Kevin Baker's book is here!

Kevin Baker's book is here!
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Sunday, June 26, 2016

One above .500, chasing the Wild Card, with a hot kid at Triple A

First, the real news: Above .500, we're going with the taco shot! It's been our best juju this year. TA-CO! TA-CO!

Now, the secondary lead: Aaron Judge - the New York Giant - homered again yesterday. He's now tied for the International League lead with 15. Judge has lifted his average to .263 after a hell slump that dropped him to the dungeons of .220. In the beautiful month of June, he is batting .337. Three thirty seven.

He is hitting .250 against lefties, .269 against righties (he is RH). He still strikes out too much - 75 on the season - and he has a bazooka for an arm, with six assists. He's shaping up as a classic streak/slump slugger, the type who carries a team for a few weeks, then hibernates. I can handle that.

Judge has gotten hot just as the Yankees finally poke their heads above water - (thank you, Minnesota) - for a brief glimpse of the AL Wild Card race. Unfortunately, four teams are ahead of them, and each their lineups looks young and formidable.

So... if the Yankees are actually going to chase the away berth Wild Card, what do they do with their best hitting prospect since Joggie Cano? Do we leave him in Scranton and wait for his next brain-numbing slump? Trade him for a Lance Berkman? Bring him up and displace - well - whom?

Obviously, we know the answer: The god of injuries will provide an opening. It's almost time for Jacoby Ellsbury or Brett Gardner to shim a lumbago, or maybe Carlos Beltran will stub his kneecap in bed again.

Other than a blocked artery, the choice would be to sit the guy producing the least, our Hall of Fame designated hitter, currently batting .223, and chasing Babe Bonds. Several times this season, the Yankees have hearkened back to 2005, the year they brought up Robbie Cano and Chien-Ming Wang and ditched the big-money globules that were taking up space. Trouble is, this year's team didn't have a Cano or a Wang to juice the lineup. Now, maybe we have somebody worth promoting. So... now what? Aaron Judge can't stay this hot forever. Scranton will explode.

5 comments:

Parson Tom said...

What happened with Severino? Total flash in the pan? I had him pencilled in for Cy Young and Rookie of the Year. Obviously, he sucked in April, but is that the end of the "next Pedro"?

Anonymous said...

THEY KEEP MENTIONING JUDGE'S STRIKEOUT RATE, AND HE DOES STRIKEOUT A LOT, BUT SO DOES EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE SPORT THESE DAYS!!!.....

Anonymous said...

Allegedly, Reggie Jackson has been coaching Aaron Judge. Hence, the home run binge. Judge has not been striking out at the same rate as early in the season.
Why bring Judge up, since moron Girardi won't let him play everyday.

Anonymous said...

YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT Anonymous, IT WON'T BE GOOD IF JUDGE GETS PROMOTED AND GIRARDI DOESN'T PLAY HIM MOST DAYS...BUT THAT'S WHERE OUR "DECISION-MAKERS" HAVE TO SHOW THEIR SMARTS (WHICH THEY PROBABLY DON'T HAVE), BY PROMOTING JUDGE AND PLAYING HIM AGAINST RIGHTIES AND LEFTIES.....BECAUSE IT IS IN THE TEAM'S BEST INTEREST FOR THE FUTURE!!!....CAN'T THEY FIGURE THAT OUT???.... CAN'T THEY UNDERSTAND????

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