1. Since the All-Star break, the Death Barge is 6-9. Six and nine. Over the last month, they are 12-16. This is not "a bump in the road on the Path to Greatness." It's a deep, dark ravine leading to Freddy Nietzsche's Abyss, and it could stain this franchise for the rest of our measly lives. If we blow this... God help us.
2. Clay Holmes has now botched two straight games. He is what Aroldis Chapman was a month ago. He walks batters. He cannot finish them. One more loss, and we face a Goldfinger: ("Once is happenstance, twice coincidence, but three times, Mr. Bond, is Scott Proctor.") Right now, we have no closer. No lead is safe.
3. Aaron Hicks is now 0 for his last 29, with three GIDPs - each one, a Mike Tyson fist to our cabbage basket. Over the last month, Hicksy is hitting .197. Over the last 15 days, .119. It is amazing to say, but he is our new Joey Gallo. Which leads to the ultimate question: Who does Tim Locastro have to sleep with to get a shot?
4. No trades will rescue us. The deadline came and went. Houston picked up Trey Mancini and Christian Valdez - two certified Yankee killers. We got Mr. Plant R. Fascitis, our own killer of Yankees. (Which leads me to this prospective timeline: Let's say Harrison Bader removes the walking boot next week - Aug. 17. He'll nurse his dogs for a week - Aug. 24. Then he'll rehab in the minors, say, two weeks. That gets him to NY around Sep. 8. He has three weeks to solve a potential "Welcome to NY" slump. He could be a force in October, as long as he suffers no setbacks. One tweak, one bad step, and Bader will disappear until next spring, the Yankees will have gotten nothing - well, actually I think Hal gets some money; way to go, chief! - and we will play - gulp - Hicks.)
5. No cavalry is coming from Scranton. Over the last two years, the farm system has been effectively neutered and drained - along with being chronically overhyped. When we bundled our best prospects for Juan Soto and Luis Castillo, our packages came up short. We once held high hopes for Anthony Volpe and/or Oswaldo Peraza, who heated up in June. Both have cooled. And if the Yankees don't think Peraza is better than IKF, how much faith in him should we have?
6. Albert Abreu is not Michael King. He is not Chad Green. He might be Luis Cessa. We can pretend that old "Double A" is Cashman's latest "steal," a miracle of the pen. The way the Yes men gush, you'd think we should call in the kinfolk to gather 'round the set when Abreu comes in, to watch him strike out the side. Then, opposing batters treat him like the straits of Taiwan, following Nancy's visit.
7. Anthony Rizzo has a sketchy back. This should be No. 1 on this list. The Yankees claim it's minor, that Rizzo will soon be back. Sure, I mean, yeah, they never lie, right? If they say he'll be back soon, well, all righty, we'll take it to the bank! Any long term loss of Rizzo would be catastrophic - offensively and defensively. And bad backs are bad news.
8. Right now, the bottom of our lineup couldn't scare a sparrow, especially with potential malaise Andrew Benintendi hitting .083 and showing the power of an unshelled peanut. And once again, wipe Locastro from your mind. Benintendi must play, regardless of the results. Cashman stole him. He. Must. Play.
9. Soon, the Rays or BJs will either heat up or be jumped by Baltimore. (A very real threat in October.) Realistically, nobody can catch us in the Divisional race. But they could turn up the heat, making us sweat. And come October, as stated above... God help us.
Posts
22 comments:
Yankees lay around the house playing .500 or sub .500 over the next month and the Blue Jays run off 12 in a row, not an impossibility, and the cushy 10 game lead in August becomes the uncomfortable up 4 in September. The East looks pretty safe unless someone goes off on a big win streak.
Gosh, never could have seen Rizzo’s barking back issue coming. Since the other first baseman is DJ I guess that means we’re dependent on Old Rusty staying healthy.
Hicks is shot, or should be, or something.
BenIntendi is not this bad is he? I refuse to believe Cashstrapped outsmarted himself.
