Yep. No misprint. The best that ever happened.
By then, Dustin Fowler, James Kaprielian and Jorge Mateo could be fixtures in Oakland, and Blake Rutherford could be emerging for the White Sox. Unless we're sporting a new world series ring, last week's brief surge could go down as the Great False Read of 2017. That little streak would be remembered as Brian Cashman's justification for ditching the Yankee rebuilding plan and chasing the brass ring... which in turn spawned his contract year downfall.
If the Yankees collapse, could Cashman finally go?
Looking back, we might laugh at our own gullibility. We won six in a row against middling Seattle, the last place Reds and Tampa, which kicked the ball around like Manchester United. Suddenly, we found ourselves like Chauncy Gardiner in first place and - as a result - scrapped the long range rebuilding plan for an all-or-nothing run. It will be remembered as "the Todd Frazier period," when we briefly assumed the mantle of "Golden State Warriors of baseball." How mockingly will that phrase be used.
Oh, we'll say, what a jolly time it was! Six wins. It was as if the entire team took part in an IT IS HIGH drunk blog. Six wins! - sandwiched by lengthy, soul-sapping slumps. It began by losing two out of three to dismal Detroit, then we went to Cleveland, Toronto and Boston. And by mid August... ugh...
Listen: I'm saying this in the hope that, by putting it in writing, it cannot happen. But this is serious: We may soon call for a juju intervention. Last night, our June-July malaise officially began stretching into August. Today, like those campers in The Blair Witch Project, we're right back to where we were, before we started clomping around in the woods. We're scraping the chalk board as our fingernails slide, and we're once again chasing a wild card berth - a wild card berth - in a field where all but two AL teams remain contenders.
In one week, we went from a future dynasty to the Pronk/Vernon Wells lineup that cannot score three runs in a game. Last night, down 2-0 after the first, seriously, who thought we had a chance?
I don't mean to throw in the towel. In Girardi's managerial career, the Yankees almost never quit. (Well, there were late season meltdowns in Boston, after which, you really couldn't blame them.) Often, they look dead as dildos, only to stand up and fight. Last night, with Corey Kluber pitching, we were destined to lose. Could Luis Severino be our Kluber, our Chris Sale? Because unless this ship turns around, we're playing for the one-game post-season, as we have for the last five years.
Last week, Cashman laid everything on the line. It's now or never. Maybe that's a good thing, because this is his contract year. If last week's trades - for which he already taken victory laps - blow up in our faces, maybe the real long term hope for the Yankees is new management. A stunning collapse would hasten such a move.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not rooting for us to lose. I'm just saying that when you trade the future for a one-shot run, you better not fail. Right now, since the trades were finalized, we're 0-3. And already, last week's wins look like a dream we may someday rue.
It may be a bit of a reach, but I like the concept. This season could be the equivalent of the losing streak last year that caused us to trade Chaps and Miller, except this time it would be the trades that eventually led to Cashman's demise. Keep your fingers crossed. Oh yeah, and who do we have to ditch in order to get Randy Levine jettisoned into deep space? Just tell me when to show up and I'll come to help pull back the catapult.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteRandy Levine, he's a dead man.
Lonn Trost? Dead!
Brian Cashman? Dead!
Joe Girardi?
Hard to believe that was almost 40 years ago...
NEIDERMEYER!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI REMEMBER SITTING IN THE THEATER WITH FRIENDS IN MY HIGH SCHOOL DAYS WATCHING IT.
TIME FLIES TOO FAST.
The irony is that we're almost back where we were last year: a bullpen (supposedly) so deep and so good that we make everything a 5-6-inning game. Only trouble: we can never get a lead.
ReplyDeleteThe big difference from 2016 is, even with the recent trades, we're still swimming in kids with terrific potential.
The problem isn't so much that Cashman got some bullpen help, or a pretty good starter like Sonny Gray, or even a pretty mediocre one in Jaime Garcia.
The problem is that he and Girardi are once again clogging up the lineup with guys we have no reason to have out there, save that they make a lot of money.
Play the kids, and even if we go nowhere, we find out what is what, and they get to learn. Play the Glue Factory Brigade of T. Frazier, Ellsbury, Holliday, etc., and we're just spinning our wheels.
