Cashman threatens to make changes if Yanks don't improve

Brian Cashman won't wait forever.

The New York Yankees are off to an 8-15 start, and sit six games out of the division lead at the end of April. The Yankees general manager said if the club can't "stop the bleeding now," he won't hesitate to make changes if the players can't step up and do it themselves.

"We'll continue to do the work necessary put ourselves in position to succeed, and eventually that worm will turn," he told The New York Post's Ken Davidoff. "In the event things don't turn, I'm going to have to make it turn and be forced to do things that weren't part of the game plan, whatever that would be.

"The best answer would come from this mix of players."

New York is batting .234, good for 23rd in the bigs, which translates into the second-least hits in the majors. Individually, Yankee players are doing their part in helping out the team.

Although Mark Teixeira is batting .225, he leads the club with 15 walks. Alex Rodriguez is batting .203, but has a team-leading five homers. The only player producing consistently is Starlin Castro, who is slashing .314/.352/.500 with 27 hits and 12 RBIs.

But there's one player who is significantly worse than anyone on the roster: Chase Headley.

Although he dealt with a back issue in the past, Cashman brushed off any excuse that could hinder his third baseman from performing well.

The GM used Aaron Hicks as a point of comparison, saying that in limited at-bats, he still makes hard contact, and has been "to some degree unlucky" with lineouts.

"I can't really say the same for Chase," Cashman said. "Chase has struggled. He has struggled significantly. It's more because he's struggling rather than anything else.

"He's getting his walks, and thank God for that because it would be worse (without them). He has not been able to impact the baseball like he's capable of. We have problems all over, but ... he's definitely someone you can point to and say we have to figure it out. He's struggling the most."