CC Sabathia didn’t hold back after the Yankees’ season ended in another October flop.
The Yankees legend, whose No. 52 was recently retired by the team, said the club is missing the kind of internal voice that used to police the room and keep everyone aligned with the standard. His criticism came after New York was swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS.
“No disrespect, but there’s nobody in there keeping that standard,” Sabathia said on @ uptownsportstv. “Once Gardy [Brett Gardner] left, it’s been a wrap.
“When I first came, it was Ron Guidry, Reggie Jackson, Mickey Rivers, Willie Randolph. It was not only the ‘Core 4,’ it was those guys too, so you knew what the standard was. The standard was sitting in the f---ing room right next to you, the guys ain’t there no more.
“LIke Jorge [Posada’s] not around, Derek [Jeter]’s sitting on the Fox desk, Mo [Mariano Rivera] is somewhere selling hot sauce. You know what I’m saying.
These dudes need to be around the clubhouse. They need to be in Tampa in spring training.
That was the standard. That’s how the standard is set, and those guys ain’t around no more.
It’s completely different.”
Sabathia’s comments fit into a broader wave of criticism from Yankees voices old and new. Red Sox legend David Ortiz said on Fox after Game 3 that players such as Jeter and Alex Rodriguez used to make sure the Yankees were held accountable when the group wasn’t living up to expectations.
ESPN’s Buster Olney also relayed a pointed message from a former player, saying the current team needs to “put down their phones and they have to be a little bit more invested in each other than they have been.”
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