Flashback to June 29, 2017. Thanks to the wonderful people who run MLB, it's decided that the Yanks have to play a game in Chicago despite a three-hour rain delay.
Dustin Fowler, a promising young centerfielder, is starting his first major-league game. But because it's a soaking wet field, and because Jacoby Ellsbury is coming back from an injury, Manager Joe Girardi decides that he will move Fowler over to right, just to make sure that Ellsbury doesn't run into anything because, y'know, we don't want old Jacoby getting hurt (hahahaha).
Well, Fowler, the rookie, trying to show just what he can do, goes out there and runs into the tool box the White Sox have brilliantly decided to attach to the railing of their stands. The rest is history—that is, the whole history of Dustin Fowler's career as a Yankee.
So what do we do today? Why, shift Aaron Judge to center, so we can give Brett Gardner a day off. Billy McKinney, our promising rookie this year, goes into right, and...
Enough already.
Let's face it: lovely individuals though they may be—highly paid though they may be—Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury are as sure to miss at least a third of any given season as the sun is to rise in the east and set in the west.
Both are declining ballplayers who are marginal at best to the future success of this franchise. To do ANYTHING to accommodate either one of them is only to invite more of the nonsense we saw today.
GET READY HOSS....
ReplyDeleteBOONIE SAYS HE HAS TO STICK TO GIVING GARDY "REST" TO KEEP HIM "FRESH" FOR THE LAST PART OF THE SEASON.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
I know, ALL-CAPS.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good idea—in theory. And it would be very good if, say, Gardner were a truly excellent player, or all we had.
But neither is true. Gardner will last to the end of the season if he spends most of it on the bench, where he belongs.
Truth be it known, Gardy has/had terrible numbers against Estrada. Reason he didn't start. Big Data benched Gardy, while Boone smoothed it over by calling it "a rest". Not fooling me. Shouldn't fool anyone here. No managing by gut or the hot hitter or pitcher. Instead of tea leaves it's bell curves.
ReplyDeleteHorace, I'm a fan! I love your posts! But this one is giving me a god damn headache. You don't want to "accommodate" fading veterans by putting young players at risk of injury by... playing? But don't we want the young players to play? I can't figure out what you want here.
ReplyDeleteLast year, there was nobody I'd rather have at the plate when we needed a hit than Gardy. He was ferocious, with more power than usual. And he's still a fine outfielder. I like the kids, but the idea of benching Gartner is a little bit extreme. McKinney got banged up playing left, which is where Gartner had played in game one, I believe. Ellsbury and Gardner are both centerfielders, though Gardner has moved to left nicely when Ells arrived. So the idea of veterans being protected by putting them in center is really sorta weird. Like somebody was reading InfoWars weird.
ReplyDeleteGood points, John M. and Mustang. I should have been clearer.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like them putting Judge in center to accommodate this outfield combination, which was my main concern. McKinney just turned out to be collateral damage.
Was it bad luck? Sure. But as a pretty smart baseball man once said, luck is the residue of design. McKinney should not have been in right, Judge should not have been in center, and we're just lucky that nothing worse happened.
Ranger, you may well be right about Gardner's numbers, which makes more sense. But again, if he's the one CF we got, put him out there for now. Don't mess around.
As for last year, that's what we were told: that Fowler was moved to right because Girardi was worried about Ellsbury on the wet field.
My basic feeling is: don't worry about either one. Worry about the guys you can see playing the next ten years with. Though who knows who that will be now...
Gotcha, Horace! Makes sense!
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