Thursday, February 16, 2023

Why We're Better Than Last Year

I'll play contrarian, or as Val Kilmer said in Tombstone, “I’m your huckleberry.” and don't worry, we're still nowhere good enough to beat the Asstros. 

As Alan Price sang in O’ Lucky Man:

Hope springs eternal in a young man’s breast

And he dreams for a better life ahead.

Without that hope you are nothing, nothing, nothing…

You’ve got to find out for yourself that dream is dead.

The Outfield is Better!

Right Field

Judge is Judge

Will he hit 70? Maybe on the Deegan late at night but not in the HR race.

That said, he will still provide no small number of good at bats and perhaps, as one of the faces of baseball and newly anointed Yankee Captain, start to get the benefit of those “strike” calls at his shin.R

But the main reason is… Judge now gets to play ALL his games in right field, saving his legs and making that position better than every time he had to play center because...

Bader is Better!

Better than Hicks. Better than the Ghost of Gardy and defensively, better than Judge, who was no slouch.

Supposedly he is one of, if not THE, best defensive centerfielders in the game. That’s runs saved. He also hit in the playoffs (Alas, he was really the only one) He wants to play well for his hometown team and he will. This year he takes to another level. Oh, and it’s his walk year.  Yeah we only get one year of him – (Cashman! Grrrrr.)

Left Field is Left Field. But…

Gallo is ALREADY GONE! That’s a half year of unbelievably bad at bats off the books. Whoever they shove out there will be better. Even Hicks. But it won’t be Hicks. At least not as much as we saw Gallo. Remember GALLO?  Yeah…. We’re better.

The Infield is Better

Rizzo is Rizzo+

I added the plus because that’s what we do now. Like when the kidz added a Z to everything to make it cooler.

Competence thy name is Rizzo. A real first baseman. The Judge whisperer. Oh, and this the real reason he will be better. No shift! No shift means at least another 10-15 balls that were caught by the beer league short fielder will now drop in.

Shortstop will be WAY better

I have to do shortstop before second for reasons you will understand.

Peraza is the shortstop. He is SO much better than IKF both in the field and with his bat. He will either start all year making it a vastly improved position or give way to Volpe.

Either one is fine with me. IKF is not going to be the shortstop unless there are injuries.

All the 2nd Base options are good

Gleyber stays - He was OK.  Not great. Not bad.  A wash.

Gleyber goes - For an upgrade in left field.

DJ is the starting 2B – It is his best position.

Peraza is bumped to 2B – Because the #7 prospect in baseball has established himself at SS.

Cabera is the back up 2B because let’s not forget about him either.  

3B is better

As much as I hate Donaldson he supposedly did a really good job defensively. He’s crossed the tipping point with me so it’s hard for me to recognize anything good about him but I suspect that DJ will get more games at 3rd especially if the Yankees are covered at 2B and I believe they are.

More DJ means more offense while providing solid D at third. So better.

---

The Catcher will be more of the same. Maybe a little worse since we can't count on a great first half by Trevino.

So all that’s left is pitching.

The Pitching is Better 

The starters are better

Cole = Cole

Rodon = Big improvement! 

Sevi = Until he’s hurt is Sevi. Was #2 now #3.

Nestor =  Nestor. The injury was a fake way to bow out of the the WBC. Was #3 now #4. That's right. Nestor is #4. What other rotation has an All Star at #4? 

5th Starter?   Doesn’t matter really.  I think Montas would have sucked anyway.  Doesn’t absolve Cashman. Worst. Deadline. Trades. Ever. But, the Yankees will fill in somehow.

Bullpen is MUCH better

Why? Two Words. No Chapman. 



12 comments:

  1. Wow, so much of that seems absolutely correct.
    I feel so much better now.
    But that could be the 'rooms talking.

