Monday, July 8, 2019

Will we ever see Clint and Thairo again?

When Giancarlo Ellsbury recently went down with a twisted giblet, the lone brisket of hope was that it seemed to open up a slot for Clint Frazier, the cartoonish, designer-shoed, former future Yankee legend. Instead, the Death Star promoted OF Mike Tauchman. 

When Brian Cashman explained the move - the franchise was not punishing Frazier for taking three days to haul his shit to Scranton; it was because of extra foul territory that needed to be covered on the team's National Lampoon road trip to England - it seemed to open up a slot for Clint in the upcoming Subway Series. Instead, the Yankees kept Tauchman.

When manager Aaron Boone decided to rest Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu before the all-star break, it seemed a sure bet for the recall of Thairo Estrada, who had performed so well earlier this year. Instead, they elevated 27-year-old Breyvic Valera to play against the Tampa/Montreal Rays.

Nothing against Tauchman or Valera - valued lug nuts, they - but it's starting to look as though Clint and Thairo will assume the otherworldly fate of Tyler Wade, that is... vanishing into the moors of Central Pennsylvania, never to be heard from again. Wade already looks like the 2019 version of Brigadoon Refsnyder, the prospect who mysteriously appears once every 10 years, bringing romance and hope to visitors, and who then - poof - becomes an empty locker.

What's distressing here - (and let's be clear; there is little to be distressed about these days) - is the fear that Cooperstown Cashman is ghosting Frazier and Estrada to mute fan anger when the pair are inevitably traded for some glue-factory warhorse who strangely fulfills an anagram for "Sonny Gray." (Granny Soy.)  

In any trade, Lucifer shows up in the agate. If When the Yankees peddle Frazier and Estrada, maybe they'll get their Game One starter in return. Who knows... maybe it will work! Either way, the Gammonites and YES men (and women) of NYC will unanimously hail the deal as brilliant and necessary. They always do. And sometimes, that's the problem.

So when it happens, let's remember what Cashman will have given away.

With the Yankees this spring, Frazier, age 24, whacked 11 HRs in 191 at bats, hitting .283. With runners in scoring position, he hit .375. Yeah, he had one rancid, nationally televised, horror show in RF, but it's not as if MLB was fitting Giancarlo for a gold glove. Frazier helped carry the Yankees through a dark time without Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge and the china doll himself. If he's been treading water in Scranton, (hitting .234) can you blame him? This is his third year there.

Estrada, 23, hit .280, with 3 HRs in 50 ABs with the Yankees in May-June. He played excellent defense at three infield positions and stole two bases. At Scranton, he's hitting .266. What did he do wrong? Did he fail to jiggle the handle?

Both came up big for the Yankees in times of need. Both will likely be rewarded with a ticket out of town. 

Then there is Tyler Wade - aka Brigadoon II. You might be surprised to learn that he is only 24, same age as Nestor (Octavio) Cortes Jr. At Scranton, he's hitting .311 - which would be sixth in the International League, if he had enough qualifying ABs. (Fun Facts: Rob Refsnyder is 3rd in the league, at .321, and the guy the Yankees received for him - Ryan McBroom - is 7th, at .310.) Though he's been gone for months, Wade is still listed among the Yankee SB leaders, with five. (At Scranton, he has 9.) If for the post-season, the Yankees need a pinch-running base-stealer, he could get the call. (Or he might still be odd man out again; an OF named Billy Burns has 11 SB in 13 tries.)

Listen: We can't hate trades before they're made. And we all know that a major face lift is coming for the rotation. Neither Marcus Stroman nor Max Scherzer will come cheap. Still, I'd hate to think we're ghosting Frazier and Estrada simply to lessen the anger when the two leave for some rag-armed salary dump, whose astral twin could be an anagram to Granny Soy. 

23 comments:

  1. HEY! I was able to make August 12th work!! Is there a ticket left for me!?







    Fuck you Hal.

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  2. I hate Cashman and his petty and sometimes clueless roster juggles. And if those two kids are trade bait and nothing more, the thought process of keeping them in the minors is nasty. That means, don't bring them up again, let their performance in the Spring be the last suitors see of them, do not risk them coming up and not being as good.

    Yeah, we want to win, all right. Bullshit.

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  3. We shall see those two again. In the uniform of the San Francisco Giants.

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  4. Yeah, I'm with you. Why Tauchman and Valera are on the bench is beyond me.

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  5. Sing it, Duque.

    This is how the Yankees regularly kill prospects.

    And really, what is out there?

    Stroman is hurt, and HAL is not taking on the salary of the one guy who might mike this worthwhile: Scherzer.

    That basically leaves Trevor Bauer, who is at least intriguing but probably unsuited to the Yanks' buttoned down, corporate atmosphere, and Bumgarner.

    The notion of trading even one of those guys for MadBum—at this stage in his career—makes me want to retch. BOTH of them is completely unacceptable. But you watch: he will deal them both, and throw in a pitcher or two as well, even with stories about how the Mets' big Cano/Diaz trade blew up their faces, staring him in the punim.

    Ugh.

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  6. Also, looking at the standings today, I was realizing that the Yanks could be 12 up in the loss column on BOTH the Rays and the Sox if Boone had wanted to do something radical like, you know, bring up the Red Menace and Thairo the Pharaoh and go for two more wins.

    Instead, it's just 8 on the Rays. Not enough with our pitching.

