Sunday, August 15, 2021

A huge victory celebrates a rare Yankee attribute: Patience.

After all the bridges have collapsed, wouldn't it be weird if Albert Abreu turned out to be the most significant part of the famous 2016 Yankee teardown?

Forget Gleyber. Ignore Clint. Abreu came over in the relatively minor deal for catcher Brian McCann, who had achieved redundancy by the fantastical arrival of Gary Sanchez. One year later, McCann would haunt us in the ALCS, perhaps because he and his Astros teammates knew what pitches were coming. The Death Barge has held onto Abreu for five disappointing seasons, constantly touting his potential despite a Zager & Evans-worthy ERA last year of 20.25 - (if man is still alive.)  Abreu is one of those prospects who - at age 25 - feels like a thirtysomething due to the tiresome rain of ink and ether. 

And last night, he may have saved the Yankee season.

Okay, you're grimacing. I get it. That phrase, "may have saved the Yankee season..." it's a bit dramatic, don't you think? The key words are "may have..." And let's face it: A hallmark of this blog - all fan blogs, frankly - is our addiction to hyperbole. When the Yankees win, God is good. When they lose, it's over, and somebody must pay. 

Last night, despite Aaron Boone's continuing best efforts to mess things up, Abreu somehow pitched out of a bases-loaded jam to record his first MLB save. Therefore, I humbly suggest that, if anything becomes of the 2021 Yankee season, last night will have been a turning point when the Yankees realized that young and ascending pitchers - Abreu and Jonathan Loaisiga, basically - offer our best chances, and that the tribal elders - Zack Britton and the currently injured El Chapo - are past their sell-by dates. 

Any Yank fan who saw Britton warming up in the 10th probably turned off the TV and went to bed. Could you blame them? 

But Abreu saved the day. A line drive out, and a ground out. (Not exactly Mariano, but hey...) The Yankees stayed one game behind Boston in the loss column and - perhaps more importantly - increased their lead over Toronto, the scariest team in the AL after Tampa. 

But getting back to that 2016 trade... the Yankees dealt McCann to Houston for Abreu and Jorge Guzman, another Cashman Cutie. (In the Yankee-owned press, all Cashman deals are Cashman steals.) Guzman fizzled, but later became part of the deal with Starlin Castro and Raul Devers' kid brother that brought to Gotham - wallah! all roads lead to him, don't they? Giancarlo Stanton!

So, in a wandering alt-universe, somewhere out there, lurks a planet where the Yankees didn't do the 2016 teardown - no Gleyber, no Red Thunder - and they never traded for Stanton, and they lost last night behind Giovanni Gallegos because - oh, don't get me started - he's the guy they traded for Luke Voit - and a butterfly flaps its wings in Wuhan, China, it causes, what? Hurricane Fred, perhaps the funniest-named hurricane since Floyd? (Love the headlines that say Fred is currently "disorganized." Wasn't he always?)

So, the morale of last night? Kenny Rogers wrote it. You gotta now when to hold them, know when to fold them. The Yankees have held onto Abreu for five years, and he finally delivered. If you think about it, it's amazing that he's still here. Five years, and he finally paid a dividend. I'll take it, happily.

Year after year, the best teams in baseball have one thing in common: They all grow their own players. Don't bother looking at the Yankee home-growns - Judge, Sanchez, Gardy, Higgy, Monty, Tyler Wade, Luis Gil (and the Amazing Kriske). And Abreu - obtained in a trade - doesn't technically qualify. Still, I'm calling him one of ours. And last night, our farm system came through. Score one for patience. Imagine that: the Yankees... showing patience.

39 comments:

Parson Tom said...

John Sterling's voice sounds like he's lost his fastball.

Yankee games lately resemble the NBA. It all comes down to the final 2 minutes/innings.

Wezil1 said...

The last innings felt like any number of war movies where the platoon is pinned down, finally runs out of ammunition (due to some rear echelon supply officer failing to prepare for just this situation) and is finally over-run. The performance of Abreu and the surprising win felt huge even though it probably wasn’t. I give the yankee bats credit for continuing to battle, to be sure though. The WS just kept coming.
It looks like Britten should probably go back to writing operas.

Der Kaiser said...

A young Yankee player did something good? Time to send him back down!

Anonymous said...

Here's something that bodes well... (If "bodes well" means that we will make the playoffs and then lose a game seven in heart-breaking but typical fashion)

The White Sox are a very good team. They lead their division by 11 games. And yes, it's the AL Central but nevertheless 11 games is 11 games.

We fought them to a draw. One swing goes our way - one goes against us. And we did it with one Covid infected hand tied behind our back.

Just sayin'

Doug K.


TheWinWarblist said...

You are all losing it. These Yankees are terrible. No playoffs for them. Only despair and falling darkness for us.

DickAllen said...

I’m sorry.

That wasn’t patience.

That was desperation.

It’s unfathomable to me that Booooone would trust Britton in such a high leverage situation given his recent difficulties.

