For the last decade, everyone understood the secret plan: Harper would stack time in lowly Washington so he could reach free agency and come to the Bronx. Every fan knew it. He would someday be a great Yankee. He would have a plaque in Monument Park. It was his destiny.
Ainta. Gonna. Happen.
Turns out, ten years later, the Yankees are not the New York Yankees any more. That distinction belongs to Boston. Weird, eh? All this time, I'd have bet one of my yachts that the only thing separating Harper from Pinstripes was the time ticking on his Nats contract. Whenever I heard "Bryce Harper," I mentally inserted the phrase "future Yankee." Now, it's over. It's as if our best prospect just moved to Japan.
Today, as we mourn the death of a 10-year Yankee fantasy, it's worth wondering where Harper will go, and whether he'll enact revenge on the team he once loved. The rumors say the Phillies or Dodgers, or maybe the White Sox. But until recently, those whispers always included the Yankees. Supposedly, there is a mystery team in the mix. The Orioles, looking to rebuild? Toronto, with Vladimir Guererro's kid? Or - gulp - Boston?
Keep in mind that Harper only costs money, and MLB owners are billionaires. In Boston's case - as with Hal Steinbrenner - the owner's total worth is closer to infinity than to zero. All it takes is for somebody to want Harper more than everybody else. If he comes to the AL East, he could torture us for years.
Meanwhile, we haven't closed the door on Manny Machado, though it's hard to know if we're merely pretending to be the Yankees - a manhood thing. The Yankees said Harper was a bad fit, but Machado comes with his own implications:
1. The reputation for not hustling. That will not go over well in NY.
2. He hits RH, where we are already top-heavy.
3. If he plays SS, he has limited range.
4. He won't cost any less than Harper. In fact, he might cost more.
Machado's signing could prompt the Yankees to blow up their roster. With no more money to spend, they might have to trade Miguel Andujar or Clint Frazier - both RH - for badly needed pitching. If a trade goes south - Brian Cashman's track record in trades for power arms is not promising - the Yankees could find themselves back in the doldrums.
Either way, the Yankees do not act like a team of power and swagger. And Bryce Harper's dream, our dreams, of playing for the New York Yankees! - was always doomed. That team no longer exist.
at least if Harper goes to the redsocks we'll have the pleasure of watching him play. that might actually be fun in a "I can't believe what I'm seeing" kind of way.
ReplyDeleteYanks need a new secondary logo. The stars-and-stripes top hat on the bat is cool and beloved but it doesn't represent the Yankees any more. too much American swagger. too much implied confidence. an empty wallet with a couple of moths flying out seems more appropriate for this bunch.
I dunno, Harper shaved his ugly beard face back in June right before a Yanks series. Now that's some dedication there! He just may sign a crap contract to be a Yank. Nah, ain't gonna happen! Everyone's for the money.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah it used to be a wet dream for years when he had that 10 WAR season but really he's an Ellsbury about to turn Teixeira if we do get him. He had that one amazing year, three great and three awful ones. If Ellsbury had managed to say healthy then his numbers would be close to Harpers. If we do get him, then he'll probably end up being just like Teixeira where half the contract was good but not amazing, and the other half dreadful, but the entire contract an albatross overpay. Yeah, best to let him go.
Machado isn't that much of better option in my opinion. I feel he'll probably end up putting up Eddie Murray numbers, just enough to get him in the HOF but not among the best of the best. He just doesn't seem elite player like a Betts or Trout. I've moved on and I'm hoping to land either one of those two in 2021, but I honestly don't see either one leaving their team as they should be paying them 40 to 45 million a year (or maybe 50 mil by then to account for inflation) for like 10 to 12 years to stay.
Vampifella is Cashman’s burner account.
ReplyDeleteNOT GETTING HARPER IS A DISGRACE.
ReplyDeleteBELIEVE IT OR NOT, I STILL THINK THERE IS ROOM FOR HARPER IN OUR OUTFIELD.
JUDGE- RF
HICKS- CF
HARPER- LF/RF
STANTON- DH/LF
GARDY- LF/CF- 4TH OUTFIELDER-(SORRY, BUT IT MADE NO SENSE TO SIGN HIM)..
