Today, it's as if everybody suddenly pulled you into a corner and whispered, "Pssst, we need to talk about Gary..."
I mean... now? Finally? You've sensed something amiss? Wow. Such intuition! Such courage! Did you also notice the sun? It's up!
The Grand Revelation began in the Post. The headline over Ken Davidoff: "Time for the Yankees to Move On From Gary Sanchez." This followed a three-byline thumbsucker: Yanks open to Gary Sanchez trade as they mull other options."
Wow. Bold statements, there. We are Spartacus. The emperor wears no cup. Seize the day!
As for the reasoning? Well, um, let's see... Could it be that Gary hit .147 last year? Or that he struck out one in every three at bats? Or that he sucked defensively? That he was benched in the playoffs? That he has regressed now for three years? Or that he's paid $5 million per?
So, nj.com picked it up: "Yankees open to trading Gary Sanchez, will 'listen to offers.'" One rumor: The Death Star might consider Yadier Molina, 37, to a retirement plan deal, and then shop Gary for whatever scraps they can get.
For months now, Yankee fans have clamored for an end to the Gary Experiment. The media missed this because there was nobody in the stands to boo him. But in talks with Yank fans, the single-most damning moment in any game came with Gary Sanchez striding to the plate in a critical situation. And the most ridiculous expression of hope came from the YES booth after Gary got a scratch single or drew a walk: "That's just the kind of at-bat that Gary needs to break out!" How many times did we hear that? And how many times did that notion disappear in Gary's next at-bat?
But here's the problem: The Yankees are lashed to Gary like Ahab to the whale. If they give him away - apparently, a possibility - they must find a front line catcher, draining Hal Steinbrenner's self-imposed austerity budget.
By the way, this is why I never do trades. Yeah, it's gratifying to shed an anvil as heavy as Gary Sanchez has been, but the key is what we get in return. The time to trade Gary came two winters ago, when he still looked salvageable. When we talk about Cooperstown Cashman's great deals - Gio Urshela, Luke Voit, et al.- we must remember the bungles, of which Gary Sanchez sits up there along with Giancarlo Stanton's leaden contract.
If our only recourse is tying a bow on Gary and putting him out with the tide, we may be better off sticking with him... at least through next spring. This we know: He won't move to 1B or become the fulltime DH. But if threatened with extinction, might he devote himself to defense? It's foolish to think he'll change - he hasn't yet- but do we simply give away an asset?
So, the Yankees will look at trade offers. This is news? Gary Sanchez is looking like the proverbial bad penny. (Wait... after writing this, I looked up "bad penny," and here's the definition:
A bad penny is a person or sometimes a thing that is unwelcome, someone or something that appears recurringly, seemingly because fate is taunting you.
Sums it up, eh? Weird universe, eh?
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13 comments:
I'm going out on a limb here and saying that we should definitely trade Tresh and Pepitone. Look, there were great out of the gate, they have a lot of potential. Who knows? Maybe we can get someone to bite and at least get some good prospects for the minor league system.
Oh, wait, I just read Doug K's post. We probably aren't going to have a minor league system pretty soon.
Well, that's OK. Whoever we can get. Minnie Minoso may be a little over the hill, but the guy can play an important bench role. And think of the leadership he brings to the clubhouse.
Ya gotta be flexible.
Yeah, we can all agree that Sanchez days are numbered. He's been one of, if not the biggest, regressions the world has ever seen.
But...
Behind him we've got nothing. Absolutely nothing. And don't any of you tell me that Kyle Hagashikiomoto is the heir apparent. Or that Romine will be back to save the day. The cupboard is bare. The Yankees bet the farm on Gary and now they're standing on the corner selling pencils.
What do we really know? Sanchez is a lost cause. Daddy Warbucks is not shelling out for Realmuto. Molina is ready for retirement at 38.
That leaves us going into 2021 with a potential slew of backup catchers until one of the several teenagers who populate what used to be the minor leagues arrives - which may be never.
So we are stuck and all the New York Post sudden awakenings aren't going to change the fact that we got nothing. It's real easy to say "we need to get rid of..." but the hard part is who you gonna call: Ghostbusters?
I don't know what the answer is. Maybe the old "Change of Scenery" routine will work out. Garbage out, garbage in. But for an organization that has a history of great backstops, there's a hole in the ground where they used to grow.
PS: I understand Jesus Montero is available
Blow it all up.
Ditch ICS.
Fire Cash.
Rebuild.
Be patient.
As long as we have Giancarlo....and we have him for most of our lifetimes.....I feel we'll be in the wildcard hunt.
I wonder if he can catch?
A few thoughts...
So, if I'm reading everything correctly, we are trying to replace a catcher that has a -.5 WAR and hits .147 and is a poor defensively, and who pitchers don't like to throw to and seems like a head case.
And we are trying to figure out if he can actually be replaced.
Here's a suggestion... yes, with pretty much any other catcher in MLB.
Granted we want a Thurman or a Yogi or even a Girardi, but as far as getting Gary, and his failed expectations, out of the lineup for next year I'm pretty sure we can find someone who is better in at least one aspect of the game.
These are low bars.
Can the guy hit .230? That's a win. Maybe find one who bats .175 but can block balls in the dirt. That's a win too.
I hope we find a good one but at his point even a marginal one is better than what we've got.
Doug K.
I'm with Doug on this.
Romine is a lifetime, .239 hitter—in other words, 92 points above what Sancho hit last season.
Higgy is a lifetime, .186 hitter—still 39 points above what Sancho hit last season.
Both have at least some pop.
Both are much better fielders than Sancho is now.
Both have their heads screwed on right.
What the Yankees SHOULD do—what they easily have the money to do—is sign Realmuto. But that ain't happenin'. So get Romine back in here. Or James McCann, or Molina, or ANYBODY ELSE, and have done with this nonsense.
Or, at $5MM/year keep Sanchez as Higgy's backup. It's a relatively cheap solution when the alternative is trading him away for nothing. This approach also buys time for us either 1) to look for someone who's realistically available versus, say, Realmuto or 2) for one of the younger prospects to mature.
LBJ,
I agree with you about buying time and about Realmuto but I don't think making him the back up is the answer.
I'm just afraid he becomes a temptation. Like those times they kept playing Steven Drew long after we all knew he had to go. He'd hit a HR and then get another month of crap at bats.
The problem with unrealized potential is wishful thinking. The Gary in their minds will always be better than Higashioka. Even if the real Gary is not.
Duque mentioned the YES broadcasters always thinking that this was the AB that will turn it around. After all if he gets a hit with the bases loaded he can...
low and outside Sanchez swings... strike three.
But the temptation is always there to use him in a big spot.
Plus, I don't know what kind of teammate he is, the reports seem like he's OK but do you really want to look down the bench and see him riding pine day in a day out? Can't be a good thing. He's an All Star! Gotta play him.
He needs to go. For his sake and ours.
Doug K.
Romine makes the most sense. You can't sell Gary because his value is so low right now...we all yelled and screamed years ago to get Realmuto when we could have traded ICS for him...no one listens to us...no one...sigh....
One thing for sure, you don't get rid of anyone until you have in hand someone better. Just cutting ties with him is crazy at this point. He looked miserable in that one-legged stance, even The Rod thought he looked off-balanced without any athleticism. Sanchie is a big dude, he's not Tony Pena and trying to make him catch like that is silly. Kinda like most of us trying to copy Tiger Woods' backswing. Should we cut him for nothing? NOOOOOO!
Agreed, Kevin. We need a bird in hand, first. Or at least one of The Catching Molina Brothers. Anything.
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