I wish I could contrast it with the first Yankee Stadium at-bat from Neil Walker. Unfortunately - though I was watching - I can't recall it. I'm not sure Walker does. He's the "proven veteran" brought in to play 2B because - as usual - the Yankees refused to trust anybody under 25. So that day in early April, the fans watched Walker march to the plate while his ceiling - .271 over 10 years - was laid out on the Jumbotron. I don't wish to demean Walker here. But it simply didn't move the needle.
For three months last winter, we demented fans roused ourselves into a rapture over the idea of an infield with two ascending rookies - Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres (or even Tyler Wade) - in the lineup... you know, the way other teams do it. It was the ultimate Baby Bomber fantasy, and we lived it through mid-February, when Brian Cashman traded prospects Taylor Widener - (now 4.09 ERA in Double A) and Nick Solak - (hitting .333 at Double A) for Brandon Drury, and then signed Walker off the scrap heap, mandating that the two youngsters would return to Scranton.
Listen: It's patently absurd for fans to think they know more than the managers and scouts. I get it. My diamond-hard opinions about the Yankees - like yours - are mere manifestations of our obsessive deliriums, our assumed spiritual connections to the team. We know it's crazy, but it gets us through the night. (By the way, it's equally insane to condemn fans for having opinions; you might as well go on the soapbox to argue that pro wrestling is scripted.) Yes, we live in our own secret worlds, and our hearts tell us what to think.
And yet... there are days when we fans are vindicated and the professional know-it-alls must stop to clean the spittle from their shoes. Yesterday, Andujar went 4-4 and Torres ignited the crowd, and those 43,000 fans went wild because - well, let me say it:
AT LEAST FOR ONE GLORIOUS DAY, WE WERE FUCKING RIGHT AND THEY WERE FUCKING WRONG.
Amazingly, the failing New York Times today has the unmitigated audacity to praise Cooperstown Cashman.
The Yankees could have given second base to Torres and third base to Miguel Andujar — who was 4 for 4 on Sunday — out of spring training. Instead, after camp began, they traded for Brandon Drury and signed Neil Walker. That was the Yankees at their best, protecting themselves with affordable veteran placeholders until the kids push their way up.
Huh? The Yankees at their best? Wait a minute... if not for Drury's still-unexplained migraines and Walker's .183 batting average, Andujar and Torres would be breakfasting at the Burger King in Scranton, wasting their swings on Triple A buffets. If Drury were hitting, instead of healing, Andujar would already be the subject of trade rumors. The great fear - and it still remains, by the way - is that we'll never have the chance to see what he can do in a Yankee uniform.
It's a long season. Drury has plenty of time to heal, and Walker to redeem himself, and for the rookies for fail, and for the pros to show once again their great knowledge about the game you cannot predict, (Suzyn.)
But today, let's get one thing straight about baseball and life.
The unopened package is always more exciting. When you know what's inside, what's the thrill in opening it?
And writing like this, Duque, is what keeps me coming back to IIHIIF ever day. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAmen. Been a fan for 9 years I believe? Best blog on Al Gore’s Interwebs.
DeleteHow old is the blog now? Was it 08? 06? Can’t recall when I first stumbled upon it.
what I was thinking, as I watched the game unfold: WE WERE RIGHT!!!! FUCK YEAH!!!
ReplyDeleteand were any of us surprised Gleyber went hitless? NO, we were NOT! when you want the kids to play, you are patient by definition. See Andujar, Miguel. Barring injury, Mr. Gleyber is here to stay.
and duque, they don't call that fish wrap The Grey Lady for nothing...
What 13bit said! Yes, we are building from within! Woo-hoo!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, somehow the thing that can't be done...is being done. Rookies starting at two positions! Bring in the fainting couch!
And with Neil Walker, we're not even getting the very limited ceiling. Or anything close to it.
When he came over, I was thinking, Uh, boy, limited hitter, limited fielder at several positions, but I guess at least as a switch-hitter he'll put a few balls in our cozy, rightfield porch.
But so far...nada. Sixty-five plate appearances, no homers.
Last year, he had 1 homer every 32 appearances. This was already a come down from the year before, when he hit 1 in just under every 20 PAs.
In other words, there is every indication that, at 32, Walker is well into his declining years. A more discerning GM might have picked up on that—or, say, on Walker's constant injuries, which has always limited his playing time.
As Duque notes, we seem to have dodged a bullet.
Hoss, (continuing from the earlier thread about the fate of Drury...)
ReplyDeleteIf Andujar keeps hitting Drury can forget about 3rd. Torryes gets the starts when he rests. It's not like Drury is "True Yankee" Steven Drew. He was always a place holder. So yes, because there really is no place on the 25 for him. Good value? No. But he is serviceable. I don't know enough about him to know if he has minor league options. If he does he can join Tyler Wade in the Scranton infield. But barring injury he shouldn't be back. Is Plantar Fascia something you can catch?
Forget about second as well. As Duque wrote in today's screed the crowd went crazy (when Tommy hit the stage. Little Sally got lost... sorry I just sort of go there automatically when ever I write the "crowd went crazy".) on Gleybar Day. He ain't going anywhere. Tee Shirt sales alone keep him in place. Gleybar is Master Plan.
So we will probably never get to hear John Sterling's new HR call for him. Drury's not blurry! He hit that one CLEAR out of the park!"
Doug K.
Drury and Walker are actually possible trade bait now. Walker wouldn't fetch that much, at his age and with his limitations, but Drury is only 25 and there are those who see him as the second coming of "The Virginian." (Starring James Drury, in case you don't know...and was that the last weekly 90-minute prime time show of all time? Omnibuses and rotating shows not included.)
ReplyDeleteIn other words, minus the migraines, he's worth something.
Or, we could keep him as an Andujar and maybe even Torres backup along with Torreyes and lose Walker. I feel for Wade, but he blew his chance after a great Spring. He's probably destined for Scranton.
By the way, nice to see Clank catch a couple of good ones yesterday. Maybe that will be catching, in the viral sense.
That's absurd, John M.! Why, obviously he is the second coming of Allen Drury, the former Washington pressman, whose increasingly right-wing books in his "Advise and Consent" series grew increasingly deranged. Could this happen to Brandon, too???
ReplyDeleteSeriously (more or less), this is the conundrum Cashman always puts one in. You'd like to see Drury and Walker go on a little tear so we could get something for them. But any such tear would probably make Coops decide to keep them...
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