Last night was a bit like a playoff game, and the result was the same as most of our recent playoff games. A long reliever comes in and holds our lineup down. Instead of using half a dozen guys, throw in a spare starter to pitch. That could've been a guy like Montgomery doing that in the playoffs. But no, Yankee management thinks a defensive CF is more valuable than a guy who can twirl 4 or 5 innings of shutout ball in a playoff game. Montgomery, for all his faults, is fully capable of doing something like that. We've seen him develop more this year. When his curveball is sharp, he can be dominant.
Looks bad.
Is bad.
Tonight Montgomery vs German (gulp)
Monty Got a Raw Deal - R.E.M.
Monty this seems strange to me
The movies had that movie thing
But nonsense has a welcome ring
And heroes don't come easily
Now nonsense isn't new to me
I know my head, I know my feet
But mischief knocked me in the knees
So just let go
I saw the ocean meet the man
I saw you buried in the sand
A friend was there to hold your hand
Said walk on by
So I went walking through the street
I saw you strung up in a tree
A woman knelt there said to me
Said hold your tongue
You don't owe me anything
That nonsense doesn't mean a thing
They tried to bust you in a sting
But virtue isn't everything
So don't waste time
Now here's a rhyme that you can steal
Put this on your reel to reel
Mischief threw a rotten deal
Monty's laying low
He is laying low
Monty this seems strange to me
Said it before, and will say it now - Cashman is a dick.
Do you think HOF Cashman thought he was trading for Josh Hader instead of Master Bader?
Montgomery was sacrificed. If Cashman had to do it again, he would do the exact same thing. Because Bader checks all the boxes for them:
1. He's white, and sort of a replacement for Brett Gardner and Gallo.
2. He's a local kid, great press relations.
3. He's a good defender (supposedly) and has a lot of speed.
4. He's cheaper than Montgomery, so they save a few pennies for now.
5. He's under team control.
6. CF is set for next year, at least on paper, which puts them in a better bargaining position in Judge's negotiations. Even if Judge goes elsewhere, they only need to fill RF, which they'll do with either Stanton/Carpenter or they'll sign some other free agent.
If they went into the winter with no CF except Hicks, think about that does to their bargaining position with Judge. If Bader's presence has the slightest tendency to reduce Judge's demands or management's offers, then they consider this a win. And at worst, it will definintely reduce their offers by 5-10%. They won't be as desperate to sign Judge.
They have obviously completely given up on Florial and Andujar, but they didn't move them either. Perhaps there was no interest from other teams. They're never going to bring them up. And because of that, these guys would not have any impact on the Judge talks.
As to whether Bader's foot will ever heal and allow him to be a defensive CF, they're obviously willing to take that chance too. Why? Because even if he never plays, he has already strengthened their bargaining position with Judge, and that's a win in their playbook.
They were willing to take a chance on torching this year to prepare for next year and to save a bunch of money. Devious enough for you?
It looks very odd when looking at tonight's Gamecast and seeing Jordon Montgomery as the opposing pitcher. Do you think he wants twist the knife deeply into the back of Cashman? I hope he does.
I've said this for years: Hicks is horrible. He is another of the many dumb/stubborn hitters the Yankees specialize in stockpiling. But then again, Boone is a dumb manager. A smart manager would enforce strategic and situational at bats. Like telling Hicks to go the other way when a SF or an almost sure hit (when the entire left side of the infield is unoccupied as it often is during his at-bats) would tie or win the game. If I was the manager and he defied my command and corkscrewed trying to pull the ball /hit a HR, I'd bench him for 2 games and tell him why. If he continued to ignore my directives, I'd permanently bench him and try to get rid of him.
The Yankees just have too many stupid players that refuse to play fundamental, situational baseball. Things we all learned in Little League under the egis of strict but understanding coaches. That's why we lose in the post season. And we have a stupid manager who is too scared to enforce any kind of rational discipline. He's like a parent who wants to be his kids best friend when they are pre-adult and so the children lack any kind of framework or rules in which to thrive. And a front office that seems indifferent and distant.
