Tuesday, August 7, 2018

"We Told You We Were Right"

The brilliant Widdle Billywitz put his finger on the Yanks' REAL problem this weekend, in the Times today, attacking "the increasingly apparent deficiencies of two rookies, third baseman Miguel Andujar and second baseman Torres, who lately have looked more like the greenhorns they are."

Widdle Billy went on to castigate Torres' lack of hustle at times—very true—and then to assert that "Andujar had a dreadful series in the field in Boston."

Well, you knew this was coming, didn't you?  Our Knights of the Press Box could not ABIDE the fact that the Yankees were actually able to prosper playing "two rookies at the same time," something they had pretty much proclaimed to be a physical impossibility, any historical evidence notwithstanding.

So much like the Inquisition deciding to turn the screws on Galileo, the Knights of course had to blame the Boston series on them.

Our 35-year-old leadoff man is, as ever, melting faster that the Wicked Witch of the West in this summer heat. But the problem was the rookies.

Our 38-year-old starter pitched like he was 98. But the problem was the rookies.

Our still-waiting-to-fulfill-that-potential first baseman played so badly the manager actually subbed in Luke Voit. But the problem was the rookies.

Our closer spit the bit—yet again—in a big game. But the problem was the rookies.

No, Torres did not have a good series, and yes, he should be called out for not hustling. But in the 7th inning on Sunday—when Didi, our sadly inadequate 3-4 hitter, was striking out yet again with two runners in scoring position—Rookie Torres at least brought (what should have been) a crucial fourth run home with a sacrifice fly.

Rookie Andujar contributed to a botched rundown on Thursday, sure enough...that was mainly the fault of our completely inept relief pitcher, on a night when the staff gave up 15 runs on 19 hits.

On Friday, meanwhile, Andujar was the ONLY Yankee to get a hit or score a run in that gobsmacking meltdown against Rick Porcello.

And I'm sorry: the ball was in the first baseman's glove, in time for the final out of the game. When the ball is in the first baseman's glove, it should stay in his glove.

Andorra now has 46 extra-base hits in just 100 games.  Only Stanton has more. El Matador also has the highest batting average of any regular on the team.

Torres has an OPS of .883.  Only Judge, "The Man Who Could Only Hit At Home," has a higher one.

The kids are not the problem.  But given the opportunity the Knights will run one or both right out of New York, just to "prove" they were right.



16 comments:

KD said...

all this no hustling crap is CLEARLY the result of Boone not addressing the Sanchez contagion. if there is no leadership on the team, the Manager needs to step up and fill the void. Is Boone a friend to these guys or a leader? He can't be both.

Joe Formerlyof Brooklyn said...


What KD said, in triplicate.

13bit said...

yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, and yep again, both to Hoss and KD.

AND, MAY I ADD, in addition to my previous dozen or so rants about clearing out the front office, the back office and the coaching staff, we need to clear out the whole commentariat - aside from the Master, of course, who will be the one who lives to tell the tale.

ranger_lp said...

Change the team name from the Yankees to the New York Snowflakes if they don't want to hustle and be called out for it.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Hear, hear, on the hustling!

Incidentally, rumor has it that Stanton is playing with bad hammies that he ices after every game. Kudos to his effort, but apparently this is limiting his power. The Black Swan has really done a number on us this year. Time for somebody to poison that bird.

13bit said...

can we send Michael Kay to Cleveland?

thecontrarian said...

@13bit - In return for Tom Hamilton? Yes, please.

13bit said...

We can include cash considerations, plus a season's supply of canned chili and potato chips.

HoraceClarke66 said...

But NO condiments!!! Kay never touches them.

Local Bargain Jerk said...


In the original post, I think your spell checker changed one of the occurrences of "Andujar" to "Andorra".

I only raise this because Andorra is part of an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question (British Version) I once saw that is exceedingly difficult for most Americans to answer (including yours truly):

     Name all the countries in Europe that begin with the letter 'A'.

Before you Google it, here's a hint: There are five and I just gave you one above.

TheWinWarblist said...

Who the fuck is "Andorra?"

HoraceClarke66 said...

Hmm. Austria, Albania, Andorra (in the Pyrenees, between France and Spain), and Astoria. No, wait, that's in Queens, not in Europe. Do Armenia or Azerbaijan count? I always think they should be in Asia, but I dunno.

TheWinWarblist said...

Armenia counts. I suppose.

Local Bargain Jerk said...


The Five "A's" are listed among your responses. I personally missed "Azerbaijan" because I also thought it was in Asia...

A related question, from the same damn game, btw, is "What are the three countries in Europe that begin with the letter "I"?. Don't google it. The answer is slightly annoying. Or, at least, it was annoying to me.



HoraceClarke66 said...

What, is it something like they're insisting "Ireland" is "Eire"?

So there is Italy, Ireland, and Iceland? And for no points in the championship round, which of those countries has never been occupied by the United States?

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