An antidote to our sense of well-being…
Sure, it’s easy to look at the record and indulge that feeling that this is going to be a special year.
After all, the team, which was described yesterday by Michael Kay as, “Gritty and Gutty” (The collective ghost of Brett Gardner?) is playing some of the best baseball we’ve seen in years.
Barring a collapse of 1978 Red Soxian proportions they will make the playoffs and probably win the division.
As far as winning it all? A deeper dive shows that our starting rotation isn't really as strong as it appears.
Cole
Talk to me after today. This is a big one. Full
house. Hated opponent. Playoff atmosphere. So far, it seems like he tends to come
up short. I mean, what if the National Anthem goes long?
Sevy
Loved the energy yesterday but you have to wonder if he
didn't expend too much celebrating getting out of jams. He’s still prone to “a couple of bad pitches”
JM called the HR just before it happened. I too wished I had
one of those betting apps where you can bet each AB because the upcoming three
run blast was pretty much a slam dunk. (Sigh)
Nasty Nestor
Hopefully he will adjust but currently he THINKS he's an ace. (Shhhh, he might be.)
What's happening here is... Nestor thinks he’s better than he is and is pitching with more confidence. That takes away from his ability to deceive.
Nestor is better when he is underestimated. No one is underestimating him now. The batters are ready for him. He might still adjust. He really does pitch
like an ace. (Shhhhh.)
Montgomery
I actually like him as the Andy Pettitte
guy. The second guy up. But if not, then somehow, because he seems to have a
more of a flexible personality, he could be the pen guy.
Because…
Tallion
Can’t get a read on him. Is he great? Is he…
what? It’s not because he got shelled last time out. But something is up with
this guy.
What needs to happen is he borrows some of Sevi’s passion
and Sevy borrows some of Talion’s “Matter of Fact” style and they would both be
better for it.
The pen is the key. Can Britton and Johhny Lasagna come back strong? Will they bring up Waldichuck? Can Chapman come up with a timely injury?
All I'm saying is don't count your Fred Stanleys before their hatched.
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7 comments:
Been too busy to post lately and just got caught up reading the last week or so here. Especially sorry that I missed the discussion about Norman Mailer, so I'll put in my (belated) comments here. It does seem peculiarly on point for this blog.
The only Norman Mailer book that I've read to date was "The Fight". About the rumble in the jungle, Ali vs Foreman for the heavyweight boxing championship. There is a chapter in the book about how Mailer climbs out from his balcony to do something crazy in the middle of the night. All because he thought it might somehow affect the fight. (Mailer wanted Ali to win.) So almost 50 years ago, there were people, Americans no less, doing things to try to make positive Ju-Ju!
Anyway, thought you folks here would like that, especially El Duque.
Getting more to the point for current events, anyone volunteering to do anything crazy for this year's NY Yankees? Like maybe sacrificing your daughter (Agamemnon)? Or just climbing out on to the outside of a balcony in the middle of the night and hanging there for a moment? Because we all know what happened in the rumble in the jungle. All because Norman Mailer climbed outside of his balcony in the middle of the night for Ali.
The Fight is a great book.
Domingo German is another possibility.
Doug, I'm with you all the way on your individual assessments of the rotation. And I can't pin down what it is about Taillon, either. But there is something that makes me dread his starts, even when he's strung together a bunch of good ones.
These are superb interventions!
Ultimately, that Agamemnon thing didn't go so good. For Agamemnon.
@Hoss, yeah, payback is a bitch. Agamemnon's wife did her best Norman Bates impression. I would say she was impressive.
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