Kevin Baker's book is here!

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

Sunday, October 2, 2016

After a whole season, we still don't know what to think about Hicks, Pineda, Headley, etc... or do we?

A hundred-sixty-two freakin' games, and here we are, still clueless on Aaron Hicks.

He sucked in April - .087 - seemed to come on in August - .280 - tweaked a guy thing - hit .286 in September in the fall small sample sweeps. Looks good coming off the bus. The YES talkathon keeps whispering "JackieBradleyJunior, JackieBradleyJunior..." whatever that means. I see Jackie Chan Jr. whatever that means.

Then again, if we trade Hicks for a Pez dispenser, watch him finally make the adjustments - the ultimate primal Yankee fan fear (See AJ Burnett, F Cervelli, I Nova, et al.) A hundred-sixty-two games, and what do we have?

Pineda? I dunno. Headley? Not too promising. Refsnyder? McCann? Ellsbury? Gardy? Man, I don't remember a projected future Yankee roster with more serious question marks.

And I can't escape the sense that in recent years, the Yankees have been a downer atmosphere, dragging players down, rather than boosting them up. How else do you explain the team-wide hitting drought that engulfed us for much of the season? Nobody was hitting, and nobody could break out.

New York is the greatest sports market in America. Why was the 2016 team so lifeless, so boring, for so much of the season? And what do we have in Aaron Hicks?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

AARON HICKS IS JUST IN THE WAY OF COUNTLESS OTHER PLAYERS WE COULD HAVE IN HIS PLACE ON THE ROSTER..... HIS LIFETIME AVERAGE IS .223...... IN 1,142 MAJOR LEAGUE AT BATS, HE HAS ONLY 28 HOME RUNS, (SANCHEZ ALMOST HAS AS MANY IN TEN MINUTES)!..... I WOULD RATHER HAVE TYLER AUSTIN TAKING UP HIS SPOT, (HE HAD MORE BIG MOMENTS WITH THE BAT THAN HICKS IN HIS BRIEF STINT).....I EVEN RATHER HAVE ROB REFSNYDER TAKING HICKS' SPOT, OR EVEN CLINT FRAZIER..... WAKE UP CASHMAN, THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE WITH HIM....THE LONGER WE KEEP HIM, THE MORE IT WILL HURT OUR FUTURE....HE IS IN THE WAY.

Anonymous said...

PINEDA JUST CAN'T CUT IN IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE AS A STARTER...(MAYBE A RELIEVER), BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT WE WANT FROM HIM..... HE WILL GO TO A NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAM AND BE A WINNER THERE JUST LIKE IVAN NOVA, WATCH.......WE MUST TRY TO DEAL HIM IF POSSIBLE, HE JUST CAN'T GO PAST 5 INNINGS, OR GET A WIN FOR US, HE JUST CAN'T............... AS FOR HEADLEY, HE REALLY SUCKS, WHILE HIS FIELDING WAS A LOT BETTER THIS YEAR (AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN), HIS PRODUCTION, AND CLUTCH HITTING IS JUST AWFUL......HE IS KILLING US...... I CAN'T IMAGINE US SUFFERING 2 MORE FULL SEASONS OF HIM, BUT IT LOOKS THAT WAY.........REMEMBER, THE RED SOX PUT KUNG FU PANDA ON THE BENCH (AND HE MAKES $95 MILLION)......

ranger_lp said...

With Hicks, you have a streak hitter who has a great arm in the outfield. He is good for defense replacement late in games and occasionally hits. I'd keep him just for late innings and occasional starting because of injury to other players.

Anonymous said...

Probably stuck with Hicks, unless he gets released or another defensive replacement outfielder hits a little better. At least we didn't give up anything of value for him. Pineda will never be anything other than what he is at this point; he cannot be trusted to come up big in a big game, but he is usable as a back-of-the-rotation guy. Probably gone when his contract runs out; some NL team will take a flyer on him and he'll be another AJ Burnett pitching in an easier league with easier lineups. Headley will likely be around again next spring, unless Yankees can acquire a younger better hitting 3B with steadier defense, or maybe move Castro to 3B if one of our minor league infield studs tears it up next February/March and proves capable of handling 2B at least as well as Castro defensively.

Anonymous said...

Headley has been a major disappointment, we had Solarte and traded him away, check the numbers and the cost for each player. Another rock pulled by Cash.

Parson Tom said...

Hicks: 5th outfielder. Tie a yo-yo string to him and send him down to Scranton with an Unlimited Rides card good for any Mega Bus.

John M said...

Headley Lamarr has grown on me. I'll wait and see with him.

Pineda is a head case. Sad but true.

Hicks is a jinx. It's just the way it goes with some guys.

They could trade the whole team right now and I'd just be happy for the novelty of the change.

JM said...

Biggest issue that won't be addressed, among many: fire Girardi.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE TOM'S IDEA WITH HICKS...... SEND HIM DOWN TO SCRANTON....THAT'S WHERE HE BELONGS...... ANOTHER NAME I RATHER SEE ON THE ROSTER INSTEAD OF HIM IS MASON WILLIAMS!!!.... GET HICKS THE HELL OUTTA HERE!... HE IS IN THE WAY!!!

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.