An afternoon of nothingness, wrapped in hope and scented with fantasy.
The Martian came through. Gleyber came through. Both hit homers. (Note: It's time for The Master to retire his "Like a good Gleyber, Torres is there" homer holler. It's the worst call in Sterling's library, and it's got to go.) The Yankees did basically nothing else offensively: Oswaldo, IKF and a kid named Jake Bauers each got hits. Our batters put balls into play - only five strikeouts and two walks, and nobody used the newly enlarged bases to steal second.
If you're looking for concerns, here's a small one: RH pitcher Randy Vaquez - who threw a no-hitter in his last 2022 appearance at Double A, and who was given a moonshot chance at the No. 5 starter slot - got cuffed around: Six hits, a walk and two earned runs over one long inning. Such an outing might not completely kill Vasquez's chances of making the team, but his odds are somewhere around those of Putin winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
Still, who cares? Opening day of the Grapefruit Season is when Zolio Almonte hit home runs and made us think he could be a viable option. On that same note: Estevan Florial went 0-for-2, though he didn't strike out. This is the most important month of Florial's Yankee career. He either makes the team out of merit, or they put him out with the red tide.
And so it begins.
I forgot they were playing yesterday. I take it from the comments that YES did, too?
ReplyDeleteAnd now that the season has officially begun, there is this little bit of propaganda from the Daily Murdoch to entertain you:
ReplyDelete"A Yankees front office insider on why Brian Cashman is better at his job than many believe."
You needn't worry. The article is tucked safely behind the pay wall.
Yes, the Post actually has a paywall.
And, who exactly is this "many" person, you might ask?
Last night's Braves-Phillies game:
ReplyDeleteBases loaded, ninth inning, two out, tie score.
Batter gets a called strike three after running out the clock. Game over. Fans go crazy and not in a good way.
Now that's the way to make the game more appealing.
Dick, that insider is Ca$hman’s father
ReplyDeleteYesterday was on WPIN, today is WCNN. We don’t get an WFAN game until March 17th :’(. I listened to some of it but it didn’t feel like spring yet.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to see Jasson homer in his first game. Given that he came up big in the Futures Game last season as well maybe he is a guy who comes up big in big situations. That would be good.
ReplyDeleteThis is what the moron Manager does and possibly with urging of Genius Cashman and his Crash Staff. One player who started batted .183 in the minors. The game was a fashion show for many of the stiffs The Genius has acquired.
ReplyDeleteVasquez will need arm surgery. Always after a no hitter, Yankee pitchers need the knife, and to miss a year ( or career).
ReplyDeleteThe Martian's home run, I only saw it once on the news. But that was a heck of a great swing. Now I see why they call him the Martian. Why they're all goo goo eyed over this kid. I haven't seen a swing like that in a long while. Looked even better than Judge's best swings.
ReplyDeleteSo the kid has got some big league talent with the bat. Now I wonder how long it'll take before the crazy coaching staff comepletely ruins everything for him.
@DickAllen, I saw the headline for that one also. I don't pay for any of these dumb sites, so all I could read was the headline and the little blurb underneath. Joel Sherman said that "on social media ... generally [Cashman] is portrayed as an incompetent nincompoop." So the word seems to have gotten out all over the internet that Cashman is a jackass. But that's only half the truth. Because HAL is the puppet master pulling the strings.
ReplyDeleteWho is the one that keeps Cashman as GM? HAL
Who is the one that gives Cashman the orders on who to move and who to keep? HAL
Who is the one that gives Cashman the orders on the budget and payroll? HAL
Who is the one that rewards Cashman when the club is eliminated quickly in the playoffs? HAL