Kevin Baker's book is here!

Kevin Baker's book is here!
"... an exemplary sports book..." Kirkus Reviews

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Yankees are waist deep in the Big Muddy (Stephen Drew), and the big fool (Girardi) says to push on

Question for the day: Where's Brian Roberts, the former Mr. Oriole? Can he hit off a tee? Does he ever take grounders? Fifteen months ago, the Retrieval Empire waived Roberts, because he was hitting a paltry .240! Now...

Insert horrible scream here.

All right, get a grip. One of the kinkier truths of the 2015 season is that the Yankee "baseball men," the gin-swollen golfers who cut the cards, generally did well. Give them credit: They discovered Didi Gregorius, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Miller, and the cast of Glee, also known as the bullpen. And yes, we are a mere fan-in-the-cheap-seats blog. What do I know? What does any of us know?

Well, we know this: As longtime and desperate Yankee fans, we remember the 14-year turd-barf, when the Yankee brain trust was fruited Jell-O, and our "baseball men" were merely 24/7, toady extensions of George Steinbrenner's sagging mental gonads. As a result, we shall never be able to simply sit back and accept their virtuous wisdom. My Yankees, right or wrong... if right, to bat left, and if wrong, then for Godsake, scream bloody murder at the bozos who signed Pavano and Igawa.

So... I won't say the name. Let's call him Big Muddy. We saw what happened last night. The game bounced off his glove and hit him in the chin. It floated through his legs into right-center field. On YES, Paul O'Neill - apparently in some drug delirium - opined that Chase Headley had thrown him "a change-up" on the slow lob, which would have ended the inning. That's like saying Attila the Hun was "not quite himself" when he raped half the Asian continent. Last night, Big Muddy went one-for-two, raising his average to .205. That's about as good as it's going to get. Two weeks ago, we thought we saw a glimmer. Now, infield pop ups and grounders to second. And the big fool says to push on.

Listen: I don't like drilling for Yankee scapegoats. Believe me, it's no fun. The 2015 Yankees have come a long way, exceeded expectations, and obviously, Big Muddy has the support of his manager and teammates. That says something about loyalty, team spirit and his personal character. I get that. But it's been five frickin' months, patiently waiting for hope. We all figured that, at a certain point, Big Muddy would learn to bunt or hit to left, where the defense doesn't even bother to play. We figured it would improve. Or at least, that he would field his position well.

Insert barf here.

I'm starting to think the entire 2015 season has been an elaborate, reality TV show practical joke on Rob Refsnyder. Poor kid. He had a nice spring training, was dropped to Scranton and got off to a terrible start in the field. An error every game. He settled down, started hitting, raised his average to .300, and message boards were full of fans who said he was doing all right in the field. The Yankees brought him up for a then-critical series in Boston. He homered to win a game. The team said publicly that he was going to get a shot after the All-Star break. Apparently, he didn't bow and scrape to the right guy. After one series, he was demoted. From there, demoralized, he went into a deep slump. It's the Frankie Cervelli Story, all over again - but with one difference: Instead of having Brian McCann to play the position, the Yankees are pushing on with Big Muddy.

Well, last night, Big Muddy swallowed us, alive. Here come the Blue Jays. The Big Fool says to push on. Like, what other choice do we have? At this point, none.

But here's an essay question for the "baseball men:"

How does a team with a $200 million payroll and a supposedly rising farm system go an entire calendar year with a so-so fielder who barely hits .200?

Neck deep in the Big Muddy.

12 comments:

JM said...

Drew can't hit and is only in there for his glove, which hasn't been there when needed at key moments lately. Refsnyder, attitude aside, has been criticized for his defense, although he did an excellent job when here.

Result? Drew is still there.

Warren was pushed to the pen even though he was, at the time, our best or nearly our best starter. He cannot become a starter again, because then what long man would we have in the pen? However, if Warren had remained a starter, we would arguably have needed the pen less than we have. CC can only effectively get through a lineup once, which limits him to about 3-5 innings, during which he is pretty darn good...the perfect length for a long man.

