable position in MLB. Who doesn't want control over the Yankees' fortunes? Which budding exec wouldn't want to be handed $250 million minimum, with only Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton (partially Marlins money) weighing the payroll down long-term?

If the Yankees ever were going to dismiss Cashman, it would be difficult for Hal Steinbrenner to look his longtime accomplice in the eyes during the conversation. It would also almost certainly come after missing out on postseason revenue altogether, which could very well happen this season, even if the Yankees sneak in as the lower-seeded road team in a doomed Wild Card series.

The dismissal would also likely require a clear cause-and-effect. Look no further than the 2022 MLB trade deadline, when Cashman went all in on acquiring Andrew Benintendi (freak injury) and couldn't manage to re-sign him. He also surrendered the farm for Frankie Montas, whose shoulder was already injured, one of the more egregious misallocations of resources in modern MLB maneuvering. This is not to even mention Hayden Wesneski for Scott Effross, whose Tommy John surgery only further underscored the disaster. And don't forget dealing Jordan Montgomery for Harrison Bader without assurances from Marlins GM Kim Ng that they were also receiving Pablo López, something that maybe didn't happen, but almost definitely happened.

Excepting 2023 from the conversation (because this is a reality-based chat), the only team Cashman has ever constructed "from the ground up" that's won a title was in 2009, when George Steinbrenner's passing seemed imminent and Hal and Co. gave him the go-ahead to buy AJ Burnett, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. But even that team lacked depth. The postseason rotation was three men deep (CC, AJ, Andy Pettitte); Cashman forgot to insure against Chien-Ming Wang's regression and attempted to survive with Sergio Mitre, Chad Gaudin, Joba Chamberlain, and ... ???. He's lucky it worked.

Plus, that '09 team was still powered by the Core Four, all drafted and developed by the brilliant Gene Michael. Cashman didn't uncover Derek Jeter. He splashed cash around him, barely survived with a thin rotation, and secured exactly one ring in two decades. The playoffs may be a crapshoot, but that doesn't sound like someone's resumé we should be eternally indebted to.

The best version of the modern Yankees probably involves neither Cashman nor Boone, but the GM's shoddy roster construction has grown more egregiously stale than the manager's caretaking.

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