I know we’ve been over this ground a million times, but that man has no business managing a major league team.

JM said...

Doug, I've been beating that drum for a while now. Seattle wasn't a tomato can, either.

When you see what the "best" teams really are--when we play them--it's obvious that either they suck, too, or that we're one of the best teams. Unless our lousy manager screws it up, like bringing in Britton last night. We have the guys, they have the heart, and we can go toe to toe with anybody. At least in the AL.

TheWinWarblist said...

Well Nestor is still out there. Nestor is a heroic name from ancient Greece. Nestor was an Argonaut, helped to fight the centaurs, and also participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. He became the King of Pylos after Heracles killed his father Neleus and all of Nestor's siblings.

Two things though.

1) The Yankees have left 10 men on base thus far.

2) The game is close so there's plenty of time left for our bullpen to blow it.

In the meantime all hail King Nestor the Argonaut.

HoraceClarke66 said...

And Aaron Bummer is pitching for them. Heheheheheheh.

DickAllen said...

The White Sox have a pitcher named Bummer.

He belongs in pinstripes.

HoraceClarke66 said...

I think you guys actually have a good point. I've never seen a weaker league, and I don't know that the NL is much better.

But of course where it all ends up, best-case scenario, is as Doug K. says: a horrible, 7th-game ending.

But still!

DickAllen said...

Losing a painful seventh game in the playoffs seems to be the worst case scenario - it gives the “brain trust” the delusion that all is well, when in fact, the most desirable outcome would be for this team to miss the playoffs altogether and have a thorough housecleaning.

Horrible would be for the Yankees to make the playoffs as a wild card lose painfully and then for the pain to endure when Booooone and The Brain both wax eloquently about how the organization did its best, the playoffs are a crapshoot and then we have to suffer another year of The Brain’s idiotic moves and another horrible year of Booooooone making stupid amateurish decisions.

THAT would be truly horrible.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Stanton stretched a triple into a double and Voit helps him out.

DickAllen said...

And then left the game. He’s a very tender fella.

TheWinWarblist said...

Also cannot field a lick, so there's that.

DickAllen said...

Fuck. Here we go again.

Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside said...

Jesus Christ, if it’s predictable, it’s not baseball Suzyn. It’s fate.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Thank Yahweh that Bonehead took out Lasagna.

Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside said...

Every other ninth inning I have to turn the radio off. This is depressing.

TheWinWarblist said...

The Yankees need to not make the playoffs. Try selling season ticket packages over the winter when you're putting a loser on the field. Loss of revenue is the only thing that'll ever get through to Hal.

TheWinWarblist said...

First and second, no one out and no one up in the Yankee bullpen. Because there's nothing to worry about.



Fuck Boone.

Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside said...

Boone told Luetge if he pitched like Chapman, he could be a closer too. Sure enough… channeling the inner Chapman.

mik said...

We aren't going to give up a 4 run lead!

Will we?

Not again.

Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside said...

I LOVE how pessimistic John Sterling is!!!!

Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside said...

Here errors the Judge!

Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside said...

Ok I’m turning this shit show off

Rufus T. Firefly said...

This would be a great time to bring in Johnny Lasagna.

Wait, what?

mik said...

Definitely not a E on Judge.

Difficult play going back, with the sun, ball just over his glove.

It would have been a pretty terrific play had he made it.

I wish that he had made it.

Not a E on Judge.

Joe Formerlyof Brooklyn said...


Counting the Field-of-Cow-Crap game, the Yankees have faced WSox pitching in 27 innings, which is potentially 81 outs.

They made 43 outs via strike-out. I am not making this up.

DickAllen said...

Nothing comes easy around here

TheWinWarblist said...

Bejeezus crap on toast points. Every fucking ninth inning.

TheWinWarblist said...

Joe FoB, no one thinks you are making that up. Not one of us.

Well, maybe Puckered ...

Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside said...

Apolojudgist!

Joe Formerlyof Brooklyn said...


More on Ks -- in the 3-game series

Voit struck out SEVEN times.

Higgy 6

Gallo 6

Odor 5

Wade 4

AND -- I can't believe this number is so low -- GStanton, only 4.

That's 27 of the 43 strike-outs. I'm not sure what these guys are being told by the hitting coach, but I am fairly certain that as professional BB players, they must be (at the very least) frustrated . . . with themselves.

If you're keeping score at home, they had 81 outs in the 3 games, and one-third of them came via Ks from the above 6 guys. Boy, that Gallo fellow sure as heck fits in!

DickAllen said...

Stanton the Great actually struck out FIVE times - that’s a magnificent 5 for 12. A great payoff for a 30 million dollar investment.

JM said...

And yet, we won. Again.

DickAllen said...

Don’t get your hopes up, JM.

Remember: it’s the hope that kills you.

TheWinWarblist said...

Hope will always make the suffering worse. Release thine Hope unto the Aether and cease thine struggles for naught good will come of them.

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