In his first two games, he went 0-8 with four strikeouts. Bad. In game three, he singled twice in five at-bats. In his fourth game, he went 2-3 with a homer. So, if you're looking at the entire season, it took him three games to shake off the doldrums.
So here's the existential question facing the Death Star: In a seven-game playoff series, can the Yankees wait - say - two days for Hicks to restore his swing?
And should they pull apart their current lineup to do so?
Damned if I know.
In his career, Hicks has been plagued by tweaks and strains. Last year, for the first time, he played a full season - hitting 27 HRs and .248. This coaxed the Yankees into giving him a long-term contract.
The previous season, he twice missed long stretches due to injuries. The first time, he returned in August after being out five weeks. In his first game, he went 0-5. But in game two, he hit a homer and double in five plate appearances.
That September, after missing three weeks - he went 0-4 in the first game, then homered in each of his next two.
An interesting track record: It takes him a day or two, and then he heats up.
But again... can we wait two days?
Damned if I know.
Another question: Who on the roster would he replace? Cameron Maybin, as a late inning defensive replacement? If so, Hicks would play CF and move Gardy to left. He isn't as fast as Maybin, but he can steal bases, and he does switch hit. That's not nothing. Then again, Maybin homered the other day, endearing himself to fans in a way Giancarlo Stanton has yet to accomplish.
Or could Hicks replace Luke Voit? In case of a "break-glass" injury, the Yankees would have Edwin Encarnacion to backup at 1B. Is a rusty Hicks better than a hernia-affected Voit, who ended the season in a dark slump?
Damned if I know. But an interesting dilemma, no?
I'll continue my long-running sort-of-anti-Hicks campaign and say, let him stay off the roster. Unless he replaces John Carlo. That would be fine.
ReplyDeleteHicks hits 27 homers and bats only .248 and gets a mini-Ellsbury contract. We have him forever, and I'll be amazed if he ever plays 100 games in a season. That number will probably keep dropping the older he gets. And if MLB pulls the juiced ball next year or the year after, expect 15 HRs out of the guy.
What a dumb signing. As opposed to Stanton, which was a dumb trade. We could've got someone halfway decent for Castro without being saddled with a gigantic contract that the guy will never, ever live up to. Ever.
As Ells's skills eroded, he at least had the decency to stay hurt for years. He may be costing a fortune, but he's not clogging the lineup with sludge.
I say to get Hicks in there, he's the game saver catchin' 'em ans hittin' 'em. DH Gian Carlo. Voit's injured.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't see the point of having Voit on the roster if he can't play. EE can be the emergency 1B.
ReplyDelete@Hoss...that is the only reason for Hicks on roster that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteOh, and he's a switch-hitter.
ReplyDeleteOf course, we could also put Mike Ford on the roster...
ReplyDeleteBut Hicks would help us more in the field. Assuming he really is ready to go.
Tyler Duffey thinks Yankee fans "just hate people", while Bloodshot Stockings fans are "baseball fans".
ReplyDeleteTyler Duffey is a very pasty moron. Oh, how I hate him!
https://nesn.com/2019/10/twins-tyler-duffey-has-interesting-comparison-of-red-sox-yankees-fans/
TYLER DUFFEY IS RIGHT.
ReplyDeleteWE HATE HIM.
NOW ON TO HICKS.
BINGO MR. DUQUE.
HICKS FOR VOIT. (AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN A BIG HICKS FAN).
MAKES NO SENSE FOR LUKE TO BE ON THE ROSTER.
WE LOVE LUKE, BUT HE IS HURT, CAN'T RUN, CAN'T REALLY FIELD, AND HASN'T BEEN HITTING.
THIS IS AN EASY ONE.
WE SHOULD REPLACE LUKE WITH HICKS.
Tyler Duffey can pound salt. All night long.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone watching the National League funhouse? Top of the 1st, two outs, and the Cardinals lead 10-0!
