The Grinch picks a bad time to mess with Yankees GM Brian Cashman
Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” begins with its titular curmudgeon dead set on taking any and all joy out of an entire town before the start of the holiday season. When you put it that way, it makes sense that The Grinch would show up just as New York Yankees fans found out Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani wasn’t coming to their team.
We know that seems like a weird segue, but at least it’s accurate. As general manager Brian Cashman was telling millions of Yankees fans the team was out of the running for Ohtani, a person dressed as the Grinch made an ill-timed photobomb … or videobomb … is that a thing?
The whole interaction lasts just six seconds, but it’s glorious. You can tell from the instant you see the green mask in the background that you’re in for an awkward exchange.
Imagine being the person dressed as the Grinch, thinking you are going to joke around with Cashman while he’s being filmed by camera. As you begin to do your schtick, you hear the phrase “We started to get a feel that wasn’t good,” and you are immediately filled with severe regret. Since there’s no way to make a graceful exit in a Grinch mask you just kind of awkwardly slink away, lingering in the background a little too long before finally getting fully out of the shot.
In the 1957 book (spoilers ahead in case you’re the one person in the world who hasn’t read it), the Grinch eventually sees the error of his ways, returns the things he stole from Whoville and celebrates with the residents of the town. It’s a happy ending.
That’s not going to be the case here. The Grinch probably can’t make Ohtani change his mind about the Yankees. The 23-year-old two-way stud has made his list of seven finalists, and the Yankees were surprisingly not on it.
Then again, the Grinch’s heart did grow three sizes by the end of the book, so anything is possible. That was fiction, though. This is real life, and reality is often disappointing.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