Sadly, it never plays out for us the way that it could, or should.
ReplyDeleteAt some last moment, Cashman always gets a reprieve; a meaningless win streak; a hot week by Todd Frazier; a no hitter from the Twins guy; another injury to take our attention; a trip to Silver Lake by one of the Steinbrenners.
What we lose sight of, one way or the other, is the deep roster of talent with which we have now stocked other teams. "We gave away the most productive acres of the farm, mother, and the river keeps rising near the house!"
Even if Duque's dream scenario occurs, we no longer have the depth of talent in the farm system to attack an enemy. We have one or two guys who, in 4-5 years, could be close to ready, if they ever will be.
And don't feed me the party line, for example, that we " lucked out" by not trading Clint Frazier. Only an idiot, only someone who could be President, would trade Clint Frazier away after watching him in the major leagues. So, let's not include him in the package of " prospects we still have. " That is a deception. He is a player on the Yankee roster, starting nearly every day. It is like saying we are lucky we hung onto Judge. Or Sanchez. Or Montgomery. Or Luis. They are not prospects in the farm system.
In truth, the Yankee farm system took a severe hit. A hurricane wiped out an entire apple orchard. And those assholes in the front office, buffered by the "Citizens United " press corps , keep putting out lies that the " Yankees stole the day." Just like we did when the Iraqis welcomed out troops with flowers. We all witnessed how that lie worked out.
If you don't think we got totally screwed you are blind. We got totally screwed and the fucking train is off the rails.
Get used to the truth.
The worst part of the media blather is how we kept the Red Sox from getting Todd Frazier - what a coup for Cashpuss! Meanwhile, Boston brings up Devers, who's only 20, and he ends up being the first player since at least 1900 to have 13 hits and three homers in his first eight games before turning 21. And we've got The Toddfather! Hah, take that, Boston! Bow down to the Golden State Warriors of baseball! Meanwhile, Andujar is still riding the rails in Scranton. And Cave, and McKinney. But don't worry, we've still got Holiday and Ellsbury to strike out, ground into double plays, or pop out to end every single stinking rally.
ReplyDeleteAll aboard the Pineapple Express,,,,
ReplyDelete"1-2 guys in 4-5 years"? Really?
ReplyDeleteAren't Gleyber (when he's back from the DL) and Andujar about ready to go? Cave and McKinney certainly look ready, and then there's Chance Adams, and if Bird can come back that's LIKE having a rookie come up at this point, and then there's Sheffield and maybe several more arms, and Florial, and maybe Estrada.
(Who knows, maybe 50 plate appearances aren't TRULY enough to decide on even Tyler Wade.)
Aren't we really talking about the possibility of 7-8 guys in the next 1-2 years, which is more like a platoon of new players, to go with the 4-5 good young players we already have up?
I mean, they could all turn out to be dust in the wind, like your average Mets rebuilding regime, but isn't that the risk you always take with young guys?
To get a real take on Cashman's moves, I think we need to know just how many of the guys he traded were likely to go under the notorious Rule 5, and how many lost out on 40-man roster spots because he intends to keep useless altercockers.
Anyone have a ballpark number on that? Or is it unknowable?
Duque is spot on. The ship be sinkin, as that noted philosopher, Micheal Ray Richardson, once said. We traded prospects for pitching, only to have the bats get flushed down the crapper.
ReplyDeleteJudge? I told you. Screw the Home Run Derby. It's as if Judge was Joba Chamberlain, only the midges flew up his anal cavity en masse, and congealed inside his eyeballs, like Clevinger's in Catch-22. Hizzoner hasn't been the same since. And it's all that G.D. marketing ploy's fault. Screw the millennials. They're all playing Dota anyway. Let us keep our game. We don't need gimmicks. We need hits. And fielders. I was willing to give these moves a chance. But it's over. The goose is cooked. The Dook is right. We is done.
crap. It was Appleby who had flies in his eyes. Not Clevinger. Whatever. We still suck.
ReplyDeleteSecond night in a row, double digit Ks for NY. This blows.
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.