We've said this for many years but nothing ever changes. It's very depressing.
I thought this was worth a read
https://yanksgoyard.com/2022/08/05/yankees-brian-cashman-ruining-team-chemistry-trade-deadline/
Actually Hoss alluded to this with his comparison to the acquisition of Kiki Vandeweghe by the Knicks in what proved to be a season killer.
---
Also, I see that the HR call for Benintendi is still the banner. I hope it's not going to be up there until he hits one. To make it even tougher he will have to do it at home since "The Master" doesn't travel anymore.
Maybe it should be the quote that "The only spin rate that the Yankees care about is the spin rate in the PR room."
That's a paraphrase and I don't remember which member of the commentariat wrote it but it was great.
“We've said this for many years but nothing ever changes. It's very depressing.”
Our mantra, Carl, our mantra…it seems greed, and its cousin ego, beats all.
Ladies and Mostly Gentlemen:
Allow me to present a hastily and really badly modified version of . . .
Three Blind Mice
(adapted for the internet by rubbing it in some cat litter and flinging it into the backyard)
Three blind Idiots - running the NY Yankees
Three blind idiots - running the NY Yankees
See how they run - one of the most beloved sports franchises into the ground
See how they run - one of the most beloved sports franchises into the ground
They only care about their , uhm - country club life
Thus, uh, cutting off their balls with an, uh - accountant's knife
Did you ever felt so much soul sucking depression and strife as
Experiencing these Three blind idiots?
And you didn't even mention Gleyber. All I ever see him does strike out.
I have a proposed solution, which murders 2 birds with one twig --
a. Aaron Hicks once thru a ball from the OF at 105 MPH
see https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/watch-aaron-hicks-throws-a-ball-faster-than-105-mph-from-outfield/
b. Make him a reliever.
Gets us some fireballing relief AND gets his bat out of the lineup.
Great stuff, guys.
Celerino, you may have a point. Anyone checked The Brain's hearing these days?
I've always had a sort of soft spot for Hicks, but at 0-29, you HAVE to sit him. Carl Weitz, I'd say you're right that Boone is a terrible manager—but who knows how strict the orders are from on high?
The Yankees are all about taking constant small, stupid risks...in order NOT to take what they see as big risks.
As such, they're way of operating ought to be taught in business schools all over this country...except that they are exactly the kind of corporation that business schools love.
—Never take any risks to be the best. Instead, secure your cartel/monopoly position above all else.
—Don't worry about pleasing your customers. Instead, tax their patience—and their wallets—to the absolute limit.
—Scoop up as many public subsidies as you possibly can. But never acknowledge that you are in any kind of partnership with the public or public entities.
—Don't worry about getting better. Worry about getting better spin. There is no reality you cannot create. If, finally, everything comes a-cropper, start firing people.
Last night made me real sick. An anagram of Brian is brain, only something went wrong and Brian's brain has become niabr.
It is really unconscionable, now, NOT to bring up Andujar and Florial. The Yanks desperately need hitters. Even if the organization is convinced they are not the answer over any period of time, they could easily be the answer for a month or two. It's criminal that they don't at least try them.
Mets taking apart the Braves. Well, again: maybe it's just as well we won't be in the Series this year.
I'm left with hoping the Mets will trounce the Astros in October, a wee ounce of justice for the coming pain.
duque: "No cavalry is coming from Scranton." How do you know Andujar and Florial wouldn't help? There's no way of knowing of you don't try. Locastro is not the answer--he's basically a pinch runner and late-inning defensive replacement--he can't hit--with a well-establshed record of mediocrity and failure with other MLB teams--just the ticket for Cashman, right along the lines of Gallo and Odor. Cashman is probably the only GM in baseball dumb enough to sit on talents like Andujar and Florial while Hicks and Donaldson are making like wind turbines at the plate. HC66 is right on the money on this--it's curious that duque doesn't even mention them.
Just watched a couple of innings of a Hudson Valley game on milb.tv
Jasson got a nice line drive single and stole a base. They're losing 6-0 however.
Post a Comment