At the time, it seemed rather fishy, even by Yankee standards. Just days - practically hours - after our "fully operational Death Star" signed long-term contracts with Aaron Hicks and Luis Severino, both players came up lame. Now both face injuries that undermine the 2019 season.
Coincidence? Nah. In the Yankiverse, there is no such thing. My guess is the players were privately concerned about their ailments - Hicks' lower back and Severino's throwing shoulder - during the negotiations. It's why they signed what the Gammonites called "team friendly" deals. They were secretly worrying.
And let's be thankful for those moves - what I'm calling the Clean New Deal - because the alternatives could be disastrous.
Severino is currently out until mid-May. But he does not need to rush back too quickly. If not for the new deal, he would now be entering the most important contact year of his life, with a barking shoulder. Could he divulge it? What if he misses the season? He'd miss out on financial security. A pitcher coming off of arm surgery wields no bargaining power. This spring, he'd be more likely to stay quiet and pitch through the pain. He'd have no safety net - not the 4-year $40 million deal he has now.
Shoulders are a bitch. Severino could miss a vast portion of this season. But the Yankees - who have him through 2023 - must now treat him as a long term investment. If not for the deal, and the peace of mind that comes with it, Severino might be out there throwing, hoping the pain will go away, and throwing his career out the window.
Then there is Hicks, who suffers back pain. He says he vastly underestimated his original malady - a suggestion that he knew about it during negotiations. At first, the Yankees said he'd miss a weekend. Now, it's opening day. (Since the Yankees never tell the truth about player injuries, we can't count on anything.)
If it's a herniated disk, Hicks will miss six to eight weeks, not counting rehab. He could be out until July - and, worse, compromised in his play. You don't want him rushing back to hit .210.
Without that long-term deal, Hicks might be on a course to do just that. He would be worrying about losing his big contract next year. Now, both sides have a stake in giving Hicks adequate time to heal. The money is not a factor.
The losses of Severino and Hicks have been this spring's most sobering events. Without either, it's hard to see the Yankees overtaking Boston, which would mean their second straight world championship. Imagine two in a row. Will kids grow up dreaming of playing for the Redsocks, as baseball's premier team?
In March, the worst thing we can do is push an injured player back too quickly. But that requires the player to disclose private aches and pains that, frankly, are not in his interest to discuss... unless the team has a long term investment. Long term contracts dictate long term strategies. If they go south, it's only money, and the Yankees sure have enough. They should pursue more long term deals, and it should begin soon - like TODAY - with Dellin Betances. Let's save the future with the Clean New Deal!
The owner won't spend to win.
ReplyDeleteThe GM does not know what he's doing and has awful judgement.
The manager is a pinhead with no fire and no brains.
The field and conditioning coaches are criminally negligent.
The executive suite is littered with corrupt meatballs.
I do not blame the players, although I do hold them accountable, especially when they jog out grounders and seem like they're daydreaming.
I'm going to get an iced cream sandwich today. Maybe.
A sober post and good points. It's just a good thing we didn't lock in any young guys like, say, Bryce Harper to a long-term contract. But you know, that would've been crazy. Better to lock up Aaron "Hey, I had one good year I'm fulfilling my potential" Hicks and Luis "You better hope it was just tipping my pitches" Severino. Dellin "Maybe I'm a head case, but I'm YOUR headcase" Betances would be the obvious next choice.
ReplyDeleteWell, nobody's perfect. But better to sign the guys who are definitely not perfect that you know. That way, you save money because you don't have to pay for a lot of possible upside. You just get what there is. And did I mention you save money?
Besides, you can always trade some promising prospects when there are holes to fill. Assuming there are any left that anyone wants by that time.
Oh. And what 13bit said.
13bit's point number 4, by the way, is why I'm not very hopeful that Severino will turn into the killer ace everyone thought he would be early last year. Before July. To put a finer point on it, as there is on his head, Rothschild.
ReplyDeleteBtw, JM is John M. I'm getting old, so I though I'd streamline a bit and get rid of things I don't need. Like o, h, and n.
ReplyDeleteThose are excellent points Duque. Hadn't thought of it that way but you're right. Now they can take their time.
ReplyDeleteJM,
Here's another one.
If only there was a really good FA starter still on the market who shares his name with the city where they shot both JFK AND JR. Then the Yankees could bolster their staff and not lose a beat while Sevi rehabs. Because let's face it. It could be a year (or two if surgery is involved.
Doug K.
Sure, it is a great plan. And it is exactly the type of circumstance where you get someone named Jace Peterson playing in your outfield.
ReplyDeleteWho's next?
ReplyDeleteJeez, this is depressing, group.
Let's focus on the positive:
1. There are 9 innings in a game. Lorna Boone can't screw up all of them. Aaron Judge is now mature enough to lead the other players in overcoming whatever nightmares Boone (and Rothschild) wreak.
2. The NYYs are in first place in the spring standings. There must be some good young guys playing. It sure ain't our starting pitching, is it?
3. The last 2 games have seen 14-1 (vs. Boston) and 17-7 (vs. Toronto). That's 31 for us, 8 for them. I'm sure this isn't meaningful, but then again...it's one heck of a lot of runs. And not all of them scored via the HR!
4. YES, I know that Spring Training games and standings mean absolutely nothing. But, combined with the sentiments we all share here, how awful would y'all feel if they had lost by 13 and 10 runs in the most recent 2 games, and were now 7-and-13 (which is Boston's record = last place).
5. If Judge is still hurting, he's doing a great job overcoming it.
If Miggy is headed to a rotten Year Two, he sure is misleading us.
Voit and Bird are not just 4-letter names, but are making Boone's job of picking one of 'em difficult. Whoever stays knows the other guy is down in Scranton, sharpening his knife.
6. Other positives:
a. Most us do not, I think, live in New Zealand.
b. I don't own a Yellow Jacket. You?
c. Our politicians (ALL OF THEM) absolutely SUCK, but they are looking good standing next to the idiots in Britain -- who can't even "pull out" successfully. [kind of makes you wonder into what the heck they stuck it....]
d. No matter how you feel about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's ideas, you can always resort to watching that video of her dancing. Beats all Hell out of watching Nancy Pelosi dance, don't it?
e. Soon there will be baseball games. I plan to listen to them, as I have for 1,000 years, while I go about whatever it is I am doing. This beats all Hell out of the news, doncha think?
I apologize for the positive spin. Now, back to the regularly scheduled Yankee Fan Suicide Watch.
JFOB.....YOU ARE SO RIGHT.
ReplyDeletePOLITICIANS SUCK.
I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE WHAT I'M HEARING FROM THIS AOC.
IT'S INSANITY.
I CAN'T STAND MOST OF THEM... (BOTH SIDES).
LET ME SHUT UP.
BACK TO BASEBALL....
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S THE END OF FLORIAL.
SONOFABITCH!
HE WAS DOING GREAT!
WTF!
"The lights are going out all over the New York Yankees. They shall not be lit again in our lifetime."
ReplyDeleteAll right, in a desperate attempt to continue Joe FOB's funny AND optimistic presentation:
ReplyDelete—The Yankees will simply HAVE to play Red Thunder now.
—The games will not be filled with all that distracting tension and talent, thereby allowing me to get all the more work done with them on in the background.
—You guys, at least, are truly en fuego. In the three seasons or so that I have been here, I have never seen an "It Is High" lineup so deep and so ready for the regular season's crippling disappointments.
—We still have the best radio announcer in baseball.
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