The Sky's the Limit

The Yankees have been swept. At home. By the Red Sox. Every time we think this bunch of gutless wonders has hit rock bottom, they dig deeper.

On Friday night, Jhony Brito got torched for 7 runs in the 1st 2 innings, and The Scum cruised to an 8-3 win. On Saturday afternoon, Gerrit Cole proved that even he was not immune, allowing 6 in the 1st 4. The Yankees lost, 8-1, getting only 2 hits: A home run by Aaron Judge in the 6th inning, and a single by Greg Allen in the 7th.

And then yesterday afternoon, they got a decent start by Clarke Schmidt, but the game went back and forth, and was tied 5-5 after 8 innings. Clay Holmes was just not quite good enough to allow a run, and the Yankees lost, 6-5.

George Steinbrenner must be wishing he could hold a "reverse séance," so he can tear into his son Hal, Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone and the players. I'm sure he's asking the Vince Lombardi question: "What the hell's goin' on out here?"

What's goin' on is that, with the season 76 percent done, the Yankees are 60-64, including 8 straight losses. They are 17 games out of 1st place, 9 games out of the last American League Playoff spot. They are set for their 1st miss of the Playoffs in 7 years, and their worst season in 31 years.

Let's look at the on-base percentages, for this team that was built on "Bomb the opposition out of the yard, who needs pitching": Aaron Judge .407, Gleyber Torres .335, Greg Allen .333, Anthony Rizzo (injured) .328, Oswald Peraza .328, Billy McKinney .320, Isiah Kiner-Falefa .318, DJ LeMahieu .315, Willie Calhoun .309, Anthony Volpe .293, Jake Bauers .289, Harrison Bader .286, Giancarlo Stanton .281, Kyle Higashioka .272, Oswaldo Cabrera .270, Aaron Hicks (traded) .263, Jose Trevino (injured) .257, Josh Donaldson (injured) .225, Franchy Cordero .211, Ben Rortvedt .208.

Cashman thought he was building a new Murderers' Row. This team can't even fucking jaywalk.

With the condition of the team's starting rotation (which I'll get back to in a moment), we need a strong bullpen. We don't have one, in large part because we have no closer. Saves: Clay Holmes 16, Michael King 6, Wandy Peralta 4, Ron Marinaccio 2, and 1 each for Ian Hamilton, Tommy Kahnle, Ryan Weber (injured) and Deivi Garcia.

Finally, the injuries. This team can't stay healthy. Of the 5 men who were supposed to be in the starting rotation, only Gerrit Cole has avoided the Injured List. His ERA is 3.03. Every other pitcher who has started at least 6 games for the Yankees this season has an ERA of 4.86 or higher.

And the lineup? Volpe has played in all 124 games. Torres has missed only 1. Take everybody else who has played the most games at a particular position for the Yankees this season, and they have averaged missing 39 games, or 31 percent of the season -- nearly 1/3rd.

Cliché Alert: This is the team that Brian Cashman built. And it is the team for which Aaron Boone stands in as manager, though he seems to only follow Cashman's orders.

When Cashman threw four All-Stars -- outfielder Carlos Beltrán and pitchers Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Ivan Nova -- away for countless "prospects" at the trading deadline is 2016, we were told it was to "rebuild the farm system." Even though our top 5 farm teams all made the Playoffs that year.

It's been 7 years. That farm system should have a bumper crop by now. Instead, its biggest product has been Gleyber Torres, and we never know if he's going to be any damn good on any given day.

Brian Cashman has thrown 7 years away. It is time to throw him away. And start over. Tear it all down. Blow it all up. "Break up the Yankees," to use an expression from when the Yankees were feared. Use your own analogy.

But Hal Steinbrenner won't do that. Because he's still making money. Even though the Yankees won't make the Playoffs this season, he's still making money off of attendance, concessions and parking revenue. And if regular fans don't show up? He'll still be making money off of luxury boxes and YES Network TV ratings. He doesn't care enough to remove Cashman. He doesn't have to care.

George cared: He liked to say: "Winning is second to me, only to breathing."

He breathed his last in 2010. Since then, 14 seasons, the Yankees have reached the AL Championship Series 5 times, but haven't won a Pennant, much less a World Series.

Nobody fears the Yankees anymore. Except their own fans.

And still, the team digs deeper.

In 1979, the Knicks were at a similar point, and perhaps their best player at the time, Micheal Ray Richardson, seemed to channel Yankee Legend Yogi Berra, or perhaps a recent Yankee player, Mickey Rivers, and told the media, "The ship be sinking." Asked, "How low can it go?" he said, "The sky's the limit."

How low can it go?

Someone once said, "Don't tell me the sky's the limit, when there are footprints on the Moon."

First of all, it's been over half a century since man set foot on the Moon. Solar wind has erased the footprints. Second of all, what's above the Moon? More sky.

In that great ballpark in the sky, George Steinbrenner, and all the departed Yankee greats going back to Babe Ruth, must be shaking their heads in despair.

How low can they go? Do we really want to know?