Maybe it's not 1998 again

Yesterday, Mike Axisa - River Ave's relentless human copy machine (in a good way) - compared the '18 Yankee Hall of Fame Superteam of Destiny (TM) to their 1998 counterparts. This happened in his weekly mailbag as a request from some Yank fan deliriously, pants-pissingly potted from the last two weeks. Among Mike's rulings: Gary Sanchez over Jorge Posada and Sonny Gray over Hideki Irabu - which, considering last night, is sorta like preferring lice to crabs.

Listen: I don't fault anyone for being flophouse drunk (hiccup) from the recent (hiccup) streak, week, whatever (hic). But this 1998 comparison crapola needs to stop, at least until July. You can compare positions, but teams are a different story. On May 12, 1998, Joe Torre's Yanks led the AL East by 3.5 games with a 25-7 record. (Today, they are 26-12 and tied; Boston lost last night.) Three weeks later, they'd lead the division by nearly 10. With all due respect to the last two glorious (hiccup) weeks... 

I watched the 1998 Yankees, I knew the 1998 Yankees; boys, you are not the 1998 Yankees. 

For starters, the grim underside of Gary Sanchez is that, unless he starts putting more balls into play, he is a sub-Mendoza Line catcher with shabby defense, and already one starter prefers Austin Romine behind the plate. This is not to bury Gary. I believe he is the game's best offensive catcher, and if he somehow learns pitch-blocking skills that most backstops master by Triple A, he should be the game's best catcher, period. But right now, as John tells Suzyn, Gary is scary! Not always in a good way.

Didi Gregorius is strapped into a roller-coaster unlike anything he's seen before. After winning the AL Player of the Month award, he's 0-for-29, with an average teetering toward meh-ness. Last night, with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, he popped out to RF, and you could feel the air whoosh out of the stadium. We thought this was Didi's breakout year. Now, it could become the season that defines his ceiling. Surely, this the slump will end, but Didi's time in the three hole could be dwindling, as we look more and more to Greg Bird as the LH bat between Judge and Giancarlo.

Tyler Austin, the hero of Fenway, looks doomed. Once Bird returns, with Neil Walker performing well in utility roles, Austin will almost surely be sent to Scranton, if not traded by Cashman for some rookie league lottery tickets (which actually have yielded serviceable prospects.) In game three against Boston, Austin struck out with the bases loaded, a crushing moment in a winnable game. He simply hasn't shown swagger since the suspension for the brawl, and his time is ticking down. 

Another decision looms on Miguel Andujar, whose hits now seem to be of the infield variety. Yesterday at Scranton, Brandon Drury hit a grand slam and played both ends of a doubleheader. His migraines can't be THAT bad. I believe Andujar has a higher long-term ceiling; he looks like a young Adrian Beltre. But if the Yankees lose a few games - even if it's just a natural correction - Drury could be on the way, with Miggy returning to the mines. This team will lose some of its vigor.

Finally, Sonny Gray. What to say? Last night, he was trending on Twitter (not in a good way.) Yesterday, hours before the game, Axisa compared him favorably to the Fat Toad. The bar is rather low, I guess. But these comparisons to 1998 - (hiccup) - let's take a rain check.