1. Team will be shouted at by Commissioner and told, sternly, "NEVER DO IT AGAIN!"
2. Team forced to wear undershirts inside-out for two days.
3. Players grounded with no TV for entire weekend!
4. Team must stay after game to clap chalkboard erasers.
5. League will ban Apple watches, so now nobody can have them.
6. Coaches and players to be suspended for first four Grapefruit games next February.
7. Yankees found guilty of taping of Redsocks in dugout, fined $1 million.
I think we need to take advantage of this rainout to talk about Aaron. Judge, that is, not The Oft-Hurt Hicks.
ReplyDeleteI love this kid. And I thought it would be nuts to give up on him. His potential upside is too great, and we can't count on our GM-for-Life to get anything worthwhile for him. Better to keep him, and hope he improves, somehow.
But now...I dunno.
It's not just that he's in the longest, deepest slump I have ever seen.
It's not just that he never seems to make progress. We hear 'He's having better at-bats,' or 'He had a double today,' or a single and a walk. Or even a home run...and nothing ever comes from it.
But no, it's not that.
It's that he's a terrible, terrible clutch hitter. I say this from observation, but a look at his "Clutch Stats" on baseballreference confirms it.
"Late & Close,""RISP w/2 Out," whatever. The stats are all bad.
His best hitting, by far? When the Yanks are up by 4 or more runs. Then he hits .373.
And really, batting him second, or batting him seventh doesn't seem to help. The two runners on with two out situation always seems to find him.
So I dunno.
I really don't know if the kid has the head, or the nerves for this game.
I feel much the same about Betances, a lovely set-up man who always comes apart when we try to make him a closer—and who is 29 now, when his game will start to slide down the back end.
I wonder if we're going to squander the next 2-3 seasons trying to make Judge a star, and Betances a closer, and just do endless damage to the team in the process.
This off-season may well be the last chance to unload both of them, while they still have any value left. Maybe we should look into it. Together, they could be a nice package.
HOSS, I HEAR YOU ON JUDGEY..... BUT!
ReplyDeleteHE IS ONLY 25 YEARS OLD....
HE HAS NEVER PLAYED THIS MANY PRO GAMES IN ONE SEASON BEFORE....
I THINK IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS, HE IS TIRED AND ACHY......
I ALSO BELIEVE HE HAS BEEN HURT FOR A WHILE.....
HE WILL HIT 40 OR MORE HOMERS THIS SEASON....
HE WILL DRIVE IN 90 OR MORE RUNS THIS SEASON...
HE WILL WALK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 130 OR MORE TIMES....
HIS OBP WILL MOST LIKELY BE OVER .400.....
HE HAS PROVEN HE IS A QUALITY RIGHT FIELDER.....
..... AND HE IS A GREAT GUY WHO IS LOVED BY HIS TEAMMATES AMD THE FANS.....
HE STILL HAS MORE TO LEARN, BUT HAS PROVEN AS HE HAS MOVED UP THE LADDER, HE IS CAPABLE OF ADJUSTING......
LETS KEEP HIM.
WE NEED MORE PATIENCE WITH HIM....
HE'S EARNED THAT FROM US.
Where's the celebration that Suzyns most annoying critic got arrested?
ReplyDeleteAll good points, ALL-CAPS.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he is just hurting. I do like him a lot—and I can't imagine Cashman getting enough for him.
So what do we do with Betances?
BETANCES, JUST DOESN'T THROW ENOUGH STRIKES....
ReplyDeleteIT'S PRETTY SIMPLE....
NEITHER DOES CHAPMAN.....
THAT IS THE MAIN PROBLEM WITH BOTH OF THEM....
HONESTLY, IT'S TOO LATE NOW, BUT WE COULD HAVE RECEIVED A HAUL FOR DELLIN IN A TRADE.
MAYBE WE STILL CAN?..... NEXT SEASON?
.....BECAUSE HE WILL BE GONE ONCE HE BECOMES FREE AGENT ELIGIBLE.
I LIKE DELLIN AND HE IS HOME GROWN, BUT IF WE ARE SMART, WE DEAL HIM AND GET A DECENT HAUL FOR HIM ASAP.
.....AND NOW FOR THIS RED SOX SITUATION......
ReplyDeleteCAN YOU IMAGINE IF WE HAD CHEATED ON THEM FIRST????
OMG!!!
THEY WOULD HAVE TAKEN DRAFT PICKS AWAY FROM US!!
YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT!
MLB IS ALWAYS RULING AGAINST US.....
I AM STILL PISSED OFF ABOUT THE PINE TAR GAME!
RULES ARE RULES....
THAT ANIMAL HAD 17 INCHES OF SHIT ON HIS BAT.....
HE'S OUT!
Agreed on both counts, ALL-CAPS!
ReplyDeleteThere are two sets of rules, one for the Yankees, one for everyone else!
WE actually got hurt by the Pine Tar Game.
Quisenberry, the Royals' great closer, was totally gassed. He'd just thrown 5 1/3 innings getting the win against us in the Friday night game. KC wasn't in the race, and no way he was coming out on Sunday afternoon, IF the umps had let the HR stand, and we went to the bottom of the 9th.
Thus, instead of a good chance to come back, we got to face Quisenberry in the "replay." Outrageous! If the rule is on the book, and your umpire calls it, you can't have a do-over!
For that matter, how is it:
—That, on the fateful, 2004 afternoon when Varitek punched A-Rod in full catching gear, their best player, Ortiz, blatantly stomps our starting pitcher—but is not ejected from the game?
—The infamous midges playoff game in Cleveland is allowed to continue in 2007, without the insects being controlled? Just what level of flesh-eating bugs would have been acceptable to MLB? Red ants? Tarantulas?
Believe me, if any of those rulings had gone our way, most of the sporting public would still treat them like war crimes. But we are strong of heart and noble of purpose, and will carry on to victory!
Just maybe not this year...
And Betances...
ReplyDeleteHis only explanation for why he wasn't chucking fastballs? "I should have thrown more. I guess it wasn't my night."
NOT YOUR NIGHT? Whattayou, Rod Steiger and Marlon Brando in the back of the car? You can throw a 100-mph fastball, do it, and take your chances!
Yeah, he can't be a free agent until 2020, apparently. But I say, move him the minute he has another good stretch.
I HEAR YA OL' HOSS...
ReplyDeleteIT LOOKS TO ME LIKE HE DOESN'T FEEL COMFORTABLE THROWING HIS FASTBALL, BECAUSE HE CAN'T CONTROL IT WELL ENOUGH....
HIS FASTBALL WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE THE OTHER NIGHT.
HIS WORST PERFORMANCES, (AND CHAPMAN'S), ARE RESULT FROM NOT THROWING ENOUGH STRIKES.
O GOD, HOW WE MISS MARIANO, WHO COULD PROBABLY TAKE THE MOUND RIGHT NOW, AND THROW STRIKE AFTER STRIKE.
The Great One spoiled us for all time, ALL-CAPS!
ReplyDeleteI loved many Yankees relievers over the years. Lindy McDaniel, Jack Aker, Sparky and Goose, Dave Righetti, Houdini. Hell, Joe Verbanic and Dooley Womack even gave us some good games, back in the day.
But there was no one like Mo. Class all the way, on the field and off.
Thanks HOSS for the juju as Judge homers his first at bat today
ReplyDelete
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