Hell, no. All-Star snubs are a July tradition. Bernie Williams played 16 seasons and was still going strong at the end, hitting .281. All-Star games? He only made five. Derek Jeter made 14 appearances, but not until his fourth season, being ignored for the likes of Nomar Garciaparra, Travis Fryman and some slimy little punk named Ripken. Paul O'Neill? Out of 17 seasons, just five All-Star games (and one was for the NL, with Cincy.) Tino? As a Yankee, one. Jorge? Out of 17 seasons, five. Listen: These guys are in Monument Park. They won four world championships, a feat that grows more incredible with each passing season. We won't see nuthin' like them in our lifetimes. But you wouldn't know it in July.
So, we should care? Hell, no. This weekend, the Yankees dismantled their AL East rivals, as they did the Rays and Astros in previous days. They have the best record in the AL. But on the All-Star roster, Houston has six. (Tampa and Boston have 2, and the White Sox have three, one being Jose Abreu, inexplicably named over Voit.)
Oh, well, at least we won the crazy London series. In the future, I suggest MLB play three-games there, rather than let teams split. Also, it might take three games to finally produce one that resembles a major league event. In this country, 9-8 is considered slug-fest. When both teams are dropping double digits, that's not a day at the park. That's a beer league.
Today, the Yankees return to civilization and to ice their gonads. We should learn how long Voit will be out, and whether Gary Sanchez's thumb represents a problem. Will Clint Frazier get the call to replace Giancarlo Ellsbury? Will Mike Ford (an amazing .319, 19 HRs at Scranton) get a shot, if Voit is out? And what about Ryan McBroom? We can invoke his name overseas, but the guy sure looks an awful lot like Voit did last year around now - (.315, 16 HRs at Scranton.) Wouldn't it be interesting to see if the "next-man up" was under our noses, all this time?
But we're only halfway there. There will be a losing streak and some wretched sand traps. The cavalry - Severino and Betances - may never come. And one torturous question remains: Who pitches game one, when the other guys send out Chris Sale or Jason Verlander? When your best starter is "TBA," something is wrong. Not complainin.' Just sayin.'
The All-Star results are inexplicable, but fans voting is stupid to start with, so whatever.
ReplyDeleteI still suspect that the London baseballs were wound tighter, and/or perhaps the stitches were just a little lower, making the pitchers less effective. Britton said that he couldn't get his sinker to work no matter what, and couldn't figure out why. Or couldn't say why, lest he be roundly chastised by MLB brass. At any rate, a change in the stitching would screw up a sinker, I think, along with some other pitches and pitchers. London is not Coors Field, and it's hard to believe that both the Yankees and Socks pitchers as a group would be that bad. We'll probably never really know. But the resulting offensive displays sure must have won over a few new fans, for whom offense is the hook.
We still need starters. More than one. Sevvy isn't coming back. Neither is Betances, but we can live with that. Starters, though...that's a problem.
JM - let me respectfully correct you. We don't need "starters." We need "power arms." And we also need SLUGGERS WHOSE TIME HAS PASSED, but who can thrive again in pinstripes. We need to trade away and/or alienate all of our youngsters in the farm system and we need to keep doing exactly what we're doing in the health and conditioning units. And don't let this "investigation" by Brian and Lord Hal fool you. It's one of those coverups that masquerades as an investigation. Everyone will be exonerated. Maybe one or two heads will roll, but "investigations" have just become regime tools in the twenty-first century. Oh yeah, we also need to raise the price of everything in the stadium, save money on food sanitation equipment, and CUT OUR PAYROLL. Then, we need to thank the lord that Mighty Hal, in his infinite beneficence, is watching over us. Dear Leader, thank you!
ReplyDeleteSorry, Bit, you're right. I obviously went off the reservation there and had strange thoughts implanted in my head via microwaves from Boston.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to watch my step.
Exactly, 13bit! It's amazing how much the Yankees operate like a modern, governmental kleptocracy.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is constantly buried, obvious debacles are ignored even when they happen in public, genuine concerns about the future are shrugged off, ruinous policies are constantly repeated no matter how often they fail.
And inevitably—and above all—the money flows one way: upward.
Obviously, something was done with either the ball or the dimensions or the wind currents in London. That was a farce, and we're just lucky that more people did not get injured (and the count is already at two Yankees and counting).
If we were Sox fans, losing two home games to THAT, we'd be furious.
Of course, if we were Sox fans, we would be in a much better mood because of our 4 world championships over the last 15 years...
While the altered baseballs were "fair" because it was the same for both teams what was not fair was the effect on the pitcher's stats.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the year no one will remember that the Yanks and Sox played two games with altered baseballs. But the 6 runs in one inning goes against Tanaka and Porcello.
Plus on guy's like Tarpley it has an even greater effect.
Doug K.
Looks like the Yankees signed a future annual All-Star and next Mickey Mantle and Mike Trout all rolled into one: 16 year old Jasson Dominguez. 5 million bonus.
ReplyDeleteI'd happily settle for the next Bernie Williams.
ReplyDeleteYeah, love the hype. And before that it was Wander Franco, who the Rays signed.
ReplyDeleteWho knows? Maybe one of them will work out. I suspect the exact same number who were highly rated 16-year-olds in the U.S. 50-60 years ago.
I wish him well. Now, I've got to get back to figuring out how many games the Knicks Dream Team will win next season.
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