Sunday, June 20, 2021

After 70 games, the Yankee outfield may have finally taken shape, and it'll mean more pressure on their marquee player

Happy Fathers Day, everybody (you know who you are...

So we can all start drinking early, let's make this short. 

This season, the Death Barge has asked a lot of Aaron Judge. He bats second, almost never misses a day, and can't even rate a mini-rest, as the DH. He is a fixture in right field, where his defense (my opinion here) is as great as any Yankee since Roger Maris. (See chart. Am I right?) 

Well, Judge's workload may need to grow. 

The Yankees need him in centerfield.

Yesterday, with two doubles and a walk, Clint Frazier showed signs (fingers crossed) of emerging from his abyss. Frazier's next hit will propel him past .200 - a meager achievement, no tickertape, please - lessening his anxiety when the Jumbotron welcomes him to the plate. We can only hope he is finally here. If Frazier continues to fail, the worst-case scenario - that we trade him for a Zolio Ponson, and he breaks out with another team - could haunt the franchise for years.   

Coupled with Miguel Andujar's recent resurgence (fingers crossed), Frazier would give the Yankees two corner outfielders who need to play every day. 

That puts Judge - gulp - in center. 

Thus far, the  Yankee offense has been a disaster. The team must do whatever it can to score runs. That means Frazier and Andujar on the corners, with Brett Gardner - closing in on age 38, and hitting a scratch .212 - as a distant fourth OF. 

Gardy can still bring late-inning defense, pinch hit in key matchups and spell the starters, now and then. Yesterday, his perfect sacrifice bunt warmed the hearts of old-school dads everywhere. He is the de facto Yankee captain. But his days are already getting shorter. He hit .223 last year, with diminishing power. He cannot be our everyday centerfielder.

Judge needs to play CF. Yes, it means more wear and tear on his frame. Yes, it's a gamble that he won't get hurt. And yes, it's certainly no sure thing that Frazier and Andujar will hit. But the All-Star break is barely a month away. It's time for the Yankees to make their move. All hands on deck. And Judge in center.

43 comments:

Der Kaiser said...

Surely Clint Frazier, with over 2700 professional innings at CF, would be a better bet to play the position? In any case, this will only be an issue until someone gets injured. And it's purely hypothetical, because Gardner isn't going anywhere...

Rufus T. Firefly said...

ICS hitting the other way?

Urban Farmer fka DutchFan said...

Watching the game on NBCSports California. Kinda fun how they mock Yankee strikeouts. Ignoring that the A's are also swinging at everything that moves today

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Urban Farmer,

It is even worse on TBS, where they have an ex-red sox announcer and a current Mets announcer calling the game.

Urban Farmer fka Dutch fan said...

In that case I will switch to TBS.Just to get a taste

JM said...

At a bad food special in Phoenix airport, they had TBS on with no sound. Then switched to the Suns. Can't blame em for that.

Judge now in right and Clint to left and Miggy out and Wade in center.

Sure, why not.

Kevin said...

Frazier looked just swell turning an out into a triple.

BernBabyBern said...

OK, this whole triple play thing is just bizarre

ranger_lp said...

Never seen anything like this...

Kevin said...

Strange expression and reaction from Chapman. Weird dude...... But this team DOES look like it wants to win lately. We'll see....

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Nice

Rufus T. Firefly said...

...and fuck you Orsillo

Der Kaiser said...

El Duque, thank you for your post mentioning Father's Day. It was a good reminder to call mine!

TheWinWarblist said...

I took a nap.

Anonymous said...

Agree with Kaiser--Frazier has better speed and range than Judge. They both have first-rate arms, so Frazier would get the edge overall. But in the curious Cashmanesque world of NAME worship, empirical reality takes a back seat to image worship.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

ESPN: "The Yankees turned their record-tying third triple play of the season to strand the go-ahead run in the ninth inning"

LOB=0, zero, nil.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Judge has better range than Frazier when it comes to actually catching the ball.

Then again, it may help Frazier to see the ball off the bat better by playing in center. And it would reduce wear and tear on Judge, who injures more easily than the Ginger one.

JM said...

Just got to the hotel in Palm 🌴 Springs and checked the game result.

Another triple play? Is there a season record? And how close are we?

HoraceClarke66 said...

I gotta say, while I still don't see this Yankees team winning anything, they sure have become more entertaining!

As for the triple play: apparently, 12 other teams have made 3 in a season, though I can't remember ever hearing about one.

It IS the shortest time span to do 3, which is remarkable.

HoraceClarke66 said...

I listened to the broadcast while laboring through a run—my usual style—and got to hear The Master give us 2 separate "It is high..." calls in the bottom of the sixth.

The first was what turned out to be Sanchez's game-winning double: "It is high! It is far! It is...off the wall!" (Which it wasn't.) About two minutes later came the second one, on a long fly by Stanton: "It is high, it is far, it is...foul."

Kevin said...

Judge has the superior arm, jump, and other fielding abilities than the Little Red Engine who Talks. Just the superior athlete. Anyone who thinks otherwise should do some research and look at the fielding metrics since Judge came up. Likewise, look at what Ginger's metrics are. Even this year, gag a maggot.

HoraceClarke66 said...

But what a game!

First, I don't what the hell I'm going to do if Gary keeps going with this whole, 'great game on both sides of the plate' routine. Two of our 3 hits? A crazy slide—to make up for yet another running gaffe—that got him into 3rd safely?

The whole team does seem to be playing with much more heart and alertness. Witness the triple play, of course, and yet another day of clutch middle-relieving, this one from both Lasagna and Lugnut...

Kevin said...

BTW, either Chapman is going through a "fatigued out period", or he's getting ready to throw a rod. All the signs, of either. HA!

HoraceClarke66 said...

