No, not Yogi... yoga.
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are trying yoga. (Not sure if goats are involved.)
Says Eric Cressey - this year's Yankee Secretary of Health and Human Services:
Both of those guys took a dramatically different approach this offseason from what they’ve previously done. I’d say in both cases, they lifted less than they have in the past.
Okay, got it. Less lifting. More stretching. Less weights. More reps. Less grunting. More haiku. Theoretically, less bulk on the hay wagon will mean more time in the pasture. And what more boosts hope across the fan base than the idea of Judge and Gio living a life of health?
Count me in. If our Paired Pylons of Pain could each play - say - 130 games this season, it would add 60 HRs to the stockpile and maybe the contender needle from Wild Card to Division Champ. It's great to hear that both men are in camp and working up a daily sweat. Surely, each noticed last year's transformation of Luke Voit - from Winnebago to minivan - from a guy platooning with Mike Ford into baseball's HR king.
Turns out, at least Ford noticed. (Ivy League education!) He is also one of Cressey's Yoga Yanks - (tempted to say "Yoga Berras," but it makes no sense) - along with Voit, Thairo Estrada and Nick Nelson.
The lone caveat:
This is, of course, drivel.
Football Friday is a time for Happy Talk. Each day, somebody shows up "in the greatest condition of his life." Players report to Tampa as newly re-carved Olympians, bestriding the Earth as colossuses, conjuring oohs and ahs from guava-shaped Gammonites, with My Pillow tummies, who work out by clicking and unclicking their pens.
And maybe it's just me, but - psssst, didn't we hear this last year? And the year before? One winter, didn't the brain trust can a few trainers, because of what happened? And then it happened again? Or did I dream this?
Not to throw water on Happy Talk - which we all need - but for Judge and Gio, I would suggest 2021 is a crossroads. If they each miss another 100 games, they will be forever defined by injuries, and I gotta believe the Yankiverse will never again buy into Happy Talk about them.
Yep, I'm in. Let's try yoga. Hell, I'll supply the goat. (And his name won't be Brady.)
If the yoga routine is like this, I"m on board...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XT9akYoatI
"Surely, each noticed last year's transformation of Luke Voit - from Winnebago to minivan - from a guy platooning with Mike Ford into baseball's HR king."
ReplyDeleteNice turn of the phrase.
There's a lot to be said for this approach. Unlike football where yoga would temper the uh, temper, that is required to play the game well, baseball is more of a flow game and hitting a ball requires precision and reflexes more than brute strength.
Maybe someone showed them the math... 430 foot home runs count the same as 490 foot ones.
Maybe they got tired of lifting women like dumbells and realized that yoga and it's, let's call them "practitioners", offer more, lets call it, possibilities.
I for one am glad to see them go this route. Or, as a former Delta House strength and endurance coach once said... Yo-Ga Yo-Ga Yo-Ga!
Doug K.
"Surely, each noticed last year's transformation of Luke Voit - from Winnebago to minivan - from a guy platooning with Mike Ford into baseball's HR king."
ReplyDeleteNice turn of the phrase.
There's a lot to be said for this approach. Unlike football where yoga would temper the uh, temper, that is required to play the game well, baseball is more of a flow game and hitting a ball requires precision and reflexes more than brute strength.
Maybe someone showed them the math... 430 foot home runs count the same as 490 foot ones.
Maybe they got tired of lifting women like dumbells and realized that yoga and it's, let's call them "practitioners", offer more, lets call it, possibilities.
I for one am glad to see them go this route. Or, as a former Delta House strength and endurance coach once said... Yo-Ga Yo-Ga Yo-Ga!
Doug K.
Remember last year when John Carlo showed up, newly slimmed down and more agile looking? How long did he last?
ReplyDeleteBut at this point, let's try anything. I mean, we have him for another 500 years.
Uh, isn't Gio our third baseman? Perhaps there's a less obfuscating nickname for our DH....
ReplyDelete"But at this point, let's try anything"
ReplyDeleteI whole heartedly agree. However he was training wasn't getting it done.
I'm all for trying alternative methods to maximize potential.
Maybe they should bring in an Exer-cise-orcist for Gary Sanchez. "The power of Christ compels you, to lay off the low and outside pitch."
Doug K.
And it is a give that, if Los Yanquis ever needed to change the franchise name, they would be "The Yogis."
ReplyDeleteIf they really had a sense of humor and the ability to laugh at themselves, they could call themselves "The Babes," but I prefer "The Yogis."
You guys just raised something:
ReplyDeleteWhy the hell isn't Gary Sanchez among those trying a new method?
(Not to condemn; Gary might be doing something similar, just not in Tampa.)
Hey, I'm all for anything that gets them to the point where their tendons don't snap like old violin strings.
ReplyDeleteYes, Duque is right, everyone always arrives in their best shape ever. (Though maybe that's the problem. Spring training is supposed to be about GETTING in shape. If you're already that well tuned, maybe you're bound to overdo.)
But this sounds like a real departure from what I suspect—in my infinite wisdom as a longtime trainer—is the real problem: much too much time in the weight room.
I don't think The Mick ever lifted anything heavier than a shot glass during his time in the majors. Similar things could probably have been said about Willie and Henry, and yet all remained chiseled well into their careers.
This could be good...he writes, even as he pictures the juju gods signing up for yoga at the local Y, just looking to "accidentally" tumble all over our sluggers.
I dunno, Yoga can be dangerous. Here's a cautionary tale from the legendary Jazz drummer, man about town, and guru to Ginger Baker: Phil Seaman. He rambles a bit, but makes an excellent observation or two. It's about 2 minutes. Worth it to listen though the climax about Hank's "pose" at the Wintergarden. You'll see.
ReplyDeletePhil passed away, sadly, before he could become Gardy's personal announcer. I think you'll agree his delivery matches the (karmic?) energy that saturates the game when dear old Gardy comes to bat.
https://youtu.be/fyrIVwLbpYA?t=1242
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