The Scranton Railriders beat the toothless hometown Mets 5-0, behind four pitchers and two HRs - by Oswald Peraza and the eternal flame, Estevan Florial, the top two in the batting order. A night of moments:
1. For whatever it's worth, the two Scranton Ozzies - Peraza (SS) and Oswaldo Cabrera (2B) - look like legitimate ballplayers. Peraza whacked his third pitch of 2022 over the left center field wall - no small feat - and Cabrera followed with a double over the right fielder's head. He stole 3B without a throw and scored on a single. Together, they went 2-for-8 with three strikeouts. In one of them, Peraza gave the home town crowd what it wanted - free tacos, for being the Taco Bell K-Man.
Of the two, I'd say Cabrera looks more dangerous - slightly taller, a bit rangier, and with a whip for an arm. If the Mother Ship falters, or if a wave of injuries hit, either or both could quickly wind up in the Bronx. Either that, or they're trade fodder. Donno. Small sample size, one night. Still, it's been a while since we had a keystone combo that didn't skew closer to 25. (Peraza is 21; Cabrera, 23.)
2. The Looks Good Coming off the Bus award goes to Ronald Guzman - 6'5", 235 - at 1B, who lashed a two-out RBI single in the first and made a DP-saving stab in the second. Not sure how he'll fair with the impending arrivals of Greg Bird, Miguel Andujar and Tim Locastro - (assuming they do show up.) In Texas, Guzman once hit three HRs against us in one game. He looked like a future star. Then... poof... the last three seasons came and went. He's 27, same age as Miggy, and searching for a second act. Same as Miggy. Some movies do get a sequel. Just sayin.'
3. Bucket Hats supplied by Gannon Pest Control, who also sponsored a post-game fireworks display, which served notice on the roaches, mosquitos, mice and moles of Syracuse, saying: Your Time Is Over. Death Is Coming.
4. Biggest name of the night - Mookie Wilson - got a standing O for throwing out the first ball. He was supposed to sign autographs for an hour. After 60 minutes, the waiting line stretched practically around the stadium. No way was he getting out. Not sure how long he stayed, but Mookie - now 66 - looked happy. The fans remember...
And you folks remember: File your predictions for Yankee victories in 2022. Tomorrow, we'll sort them out.
Sneak in as a wild card at 90 - 72. Judge wins MVP before leaving via free agency after the Yankees win number 28 in October 2022.
ReplyDelete*Yankees Shamus
81 wins,
ReplyDeleteBoth Ozzies traded in July for J. Cueto in a "playoff push" that becomes more like Nappy's Retreat from Moscow.
88. They get swept by the Twins in the first round, as Correa hits 9 HRs, Sanchez hits 3 and walks 4 times with no Ks, & Urdhela hits .667 and plays a flawless 3b. Donaldson has one K & is injured on his only play in the field, a three-base throwing error. Kinet-Falefa makes 4 errors and bats .000.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with 89....
ReplyDeleteA good egg, the Mook.
ReplyDeleteSpent his first offseason working at a market or something in Queens, as I recall. Wrecked his arm because then-manager Frank Howard wanted to save money by having the players retrieve soggy baseballs from the field after a rain-soaked workout. Supposedly Mookie picked up a ball that was much heavier than he thought and...presto!
There always seems to be some schlemiel like that, hanging around to damage somebody.
Let's face it the two Ozzies will traded at the deadline so Cashman can preserve is run of .500+ plus seasons. Anyone who thinks otherwise is not a Yankee fan.
ReplyDelete87 wins and that is me being ultra optimistic as all it needs is the usual amount of in season tweaked gonads to turn this team into its usual state of a mockery
ReplyDeleteI predicted 88 wins yesterday,,,, now I'm thinking I'm was being way too optimistic. Also hoping they don't make the play in/play offs, for another maybe maybe maybe nail in Cashman's coffin!
ReplyDelete