Fortunately, MLB Corp. has engineered a system that makes a .500 record within range of the post-season race. So as long as Team Tepid keeps winning and losing, in equal parts, why opine on what Aroldis Chapman would bring in a trade. We already know:
Eric Jagielo (age 24, hitting .206 with 4 HRs at Double A)
Rookie Davis (23, 6-1 with a 2.54 ERA at Double A)
Caleb Cotham (28, 0-3 with 7.04 ERA with Reds)
and Tony Renda (25, hitting .326 at Double A)
Aside from Davis, who still shows promise, the Reds didn't get much for a top closer and a garage door full of bullet holes. We can put the domestic violence case behind him and hope to get more than spare parts and second chances.
Speaking of second chances, the legacy of Brian Cashman pays homage to the Yankees as the Team of Second Chances. Look at the 2016 squad - Aaron Hicks, Starlin Castro, Dustin Ackley, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda - all with one thing in common: They were disappointments with other teams.
Cashman loves to trade for other teams' flops. It's part of Yankee hubris to believe the other teams were doing something wrong, and once Larry Rothschild gets his hands on a pitcher, blahblah... Trouble is, Cashman doesn't seem enamored with Yankee farm products, even those who show potential.
Long ago, we cut ties with Melky Cabrera, Mark Melancon, Francisco Cervelli, David Robertson and Eduardo Nunez after deciding they just weren't going to make it. This weekend, Nunez was the best player on the field. He is among the league leaders in hitting and stolen bases. We traded him for Miguel Sulbaran, who is somewhere in the Yankee farm system, and who hasn't thrown a pitch this year. It's hard to imagine Melky and Melancon staying all these years with the Yankees, considering the ups and downs in their careers. Still, when you see how Boston stuck with Jackie Bradely Jr. - they waited four years for him to blossom - it hurts to think of Nunez turning into a star, and we got a bale of hay in return, and all of NY marvels over Cashman's wizardry. Yeuch.
But let's get to some exciting personal milestones:
Of course, everybody knows that Alex Rodriguez's next HR, his 696th, will make him the King of Eight Prime, because number 696 is the sum of eight consecutive primes (71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101 and 103.)
But did you know that Mark Teixeira's next two RBIs will put him at the magical number 15 on the year? Of course, he'll be in hot pursuit of Chase Headley who remains at 18 RBIs on the season. (Not that it matters, but in a handful of games, Rob Refsnyder has eight.)
By sitting out yesterday, A-Rod lost ground to Carlos Beltran as team leader in strikeouts, with 54. A-Rod has 53, Headley has 52 and Tex notched his 51st. Of the Yankees starting nine, only Didi Gregorious looks like a sure bet to avoid 100 strikeouts on the season. We could easily be The Team of a Thousand Fans.
And come late September, that's what we might see in the seats.
Ir'a time for serious Yankees fans to consider who replace Brian The Idiot.
ReplyDeleteI have rounded up a few candidates for your consideration:
A. Sarah Silverman
B. Dr. Ben Carson
C. Mighty Joe Young
D. Jack Kevorkian (you'd have to reincarnate him)
E. Denis Leary (you've have to reverse the frontal lobotomy he's already had)
I believe this is only a partial list of realistic candidates who could improve on Brian's work thus far.
That's a formidable list. What about that woman who was stalking Cashman? She might have talent, ya never know.
ReplyDeleteTHAT WAS THE TIP OFF THAT CASHMAN JUST DOESN'T THINK RIGHT.... THAT AFFAIR HE HAD COST HIM HIS MARRIAGE, AND I'M SURE, A FORTUNE....... AND IT WAS WITH SOMEONE WHO WAS CALLED, "INSANE" BY SOME PEOPLE....SOMEONE WHO HAS HAD A DANGEROUSLY SKETCHY PAST.....THAT "BAD" DECISION HAS BEEN THE PRECURSOR TO ALL THE BAD DECISIONS HE HAS MADE WITH US......... I ALWAYS FORGET THAT MELKY WAS A GOOD PLAYER FOR US, I REMEMBER HIM GETTING QUITE A STRING OF GAME WINNING HITS....CAN YOU IMAGINE, WE HAD A CLUTCH HITTER, AND LET HIM GO....... I HATE TO SAY THIS BUT I WOULDN'T MIND HAVING MELKY IN LF IN PLACE OF GARDY........ CASHMAN MUST BE DITCHED.....(GREAT POST-SPOT ON ABOUT THE TOMATO CANS AND CASH)......
ReplyDeleteWhile I embrace the Tankees strategy for reversing our fortunes -- since Food Stamps is no longer willing to be a wheeler-dealer, losses like yesterday -- and the many certain to follow -- are bitter pills to swallow. God, they all suck.
ReplyDeleteWhat we all must remember is that there is no guarantee that, if the Crack Baseball Committee decides to start shedding current assets for future potential, that Cashman can actually make productive transactions. Once a meathead, always a meathead? I mean, look at the Atlanta Braves. They got rid of everybody, even the additions-by subtractions like BJ Upton and Dan Uggla, and they now suck worse than ever.
I am a bit addled from the heat and an above-average ration yesterday of gin & tonics, but I cannot think of trades where we fleeced someone else's prospects. Can you?
What's galling is that the Yankees control their own gushing, brown-nose media, which rates trades as victories before anybody has a chance to evaluate them. I remember the vigorous applause over the trade of Mark Melancon for Lance Berkman, which has become one of the worst deals in our history.
ReplyDeleteLast time we truly fleeced somebody in a minor league prospect deal... hmmm... Didi doesn't count, because he'd been in the majors... I can't find one important acquisition in the last 12 years. I went back to 2004. We've traded for prospects, with a lot of ink. Not one added anything meaningful.
So if anyone is thinking El Chapo will bring a new core four... good luck with that.
Sarah Silverman would be a great choice.
ReplyDeleteShe'd be funny on purpose, not to mention sexy.
I'd actually enjoy her press conferences.
Anybody notice that Ramiro Pena is batting .400, with a .423 OBP and SLG .560 with the baseball Giants? [OK, he's had only 26 plate appearances.]
Venomous quote from Levine on ESPN webpage today. In short, screw you, world!
ReplyDeleteOK, attempting to answer my own question, I came up with the Cleveland trades of the early '70s that netted Chambliss, Nettles, Tidrow, et. al., in exchange, I think, for Fritz Peterson and some such. You could also add Lou Pinella, who had been rookie of the year, in exchange for a very old and tired Lindy McDaniel.
ReplyDeleteGod bless Gabe Paul, the architect of the 1970s championships.
Other than that, not sure we've actually "won" a trade for young talent -- unless Alphonso wants to include Big Mike or Eovaldi.
what a nice man he seems to be:
ReplyDeleteTeam president Randy Levine on suggestions that Yankees should become sellers at trade deadline: "I don't pay any attention to any of that. That's for you guys [with] nothing more important to write about that to write nonsense. When we decide to become sellers, if we decide to become sellers or if we decide to become buyers, you'll know. The difference is that most of you guys have never run anything and we have a lot of history here of knowing what we're doing. [We have] a lot of confidence in our baseball operations people. So, we'll see what happens. All the rest is just noise."
as he says, they do have a lot of experience running things -- into the ground.
Sparky Lyle for Danny Cater
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI 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.