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Obviously, the Gray Lady wasn't referring to the '21 Yankees. I wonder if anybody from the team received even a sympathy vote?
I can't even decide the IT IS HIGH YANKEE 2021 YANKEE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR award. Consider the candidates:
Chris Gittens: 36 at bats, a .111 average
Estevan Florial: 20 at bats, 6 Ks
Rob Brantley, 20 at bats, .150
Trey Amburgey, 4 at bats, .000
Hoy Park, 1 at bat, .000
Michael King, 63 IP, 3.35 ERA
Luis Gil, 29 IP, 3.07 ERA
Nick Nelson, 14 IP, 8.79 ERA
Deivi Garcia, 8 IP, 6.49 ERA
Brooks "The Amazing" Kriske, 7 IP, 15.26 ERA
Stephen Ridings, 5 IP, 1.80 ERA
Yep, there it is: The Yankee Rookie Class of '21!
Honestly, I am at a loss for words. But congrats to the Yankee organization in developing young talent! I keep hearing about how deep the farm system is and... um... hummina-hummina... wow...
Wait... here's a thought: Wanna know why this wretched team so consistently tanked - that is, they'd win a few games and then lose an equal number? Well, maybe they had no youth, no newcomers, nobody playing above himself and with a limitless future. All they had were veterans whose ceilings were known to all.
For example, if Rougned Odor went 10-for-20 in a series, everybody knew he'd follow it up with an 0-for-20 - because that's what he does. He might get hot, but he'll always slump his way back to .200.
We had maybe three rookies who provided a brief jolt of hope: King, Gil and Ridings. None mattered. As for Gittens, Amburgey, et al - the brass never considered them worthy of an actual shot. They only appeared due to a plague of injuries - literally, a plague - and unless they put up Kevin Maas numbers, they were destined to disappear. (It was sad, though, to see Amburgey get hurt, after finally reaching the show; I thought he might bring a hot bat. He's now a minor league free agent. One game...)
So... today the Yankiverse awaits Brian Cashman's next set of moves. From all indications, it will involve trading more young prospects for some other team's chunk of the past. Long ago, when Cashman became GM, he vowed never to become that kind of front office vampire - like the cavalcade that came in the 1980s. But in the stress of July - and facing the reality of his own horribly unbalanced roster - Cashman dealt away 10 of our best young players... to cheers from the Gammonites of Gotham. We were supposed to be delighted that the Yankees rallied to chase the wild card.
It's quite possible that the Yankees won't unveil a meaningful rookie in 2022. According to the rumors -and the dizziness of a fan base that has been conditioned to only think about next year - we will sign a star SS to a five-year deal. This will basically destroy the paths of our two top prospects - Anthony Volpe and Oswaldo Peraza, both shortstops. We've seen how this movie ends. That would leave us with one highly touted prospect - Jasson Dominiquez, aka "The Martian," a creature born of hype and well edited videos. I will believe in the guy when he actually starts hitting, because he didn't in 2021.
A team without rookies is a team going nowhere. So... where are we going?
As mentioned on Michael Kay's show yesterday...Yanks have to settle on their 40 man roster by Friday before the Rule 5 draft. Don't be surprised if the Yanks move some players like Frazier and AnDUjar before then in a package to get something they need.
ReplyDeleteMaybe King will be a major leaguer?
ReplyDeleteIf they had a Rookie of No Consequence Award, they would have had multiple contenders
ReplyDeleteI wonder if we'll protect Gittens and other guys on that list? King, yes, Gil, Florial, Deivi. I'd keep Ridings, for sure.
ReplyDeleteCan we please not protect Odor? Can we please not sign a big SS star? Unless it's for a year while the kids get ready. Which means an older guy past his prime but still viable, especially defensively. For all the carping about Didi, he does fit that bill, perhaps.
And I still like Greg Allen. He's fast and he's fun, and he can't hit for a big average or for power, but I like him.
Sue me.
Greg Allen was claimed off waivers by the Pirates on the 5th. Glad we used him when we had the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure Chris Gittens is worth protecting (he's already on the 40-man roster). 28-year-old first basemen who hit well vs. AAA pitching but are outmatched by MLB pitching are a dime-a-dozen.