ReplyDeleteHicks and CC - cage fight. Winner on the roster, loser gets a chance to kill Lyons for his spot. Let’s keep it classy.
ReplyDeleteYes, AOBF, the goat-blowing, pig-fucking, more-racist-than-the-Red-Sox, Cardinals sent 14 men to the plate in the top of the first and scored 10 runs. I am so happy.
ReplyDeleteTWW: You make the Cardinals sound like the Swiss.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIt's not a baseball game. It's a public execution.
From my perspective, it couldn't happen to a more wonderful team (the Braves) and a more wonderful people (Atlanta Braves fans). Take your Indian chop and shove it where the Sun never shines....
I have long been of the belief that William Tecumseh Sherman was much too nice to the people of Georgia (and that they do not yet appreciate that).
If it takes the goat-blowers to put it to them again -- so be it!
Yeah, Joe, I can't think of another instance where losers of a war in which they were soundly beaten - militarily and ideologically - are extolled as military and ideological geniuses and heroes.
ReplyDeleteFuck them with a Stone Mountain
Fuck you Duffey pasty punk! How's that from a Yank fan
ReplyDeleteDo we really need 13 pitchers???
Insert Hicks, Insert Ford, Insert CC
Drop Cessa
Drop Voit
(love him but white hulk needs to heal)
Drop Lyons make ottovino and kahnle actually pitch an inning.
Nothing is guaranteed but I'd rather face TB. They may whoop ass...but I don't feel like watching Racist Gurriel make faces to the camera and Altuves existence pisses me off.
Go Yanks #28
@Winnie...”You could have turned your set off right then”
ReplyDeleteYou are my people! I love you all! ❤️❤️❤️
ReplyDeleteAOBF,
ReplyDeleteOh that's fabulous, just fucking fabulous. I'm spending the first week of December in Zurich.
Fuck you Hal.
TWW: Zürich is the exception. Expensive as all hell, but a nice place. Great in the summer - I love to swim in the Züricher See. Terrific restaurants, and a spectacular cocktail bar called Tales Bar at Selnaustrasse 29 (www.tales-bar.ch), open till 03:00 or later. If you like fish and sea food go to Brasserie Lipp at Uraniastraße 9 (www.brasserielpp.ch). Both are in the centre of the city (8001 Zürich). The main museum has a great collection, but it's worth a very short trip on a streetcar to the Le Corbusier house. If you like opera or ballet, they have one of the best companies in the EU (www.opernhaus.ch) and if you are into rock check out Kaufleuten which has two stages (www.kaufleuten.ch). I saw Andrew Bird there on my last visit, caught a Balanchine evening at the ballet, and was at Tales Bar one morning till about 05:00.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: www.brasserie-lipp.ch/
ReplyDeleteServing till midnight or 01:00 on weekends. It's a nice change for me from Wien, which folds up its sidewalks at 20:00.
Start with a dozen oysters and a bottle of Crémant d’Alsace at Brasserie Lipp.
ReplyDeleteAhhh, the benefits of globalization, to have oysters in Zurich. Raw bar populace cares not for your mountainous neutrality
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete^^Platoni: Good job on that one.
In my mind I often think of this as the "Lobster in Oklahoma" problem. It didn't occur to me that oysters in Zurich are a manifestation of the same issue.
I check the labels on the asparagus in my super market and, if it says "Argentina", I reject it on principle.
Thanks again for being attentive.
I love Creamy d'Alsace! I'm a little shy of oysters right now. I got a bad one in Dublin a couple of years ago and spent two days spewing from both ends. Simultaneously. Still haven't had another one. And I do love oysters. Thanks for the recommendations. Is there any place I could fire a straight pull bolt action rifle and some Swiss handguns?
ReplyDeleteAnd AOBF? Please call me Winnie; all of these miscreants do.
ReplyDeleteCremant! Cremant, you useless autocorrect!!!
