Tuesday, January 2, 2018

In this new year, let us now speak the Yankee unspeakables

Across the minefield of human history, the wisest idiots have warned us not to summon demons that we cannot control. Why provoke the juju gods, simply because of their stooped-over, balding appearance, and the ergonomic wrist-supports that smell of the microwaved popcorn they eat all day at their cosmic keyboards? The Yankiverse is still celebrating the theft of Giancarlo - aka great trade robbery of 2017 - and while Randy Levine rubs his chubby, Trumpian hands in anticipation of the next gift box from Miami Pandora, the potential terrors of 2018 go ignored. Nobody wants to mention them, as if by maintaining silence, they will go away.

But they will not disappear. Here are the icebergs that lurk in the cold, cold waters of our 2018 Yankee nightmares.

1. Aaron Judge's "slump." It started after the Home Run Derby, as everyone knew it would. It took two weeks to announce itself. By Week Three, we'd become queasy about him continuing to bat second. By Week Four, we were calling for Girardi to give him a day off, maybe two. For a month, we watched Judge march to the plate, take his three whacks and then march back to the pines. If he drew a walk, the YES announcers proclaimed it a grand omen - "a quality at bat!" It was a horrible, terrible time - Boston overtook us, and the Wild Card began to look uncertain - and the worst part was that we didn't know if it was a temporary slump or Judge's permanent career trajectory. And here's the ugliest truth, people: IN OUR GUTS, WE STILL DON'T KNOW. 

Which Aaron Judge will appear in 2018? The one who hit .329 in the first half, or the one who hit .228 in the second? (His HR totals, respectively, were 30 and 22.) Is he baseball's next great slugger or another Jackie Bradley Jr., who has never repeated his Triple Crown-challenging brilliance of early 2015. When they talk about Giancarlo and Judge, the new Twin Towers, nobody wants to acknowledge the lingering fears from last July and August. But it's one of the reasons why I believe we must not trade Clint Frazier. What if Judge is not Judge?

2. Dellin Betances' meltdowns. The only way to describe the Betances roller coaster ride is that it now stands as the status quo. When he's on, he is one of the most overwhelming pitchers in baseball. When he's off, no lead - not even 10 runs - is safe. In October, hardly anybody blamed Girardi for refusing to use Betances in a critical situation, or for yanking him after the first walk. (I wouldn't have included him on the playoff roster.) At times, you could tell by the first pitch where this folly was headed. If not for the stabilizing impact of David Robertson, I doubt the Yankees would have reached the Wild Card. At various times last year, we had two of baseball's most feared closers, and both were psychological dumpster fires. El Chapo redeemed himself in the post-season - though shakily. When Betances shows up in Tampa next month, we don't have a clue what to expect. But here is a damning thought: The guy is now into his sixth season, and he still hasn't figured out how to hold base runners. Uh-oh.

3. The next Brigadoon Refsnyder(s). I've been rightfully mocked for my enduring, eternal support for Rob Refsnyder, and will go to my grave arguing that the Yankees didn't give the guy a chance. Clearly, "Brigadoon" - named because of his once-a-century appearances - didn't set Toronto on fire, after the trade. Still, he represents an enduring Yankee malaise: The lack of opportunities for deserving young players - the sense that prospects are trade chips - and that unless a kid explodes on the scene like Greg Bird in 2015 or Gary Sanchez the next year, he'll never get another shot. (So long, Tyler Austin.) What if Judge hadn't hit so well last March in Tampa? As it was, he was damn near sent back to Scranton, where he would have been depressed and disillusioned. You cannot play with a 23-year-old's head, as the Yankees repeatedly do.

Look at the difference between us and the Redsocks: They brought up and installed Benintendi, Devers, Bogaerts, etc. into their starting lineups. Last year, for the first time in many seasons, the Yankees stood back and reaped the dividends of their farm. So why are they now hedging their bets?

The Yankees currently have openings at 2B, 3B and in the pitching staff - and a wave of young players to compete. But Cooperstown Cashman seems determined to sign or trade for veterans. Will he lock us into another Brian Roberts or Stephen Drew? I believe that if Miguel Andujar plays well in spring training, he should be our starting 3B. But we know that won't happen, if we've traded for Josh Harrison or signed a Howie Kendricks clone. If so, we will go through at least half a season with a player in decline, as opposed to a youngster on the rise. We've been here before. By now, we should know that the demons we ignore can still reach up and bite us.

