The world halted last October with Aaron Judge - our final hope - came up with two outs in the ninth, bases empty, with the Astros leading 6-5. A HR would tie the game and surely rally the Yankees into winning four straight and sweeping Philly in the world series. He swung and missed the first pitch. He took a called strike on the second. He took a ball. Then he tapped back to the pitcher. And then...
And then, tomorrow, when the world starts over.
So, what happened this spring? Better question: Who happened?
Andres Chaparro, for one. He's a 23-year-old 3B bulldog - (might move to 1B) - who led the Tampkees in HRs with 5. He's 6'0," 200 lbs, and might open in Scranton. With the entire cast of Succession stacked in front of him at 3B - Donaldson, DJ, Oswaldo, Oswald and IKF - it's hard to see a path for Chaparro in 2023, beyond trade fodder. But he went to Tampa as a nobody. He's now on radar screens. It's been a long time - like, forever? - since the Yankees developed a young 3B. A new El Chapo?
Oswaldo Cabrera, best player in Camp Tamp. He played everywhere, did everything, belted 4 HRs (team runner-up) and led in RBIS. Sadly, he could ride the pines on opening day, beneath the paper blob contracts of Hicks and Donaldson. Cabrera could start at any of four positions: LF, 3B, 2B and maybe CF. It makes no sense to start Hicks over this kid, but that's Chinatown, Jake. We'll have to wait for Hicks to get hot, then get hurt.
Anthony Volpe. Can't place this one. Saw his name in my notes. Anybody know anything? Stool sample?
Ian Hamilton, arguably the best pitcher in camp. He threw 9 scoreless innings over eight games. He's a 27-year-old RH bulldog, a Roy Hobbs type who missed all of 2020, then languished in the minors over the last two years. Who knows? Bullpens are full of former prospects who somehow figured it out. Mean Chad Green is gone. Hurricane Ian?
Finally, don't forget to make your predictions for 2023: Number of regular season wins, number of Aaron Judge HRs, and Anthony Volpe's batting average.
Tomorrow, I'll issue mine. And as of then, things matter. It's almost over. The meaninglessness, I mean. Meanwhile, save us all...
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33 comments:
They should've at least let Jasson Dominguez continue to play until the end of spring training. On many other ball clubs, I think he makes the team as a LF. He'd probably develop much more quickly at the major league level than down in the minors. That Yankee management will go with Hicks over the Martian is a great indicator of its mentality and direction. We are fucked.
Was that headline a reference to the Blue Jays? I kid, I kid!
Also, anybody know why Max Burt got so many at-bats this spring? Every time I looked at a box score, there was "Ma. Burt." Huh?
The guy is 25-year-old college grad, who is a lifetime, .231 hitter in the minors with little power. In 2021, he bounded from Single-A to Scranton...where he hit .187. Back in Somerset last year, he hit 11 homers...and .205.
He seems to be a decent glove, and plays a lot of different positions. Does his playing time indicate that DJ is hurt worse than we've been told?
And that Hamilton...boy, he didn't throw away his shot, did he?
I know, I know. I'm getting giddy. It's almost Opening Day!
1) Max Burt - Nepobaby? Jim Burt's kid? Burt Convey's?
2) "And that Hamilton...boy, he didn't throw away his shot, did he?"
Good one.
3) Super Pigs - Of all the creatures given superpowers... Krypto (dog) Streaky (cat) Comet (Supergirl's horse), Spiderman, they never gave them to a pig. Why is that?
I could solve the pig problem in two words... Green Truffles.
4) It would not surprise me if Cabera started Opening Day in left field.
5) The Martian started last year in Hudson Valley. Not even AA. If he was put on the MLB club he'd lose a ton of ABs to Cabera, Hicks, and Bader when he returns. Better he should play in AA and AAA this year and get his ABs. He's also not that great an outfielder yet. Bad routes. I'm glad they are letting him develop.
Prediction for Yankees Opening Day lineup:
DJ (DH)
Judge (CF)
Rizzo (1B)
Stanton (RF)
Gleyber (2B)
Cabera (LF)
Donaldson (3B)
Trevino (C)
Volpe (SS)
Volpe will wear #11...
Simply put, the reason the Burts and Danishes of the world see so much playing time is so as not to over extend the anticipated starters. They are interchangeable parts with no hope of ever playing in the Bronx.
Confirming ranger_lp: Jack Curry writes Volpe will wear #11. If you have a Brett Gardner Jersey, you’re covered.
Ian Hamilton was given an opt out dare of April 5th. Why are we keeping Abreu ahead of him?