ELLSBURY- CF - ? (JUST BITE THE BULLET AND EITHER RELEASE HIM OR TRADE HIM AND TAKE A SUBSTANTIAL LOSS- THE RED SOX DO IT WHEN A GUY DOESN'T WORK OUT)!
CLINT LF- SCRANTON- (STAYS IN AAA UNTIL SOMEONE ON THE BIG CLUB GETS HURT).
IS ELLSBURY PREVENTING US FROM GETTING HARPER?
IT SHOULDN'T, BUT THE WAY COOP IS TALKING, READING BETWEEN THE LINES, I THINK IT IS.
....AND THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS.
ONCE AGAIN, WE CAN'T HAVE A STARTING LINEUP WITH NO LEFTY BATS.
....AND I DON'T WANT TO HEAR "BIRD!", AND "HICKS FROM THE LEFT SIDE!", THAT AIN'T GONNA CUT IT.
NOT EVEN CLOSE.
Apparently.
ReplyDeleteHow dare you, ALL CAPS?
ReplyDeleteDon't you know yet that Almight Cashman, aka "Crackhead Cash," aka "Cashbrenner Jr.," aka "Moron", knows more about baseball than anybody. Why, just look at all of the great teams he has constructed over the course of his record-setting tenure. Look at all of the amazing pitchers he has acquired. We must just obey and accept. The Yankees clearly are not only the best team in baseball, but they know more than anybody about how to build a team.
Seriously, if not for this blog, I'd stop following them for a while, until at least Cashmoron got fired or Hal decided to finally sell the team and complete his full transition to womanhood.
The rot starts with Steinbrenner. Sitting on the money isn't Cashman's decision.
ReplyDeleteLOLOL @ Anonymous-"Vampifella is Cashman’s burner account." Good one!
ReplyDeleteI don't care if Ellsbury was always healthy and had bionic parts. To compare him to Harper even at age 26 is ludicrous. He had one good year likely due to steroids (see Brady Anderson) and the steroid usage is probably why all his body parts have irreparably broken down. Yeah he had speed but that's about it.
just waiting for 'Stang to give Hal the supervillain treatment in an outrageously smart and funny comic.
ReplyDeleteenough is enough with Ellsbury! whatever it takes, get him off the 40 man. pay 70% of his salary and ship him off with a handshake and a rueful smile, sad that things just didn't "work out".
ReplyDeleteto even contemplate that his salary is costing us a player like Harper is sheer madness!!
How is it that we all know what needs to be done--I mean, it's obvious--but the Yankees will never do it? I think when veteran fans know more than the ownership and management, even strictly from a business angle, much less a baseball angle, that's the sign of a bad franchise.
ReplyDeleteAnd 13bit, I miss Ignatz.
Yes, Hal is mostly to blame.
ReplyDeleteI wish Hal would get stuck in an elevator with a Yankee fan or two like George did during the 1981 World Series when he ended up with a cast on his hand, a bruised lip and a cut head suffered at the hands of 2 Dodger fans. Only Hal should get beaten bloody and his wallet's contents taken and the wallet shoved down his throat.
Stanton should not be allowed to play in the outfield.
ReplyDeleteHe should be a bench player.
And eat pumpkin seeds with bubble gum.
He is a rally killer.
An automatic strike-out.
When Derek foisted this loser onto the Yankees, it signaled the end for us.
I said so then, and I repeat it now.
Stanton is a disaster for a team trying to win.
If we give up on that objective, he will fit in just fine.
Living through this hot stove season is like being strapped into a bus seat while the driver - a blind guy (can I still say "blind" or do I have to say "visually impaired?") - anyway, a blind guy with one hand in a cast, is trying to steer us over some curvy mountain passes. We can't get up and do anything and we have to watch, helplessly, as he takes us closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. On the roof rack, our suitcases are falling off with each turn and the motor revs erratically. We're all screaming, but there's nothing we can do because - surprise - he's also deaf AND, ON TOP OF THAT, HE DOESN'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS. The owner of the bus company is back in town, sitting in his mansion while contemplating his own gender fluidity and counting his money.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that was terrible, but I don't care. I don't get paid enough to come up with good analogies. I'm just a Scrantonian lug nut.
Ten things I think: (Therefore I am.)
ReplyDelete1) The paper says they are close to signing Happ and giving him the three years. This does not bother me. The "extra year" means nothing but money. We all say that money should not matter. If he's not effective they can eat it. They can trade him. They can stick him in the pen. Just sign the guy. He's perfectly fine.
