"I saw that somebody had written that we had offered for Realmuto. That is completely false... We definitely look forward to him (Sanchez) coming back to what we saw a little bit in the postseason and what we saw in the previous years."
Listen: Whenever Cooperstown Cashman denies a trade, a Scranton Railrider gets his wings. As for me? I dunno. There's a micro-distinction between talking about a trade and making an offer. Supposedly, the Yanks discussed a straight-up deal - Sanchez for Realmuto - and when the Marlins vomited no, Cash zipped up his fly and fled the motel room. No harm, no foul, no deal. That's China Town, Jake. And let's not worry about Wary Gary's tender feelings. In fact, it might be a good thing to ruffle his plumage a bit. Sanchez remains one jogged-out grounder away from my permanent shit list. His .186 average for 2018 is in the books; it will never go away, a reminder of how fleeting stardom is, especially if you're not running hard.
Okay, I know, I know... the official line is that Gary was hurt last season, that he was battling a tweaked gonad, a touchy foreskin, and couldn't run hard. I dunno. But the memory of him trotting after a passed ball while a base-runner scores from second... from fucking second... Nope, that will never disappear. That mere image nearly kills the buzz to sign Manny Machado - juicing up the fear that we suddenly have two jogger-doggers - almost a quorum - in the starting lineup, and that the decision not to hustle could metastasize throughout the roster.
The Yankees have Gary on a relatively cheap contractual basis for five years. It was the contract, not just the player, that they offered - or didn't offer - Miami. The Marlins said no, or maybe not. And once again, Cooperstown says Gary is our catcher. Or maybe he isn't.
Fine. Okay. But if Sanchez doesn't improve defensively, it won't matter how he's hitting next season: The Yankees will need a catcher. Of all the great hopes from the "Baby Bombers" movement of 2016, Sanchez has been the biggest disappointment - even worse than Greg Bird. A winning team needs a spark plug behind the plate. And every championship defense starts at catcher. Seems to me that blocking errant pitches is mostly a matter of commitment. Catchers either make the commitment, or they don't. Looks like Sanchez will be our catcher in 2019. But my guess is that Cashman would have made that trade in a heartbeat, and that if another chance comes along, he won't drag his feet.
So endeth whatever this crap is during the off-season.
ReplyDeleteIt will end only when Cashman has fallen back through the sidewalk crack into the hole that he came from and remains there for eternity. We need a new head on this stinking old fish.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAn observation:
When I look at Sanchez and think of Yankee catchers from the past there's at least one major difference:
Thurman was surly and angry but what made him this way was his competitive spirit.
When Posada got mad, for example at El Duque (the pitcher), it was because Duque wasn't performing and he was trying to get the most out of him.
When Giradi got mad it was because he expected a level of technical perfection from a player.
When Sanchez gets sullen or angry it seems like it's because HE'S been put upon. Nothing to do with winning.
Doug K.
Any GM with a brain would have traded Sanchez for Realmuto straight up.Sanchez is now 26, not an 18-20 year old learning the the craft of catching. The Yankees get a better defensive catcher and slightly worse power hitter for NOW and the Marlins get a controllable salaried player for several years who still hits for power and can improve his catching with no pressure of winning.Or they can teach him to play first base or they can spin him off for a trade and get great prospects. Bottom line is the Marlins aren't going to keep Realmuto.
ReplyDeleteWant to read a freight car's worth of horse shit? There's much more in the piece on the Yankee's website on why "Sanchez is Not For Sale," but this is where I have to start gagging:
ReplyDelete,
Sanchez has elite tools
Sanchez can crush the ball like few other players, let alone catchers. Hitting the ball hard is an important skill -- players who can hit the ball hard consistently are more likely to get hits and do damage. That's where exit-velocity data from Statcast™ comes in.
Statcast™ categorizes batted balls into six levels of contact quality. The very best are "barrels" -- batted balls with ideal combinations of exit velocity and launch angle. They're the type of hit most likely to go for a home run or an extra-base hit. Sanchez barreled 13.9 percent of his batted balls in 2018, 15th highest of 281 hitters who put at least 200 balls in play. And 8.6 percent of his plate appearances ended with him barreling the baseball, tied with fellow Baby Bomber Aaron Judge and National League Rookie of the Year Ronald Acuna Jr. for 16th best in MLB.
Sanchez puts up extreme exit velocities more often than almost any hitter. He hit the ball 110 mph or harder on 10 percent of his batted balls, sixth highest in the Majors, and in 6.1 percent of his plate appearances, seventh highest. And that doesn't include the 114.8 mph, 479-foot home run he crushed against the Red Sox in the postseason -- his hardest homer of the year. Sanchez reached a maximum overall exit velocity of 121.1 mph -- on an extraordinarily unlucky lineout at Yankee Stadium on June 19 -- making him one of just three players since Statcast™ began tracking in 2015 to drive a ball in the air at an exit velocity of 120-plus mph. Yes, all three are Yankees: Judge, Sanchez and Giancarlo Stanton.",
ReplyDelete...making him one of just three players since Statcast™ began tracking in 2015 to drive a ball in the air at an exit velocity of 120-plus mph. Yes, all three are Yankees: Judge, Sanchez and Giancarlo Stanton.
Those same three Yankees also lead all MLB players in the all-important "hypersonic-bat-speed-while-swinging-and-missing" category.
I was initially going to say "it's not about stats, but how people USE stats," then I remembered that that same argument is used by the gun lobby and I disagree with it.
ReplyDeleteThere ARE too many stats and it is WAY too easy to get your hands on them. There should be severe restrictions on buying, keeping and using stats. AND, I FIRMLY BELIEVE, based on my experience online, that the mentally ill should not have access to stats, nor should young people OR anybody who is in danger of hurting themselves.
If you have stats at home, best to keep them under lock and key.
Good one, 13bit!! I absolutely agree. Stats ARE dangerous - - and in the wrong hands, they can cause puckers & boils, the likes of which the world has never seen! LB (No J)
ReplyDeleteDoug K., guess my memory differs from yours: I can't ever remember seeing El Duque (the pitcher) trying anything & everything to be the best he could be. Duque had more weapons in his repertoire than just about any other pitcher I can recall - - and he knew when to use them. He wasn't overpowering, but at times, he could seem overpowering, because of his wile & experience. LB (No J)
ReplyDeleteLB (No)J
ReplyDeleteThey had issues. :)
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2002-09-15-0209150972-story.html
Doug K.
Here's a better Explanation from the daily news." Posada does not just put down fingers for Hernandez. He pushes buttons, hot ones, doing everything he can to harness Hernandez’ passionate pursuit of perfection. “He gets upset, I get upset and we just get going,” Posada says. “He pitches well when he’s mad. That’s when he’s at his best. I just like to help him get focused.” Posada might question Hernandez’ pitch selection, or his location, or try some other gambit that the catcher prefers not to go public with. The desired effect is anger, the desired result outs. With Hernandez, the two seem to work together like cafe con leche. “If you look at my face sometimes, it looks like I’m fighting with Jorge,” Hernandez says, smiling. “But don’t be fooled by what you see on the mound. We have a pretty good relationship."
ReplyDeleteDoug K.
although i'm sure the Yankees have no awareness of this, but in defending sanchez with those new stats, they negate the importance of said new stats. because, you know, the old stats say Sanchez sucked last year but the new stats say he didn't. my eyes tell me he sucked.
ReplyDeletecase closed.
Some of those Statcast stats are total horseshit.
ReplyDeleteGREAT INFO 13 BIT.
ReplyDeleteKD SAYS IT BEST.
OUR EYES SAYS HE SUCKED.
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