Mike Francesa rips Yankees' Brian Cashman over Dillon Lawson firing
The decision by the Yankees to fire hitting coach Dillon Lawson didn’t sit well with WFAN radio legend Mike Francesa, and he took general manager Brian Cashman to task for making Lawson a scapegoat.
Lawson was relieved of his duties Sunday — and subsequently replaced by Sean Casey — after the Yankees finished the first half of the season with a 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs in The Bronx.
But Francesa laid the blame for the team’s offensive woes at the feet of Cashman.
Heading into the All-Star break, the Yankees collectively had a .710 OPS, 20th in the majors.
“Really scapegoating the batting coach making an in-season change, which is extremely rare for the Yankees and their coaching staff,” Francesa started off the latest episode of his self-titled BetRivers podcast.
“Basically laying the blame somewhere. Their first-half performance, especially since Judge went out, has been so abysmal offensively that they had to do something, they had to blame somebody.
Mike Francesa placed the blame for the Yankees’ hitting woes on GM Brian Cashman AP
“But let’s be honest, let’s put the blame where it belongs and that is on the people that built the roster, and that starts with Cashman.”
The famed sports host quickly tore into the lineup Cashman and the front office constructed this season, which has fallen well below expectations.
Francesa noted during his nearly 15-minute diatribe on the Bronx Bombers that he always felt “batting instructors in the major leagues were a farce.”
“Their offense is a joke and if you consider that a radical move to get rid of the batting instructor, give me a break,” Francesa said. “That’s a move to show you, ‘Hey we were proactive. We got rid of the batting instructor. We threw him out.’
“How many times did he fail in a big spot? None, because he’s not up. It’s not on him. He’s there to hold people’s hands. … That’s not why the Yankees aren’t hitting.”
The Yankees’ offensive stats have been middle or toward the bottom of the league through the first half of the year.
The offense sat 28th in batting average (.231), 26th in on-base percentage (.300) and 19th in runs (400) after Sunday’s defeat.
The team has also struggled with Aaron Judge sidelined by a toe injury, and Francesa criticized the lack of production coming from Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton in the wake of the superstar’s absence.
“When they needed their two big other bats. Two big bats that you could call 30 home run bats, RBI guys, middle-of-the-order guys,” Francesa continued. “Guys who had to carry the team with Judge out, (Stanton and Rizzo) have both failed miserably.
“But the Yankees continue to thumb their nose at any progress.”
Francesa said the Yankees were “scapegoating” Lawson. CJ Rivera/Invision/AP
Francesca drove home the point that the Yankees lacked strong left-handed hitting, which was hurting them, especially considering how right-handed pitchers have fared against New York so far this season.
In 75 games against righty starters, New York has a slash line of .229/.292/.403.
“You can throw righties at the Yankees all day long, and why wouldn’t you,” he said. “A righty curveball guy. A righty that can do that, like we saw on Friday night, can mesmerize the Yankees because he doesn’t have to do anything against lefties. There’s no lefties that can hurt you.
“The Yankees used to put up five guys that can hit the ball into the lower deck any time, now they don’t have any with Rizzo being the way he is.
Dillon Lawson was fired after a poor showing from the team’s offense. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“So they fire the batting coach, what a joke.”
He added: You want to bring in a new batting instructor, go ahead. Who cares? You think that’s the answer? Try getting some hitters, that’s the answer.”
The Yankees entered the All-Star break with a 49-42 record and sat eight games back of first in the American League East.
They also sit a game back of a wild-card spot.
Source: New York Post
