That said, juju gods: In no way am I declaring anything over-and-done. Nope. It remains nip and tuck, up and down, in and out, higgety-piggety, and up for grabs. By the Hoary Hosts of Hicksie, the Yankees can still blow this.
Speaking of Hicksie, by my count, Aaron Hicks now has twice played himself into eternal damnation - only to return like a case of Covid. We all know that bad things come in threes. Surely, he'll get one more shot, blow one more big game, before the Yankees pull the plug and send him to the Donbas with a CHILDREN HERE, DON'T BOMB sign on his head. Or maybe they'll give him four strikes. Poor guy. Looks lost. I'm not sure they're doing him favors, anymore.
Again, juju gods, this is NOT a suggestion that I believe the Yankees will make the playoffs. It's just a POSSIBLE 25-man roster, if they somehow claw their way into October. So here goes...
Pitchers:
Cole. Nestor. Severino. Montas. Tailion. German. Holmes. Peralta. Loaisgia. Luetge. Trivino. Effross.
Catchers:
Trevino. Higashioka.
Infielders:
Rizzo. Gleyber. DJ. IKF. Donaldson. Cabrera.
Outfielders:
Judge. Stanton. Bader. Locastro.
That's 24. On the bubble are the following injury cases: Carpenter. Benintendi. Britton. I think it's a stretch to expect any of them, though each is intriguing.
Then comes Hicks, Gonzalez, Andujar, Marinaccio, Abreu or Schmidt. My guess is they go with extra pitching, especially in a five-game series.
Extreme outside chances: Tyler Wade, for pinch-running, if Locastro is hurt. Also, Estevan Florial, for defense.
Oh, and one more name, just for the parlor game: Aroldis Chapman. I'm sure he'll get an audition over the final weeks. If he's hitting 102 on the gun, and throwing strikes, he'll definitely be in the mix. Unfortunately, I suspect he'll come in with great fanfare, strike out the first two batters on six wipeout fastballs, then walk the bases loaded and deliver a Jackie Gleason fat ball. (Frankly, I'm hoping that happens in the regular season, and not the playoffs.)
Final note: with 23 days left, someone will get hurt. It's almost impossible to imagine a three week stretch without a tweaked gonad or two. The key is keeping Judge, Rizzo, Stanton and LeMahieu healthy. And having Toronto and Tampa gouge each other's eyes out today. Have at it, boys!
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22 comments:
Duque! What are you doing!? Do we have to put you in a retirement home!? (with grounds like a college campus!)
Knock it off!!
Obligatory fuck.
Wait a minute. I STRESSED - by the hoary hosts of Hicksie - that I was not suggesting the Yankees would win anything. The juju gods cannot come after me, unless they want a lawsuit.
How do you serve a lawsuit to the juju gods?
You have to get Roy Cohn, now conveniently located in hell.
For the extra player, I vote Marinacci or Schmidt. Just as long as it's not Chapman. Or Weissert.
Never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness Tots Bader is playing minor-league games. Every step toward recovery by the much-anticipated Bootsie means less of a chance that we will have to see Hicks again this year.
Of course, he will get yet another chance in spring training—the damned contract runs through 2025—but at least we would get the rest of this year off.
How do you DFA 50 million smackers?
The juju gods don't need no stinkin' lawyers.
Just to digress into football for a moment—wow, Robert Sales has ALREADY come unglued? He's "collecting receipts" for those who mock the Jets? Uh-huh. I hope he has a big receipts drawer.
I can still remember how crazy Herm Edwards got—and he had some winning teams. They freak out faster and faster in Jetsland now, it seems.
Well, AA, it would "only" be about $31-32 mill, including the 2026 buyout. Yanks could see if he has a good spring, and try to move him then. But he'll probably just get hurt again.
HC - its certainly a question that will never be answered with - let Cashman go - that’s for sure.
I’d also hire the law firm of Jacoby and Igawa to serve the juju gods
They have Dewey, Scruem & Howe on retainer.
Frankly, I don't think we see DJ LeMahieu again this year.
Brendan Kuty on Sept. 2:
Aaron Boone said that DJ LeMahieu's toe injury isn't something that would necessarily get better with a few days rest, more of an offseason thing. Pregame, Boone said that the toe was affecting LeMahieu's power at the plate. Sounds like it might be like this the rest of the way.
Marly Rivera on Sept. 11
LeMahieu talked about the issues with his foot, saying the biggest problem is not only pain but not being able to rotate his right foot. "When you can't hit, can't be myself, I’m not doing anyone any favors by just being a body out there." Not doing any baseball activities yet.
Think about these two statements together: the injury prevents LeMahieu from hitting the ball, and LeMahieu will be dealing with this injury the rest of the way.
LeMahieu hit .128/.179/.128 (.307 OPS) in his last 20 games before the Yankees shut him down.
That's not a guy you put on your playoff roster.
LeMahieu will have to return and prove himself healthy before making the playoff roster. Also the playoff roster is 26 not 25.
I am still firmly holding to the belief that however we make the playoffs our exit will be swift and embarrassing.
And I thought it would be embarrassing and swift….
Here's a "fun" statistic for you all.
The Yankees are 17-5 (.773) in one-run games at home.
The Yankees are 9-18 (.333) in one-run game on the road.
Good thing most postseason games are tight affairs and we've lost homefield advantage to Houston.
I'm thinking Marinaccio and Schmidt have to be on that list. Along with Andujar and Florial. That means DJL sits, because due to his injury he simply has stopped hitting. And I see zero need for Locastro instead of Florial, at least at this point in time. It could be that Florial plays himself off the potential playoff roster, but they should give him enough playing time down the stretch to find out.
Aaron Hicks was always nothing more than a fourth outfielder. Florial should have been given the chance to take his job much earlier. I know Florial isn't lighting it up but I still think he's got some potential to develop. Whereas Hicks, we all know, gets hot, gets hurt. And now Hicks simply sucks. He doesn't get hot and he doesn't get hurt.
DJ would be a huge loss. And I agree, Hammer.
This is why we needed to see all of these guys months before we did, instead of wasting endless games on Joey Gallo (now hitting .176 in LA, incidentally).
I can't see us winning a postseason series, either, though I suppose we could get lucky. But getting past the Astros and Dodgers? Not a snowball's chance in hell.
My remaining, desperate hopes for this season?
—Cling on to the division title.
—Don't get beat by the Mets in the World Series.
That's it!
Don't worry Duque.
I've got your back when it comes to the Ju-Ju gods.
I think that is pretty obvious.
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