2) That said, if they are smart (and I can't say they are) they will keep trying to get an ace. Happ is insurance. We now have a starting five to start the season.
Sevi
Paxton
Tanaka
Happ
CC
When arms start to fall off we have the kids. There's worse out there.
3) We really need an ace. How much of a putz is Bauer? Because he would be my choice from an age/talent standpoint. If we have to take back a bad contract to save prospects let it be Edward Encarnacion. He can play first for a year.
4) Signing Gardner was a GOOD idea. We need a back up CF for Hicks. He is the only one on the roster that plays center. He is not the starting LF. Also, if we're going to add guys of questionable character you need counterweight in the clubhouse. He'll be fine and accept his role.
5) Sign Machado. AnDUjar at his best possible outcome will be Machado. Machado is Machado already. And AnDUjar will never be Machado at third. (As in one of the best defensively - the best we can hope for him is adequacy.
6) Elsbury will not be cut as long as he can stay injured. The Yankees get I believe it is 75% of the money back. If they cut him they lose 100% and his money stays on the luxury tax books regardless. There is NO reason to cut him. He goes on the DL again and it doesn't effect the roster at all.
7) Is Stanton really that bad an outfielder? He played it his whole career. LF in Yankee Stadium takes a while to learn particularly if you've always been a right fielder. Plus all new ballparks. How does he not improve his second time around the league? I say he does and should be the everyday left fielder.
8) Sign Harper anyway. Just because.
9 The dangers of an overly right handed line up is kind of true but is also kind of bullshit. Guys that can hit, can hit. It's like the righty/lefty bullpen nonsense. Great relievers get both out. So, big deal is Machado is a righty. He hits .300 plus 40 HRS. How does being a righty make him not a good fit?
10) We haven't traded Gray yet. When we do we will get a couple of players we can flip to Cleveland for Bauer (or Kluber) or to replenish the one's they trade.
Doug K.
I BELIEVE HAPP MAY REAP THE SAME RESULTS FOR US OVER 2-3 YEARS THAN CORBIN WOULD HAVE AT A MUCH CHEAPER PRICE...
ReplyDeleteNOT THAT I AM TRYING TO SAVE PENNIES, BUT THAT IS MY BELIEF.
HAPP LOOKS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE AT 36, AND HE IS A WINNER.
HELL, WE SIGNED AN OVERWEIGHT, ON 1 KNEE, 39 YEAR OLD.
GOOD MOVE, BUT I STILL WANT THE ACE "STUD" WE NEVER SEEM TO GET.
COOP NEVER GETS THE BIG PITCHING "DIFFERENCE MAKER".
NEVER.
Did we officially get Happ already? He'd actually be the first acquisition this off-season that I could get behind. In the old days, he'd have been a good 4th or 5th starter. Now, he's our stud-du-jour. I agree, we need a real stud, but Brian knows best and we'll get what we get.
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see Doug K inject a gust of optimism here, but I do not share it. Anyway, I hope we're all wrong come next September.
I have to give Vampifella his props. I have a lot of reservations about both Harper and Machado, too, and if the Five Year Glorious Rebuilding Plan were proceeding apace, with Red Thunder and Dustin Fowler already installed in the outfield, and Bird and Sanchez flourishing, I'd say leave 'em to Heaven.
ReplyDeleteBut it's not. This is what is so maddening about Coops and Hal.
The whole plan broke down. And Doug K., I admire your optimism, but there are no more kids. They've all been dealt for rental or mediocrities, with the exception of Mike King, who would be worth a try next spring.
Since that happened, we can't just ignore it and pretend that Jorge Mateo and Tyler Wade and Chance Adams are about to step up and power us into the next dynasty.
They're not—and we had to react. Signing Harper and Machado was the least of it—though I agree with ALL-CAPS and Doug that Happ might be just as good as Corbin. Smart, older pitchers, when they get past the early injury phases, can last forever.
What's ridiculous, too, is the refusal to recognize just how thin we are at places such as the outfield and on the mound.
ReplyDeleteAs someone said, Cashman's vaunted "six outfielders" is really 2 outfielders and a DH.
Stanton is awful in the field—and worse yet, almost set a strikeout record (hey, there's always next year!)