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  7. Can someone please explain the "logic" of Boone to me?

    Seriously. Why, when you can put your foot on the throat of your closest pursuer and choke them out do you not play your 2 best hitters? With the next day and a half off for them until they play 2-3 innings and then have another 2 days off? I understand wanting to rest players. But why THEN and why both simultaneously? WTF kind of strategist does that?

    So instead, we play the youngest sibling of the "Wild and Crazy Guys" Festrunk Brothers at second base who then fucks up an easy play and costs the team one of the 2 runs that beat us. And wastes Paxton's best game as a Yankee. The smart move would have been to play Torres and second and DJ at first and let Parrot Man ride the bench.

    I hope this loss doesn't come back to haunt the Yankees.

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  8. Horace, I will bet you dollars to doughnuts the Yankees get this guy. He fits the Cashman mold of a "power arm" pitcher who has had only one decent year, the current one, and only modest success at that. He will overpay in prospects and possibly current roster players:

    Matthew Boyd
    LHP
    6-6, 3.87 ERA, 142 SO
    Scouts will be tracking Boyd closely out of the break as the Trade Deadline nears and contenders sort out their options. They’ll catch the left-hander coming off a no-walk, 13-strikeout performance against the White Sox last week in Chicago.-



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  9. He really seems to feel this is a done deal. 88 games into the season.

    MLB on conditioning and rest has it all backwards these days:

    "Here, work out constantly, all the time, like an insane gym rat and to the point where you're bursting ligaments and muscles—but we'll give you plenty of days off, even against our top opponents."

    It should be exactly the opposite: "Guys, cut down on the weight room for the season, and just make sure you can be out there all the time. We need endurance right now, not ultra-strength—and certainly not 'strength' that will inevitably put you on the EL for another month."

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  10. You may well be right, Carl J. And that guy has Jeff Weaver written all over him.

    I still mourn Theodore Roosevelt Lilly—one of the greatest baseball names ever!

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  11. Winnie, there is an email link on the https://www.itishigh.com/ page where you can contact Capt. Bit directly.

    Hope it works out...

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  12. Hoss,

    Has anyone seen Teddy Roosevelt Lilly and Sasha Gray in the same room at the same time?

    They may be the same person.

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  13. Nah. Teddy was a gamer. Didn't have that much stuff, but he made the most of it. Would never have been afraid to pitch in Yankee Stadium—or charge up San Juan Hill.

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  14. Hoss, I don't remember him doing anything for the Yankees, but that he 'found' himself after he was traded for Jared's brother.

    Jeff Weaver, who was horrible with the Yankees and subsequently traded for Kevin (lefty) Brown, who was worse than horrible for the Yankees and couldn't even remember to punch the wall with his non-pitching hand.

    Terrible Ca$h trades all.

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  15. Don’t forget about Andujar. I expect never to see him in pinstripes again. He will be tossed into any deal as a sweetener. I’d sure roll the dice on that kid. Special talent.

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  16. Thank you Rufus T! I went to the site and emailed Bitty.


    Fuck you Hal.

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  17. I HOPE ALPHONSO IS RIGHT.

    IT HAS TO BE BUMGARNER.

    ANYONE ELSE, AND IT PROBABLY WILL BE, "LETS TRY AGAIN NEXT YEAR".

    FORGET ABOUT STROMAN. (ARE PEOPLE SERIOUS?... I HEAR SOME PEOPLE SAYING THEY WANT STROMAN INSTEAD OF MADBUM)?.....

    THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE CHOICE HERE.

    HE IS PLAYOFF, AND WORLD SERIES PROVEN, LEFT HANDED, A FIERCE COMPETITOR, AND ONLY 29 YEARS OLD.

    IF COOP FUCKS THIS UP, HE WILL PROBABLY RUIN THE BEST CHANCE WE HAVE FOR A RING SINCE 2009, AND THAT MAY INCLUDE THE NEXT 5 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE, AS WELL.

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  18. TWW!

    That's great news. In your honor -- and for going what must have been the extra mile -- I just opened back up the signup section on the website. Please go to www.ItIsHigh.com and you (or anyone else) can sign up. As soon as I see your registration, I'll close it back down again.

    Fun news.

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  19. Winnie, nothing came through yet. You emailed motelsign@protonmail.com?

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  20. ALL-CAPS, the rumors just get worse and worse:

    —Stroman AND Giles from Toronto. Giles, who is having a good season this year, but who was last seen getting his skull dented when we came from behind to win that thrilling 6-4 game against Houston in the 2017 season. I doubt if this will happen, if only because Stroman is hurt.

    —Robbie Ray. This one truly scares me. A 27-year-old lefty who had one, outstanding year for Arizona back in 2017, and nothing before or since. Can't be a free agent until 2021. Just the kind of "bargain" Coops loves. Get this: currently he is leading the NL in walks, and has surrendered 15 homers in jus 104 innings. Great, huh?

    —Zack Wheeler. Aggggghhhhh! I don't think it will happen—he can be a free agent next year, the Mets won't want to risk it—but again, he's just the sort Coops loves: one good year (2018). We will fix him—even though our somnolent pitching coach never fixes or improves anyone.

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  21. And as for Andujar, if that guy goes anywhere for a trade that does not include Mike Trout, I am out of here. Seriously, I would need at least a year off from baseball to recover.

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