So much for that: Stanton has tweaked something

Last year, Giancarlo Stanton played all of 18 games. 

Let the time capsules show that in the year of 2020, he lasted 15.

Last night, galloping to second, Giancarlo tweaked a gonad, or a hammy, or some million dollar whatever - seriously, the man is made of bamboo - and today he will return to MLB's Injured List, where he presumably has enough provisions to ride out the pandemic

So continues the Yankee misery index, which exploded last year in an unprecedented wave of malfunctioning muscle, bone and gristle. I don't need to relive the carnage. You all saw it. Player after player went down, long after we stopped attributing it to bad luck, or suspect Golden Coral buffets. Over the winter, fair or not, the Yankees cleaned house in their training staff - the notion being that the franchise could not withstand another fractured year like 2019, and even if it wasn't their fault, somebody had to ride the rail.

After Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge and James Paxton checked out early in spring training, we stepped back onto the merry-go-round. The season's cancellation seemed to work in our favor: All three were ready by opening day. Maybe - just maybe - we had put the demon behind us.

So much for that. Stanton is the first everyday starter to go down, and the second Yankee (Kyle Higashioka on Thursday) this week. As usual, because of the Yankees propensity to lie about injuries, there is no way to discern how long either player will be out. The IIHIIFIIc manual says to take the Yankees stated expectation - which likely will be made today - and double it.

If Stanton is expected to miss a month, well, forget about him. 

So it goes. It is what it is. Hey, whaddayagonnado? Last summer, deep in the doldrums, I began to view every Stanton appearance as a one-off practical joke being played by Fate. At any time, in any situation, he could pull up lame and disappear - poof - never to return in his mortal, physical presence. He's simply a payout that Hal Steinbrenner will make annually for the rest of our lives, and neither Hal nor we will ever go hungry. We traded for the player and, instead, got his contract. Happens all the time. It just seems, though, that the Yankees do this over and over, every time thinking that they just pulled something over on the rest of baseball, when all they did was fool themselves.

So, what now? Fortunately, we have options - most notably Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar. Unfortunately, we have no minor league system, which would have kept the pair in game shape. Without a spy in Scranton, where the Yankees presumably have everyone working out, while keeping social-distancing, we don't know what mental and physical condition either player is in. Certainly, Andujar should be ready - he only recently was sent down - but you never know. 

And here's the reality, folks: That injury wave - that cruel, continuing twist of fate - it's not going away. It wasn't the gods that are bringing this tweaks. It's the china dolls who are prone to them, and the Yankees have a boat-full. So long, Gio. See you next year. Who knows, could we see 20 games?