NEW YORK _ On a gorgeous autumn afternoon, the Yankee Stadium grounds crew was grooming the field for a college football game.
For a 10th straight October, the World Series is being played elsewhere while the Yankees prepare for next year, though "this is a championship-caliber" club according to its chief architect.
"I'm not afraid to admit this was a great team, not afraid to acknowledge that we went up against a great team in Houston," said general manager Brian Cashman on Thursday, five days after being bounced by the Astros in a six-game AL Championship Series.
"I think it's very important not to get emotional (and) to be certainly reflective on areas that you can get better at," said the GM, who'll be conducting organizational meetings next week to set the strategy for 2020.
By overcoming a raft of key injuries to win 103 games and the AL East title, "I wouldn't dismiss all the tremendous things that occurred during the journey," Cashman said of his pride in the club's accomplishments in 2019.
"We failed in our final goal," Cashman said. "But we didn't have a failed season in my opinion."
Here's a look at the items Cashman hit upon during his year-ending address.