No movement on the trade front, and don’t expect any.
[Passan] Outfielder Franchy Cordero and the New York Yankees are in agreement on a major league contract, sources tell ESPN. It’s a split deal that will pay $1 million in the big leagues and $180,000 in the minors. Barring another move, Cordero would be on the Yankees’ Opening Day roster.
Let's see....
Cordero is a big guy (6-3, 225lb), strikes out an insane clip (34.8%! career), can't hit for average (.221 BA career), is a former Red Sox player, and hits the ball extremely hard on the rare occasion he makes contact.
Yep, that's a Brian Cashman type player.
@ Horace....Rumor has it that Max gives a great lap dance in the locker room.
@ Doug....Scouts would differ on your assessment of The Martian's defense. Keith Law, for example, rates him a 70 (out of 80) defensively with great speed and a rocket arm. Ultimately, he might end up being a corner outfield rather than centerfield. If you keep things in perspective, he'd only be a just turned 20 year old playing college baseball in his sophomore season. But on most teams, with the other candidates the Yankees have to play left field, he would be starting over Hicks and Oswaldo. Exceptional hitters frequently do better at the MLB level because they're always around the plate. But these are the Yankees. If they had drafted Juan Soto, he'd be one confused and disappointed player.
Also, it's great to have Opening Day coincide with my birthday!
You said it Zach, an obviously flawed AAAA player who adds nothing to the team.
Now we’re picking up sloppy seconds from the Royals, Red Sox & Orioles. Sounds like Ca$hman’s sex life.
@Doug, it's my pleasure to introduce Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Ham
Stang -
I remember Peter Porker! I stand corrected.
Volpe's picking number 11 -
That was what I guessed in yesterday's post. I stand correct!
Carl -
The issue with the Martian has to do with the routes he takes not his arm and speed. He will get to the Yankee OF eventually but could use another year in the minors to learn how to play the position(s) better.
I've said this before but, when I saw him I noticed that even though he was playing center both the RF and the LF were taking balls that normally would belong to him.
I asked a season ticket holder why and they said that they were covering for him because he doesn't take good routes. It is probably why he will end up in left as opposed to center.
@Doug K & Carl J W, The way I see it, this team needs the Martian's bat and his defense is very secondary. He wouldn't be playing CF for this team, so not much need to worry. How many left fielders are great defensively? This club should emphasize player development as of right fucking now and not worry about whether this one or that one has a crappy day defensively.
Now, I don't expect the Martian to come in and hit great right away. There'll be a learning curve and he will take a year or two or three to develop. He might even suck for a few years. I say let him develop up here instead of wasting valuable years in the minors. With Yankee management, you know he's going to be down in the minors until he's 26 or 27 before they finally bring up. By then, there is a very good chance he'll go the Florial route and fizzle out of future plans.
The point I was making is that this is a great example of why this club never develops any new blood. They are extremely risk averse to youth. Player development? They don't even know what that means.
And the reason why this club has not won anything since 2009 and only once in the last 22 years is precisely the same thing. How do you win developing one starting pitcher in 25 years and two position players in 20 years? It's a miracle they won that one time in 2009, which was mostly because of free agents (C.C., Burnett, Tex) + the old champion guard (Jeter, Posada, Rivera) + some sprinkling of youth that year (Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes).
Of course, they soon canned Melky. And they ended up screwing up Phil Hughes.
At this rate of player development, Yanks won't win anything anytime soon. But I think that's exactly the way management/ownership wants it. So that's how it keeps playing out. Ya'll can wake me up when something changes for the better. I need to get some Z's.
I disagree with Hammer on only one thing. I don't believe that Hal/Cash/Boone really choose to not win anything.
I think they DO want to win. NYC is glorious when you win (see: Jeter on my TV in a sandwich shop commercial, for Pete's sake!).
They just either have forgotten how to go after it, or never actually knew it (remember The Core Four came from the efforts of other people) -- and either refuse to learn/try new things or are INCAPABLE of so doing. Admitting mistakes, and fixing them, would of course be a start.
Remember; A few years ago, when Hicks got a 7-year, $10M contract. They traded for GStanton. And they added Donaldson. Let's not get into El Chapo...
This refusal to learn/try things is what makes (for some of us) being a NYYs fan so freaking miserable. There appears to be at least one way out of this mess (i.e., DFA at least the 3 guys named above). You can't take back the stupid trades made last summer.
But you can try to fix things now. Including playing The Martian, as Ham advocates.
