LAS VEGAS — For likely the last time in what could be a long time, the baseball world convened this week in the land of craps and slot machines for the annual GM meetings.
And hanging over all of it — besides the smoke emanating from the stuffy first floor of the Aria Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas strip — was the lockout that is inevitably coming at midnight on Dec. 1.
And yet, there was also a sense of normalcy and familiarity to Brian Cashman’s 75-minute session with reporters on Tuesday. Once again, he was defending the Yankees’ work and process — maybe not quite as colorfully as in his memorable defense at the 2023 GM meetings — after another season ended without a World Series championship, the drought now extending to 17 years, matching the franchise’s longest since winning their first title in 1923.
In the time since the Yankees were swept by the Rays in the ALDS, they have been bombarded with criticism, not just from their fans but a handful of their former players, ranging from Jorge Posada and Joe Girardi to CC Sabathia and Anthony Rizzo.