The problem is that we cannot rightfully say that Gallo is in a slump.
As far as the Yankees are concerned, he's at normalcy.
Gallo's frozen futility didn't matter against Oakland, a generic team of players auditioning to be traded. But against the likes of Houston, it fukinay matters.
Last night, what if - instead of Gallo going 0-2 with a K and a walk - what if the Yankees had activated Tim Locastro? In the late innings, he could have come off the bench and stolen a base, or maybe rattled a pitcher into a mistake. The Yankees didn't need a specialty base-stealer at home against the A's. But last night, it might have made the difference in Houston.
Maybe you think the Yankees must replace Gallo with a LH bat, to balance the lineup. Also, they must maintain a solid defense in right or left field. Well, before we overpay for Andrew Benintendi, wouldn't it be worth trying Estevan Florial? I mean, am I nuts for suggesting it?
For five years, the YES hope team has troweled Florial down our throats, despite anemic numbers with the bat. Now, at 24, the guy seems to have figured it out in Scranton. Isn't it worth seeing what he might do?
Last night, in Triple A, Florial went 1-for-3 with a double and 2 RBIs. He struck out and stole a base. On the season, he's hitting .293, with 26 stolen bases in 31 attempts. (He leads the league in stolen bases, by five.) He has 7 HRs and an OPS of .839. (By the way, that's slightly better than what Isaac Paredes was doing in Triple A, before Tampa brought him up. Paredes, you might recall, banged three HRs in one game against us. Once around the league? Maybe. But the games counted.)
There are, it must be noted, concerns about Florial's strikeouts: He has 76, tied for the IL lead. But, seriously, since when do the Yankees hold K's against a hitter?
Then there is Miguel Andujar, subject of a future History Channel documentary, "The Mysterious Vanishing Yankee." It's about a star athlete who disappears during a bus ride to central Pa. I shudder to think what must happen before Miggy gets another chance - I think it involves wildfires across Jersey - but the guy is hitting .316 with 7 HRs in just 44 games. So what if he's a RH bat? The guy can hit, and Gallo cannot.
Okay, I know what you're thinking: Replacing Gallo is complicated. The Yankees have him on a one-year deal for $6.2 million. In a trade, they'd likely eat that money, and Food Stamps Hal Steinbrenner would be Trumping his lunch against the walls. Brian Cashman needs to get something for Gallo, and, usually, that means going full brinksmanship - waiting until midnight of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
In the meantime, we will carry Gallo against the cans of tomato.
In July, the Yankees play 12 games against the Pirates, Royals, Orioles and Reds. (The O's are improving, and I'm not sure they qualify as Campbell's.) They play 14 against Cleveland, Boston, Houston and the Mets. (The seven against Boston are particularly worrisome, but all we have to do is not get swept.)
We have a 12-game lead in the loss column over the Redsocks, who currently occupy 2nd place in the AL East. Barring a meltdown, we can probably make it to Aug. 1, still in first. But the question remains: When we face an elite opponent, how much do we want to give away?
Soon, the Yankees need to make a move. Normalcy is starting to pinch.
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11 comments:
Gallo is so awful at baseball hitting it's become comical. His numbers are nearly the worst in all of baseball -- as in no other team puts someone out there that bad day after day. Despite all his twitching and scratching, he seems like a decent sort. Sad for him, but he's just gotta go. Much as Hicks gets my blood boiling, there's no reasonable explanation for playing Gallo over Hicks. Strange situation where the Yankees can't seem to figure out how to DFA someone who cannot hit.
Trade him, eat most of the salary, making the other team only pay the MLB minimum.
Call up other Miggy, Florial or Locastro.
Something has got to give. Florial and Locastro are above average fielders and can steal bases, which Gallo cannot.
Miggy is better than him except for fielding, but he has appeared adequate. They may be showcasing Miggy to some extent because he has been playing 3rd recently.
Couldn't say the Pirates, A's , KC or Nats, even Philly, use Miggy immediately?
I'm sick to death of Joey Gallo. Sick to death hearing about him. Nothing new under the sun.
How about some good news?
This from ESPN:
"...it's been almost impossible to elevate Holmes' 97 mph sinker, which he throws more than 80% of the time. Baseball analyst Joe Sheehan pointed out that Holmes' current groundball rate of nearly 82% would be the highest of the past 20 years, topping even peak Zack Britton.
Yes, he's for real, and if he keeps this going, we'll have to start researching the best single-season relief seasons of all time. Damn Yankees."
Am I poking the bear?
In my 50 years of watching BB, I've seen a guy as consistent as Gallo. No ups/downs just a steady stream of ineptitude. He never disappoints because you never expect anything out of him.
Do we need to start an online petition to get Florial or Andujar playing time? I’m assuming Cashgrab is playing Gallo in the hopes he gets ona streak to up his value but enough is enough
As for the Pirates...Bryan Reynolds is available...Gallo and Miggy for him...
Another reason for Gallo’s continuing appearance in the lineup Is his salary (10.28m, not 6.2m) and cashman’s narcissism, as he is loathe to admit the trade was a bad idea especially in light of the fact that it was a desperation move caused by his inability to craft a balanced LH/RH roster in the Spring, plus the fact that it was criticized in advance. In his mind, he knows better than we mere mortals, and dammit he will show us! The same logic applies to Donaldson, who is greatly underperforming offensive expectations. Man up Cashman, acknowledge your mistakes by fixing them. Then crawl into Steingrubber’s gilded office and explain why you wasted his money.
I say...MIGGY NOW.
Florial, too, if Ma Boone can somehow get by on only 13 pitchers. But by all mean, Miggy!
He's playing 3B in Scranton? Great. We can ALSO use him to replace, uh, spell Rusty Crusty Donaldson at third.
This is becoming absurd, already.
The moves the Yankees need to make are so obvious, which is why I expect them to do nothing. You know. Like Gallo.
We are rapidly approaching game # 81 so the Yankees only owe about 5 million to Gallows. They won't get rid of him until the Aug 2 deadline, if then, because they're paying his high salary. Hopefully, they'll find a team willing to take him for a bunch of nothing providing we eat the salary.
It is time part ways with Gallo to get an outfielder. Miggy would sweeten the pot too.
Miggy and a choice from a laundry list provided to the trade partner, plus Gallo and say, 2mil and get it done.
The more controllable the OF [i.e., more that this year] the better the prospects.
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