I think Gittens, Miguel Andujar, Rougned Odor (hopefully), and Clint Frazier are spending their final week on the roster.
Thanks, Zach, I missed the Allen news. Shit.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wouldn't protect Gittens, either. Not enough there. Glad he got his Yankee home run, time to go.
Actually, the Yankees farm system did produce one award-worthy rookie: Garrett Whitlock, whom they lost in the Rule 5 draft to Boston.
ReplyDeleteNoah Syndergaard Just Signed A 1-Year, $21 Million Deal With The Angels
ReplyDeleteHot off the Barstool feed.
1) Thor and Verlander
ReplyDelete21M That's a lot of money for one year from a guy that's always hurt.
Makes me wonder what Verlander is going to get. I keep reading that we are the favorites to sign him. I hope not.
If we sign him for 20M + for a year or 40M for two it will be one of the most confusing signs of all time.
The Yankees didn't want to spend at the deadline last year so they would go over the tax threshold and reset the tax instead but then they spend like drunken fools on a 39 Years old. Plus we lose a draft pick.
I guess if we are going to sign multiple free agents then the draft pick is lost anyway but still...
2) King
How was he still a rookie. It seems like he's been around for at least three years? Service time?
3) Yikes
Seeing how bad our rookies were last year all in one place was pretty sobering. So now I'm sober.
4) ROY
King was our ROY
5) Last -- Guys on that list we need to protect from rule 5
Ridings!
King!
Gil!
Trade Garcia. Florial.
The rest can go. Trade em'. Cut em. Lose them to Rule 5. Lose them to Plan 9 from Outer Space. Whatever.
Verlander gives me real Randy Johnson vibes. The older ace with a ton of innings on his arm who spanked the Yankees in October and Cashman decides to pursue too late. (Not placing a waiver claim on Verlander in 2017 is the biggest mistake by Cashman/Steinbrenner this decade in my opinion.)
ReplyDeleteNow a one-year deal or one-year-with-option deal won't hurt anything if the Yankees are planning to spend BIG this winter. But expectations should be set to meet reality. Verlander is headed into his age-39 season, has 3,000 innings on his arm, is coming off major surgery, hasn't pitched in two calendar years, and can't use sticky stuff.
You're probably right, Zach. We grab Verlander in 2017 and that's quite possibly three straight World Series wins right there, considering how close this team was already. Instead, Cashman went Sonny Gray. And then dumped him for nothing. Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible, though, that Coops not going after Max Scherzer as a free agent in 2015 was an even bigger mistake, as that wouldn't have cost us a player. Then there was the failure to be in the Chris Sale runnings because we didn't sign Yoan Moncada (Slowly I turn to you...)
Really. Just 1 of 3 pitchers who were low-hanging fruit in this decade, and we have at least a mini-dynasty. Or even getting Cole earlier. But no could do, not even any interest.
Think Brain Cashman doesn't pay enough attention to starting pitching? Nah, can't be, we have it on good authority he's a genius.
The guy I will feel saddest about losing is Miguel Andujar. I don't think I've ever seen such a "natural" hitter come up before.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm like a broken record on this, but the chronic injuries that destroyed him, Frazier, and Greg Bird were just weird. Could it have been some kind of new juicing they were doing? Just complete incompetence by our crack medical staff?
WHAT?
Some sort of investigation really would have been a good idea. Not going to happen under the Office Boy.
Hoss,
ReplyDeleteAgree about AnDUjar. How can anyone not like Miggy Two-Bags?
Also, the more I read about Correa the less I want him on the team. And I didn't want him to begin with.
I have a general question...
ReplyDeleteThe Mets hired a GM who failed as a GM of the Angels. He had five years to turn the francise around.
The Angels spend. The owner wants to win. Yet, they don't even sniff the 2nd wild card.
How is this a good thing for the Mets?
ROY was Hoy Park! His one at bat was the LEAST negative thing about the class! Congrats Park!
ReplyDelete