Tuesday, July 9, 2019

More Infielders!

All right, grading the rest of the infield.  This is where the class has really shined in the first semester.

Infield II

D.J. LeMahieu: A+

I think this is the first A+ in the history of these grades—hey, no grade inflation at IIHIIFIIC!—but it's well-deserved.

I have to admit:  I was wrong, and Brian Cashman was right.  I thought The General was a declining, overrated product of Rocky Mountain High.  Nope.  A league-leading, .336 average, 35 extra-base hits, incredibly clutch base knocks, and the ability to play any place they put him well:  people talk about him being the Yanks' first-half MVP.  Hell, he's close to being the AL MVP.  Can't complain in the least—and for me, that's saying a lot.

Gleyber Torres: A

El Conquistador looks to be rounding into very much the superstar he was forecast to be.  His second-half fall-off last year had me a mite worried, but he's looked great thus far in 2019.

Some people grouse about how much of his production has come against the pathetic Orioles.  Hey, bad Birds have to be put down, too, and he's done plenty against other teams as well.  In the field, he's adjusted well, moving to short and then back to second with no complaints and plenty of double-plays to his credit.

Didi Gregorius: Inc, A pending

Unlike so many Yankees coming off the EL, Sir Didi has bounced back with alacrity.  He has been en fuego in the field, where his great stabs at EuroFenway kept those games from really getting out of hand.  At this rate, he will present us with a very good dilemma to have, come free agent time.

Gio Urshela: A+

What can one say?  Gio—who bears an uncanny resemblance to the fabled "Bat Boy" of tabloid cover fame—has more than exceeded expectations.  Even his sudden little spates of errors—he has 12 on the season already—seemed to come at the least troubling times, and just how many great throws can a guy make while sitting on his butt?

(Of course, despite the infallibility of fielding statistics, his "defensive WAR" is -0.2, because...why, exactly?  Two dozen Brooks Robinsons have lined up to take his place in the minors?)

His clutch bat has really been something, too.  Will he revert to the mean in the second half?  Quite possibly.  But in any case, he's given us 72 terrific games.

Thairo Estrada: A

The feel-good story of the year...which is why Cashman promptly buried it back in Scranton.  C'mon: the guy is playing with a bullet in his body.  The man has done everything possible, including playing outfield positions he never played at any level of baseball (and played them better than a certain ginger individual who will go unnamed).

More than likely, he is gone in the next Coops Quest for a Pitcher trade, which by now has Ahab's search beat all to pieces.  (With any luck, an enormous ungulate will vent its fury sometime on Mr. Cashman, too.)  Also, I still have 6,000, as-yet-unsold "Thairo the Pharaoh" headdresses in the warehouse.

I still remember how the Yanks threw Homer Bush (another, all-time great baseball name) into the Clemens deal.  Sure, he'd hit .380 off the bench in 1998, but limited sample.  In Toronto the next year, he hit .320, with 32 stolen bases.  Expect something even better from the Pharaoh, if he goes.

Tyler Wade: C—

Poor Tyler Too.  What can you say about this guy?

Well, for starters, that he couldn't hit a piñata if you took the blindfold off him.  Nearly 200 plate appearances now, and a .173 average, .484 OPS.  That's spread out over three seasons, I know, but as Alphonso says, rookies gotta flash.  At least some year.

It's a pity, too, for Tyler does a lot of things right:  steals bases, plays well in the field, plays well with others, is clean and polite, and pays attention in class.  There are just too many guys ahead of him to make keeping him worthwhile.  For all our sakes, let's hope that somehow Coops is able to pawn him off on some other team, instead of the Pharaoh.

Miguel Andujar: Inc.

El Matador has a long, hard road back—one that at least probably will keep him from being traded.  There is not a better hitter on the club, and if the Yanks have a grain of sense they will give him an outfielder's glove next spring and have him learn left field, where his strong arm will do the most good.

Having no sense, they are more likely to put him at first or have him DH.  But their real craziness is thinking that The Man of Glass can play left for any length of time.  If and when they deal Clint, they are going to have to have Andujar out there to take over.

Breyvic Valera: Inc.

It's difficult to know what to say about Valera.  A dedicated patriot, though born in New York to a father who was a Basque artist, "The Tall Fella," as he was called, always displayed considerable physical courage.  But as a leader, he was too often self-centered and divisive.  His insistence on waging the civil war that killed Michael Collins—over what proved to be an issue of no consequence—and later his refusal to entertain Churchill's offer to reunite Ireland at the nadir of England's wartime desperation, both count as unequaled tragedies and lost opportunities in the history of the modern Irish state.  Add in Valera's backward, romantic agrarianism, and you have a leader sadly unequipped to take Ireland into the modern world.

Wait, not that Valera?  Oh.  Well, good luck to him.


Next up:  Outfielders!



  

28 comments:

  1. A few All-Star Game notes:

    Really? People criticize The Master when Joe Buck is a national broadcaster? I don't get it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. IS MLB completely without shame? You make the call!

    Before tonight's game, A-Rod actually interviewed Cody Bellinger about the "mysterious" fact that Bellinger did not hit home runs in high school—just 5 years ago—and now he's a big power hitter.

    A-ROD: What do you think that's about?

    CODY: Well, I grew into my body.

    Riiiight! With human growth hormone, no doubt.

