Brian Cashman on Yankees: 'I believe strongly in them'

The Yankees’ fan base may be in a state of panic regarding the play of their team — 5-14 in the month of August going into Monday night’s game against the Mets — but longtime general manager Brian Cashman is far from panicked.

“This is a good group. A good group of players that care,” Cashman said a couple of hours before first pitch. “They’re really talented. So certainly acknowledge that this has been a tough stretch and we’re certainly taking it seriously. But the group’s got my belief. I believe strongly in them. I think they’re still capable of everything we ever hoped and dreamed. But we have to weather the storm first and foremost.”

The Yankees entered Monday 74-48, good enough for the American League’s second-best record (behind the 78-45 Astros) and an eight-game AL East lead over Tampa Bay and Toronto.

But they’ve been a train wreck of late, and not just in August. They entered Monday 13-25 in their last 38 games. The stretch has brought mostly angry crowds to the Stadium — crowds not shy about booing just about everyone wearing pinstripes, and also those not wearing them.

Managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, for instance, was loudly booed upon being introduced to the crowd during Paul O’Neill’s jersey retirement ceremony Sunday. Cashman, though not on the field for the ceremony, got the same treatment when his name was mentioned.

“Listen, you get the bouquets come your way when things are flying high and you get the slings and arrows when things aren’t going well. And that’s just the nature of the beast,” Cashman said. “There is no in-between. It’s just either one or the other, and I know I’d rather have the good stuff come in. It’s our job.”

He added: “You hear it loud and clear. We know it and we feel it and it’s our job to find a way to be flying high and make sure that the product out there is something that everybody’s excited about. And so that’s the challenge, and the challenge upon us is to deal with the adversity and get through this sooner than later. But it’s easier said than done.”

Manager Aaron Boone has been the target of fans’ wrath almost from the time of his first losing streak in his maiden 2018 season. Boone’s job isn’t remotely close to being in jeopardy; he received a three-year extension — with a club option for a fourth year — after the Yankees lost in the AL wild-card game last October. Cashman, whose contract does expire after this season (his job isn’t thought to be in jeopardy either), showered Boone with praise.

“I think he’s done a great job. I think he manages extremely well. I think he manages his players extremely well,” Cashman said. “He’s even-keeled. It’s important for our players to see that he can keep his temperament the same for the most part, that they don’t see panic. It doesn’t mean he can’t lose his cool, which he will from time to time when necessary. He has that gear that you can turn to it, and you’ve seen it. But I think his demeanor is vitally important, in a market like this especially.”

About that adversity . . .

The Yankees received a bit more on the adversity front when reliever Scott Effross, pretty good since being acquired at the trade deadline from the Cubs, was put on the injured list with a right shoulder strain. Righthander Clarke Schmidt, who has had trouble sticking in the big leagues this season despite being effective when given opportunities — he has been a victim of having options while some others are out of them — was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he has been stretched out as a starter.

Boone said he could see using Schmidt in a variety of roles — everything from spot-starting to middle relief and even, if the situation called for it, closing.