ReplyDeleteLobsters in Oklahoma. That sounds like a rockin' name for a band, LBJ. In my next life, perhaps
ReplyDeleteI would add him to the ALCS roster, but NOT start him. Keep him on the bench as a switching hitting pitch hitter and as a defensive replacement for Stanton (then put him in center and slide Gardy over to left). Go with 13 pitchers for the series and add CC. Done! :)
ReplyDeleteGoing to start calling Stanton "Lobster" and Hicks "Oyster" from this point forward. The Cardinals are now "The Swiss" and a pineapple will always be a pineapple.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Joe Torre on many issues, but he was right when he said October is not for making friends. I will brook no move made for sentimental reasons. I love CC. Wish I had an AJ/CC t-shirt. But he's done. HIs HOF career is over. He doesn't have another decent pitch left in him. He can pitch in all the old-timer games he'd like, or the minors, or American Legion ball BUT NOT IN THIS POSTSEASON!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHicks for Voit makes sense. I like the corn fed boy, but he ain't playing, wasn't hitting when he was, and is hurt. Please don't put CC on the roster, unless it's as designated hitter against the DEVIL raze. The use him as the LPPG (lefty purpose pitch guy).
ReplyDeleteI've heard of rocky mountain oysters, but not alpine ones.
They sell maine lobster in hawaii as an exotic premium dish. When you can get good sushi just about everywhere. Chicago has good seafood, which makes no sense when you look at a map.
AoBF, I actually liked Lugano, the only place I've been in CH, but it's pretty much italy there.
There is only one food and it is pizza.
ReplyDeleteIf I may rehash that Atlanta, GA conversation this blog had going earlier tonight:
ReplyDeletehttps://deadspin.com/braves-fans-perform-first-inning-tomahawk-chop-watch-t-1838925053
The schadenfreude, she's so sweet. I want to take this article, print it on my tractor feed printer and pin it next to my honeymoon photo collage
Kershae coughed up the lead in the top of the 8th and now Howie Kendrick hit a glad salami in the top of the 10th to put the Nats up 7-3. Poor Dodgers. Boo-fuckin'-hoo!
ReplyDeleteAhhhh-Ahhh-HahahhaaaahahhaaaahhahahahahaaaaaaaAAAHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Wait, I was stuck on oysters. Ohohohohohoh....and great wine....ohohohohoh...
ReplyDeleteYes, these playoffs are officially crazy.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine being an Atlanta fan, you go into that game...and the Cards put up a ten spot. "Well, let's go to dinner." Damn, how do the Braves even play the rest of that game?
And yes, the Nats are up!
What does this presage for Thursday? If I were the Astros, I would not want to be sorting the entrails just now...
I am loving seeing these great hoards of blue-jacketed starry-eyed fools streaming up the aisles. All hope is gone. Yeah!
ReplyDeleteBTW - Winnie and LBJ: you can look at the daily menu online for Brasserie Lipp and see from where their selection of oysters comes from. Warning: one of them is Ireland!
I used to be able to buy live lobsters at Naschmarkt, usually from Canada. I once spent half the day on on a 31 December walking around with two of them wriggling around in my backpack.
Turning to more important matters...you called it, Joe of AZ. We do NOT need 13 pitchers for a short series. If we have to mop up, let Cessa pitch until his arm falls up.
ReplyDeleteNo CC, either. He can console himself with the huge bundles of money that must fall on him every time he opens the door to his home, much the way the Collyer Brothers got caught by their own booby traps.
Put Hicks on the team. Put Ford on. Take off Voit and a pitcher. End of story.
BUT WAIT!
ReplyDeleteThe Nats are bringing in Sean Doolittle! Uh-oh. The Dodgers are not out of this one...
The announcers are talking about how it would be so good for Doolittle to be out there when they win this, after all the criticism. Hmm, where have I heard that before?
Quoting The Warbler quoting Torre: no sentiment in October!
Go Nats.
ReplyDeleteBring on tomorrow's game.
I grow faint.
But not too faint to tell Hal fuck you.
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