Nick Carfardo, one of the Globe's gaggle of go-to Gammonites, says Prince Hal and Bathhouse Brian will be hot into the bidding war for Nelson Cruz, based on his 2014 contract season numbers and the fact that he is one of the few free agents old enough to remember Fawn Hall and Ollie North's shredding parties.
Cruz would be a perfect fit for the Yankees next year because:
1. He'll be 35.
2, He'll want three years.
3. We need DH backup for Carlos Beltran, Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann and Al Rodriguez. (Note: To reduce fan backlash, the Official Policy of IT IS HIGH is that A-Rod in 2015 needs to rebrand himself as "Al Rodriguez." Imagine The Master's new home run call: "IT'S AN AL BOMB... FROM AL! AL THE GREAT CONQUERS AGAIN!")
4. We'll wear out opposing teams, whose fielders will have to move from the right side over-shift to the left side over-shift.
5. Who needs draft picks anyway?
6. It's what Old George would have done.
If you buy the increasingly likely notion that Hal - the Boss' son - is simply tracking through his dad's evolutionary model, then the Yankees will be hapless for at least five years - until the Mets have risen to take NYC. (Considering how screwed up they look, we might be down for 10 years.) During the 1980s, the Iron Rule of Steinbrennerian Messing Up was to always buy high and sell low - Steve Kemp, Danny Tartabull, Tony Womack, et al. What better way to honor Old George than to add a DH, who's just had his best year, to a team of DHs.
You know, the more I think of this, the more it HAS to happen. It's like one of those ancient Greek tragedies, where the kid simply has to schztup his mom before we can move on to Act III.
The day we sign Nelson Cruz will bring about one of those out-of-body moments of mental torture. Randy Levine will host the news conference. They'll fit Nelson for the cap. The sportswriters will talk about the 40 home runs he'll hit. And the fan base will be even more polarized than it is now. (Have you see the viciousness on River Ave's comments section? You can't go five comments in without seeing a personal attack.)
You'll see half the Yankee fanbase sticking to the belief that the front office has a plan, because they know things that we don't, and that even if it looks bad, that they are doing this to help - and it will be just like all the things we say about the government.
The bottom line: We'll assure ourselves that the people in power would never make a move simply for the sake of making a move, would they? It's all about winning, right? Not just getting attention. Right?
And then we'll start imagining The Master's call. "IT'S A CRUZ MISSILE! NELSON ROCKS A FELLER!" We might as well get Fawn and Ollie back together. It's 1985 all over again.
Double down on stupid, Baby. That's the way we roll!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/jorge-mateo-scouting-report/
ReplyDeleteLooks like we've dug up another young prospect to trade away for a DH!