Friday, July 24, 2015

Reality check: The Yankee resurgence is still based on the abysmal AL East

The Division Race
This much we know:

1. Mother Nature is a maniac. (Via Chandler Brossard)

2. Money is piss, and the sparrow is immortal. (Via Charles Bukowski)

3. The AL East pretty much sucks. (Via everybody with eyes). The Yankees' recent conga line of wins stems, at least partly, from the stunning wretchedness of the division. Boston is a certified SuperFund cleanup, (though their farm system is still rated tops by their cousins at ESPN, and - dammit - I'm still p.o.ed about Yoan Moncada.) Before Toronto won yesterday, we were the only team over .500. After watching Baltimore this week, does anyone really think Buck can suddenly win 18 out of 20?

The Wild Card Race
4. Any day now, Brian Cashman will don his surgical scrubs and give this team its annual midsummer nose job. At least this year, he won't be cutting in the E.R. Thus, there is ABSOLUTELY NO FRIGGIN REASON why Cashman should over-reach in a deal - that is, trade away our future for next year's Stephen Drew, Alfonso Soriano, or a bulging disk to be named later. NO REASON.

Cash claims he will not trade Luis Severino or Aaron Judge (who has not played in a week now; injury?), but 22-year-old AAA catcher Gary Sanchez and the rented mule called Rob Refsnyder have become the blogosphere's choices to go. I dunno about this. Yeah, it would be nice to plug an Ian Kinsler into our lineup. But one of the best parts of 2015 has been looking at Scranton box scores and actually seeing prospects instead of 30something retreads. Let's hope Cash does the right thing. It would be nice to think that, if he blows this, he will be held accountable. But that's simply not true. He is probably Yankee GM for life. So he's going to do whatever he wants.
The Best Records in the League

5. But maybe we have to do something. A few dangerous teams remain in contention for the Bud Selig expanded one-game Wild Card birth. I, for one, would NOT want to face a healthy and hot Detroit Tigers in a five-game series. Nope. Been there, done that. They eat us alive. It's well worth it for the Yankees to chase the league's best record, not the division's. Gary Sanchez might have to get sacrificed. But I do hope Refsnyder gets another shot. It just seems like he's earned it.

6. If the Yankees are going to have another great team in my lifetime - a three or four world championship team - it needs to start soon. These young players must be a part of it. Or as Russell Baker once said, "In the long run, we're all dead."

2 comments:

  1. Brilliant. A classic JuJu tactic must be applauded. Rule 12.b: Denigrate and diminish all success e.g. "We can't be this good, the competition really sucks." Bravo

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  2. I think Keynes, the economist, said that first.

    ReplyDelete

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