Royals pose stout ALDS challenge for Yankees as dangerous team: Brian Cashman
The Yankees’ last 10 trips to the postseason did not end at the Canyon of Heroes.So Brian Cashman knows all too well that no matter how good he feels about his club heading into October — or what their potential path to the World Series might look like — it only takes a few bad games for all of that to come crashing down.But the Yankees will try again beginning Saturday against the Royals in the ALDS, attempting to capture the franchise’s elusive 28th championship.“I think we have a great shot, but we only have a great shot if we play our best baseball,” Cashman said Thursday on a Zoom call.“I know that we have the capabilities, but at the same time, I’d caution that we had the capabilities many times before.
You have to match those capabilities with great defense, great baserunning, tremendous offensive at-bats against extremely tough pitching and obviously the most important aspect is pitching to the best of your abilities.“I think we have the pieces that are here, we have the will to make it happen.Now we just gotta go up against an opponent that’s very worthy.
They earned their right to be here and they’re a dangerous team as we just recently saw when we faced them not too long ago.”Cashman was speaking a day after the Yankees’ annual playoff nemesis (Astros) and their recent division nemesis (Orioles) were both eliminated from the playoffs.Suddenly, it is just the Yankees and three AL Central teams — a division the Yankees have made a habit of chewing up and spitting out in recent Octobers — left standing on the AL side of the bracket.But the Royals possess the kind of starting pitching — led by Seth Lugo (the likely Game 3 starter) and lefty Cole Ragans (Game 2 starter), who will both receive AL Cy Young votes, with veteran Michael Wacha going in Game 1 — that can keep teams up at night.And given that it has been mostly the offense going cold that has been their downfall in recent postseason runs, history threatens to repea...