Gardner is done. Ellsbury is not coming off the DL. Chances are, neither is Clint Frazier, more's the pity.
Hicks is a useful piece, but is he really, in the end, more than Granderson at his best? He would have been best as the new Gardner, when we signed Harper.
I love Judge to pieces, but he's now sustained two serious injuries in as many full MLB seasons, and, oh yeah, almost set a strikeout record.
This is not the sort of depth needed to win anything!!
Bitty! Oooooh Bitty! Have you lost weight? Changed your hairstyle? Slept in nuclear waste on the bottom of the Sea of Japan!? I'm suddenly moved by your ... presence!
ReplyDeleteAnd I definitely need whatever Doug K is drinking gargling smoking snorting mainlining taking by retention enema.
ReplyDeleteAll I did was finally wash my hair, Winnie.
ReplyDeleteEllsbury's insurance claim is closer to 80% of his contract worth. Wallace Mathews had a good article on this in Forbes last summer which I posted once before but here is a good synopsis of what the Yankees and Ellsbury are doing in that regard.
ReplyDeletehttps://yanksgoyard.com/2018/06/02/yankees-insurance-policy-jacoby-ellsbury/
By the way, I've seen Harper play the outfield and in the limited number of games/chances I watched, he seems to be at least an average outfielder. But I have read a few accounts that Harper is worse than Stanton. Seems hard to believe.
Harper is still young enough that his peak years are still AHEAD OF HIM!!! IS EVERYONE IN THE BRONX FUCKING CRAZY??!? WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING TALENT LIKE THIS DOESN'T BECOME AVAILABLE EVERY YEAR THOSE FYCKERSHADBETTERSIGNHARPERSOFUCKINGHELPMEDOTHEYTHINKWEKNOWHIWTOFIREBOMBTHEIROFFICESAREBURNTHEMTOTHEGROUNDANDSELLTHEIRBARBECUEDFLESHONTHEGRANDFUCKINGCONCOURSE !!!??!!!??!??!!!!?
ReplyDeleteYes, Winnie. Let’s have a little chamomile tea now and breathe slowly.
ReplyDeleteLANCE LYNN TO TEXAS....
ReplyDeleteTHANK GOD.
Amen, ALL-CAPS!
ReplyDeleteYes, AMEN ALL_CAPS!
ReplyDeleteAnd triple AMEN to WinWarblistFUCKINBETTERSIGHARPERBECAUSEBECAUSEBECAUSELETZJETTISONGSTANTON!!!!
Hoss,
ReplyDeleteRe: Remaining Pitching
Do we not still have Johnny Lasagna and enough Germans to conquer Luxembourg? Plus the aforementioned Mike King. We just need one.
Carl,
Thanks for the link.
All,
Re Stanton:
It's not so much that I found a supplier of first rate inebriants. My optimism in his regard is based on the following:
I read that Stanton is on the OCD side as in having a VERY specific routine such as always arriving for his work out at the same time every day, taking the same routes etc. As with any new job or situation there is a period of adjustment (even without OCD.) Last year he had to deal with...
A new team.
A new home ball park
Playing regularly against teams in a new league.
Playing regularly in all their ball parks.
Facing a new set of pitchers (On a regular basis - where adjustments get made.)
Playing DH (It's different from playing the field. Especially with your routine)
Playing Left Field. (Completely different routes and view of the game)
Playing meaningful games.
Playing in front of large crowds.
Playing in front of hostile large crowds.
Not being "The Man" (Notice he did better when Judge was hurt.)
Playing in October.
Playing in the Northeast in the fall as opposed to Miami. As in, "the cold".
Dealing with NY media
Dealing with NY in general.
I'm sure there are more examples but the point is, that's a lot of change for anyone much less a severely routinized person. So it is reasonable to assume that he will be more comfortable next season and therefore do better.
Doug K.
ReplyDeleteI really want the world to know about this great man who brought back happiness into my life again after my husband left me and the kids 3 years ago for another women online when i contacted Dr Believe he cast a love spell for me within 48 hours my ex husband start calling me and begging for forgiveness for everything that have happened between us. I was so happy to have my family back together with love again here is the email of Dr Believe via believelovespelltemple@gmail.com a man with the great powers you can also call him or add him on Whats-app: +2348156148821
God bless you
I am very grateful for your help in my marriage.