13 comments:

  1. Sacrificing a live chicken this morning to exorcise the Todfather from the Yankee Universe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SPOT 0N, AS USUAL.

    HAPPY NEW YEAR EL D.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Exactamundo.

    Betances and Chappie are the frying pan and the fire. Robertson is the fire extinguisher.

    We stick with head cases year after year, and Brigadoon is treated so badly he becomes a head case they ultimately trade. Joba redux.

    The Yankees organization continues to be the dumbest, most bumbling in the AL East. And yes, Cashman will fuck up this team yet. It's only January 2nd.

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  4. Jesus, it is cold outside. Reality strikes.

    We are screwed.

    I have an even longer list of " unspeakable" concerns.

    But I do believe if you don't mention them in January, they go away by February.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The struggles of Betances and Chapman are yet more of the nine billion reasons to worship The Great One.

    Even on his worst days, when he was struggling—usually because of grotesque overuse—Rivera almost never imploded. All it meant was that a couple balls dropped in, maybe there was a freak homer. Nothing like ten straight walks.

    Let's just hope the Toddfather keeps holding out for big bucks.

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  6. Meanwhile, the Times today featured a huge Rory Smith column and picture on overly cautious play in England's Premier League. It was focused on a recent, Man U-Everton match.

    It seems that, "Everton did not play aggressively."

    Arrrgh! Stupid Everton!

    Not a peep on the Yanks, meanwhile. This gives Soccer a 2-0 lead over the Yankees in the 2018 Times...which in soccer, is like a 15-0 blowout.

    Incidentally, fun to see CitiField covered in ice. Mets ought to leave it that way.

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  7. Hoss,

    When this really gets going, I'll put up a running tab. It's been wrong to neglect the Times in our front pages competitions.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks, Duque. I am honored!

    I'm also intrigued by the possibilities. If I had to bet, I think I'd make it 3-1 in favor of soccer—even if the the Yanks win the Series.

    The fact that the US isn't even in the World Cup will be like catnip to your average Times sportswriter. They will be all the more inclined to write insightful soul pieces about how great it is that we can now concentrate on the chances of Mexico, or maybe Peru.

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  9. HOSS IS SO RIGHT ABOUT THE GREATNESS OF THE GREAT ONE.

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  10. OMG.... GUYS....

    WE'RE ALL GOING TO PUKE....

    O GOD....

    RIVER AVE BLUES JUST SAID THEY THINK THE YANKS ARE GOING TO DO A STEPHEN DREW PART II.

    HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!

    I THINK I'M GOING TO BLOW CHUNKS.

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  11. Don't blame you, ALL-CAPS! It made me feel the same way.

    That site is unintentionally hilarious.

    Long, detailed analyses of guys like Josh Harrison that say, essentially, 'Well, his hitting is always crazily up and down, he doesn't steal bases well, he fields okay at a couple positions, he's hurt all the time, and mostly he's good at getting hit by pitches. Should we get him? Sure, we should get him!'

    Their chief analyst actually wrote something like, with Harrison, 'with the Yankees' lineup, they can afford to career a zero at the bottom.'

    Huh?

    Then, most of their readers join in and say things like, 'Yeah, then we could trade a boatload of top prospects for lousy starting pitchers!'

    Their reasoning is always something like, 'But those guys we're planning to put out on second and third are ROOKIES! We can't have ROOKIES! What if they fail? We must have established failures! VETERAN failures!'

    Just amazing. They're like little kids trading baseball cards. They don't get that acquiring someone like a Drew, or a Toddfather, or even a Josh Harrison actually means cutting many minutes, even hours out of your viewing pleasure watching these games. It means watching at-bat after at-bat from a guy who is absolutely average—at best.

    I would much rather see rookies with great potential succeed or fail. As I think Alphonso wrote so brilliantly, that's what we live for.

    'Career a zero.' That should be the Mets' new motto. Not ours.

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  12. Solid reference there Hoss.

    And I love the Mets' new motto ( per you ).

    A motto, by the way, which applies to many of us (who shall remain unidentified).

    Otherwise, where is the mystery?

    How many days remain until pitchers and catchers?

    I am not a robot, although I suspect that Mustang might be.

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    ReplyDelete

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