His appearance is eerily reminiscent of a game last summer - July 7, 2018 - when the heavily rumored future trade acquisition, J.A. Happ, pitched against the Yankees. Happ lasted 2.2 innings, surrendering six earned runs on four hits and six walks - perhaps his worst outing all year. Fifteen days later, after a similar beat-down by Boston, he was all ours, for Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney. I leave everyone to his or her own opinion on Happ, now tethered to us on a two-year pact, but losing Drury and McKinney didn't send anyone jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge.
So here's the upsy-down on Stroman: If he strangles the Yankees today, he will be increasing his trade value and hurting his potential future dream team. A quality start means that, to put him in pinstripes will require a more sizable portion clipped from Brian Cashman's left nut. This morning, it's hard to imagine Stroman coming to the Bronx without Clint Frazier leaving in return - a great hitting talent who could torture us for many years. But if the Yankees bludgeon Stroman - batter him like Chief Jim Hopper on a Ruskie (hip cultural ref there) - maybe the trade bundle drops to a Drury and McKinney. Maybe, just maybe, Frazier stays. (Because anyone who thinks Giancarlo Stanton is our long term DH/LF ought to stop drinking paint thinner.)
Max Scherzer, the pitcher that Cashman surely most covets, is on the Ellsbury List with barking back. He's supposed to return by July 20... but bad backs, who knows? Whether we like it or not, we gotta believe Cashman will land either Scherzer, Stroman or Madison Bumgarner, the former king of October. Yesterday, Boston gave up two decent prospects for an Orioles starter; (interesting move, rescuing a guy from the worst team in a decade.) The Yankees will soon react. Today, Stroman makes his case for pinstripes. Let's hope we chew him up and spit him out.
Nats are in it. Scherzer's going nowhere.
ReplyDeleteSocks got Cashner from the O's. 9-3 this year, with an ERA of 1.41 in recent games. FOR THE O'S.
ReplyDeleteJesus.
Unfortunately, Publius is correct.
ReplyDeleteIf Scherzer is not available, I say no to surrendering our acorns. That includes Garcia and the Pharaoh. Trade guys like Tyler Too. Otherwise go with the Duque plan for prosperity.
Scherezer isn't available for anything less than the crown jewels so I'd love to see MadBum in Yankee pinstripes but only if the Giants give the Yankees a 48 opportunity to sign him to a 2 year extension...unless the asking price for a rental doesn't include Frazier,Andujar or Thairo.Maybe they take Stanton and we pay 50% of his salary. Whatever happens, I think the Giants could accommodate the Yankees becauses many of their front office personnel are ex-Bombers.I know Bumgardner has a n0-trade to the Yankees but the Giants could say "waive that clause or we will send you to the the Marlins/Orioles."
ReplyDelete48-hour*
ReplyDeleteScherzer was, never, I don't think, a real possibility. HAL does not want to pay that sort of money. Period.
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it, the no-trade clause is a negotiating maneuver for MadBum. He has it for most possible contenders. In other words, if you want to trade me to any of the teams that might want me, meet my demands.
Stroman, alas, is a circus midget.
(More) seriously, he wouldn't be the worst they could get. But the talk is the Yanks also want Ken Giles for the pen, a guy who is having a good year for the Jays, but who we turned into chuck chop in the 2017 playoffs. I say pass.
WOW, the Cashner deal is an amazingly good one for the Sox.
ReplyDeleteHe is a classic journeyman, lifetime record well below .500, 4.00 ERA. BUT, throughout his career, Cashner has had very good spurts, even whole seasons. He seems to be having one now.
What the Sox gave up? Two 17-year-olds playing okay in the Dominican Summer League.
I am not making this up.
Why can't we have a real general manager, too???
Let's look at it from a glass half full view.
ReplyDeleteYankees toast Stroh (does that beer still exist?) for 12 runs in 2-1/3 innings. His trade value goes down to Tyler Too, Holder and Tauchmann. Yankees keep the red menace and are forced to promote him to the big team.
Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?
"Why can't we have a real general manager, too???"
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason why we can't have nice things, Hoss.
Big Daddy Hal knows when you're a bad boy.
I know. But it stinks.
ReplyDeleteBoy, I think if our All-Stars had got anymore rest they might be dead.
ReplyDeleteYes, nice win in the end, on an enervating day. But Shorty still pitched pretty well, more's the pity.
I am putting my hands over my eyes. Figuratively. Or else I could not type.
Remember that scene in "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas" when they're trying to snort some coke and driving at 80 miles an hour and the wind takes it all away and Thompson shouts "DID YOU SEE WHAT GOD JUST DID TO US????"
ReplyDeleteThat's the sanguine state I'm in now as we enter late July, otherwise known as "The Dangerous Season" or "Hal's Month of Doom" or "Bloodshed In Brian's Haunted Mansion Month."
Something will happen. Cue the creepy horror music. Put a condom on, along with a football helmet. Hold a clove of garlic in front of you and shove some wolfsbane into your underwear. The time of the demon is upon us.
Trout?
ReplyDeleteC'mon Rufus....you really think we can dump a bunch of trash and get back quality pitching?
ReplyDeleteWe would all love that.
No one...not even Cashman....not even Hal, for GOD'S SAKE...IS THAT STUPID.
It is a dream we all have.
But we will have to give up people we don't want to part with to get back what we think we want.
Except, we don't want it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hear you, 13bit:
"It's the month of the scavenger, the season of the witch
Sashay on the boardwalk, scurry for the ditch."
We'll be scurrying pretty soon.
Fonzie,
ReplyDeleteI can dream. I didn't think it would actually happen.
You're just mad because I said I hate the black swan.
And I do.
Don't hate me for being right.
And weirdly, it seems that the Red Sox CAN do that. Two 17-year-olds for a hot starter? WTF? Is anyone actually running the Orioles these days? Or is this like the 1970s A's, when Charlie O. made the 14-year-old Hammer a VP?
ReplyDeleteThe Rays will sweep the Yankees this week. This will augur the decline and fall of the 2019 Yankees, brought on by Karma Cashman's mind-numbingly stupid acquisition of Encarnacion. You read it here first.
ReplyDelete
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