Searching for illusions in a Yankiverse of delusion

Bryce Harper barely hides his disappointment. "Everybody knew that, growing up, I was a huge Yankees fan," he tells today's Murdoch Post (now with Jerry Hall!) "Never heard from them."

Imagine the scene right now if the Yankees had signed Harper. All of New York would be standing on its toes, waiting for the first spring HR. Every Yankee would have been interviewed. The YES Network would be exploding with viewers. To keep pace, Boston would have shelled out for Craig Kimbrel, and the Yankees would once again be baseball's marquee team. But they never even called.

So we have this dismal box score reality:

Of course, none of this matters. Too soon. What matters, though, is that Aaron Hicks remains sidelined, now two weeks after publicly divulging his bad back. How long beforehand had he been nursing it? would seem a valid, but unanswered question. Bad backs are tricky. He might miss opening day. When I hear about back issues, I think of Don Mattingly. Anything is possible. 

Tyler Wade is playing SS, along with Gleyber Torres. I think it's clear to everyone that Troy Tulowitzki - whether he hits a lick or not - must be treated with extreme caution. The guy is a walking tweak. At this point, we have no choice but to roll the dice on Tulo. But the odds of him regaining his former level of play continue to grow - against him. 

As for pitchers, Mean Chad Green got whacked - but it was the first time he's pitched two straight days, so he's actually ahead of schedule. 

Tommy Kahnle is throwing zeroes. It sure would be nice... 

Two weeks before opening day. Scuttlebutt says Greg Bird is destined for Scranton, no matter what he hits this month. So be it. He made his bed. But without Hicks in the lineup, we have only one LH bat - Gardy, who didn't crack .240 last year. The Yankees can pooh-pooh the RH tilt all they want. It's a bad omen, especially in Yankee Stadium. 

And the man who would have all the difference in the world, the one who right now would be on every billboard and talk show host's breath... we never even called.