No matter how it's parsed, the 2019 Yankee season hinges on Scary Gary Sanchez

In yesterday's meaningless game, Gary Sanchez went two for three with two meaningless doubles, raising his spring average to a meaningless meaningful .250.

That's right. Meaning-ful. It's time to call the cards. The games don't count, but the algorithms do. By now, each player is either accelerating towards Day One or pumping the brakes in distress. (Tulowitzky: 0-2 yesterday with a K, now batting .227.) Certainly, overall numbers since Feb. 24 don't matter a lick. But over the next week, every at bat, every error and - most of all - every gonadal tweak will carry the weight of 100 spring games.

And nobody faces more micro-scrutiny than Mr. Gary Sanchez. 

Purely and simply, he is the key to 2019. More than any other player (including Aaron Judge), the Sanchize - aka the Kraken - has had the largest impact on the modern direction of the franchise.

After Sanchez exploded onto the scene in July 2016, a light switched on in the ruddy head of Harold Z. Steinbrenner. Before Gary, "Hal" was prone towards massive belches of money to bolster the team. Since Sanchez, he's been "Food Stamps," obsessed with clutching his Hello Kitty fanny purse in the name of austerity. 

In that late summer, the Yankees traded Brian McCann, Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran - for what has, thus far, amounted to Gleyber Torres and some lottery tickets. (You could add Clint Frazier and part of James Paxton, who we received for Justus Sheffield; the rest are either traded or treading water.) They forced A-Rod out the door (so he could meet J-Lo and live happily ever after.) They insisted that Derek Jeter bat lead-off (so he would someday trade us Giancarlo Stanton.) But instead of falling apart, the Yankees improved. (Their second half record topped that of the first half; they finished just 5 games out of the wild card, due to a disastrous bullpen, leaving some to wonder if they traded Miller and El Chapo a bit too soon.) 

That summer, after hitting 20 HRs in 201 at bats (.290), Sanchez was anointed Yankee Catcher of the Future, perennial all-star and future plaque in Monument Park. Ever since, those honors have slipped through his glove to the backstop. His defense has been atrocious. At one point, his apparent lackadaisical play forced the Yankees to put him on the disabled list. Last year, he didn't crack .200. His horrible, rotten, dismal 2018 was a huge reason why the Yankees failed to catch Boston. If Sanchez had hit - say - .240 with 30 HRs, what a difference it would have made. But he sucked.

The Yankees have never flinched in their support for Sanchez. Now, for better or worse, the cards must be called. If his play does not improve, I have to believe the Yankees will deal him by Aug. 1 for somebody, anybody, who can catch. (They have no successor ready in the minors, and Austin Romine has proved himself to be a stopgap, not a solution.) 

So, no matter how we slice it, 2019 hinges on Sanchez, who turned 26 in December. (He is younger than Judge, Hicks, Voit, Bird and Didi.) Yesterday, he went two for three. One strikeout. A two-out RBI. No passed balls. No stolen bases by the Rays. 

Early spring reports claimed Sanchez was showing a newfound commitment. Trouble is, we've heard that story before; it was the Yankee-written narrative a year ago. The Yankees need a solid catcher, a spark-plug, not a defensive liability who cannot hit. 

The 2019 Yankees should score runs. Judge will hit. Stanton will hit. Andujar will hit. After that, it's question marks (Hicks' back making him no sure thing.) But Sanchez represents the biggest potential improvement over 2018. Will the Yankees be rewarded for their loyalty?

Long ago, people used say, "As Mantle goes, so go the Yankees." (And that usually meant the Yankees were going well.) Now, the same can said of Gary Sanchez. Trouble is, that statement not only true; it is scary.