Result? Warren in the pen, CC starts.

Miller has been an excellent closer who has, even as the innings pile up, shown he can hold a team scoreless for one inning. In games where we are tied in the 9th, with one recent exception I seem to recall, Girardi will not use Miller. He is, after all, the closer, and may be needed the next day. (He did the same with Mariano.) Saving the best relievers for another day, when they are not worn out from the day(s) before, has led to at least a couple/few losses this year. Like other Girardi decisions that have cost us a couple/few games, they are why we are in second place instead of in first with a 4 or 5 game lead.

Result? Mattingly is still in LA.

I'm sure there are others, but when a horse is dead, it's dead.

cabish47 said...

El Duque, John M, et al.'

I agree, BUT early in the season would you have signed up for where the Yanks are on September 10? I would have. Are they flawed? Who of us isn't? But they have stayed with young players more than before, breathing life and hope into what has been a moribund organization.

Better times are ahead. Oh no, I sound like the anti-Alphonso.

ceeja said...

Well the bigger problem is they do not score runs against bullshit pitching and put themselves in a position to lose these close games.

Parson Tom said...

last night's game was torture. I was ready to give CC a standing O for getting through the 4th. why did Joe bring him out again? all year long, he's wilted in the 5th. Drew has been mostly decent in the field, but last night was so awful, he should sit. play Pirela. play Robbie the Ref.

oh, and by the way, the Rangers are coming. and the Twins.

Parson Tom said...

and to ceeja's point, Ubaldo Jimenez, who specializes in crappy pitching, looked like Cy Young out there after the third inning. ridiculous!

joe de pastry said...

Both New York teams are in pennant races.
One makes several trades at the deadline, then zooms into first place, sweeps its nearest rival on the road in a key September series, and takes a commanding lead in its division.
The other does nothing at the trade deadline, loses its division lead, then meets the new division leader in a huge four-game September series at home and . . . .
We ARE living in an alternative universe.

Dutchfan said...

It feels like the Drewquation stat that had been used to determine the scoreplus value of second basemen since 1957 clearly indicates that Refsnyder has the edge over Drew.
Looking at the BSRPA Drew shows a slightly better average than Ref. .445 VS .369. Of course the sample is rather small for Ref, but still.
On the other hand there is the BLAFWNC and there we see a totally different picture. Ref shows a solid 22.889 with a .299 standard deviation. Mediocre of course but then we look at Drew. A shocking 68.991!!
There shoild be no discussion at all who should be playing second base for the Yankees.

Anonymous said...

What ever happened to Kevin Long???? He appears to be doing a good job with the first place Mets, while the second place Yankees can only hit home runs. Could Long's departure be another Girardi dastardly deed????? When will the Yankee front office wake up and understand that Joe Girardi does not know how to manage anything!!! He is a follower not a leader....

Mark said...

Girardi and Rothchild are keeping this unique transition going in a pennant race. Not one of us thought this roster had a chance in April, mix in never-ending injuries and Girardi clearly has been great. mattingly? Seriously? Leading off Rollins and his 295Obp etc.

Leinstery said...

I don't think we have a rising farm system. I think that yet again we have been fooled by the hype. The only thing that can save this team is about 8 more Didis.

Beana27 said...

That would be 16 Di's

Isiyku Abdulahi said...

I really want the world to know about this great man who brought back happiness into my life again after my husband left me and the kids 3 years ago for another women online when i contacted Dr Believe he cast a love spell for me within 48 hours my ex husband start calling me and begging for forgiveness for everything that have happened between us. I was so happy to have my family back together with love again here is the email of Dr Believe via believelovespelltemple@gmail.com a man with the great powers you can also call him or add him on Whats-app: +2348156148821
God bless you
I am very grateful for your help in my marriage.