The downers, of course, were the 15 strikeouts, and another weird outing from Chapo.

Aggravating that Stanton couldn't hit the simply flyball or even slow grounder needed to get Sanchez in from third with an insurance run, in that sixth inning.

And in general, once Manea, the A's starter left, the Yanks went 0-8 with 4 strikeouts against a soft-tossing journeyman with a 5-plus ERA, and a kid making his sixth major-league start.

Hitting like that bespeaks an early reservation at a top restaurant, or maybe an assignation at a chic Soho hotel. How exciting! But terrible, terrible hitting!

The Red Menace's outfield play was also something to behold.

But in general...fun! Unusual! Tense! Actual baseball!!!

HoraceClarke66 said...

Oh, and Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there. Also to all you mothers.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Kevin,

Please explain "fielding metrics". Try to use small words so my "Tiger Beat" subscriber friends can understand.

I mean beyond just looking at the games and paying attention.

Thanks in advance.

Kevin said...

Amazing. We looked totally out of any chance of being in the division chase. Now Tampa has lost six straight and we're four games behind in the loss column. Maybe The Brain came in and threatened to send players to the ends of the baseball world. Coincidental, perhaps, but they are actually looking more like a MLB caliber team, and less like your company's softball game. The one where the hot chic plays second base...

Rufus T. Firefly said...

To paraphrase one of the cognoscenti here:

Don't let this week go to your head.

Kevin said...

Ah, Rufus, you mean like "he gets a good jump, and arrives where his brain figured the ball would land", and he knows where to throw said ball if throwing is needed"? LOL. Personally, metrics are generally for people who can't understand what they are seeing in real time.

Kevin said...

Rufus, there you go using those big words, like "cognoscenti".

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Kevin,

Sorry, should have said "Mr. Bit"

Kevin said...

LMAO! Well you're a diplomat. Well put!

HoraceClarke66 said...

I always loved the hot chick at second base.

None of the contenders in the AL look like fearsome teams—but we still don't have the pitching to get there.

I suspect play has improved in general because of the crackdown on Spider Pig. Which was necessary. But that still doesn't mean we have a championship team.

Dantes said...

Tied the record, need one more

Anonymous said...

Quoth Kevin, Pontifical Eminence Without Portfolio:

"Judge has the superior arm, jump, and other fielding abilities than the Little Red Engine who Talks. Just the superior athlete. Anyone who thinks otherwise should do some research and look at the fielding metrics since Judge came up. Likewise, look at what Ginger's metrics are."

For the last two seasons of significant sample size, right field range factor for Frazier and Judge:

Frazer (2020): 2.17
Judge (2019): 2.14

Higher is better, for the uninitiated.

Anonymous said...

Once again the Yankees leave me stupefied , which is ,coincidently, how they found me.
The Archangel

Anonymous said...

Just to be clear--Psycho Boy being Rufus T. Firefly.

Anonymous said...

To be clear--don't call the police on Rufus T. Firefly. I was being mean-spirited when I suggested this--he has done nothing remotely criminal--except for his routine crimes against logic and the English language. Instead, call a compassionate visiting psychiatric nurse service that can help ease the senile, raging, failing old Rufus quietly into that good night. Bless you, Rufus. May you find peace at last, if not in this world then in the next when God sees fit to let you slip the surly bonds of Earth and end your daily sufferings on this blog.

Hieronymo’s mad againe.
Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata.
Shantih shantih shantih

Anonymous said...

Psycho Boy is the type that are smoldering in their holes, just waiting, waiting, waiting. Call the POLICE!

Carl J. Weitz said...

To Dutch Farmer and a few others here that have a hard time catching the Yankees out of the NY market, I suggest subscribing to an IPTV service (you should have a VPN subscription as well. Makes sense to have one even if you have cable service or download from the internet as you remain anonymous) which allows you to watch a couple of thousand channels including all home and away games of every US sports, every premium channel and about 50,000 movies. The service I have used for a year allows you to use 5 different platforms simultaneously. TV/computer/tablet/cell phone/xbox, etc. So you can share with family and friends as I do. I've used one for a year and the quality is better than cable and I pay $ 17.00 per month. If you watch out of the country just set your VPN to the states. Oh yeah, you get stations from about 25 countries as well including the UK so if you like watching the BBC stations live or want to brush up on your French or Italian just choose the foreign station of your choice.
It's a great thing to be able to watch whatever sport you want when you have another obligation to attend at the same time. Just keep your cell phone volume off when watching an opera at the Met.

Anonymous said...

POLICE ALERT ON INTERNET IMBECILE, ILLIERATE, AND ALL-AROUND SCUMBAG, ALIAS "RUFUS T. FIREFLY"

This is the POLICE. Anyone who has any information regarding the whereabouts of a VERY OLD and mortally ill Internet flame addict who goes by the ridiculously archaic cultural allusion "Rufus T. Firefly," please contact your local precinct immediately. He is armed with a 1957 World Series souvenir scorecard and a rumpled, come-stained photo of Rita Hayworth, and he can be recognized by several outstanding physical characteristics: a lifeless lump between his legs where his cock used to be; streams of dried, moldy oatmeal around his mouth and chin that he routinely spits up in the course of the day; urine-soaked Depends that serve as his underwear; and unwiped boogers that hang disgustingly from his hawklike proboscis; he also seldomo bathes, so his own natural body stench combined with the lingering aroma of his wife's cunt--which reputedly smells like the Holland Tunnel--are keys to a certain identification. But be forewarned--he is likely to start spraying preadolescent epithets of abuse, usually characterized by primitive grammatical errors, most notably substituting prepositions for subordinating conjunctions and attempting to sound "literate" by using the term "naught" instead of "not." This has been an all-points police bulletin. Thank you for your cooperation!

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