    Yes, MLB IS completely with shame. You made the right call!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Has A-Rod had face work? I think so. Yet another in a lifetime of bad personal decisions.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great, three people play some desultory rock-'n-roll while the lineups are announced.

    That'll get the kids back!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Joe Buck: Nolan Arenado is probably the greatest field third baseman EVER! He has platinum gloves!

    (Yes, he actually said that.)

    An AL hitter bounces a ball off Arenado.

    ME, channeling my father: Brooks Robinson would've had that.

    ME, channeling me: Graig Nettles would've had that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Second worst Fox move ever: miking all these players.

    Worst Fox move ever: miking all these players, then letting Joe Buck talk to them.

    Inane average questions, outfielders so distracted they can barely pick up the ball, and Joe Buck complaining that the music in the stadium is so loud it hurts his head.

    Now THAT'S entertainment!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A question over something I just noticed in the All-Star introductions: Marcus Stroman is a midget.

    I mean, we're talking circus freak small. The man should be in a sideshow somewhere. THIS is the guy we want?

    Oy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I hate those loathsome, "caring" moments such as "Stand Up to Cancer."

    "Cancer" isn't some malevolent foreign nation we have been appeasing. It's not the neighborhood bully.

    It's a disease. It will kill you (or not) no matter how you feel about it.

    It's not a fight. It's not something that will be defeated with the proper attitude. It's not like Tinkerbell, who will be kept alive if we all clap our hands.

    These things are just more virtue signaling.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 1) You have the sound on? Shame on you!
    2) They have Arod announcing. They have no shame. At least Jessica Mendoza isn't with him saying a player that didn't touch the ball deserves an error (yes, she said that).
    3) yep.
    4) Again, you had the sound on? What the fuck were you thinking????
    5) Or any of another 50 others.
    6) Worst move ever -- Joe Buck with a microphone that is actually on.
    7) He's 5'7" according to baseball reference, and Freddie Patek was 5'5". Phil was 5'6". It must be a metric ruler they're using.
    8) Cancer sucks, but it doesn't make you brave for wanting to live. But it still sucks.

    ReplyDelete
  10. A wicked groundball to third, and it's gloved by...Moustakas. The greatest fielding third baseman ever is already out of the game. Huh. Somehow, the other guy handled it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Cancer definitely sucks. I just wish we could talk about it seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I can't watch.

    Black swan is still around. I don't trust him and El Chapo and Gleyber day are still in.

    ReplyDelete
  13. And good grief, after Gleyber's error, here comes Chapman to blow the game. I do wish all the Yanks were out by now.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Buck tells us that Chapman is "greeted with boos because he was a Chicago Cub" in the 2016 World Series.

    Get real. He was greeted with boos because he is a New York Yankee.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Huh. Can't recall that I ever saw so many players take so many called third strikes in the All-Star Game. But a win is a win!

    AL now 25-6-1 in last 32. I am so happy.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Weird, hometown pandering on the MVP award. Should've gone to Joey Gallo.

    Chapman with the save, Sanchez with a key double and run scored. Tanaka first Yankee to win an All-Star Game since Vic Raschi in 1948. Yay.

    ReplyDelete
  17. There's nothing wrong with Joe Buck. The "Master" is totally incompetent at radio play-by-play.

    ReplyDelete
  18. ^And u are a moron if that's your opinion (imo)

    I agree I hate stupid Slogans that sound like it was created by the community Pre-K class when referencing real issues

    For example: In Arizona they have
    Don't "meth" with AZ in reference to the drug crisis... Guaranteed to stop an addict in it's tracks (eye roll)

    Personal favorite... "Fuck Cancer" first, GROSS, Second sorry whether you "fuck it" or not you still have it and it will kill you or not.

    3). Other than the Yankee players the ASG was incredibly boring and Joe Buck is a violent assault on the ears.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Agreed, Joe!

    And I really wonder about the purposes of certain protests. For instance, the "Take Back the Night" marches for women's safety that you used to see more often.

    I know, I know: it's all about raising "awareness." But is anyone UN-aware of cancer? Was anyone UN-aware of women's safety issues at night, in cities, particularly in the crime-ridden 1980s?

    Who were the protests aimed at? Rapists, murderers, muggers, and other sociopaths? Wouldn't a demand for more policing and the formation of citizens patrols have made more sense?

    Inquiring minds want to know!

    ReplyDelete
  20. How much actual money from SU2C goes to cancer patients? And how much actual money goes to overhead and the CEO?

    Joe Buck is the Joe Theismann of baseball announcers.

    ReplyDelete
  21. "Joe Buck is the Joe Theismann of baseball announcers."

    ...with Cliff Clavin's modesty and Peewee Herman's intellect.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Speaking of awful announcers, Jerry Remy has a book out:

    https://deadspin.com/jerry-remy-on-his-sons-unforgivable-crime-1836210139

    ReplyDelete
  23. After reading all of these comments, I'm so glad I didn't bother watching the game and went to bed early.

    Sounds like the expected crap broadcast.

    ReplyDelete
  24. You read ALL these comments? Boy, you might as well have watched the game! :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Joe of AZ--you write as though English is your second language. Or maybe you were just born with Down's Syndrome? At any rate, I'll push to have that mental deformity as the main charity of the next All-Star Game, in your honor.

    ReplyDelete
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