At ease, soldiers.
From now on, until further notice, we must...
1. Let Aaron Judge hit as many times as possible.
2, Find a closer, or someone - anyone - who can play that role.
3. Figure out whether DJ LeMahieu can play.
4. See whether El Chapo and/or Zack Britton can pitch well enough to make the roster.
5. Get Giancarlo Stanton on track
6a. Come up with a hitter who can protect Judge in the order.
6b. If he has set the HR record, platoon Judge or - if he has a lead in batting average - sit him.
The beer of victory is sweet!
ReplyDeleteAt least we will this…maybe more?
So, Yanks would get the winner of what is, right now, BJs-DRays, right?
ReplyDeleteThat will be a tough series for us to win, but possible. Toronto could smoke us, but they disappear a lot. TB is just not that good, but they always give us hell.
If we get through that...Houston. No way, no how.
If six different Astros break their legs, or they somehow lose to Seattle or Cleveland...we could get to the World Series.
Where we play LA, Atlanta, or the Mets. And again: no way, no how.
Boone had better ride his starters during the playoffs, or we have no chance. But does he have the balls to play that game?
ReplyDeleteYes, that would make sense, Kevin. Get them through seven, at least, if he can, and damn the consequences.
ReplyDeleteThese are not young guys whose arms you worry about throwing out—and Gopher Cole, our ace, won't last that long anyway.
So start...Cole, Cortes, Taillon, and German. Use Sevvy and Schmidt freely as long relief. Try to finish with Trivino, Effross (if he's got anything), and Holmes. Use Luetge and whoever when you have to.
This is where Coops really screwed us by getting rid of Monty, Sears, and Waldichuk, and not picking up somebody else to replace King and others.
But...
...it doesn't really matter. The Yankees would have had to have a 1998-level staff to pull through a lineup this bad. These guys will get chewed up and spit out by playoff-level staffs.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing to do? Give in and admit that Stanton is hurt—he's useless anyway—and put him back on the DL. Go with Cabrera in left, and maybe Peraza as the DH, and try to manufacture runs any damned way you can.
Never gonna happen, I know.
I like your thinking.
Deleteenjoy the little things - because the big things are gunna kill yah
ReplyDeleteMan, what has become of Stanton? He swings more like Harry Dean Stanton. Shame of it is that he can be a real difference maker..... Must be hurt....
ReplyDeleteOr done. Or some combination thereof. I wonder if the Yanks' idiot coaches and trainers even make an effort to help him adjust, or if that's not possible.
ReplyDeleteMy worst fear with Giancarlo is that he's going to do what he did in 2019, which is neither improve nor leave. If he can't do any better than this by the start of the playoffs, he ought to go on the DL, and open up a roster spot.
Hard to believe that he's finished at 33. He should have four days to show something or get replaced.
ReplyDeleteThe last time Stanton had a slump this long and this bad was at the end of 2018 when he was trying to play through a hamstring strain.
ReplyDeleteThis guy gets completely de-railed by lower-body stuff (calf, hamstring, achilles).
Even if Stanton is cooked, I don't believe he's cooked to the level of .146/.241/.281, his line since coming off the IL.
I think it's an injury.
Now the question is: if he doesn't improve in the next 8 games, does Boone have the guts to bat him 9th or put him on the bench in the ALDS?
I'd add, stop resting the hot hand. There will be at least 5 days off before they begin their playoff games.
ReplyDeleteWell, there’s finished, then there’s “finished”.
ReplyDeleteThen there’s his contract, which guarantees he will start at DH in the playoffs and again next year, as long as he’s upright.
Then there’s Boone, or whoever is really calling the shots. It is an entrenched dictum that the overpaid “stars” must play regardless of how much their poor, declining play hurts the team.
In all things Yankee, follow the $$$.
Numbers 5 and 6a are simply unicorn material.
ReplyDelete