    ReplyDelete

  2. HOWEVERRRZ...

    You know Kevin Cash is running the leftfielder into the beer league hole every time Rizzo bats, further infuriating the faithful

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  3. As Keefe to the City keeps reminding us, the Yankees play the money. Josh Donaldson will play because he's getting paid a lot of money. IKF will play more than you think--maybe a lot more--because he gets paid $6 million this year, and the young guys don't. Hicks will play a lot of left, until he disqualifies himself, because he gets paid $10.5 million.

    Oh, and Donaldson. How many easy, inning-ending double play balls did he boot that led to multi-run innings for the opposition? He made some nice plays, too, but his "great defense" rep is pretty suspect, as far as I'm concerned. But it doesn't matter anyway. $25 million.

    I was glad to see Montas is out for the year, because with his salary, he would pitch every fifth game no matter how bad he was.

    Looks like another year of doom from where I'm sitting.

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  4. Mark your calendars for July 21-23 when the Kansas City Royals bring El Chapo to town.

    That is, unless they've DFA'd him in the interim.

    But the Yankees might win the division. Will certainly beat up on the small market teams during the regular season, and then will most definitely expire in the playoffs.

    Same old. Same old. No matter who is in left field. Or shortstop. Or third base.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unfortunately, Tim McCarver, great C and a onetime Yankee broadcaster, has passed away…

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you, Doug, for blowing sunshine up; our collective asses.

    I wish I were not such a cynic and could believe you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think I went to the wrong site.

    Enough of this optimism. Has it been confirmed that John and Suzyn are returning next year? I have tried to ignore Yankees news since I worry about winter depression.

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  8. 13Bit "I wish I were not such a cynic and could believe you."

    I understand. I wish I believed me.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rolaids not on the Yanks is plus 6 wins and one loss in Kansas City...net plus 5...

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Yankees may be better with Rodon. The lineup is the same and that is where the problem lies.

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  11. LOVE that movie, and that quote, Doug!!

    That said...no, it ain't happenin'.

    Bader is not only a bad hitter over his career (don't believe one playoff series), but also yet another chronically injured player (What IS it with Cashman and these guys? Is he heavily invested in a medical supply company?) LF was never solved.

    The infield is also full of perpetually injured guys. Sure, that could all break the right way. Rizzo and DJ could avoid the hurts, Peraza and Cabrera and even Volpe might blossom, and maybe Donaldson and IKF will look so unimpeachably wretched from Opening Day that not even Cashman can order them into the lineup.

    But it's just as likely that Rizzo and DJ will be the ones hurting. Maybe more so. And whatever happens...Gleyber. About as depressing a ballplayer who I've ever seen on the Yankees.

    Counting on anything from the catching duet is a dubious proposition. The starting pitching should be somewhat stronger than last year...but let's see how they do with the no-shift rules. And the injuries. The pen may surprise, but it also looks threadbare.

    Ripping away the layers of pitching depth may have been the very worst of Cashman's very bad, no good, completely awful day at the trade deadline last year.

    That said...for some reason, nobody in the rest of the AL looks all that tough—save for the Astros. But I imagine some of the younger, more talented, less constantly injured teams will emerge.

    77 wins. I'm sticking!

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  12. I can think of countless many ways that this team will be worse than last year, even with the addition of Rodon. You know that Cashman will order Boone to play Donald Duck at 3B and IKF at SS and Hicks in LF. Unfortunately for us, only Hicks will get hurt after about two or three weeks. Donald Duck and IKF will play the entire year at their respective positions. Think about that. And if I know Cashman, Torres will not be traded. He too will play the entire year at 2B. IKF can hit about .260, but all singles. But Donald Duck and Torres, wow, WOW, that is a lot of strikeouts.

    Throw in an injury plagued year for Judge and Rizzo, continuing retrogression from Cole, the stupidity of Yankee coaching working its magic on newcomer Rodon, another injury filled year for Severino, a what do you get?

    Possibly another year where they make the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, only to get roasted and humiliated by the ASS-stros in the playoffs. And that's only if they manage to win their first round, which is no given.

    ReplyDelete

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