The Right Earth, Vol. 2

Our exciting saga of a world where the Yankees win and win and win continues...

"It's hard to pin down any one thing," Buck Showalter was saying, as the celebration down in the Yankees' locker room continued, looking back over the last two, incredible seasons..  "I think a big moment was when Castro got hurt in 2017, and we gave Torres his chance.  A lot of people said it was too early.  But by the time poor Starlin came back, Gleyber had second nailed down."

"Yep.  And that let us make Castro the big piece in the deal for Gerrit Cole over the off-season."

"I was afraid they still wouldn't bite," Buck said, grinning around his cigar.

"It's not like he was all you gave up," Hensley Meulens, manager of the back-to-back, world champion Yankees pointed out to his GM.  "Why, they were saying you threw in a whole team.  Boy, I hated to see some of those guys go to Pittsburgh!  Ian Kennedy, after all those good years he had for us.  Tommy Kahnle—I hated to give that guy up.  But you knew better.  Jake Cave—"

"But you know, the crazy thing?  What they really wanted was Neil Walker," Showalter said, shaking his head.  "Who knew?  But when I sniffed that out, I signed old Neil right up and handed him over."

"Oh, that made my life so much easier this year!" Meulens laughed.  "Sticking Cole in the rotation behind Sale and Verlander—"

"What made the Sale on Sale, of course, was Stick beating out Boston to sign Moncada.  He saw him as taking over at short some day.  But the New Guy, well, he saw that there was just a little something missing there—"

"Who would know better?"

"—and so I shipped him to the White Sox.  It was a no-brainer.  Getting Verlander, well, there was a little more risk.  It was hard to give up Mateo, but thank goodness they bit on all those pitchers—Cessa, German, Chance Adams—and we still had Ben Gamel to throw in as well.  Everybody said we were giving away the store, or they thought Houston got the better deal when they picked up Sonny Gray.  But as it worked out—"

"It worked out!" exclaimed Meulens.  "The Series last year, then a starting rotation this year of Sale, Verlander, Cole, Severino, and Tanaka.  Tanaka as my no. 5 starter!  Yeah, it's hard not to look like a genius with that."

"You know, before the season started they said it was overkill, what with Hughes and Joba still two of the top starters in the majors.  But pitchers get old," Buck ruminated.  "Hughes suffered his first major injury this year, and we moved Joba back to the pen, and there we were!"

"You never know how things work out.  If I had put Dustin Fowler in right field, that rainy night in Chicago...It still gives me the shivers."

"I know," Buck nodded.  "It was good to see Gardy finally get back on the field this August.  It was nice you gave him that farewell pinch-hit in the Series."

"Who deserved it more?  And you know, I almost put Clint Frazier out there in left in that spring training game," Meulens said, leaning in and shaking his head.  "You remember?"

"The Jabari Blash game."  Buck nodded.  "Yeah, that was ugly.  You hate to ever see something like that.  But instead of two injured outfielders, we got 'the Double-Digit Outfield."  Numbers 77, 88, and 99, Frazier, Fowler, and Judge.  Incredible how good they are so young."

"And with Hicks and McKinney to back them up.  But you went out and added J.D. anyway!"

"Well, that was all about keeping him away from Boston," Buck began, and looked at his watch.  "But let's have another pop.  The new guy should be coming up here pretty soon, if he can ever tear himself away from the cameras—"

To be continued!