The Core Five, great as they were didn't win those rings by themselves. Management made some good trades, and nobody can say that they were cheap from 2001-2009. They held onto Jeter for at least three years too long in which during that time his salary kept us from getting better talent. We are just recovering from Jeter's last contract, along with Ells, etc. Naturally, cutting The Captain loose would have been a PR nightmare, but had the money been wisely spent people wouldn't have kicked about it for too long. It seems to me that after the Ells fiasco, and a couple of pitchers who bombed Cashman has become overly risk-adverse. Wonder if that's why he brought in all those "advisors"?
I'm throwing the above scenario more as a thought experiment. I've never heard of that scenario, it would shorten careers in the NY press. But Branch Rickey believed in the idea of cutting/trading veterans too early rather than too late. He certainly had some nice runs of his own. Right now this team has talent, but it's imbalanced, and has very little depth. And the offense is going to suck unless Volpe comes blazing, and a few career years coming together. Still, this might be a fun year if we see youth being served.
102 wins
74 home runs
.241 BA
94 wins
52 home runs
.254 for Mr. Volpe
With all due respect, Kevin, I have to question some of your logic there.
"We are just recovering from Jeter's last contract..." Jeter retired at the end of the 2014 season. At the end of that contract. How is that hurting us 9 years later?
"They held onto Jeter for at least three years too long..."
Well, let's look at that. Jeter's third-to-last season was 2012, when he led the AL in hits, with 216, scored 99 runs, and batted .316. Hmm, doesn't seem too long there.
To be sure, Jeets got hurt badly in 2013, and missed almost the entire season. And when he returned, in 2014, he seemed like a shadow of his former self.
So what did the Yanks spend on those last three years?
A total of $45 million. Or $15 mill a year—chump change, these days. And who did they have in place to take over? Martin Prado. Jose Pirela. Oh, and Stephen Drew...
...But you write that "during this time, his salary kept us from getting better talent." And later: "had the money been wisely spent people wouldn't have kicked about it for too long."
Ah. Well, there's the key phrase: HAD THE MONEY BEEN WISELY SPENT.
And what makes you think that could have happened with Brian Cashman?
In Jeter's last year, Cashman made the decision not to re-sign Robbie Cano, don'tcha know, freeing up money indeed. He used it to bring in:
Jacoby Ellsbury (7 years, $169 million)
Brian McCann (5 years, $85 mill)
Carlos Beltran (3 years, $45 mill)
That's a total of $299 million for 3, world-class busts. I really don't see how this compares to Jeter's $45 mill...
...You're right, Kev, that Branch Rickey used to believe in trading veterans too soon, rather than too late. So, reportedly, did Connie Mack.
But both spent most of their careers running cash-strapped teams. There's no such restriction on the Yankees. And Rickey was able to do this because his incredible farm system continually brought up terrific new players. Sadly, not Cashman's forte.
What Cashman has done is constantly pass up trading for or signing good to great players, for pathetic flops. Or at least, guys who weren't quite as good...
Horace, Dear Sir -
Cashman is a TOOL.
One S shy of a STOOL.
I really don't mean to be CRUEL.
But he clearly needs to go back to SCHOOL.
Thank you very much.
...By my calculation, the guys Cashman has passed on, in one way or another, include:
Manny Ramirez
David Ortiz
Johnny Damon (first time)
Vlad Guerrero, Sr.
Carlos Beltran (first time)
Cliff Lee
Jose Abreu
Yu Darvish
Yoenis Cespedes
Justin Verlander
Max Scherzer
J.T. Realmuto
Bryce Harper
Carlos Correa
Manny Machado
Corey Seagar
Freddie Freeman
Xander Bogaerts
I'm sure I'm leaving 40 or 50 other stars out...
...Meanwhile, guys he has pursued with the avidity of the Hound of the Baskervilles running down plump Dr. Watson have included—besides the Three Stooges discussed above:
Jeff Weaver
Raul Mondesi
Javvy Vazquez (twice)
Jose Contreras
Kevin Brown
Kei Igawa
Randy Johnson
Jared Wright
Carl Pavano
Kyle Farnsworth
Nick Johnson (on the rebound)
Travis Hafner
Stephen Drew
Michael Pineda
Kevin Youkilis
Aaron Hicks
Chris Carter
Sonny Gray
Giancarlo Stanton
Clint Frazier
Gleyber Torres
Joey Gallo
IKF, AKA Falafel
Josh Donaldson
The Invalid Corps from last year's Trade Deadline Debacle...
...So what can we conclude from all this?
That the Yankees' current problems are due to the fact that Derek Jeter may have played a year too long? Or that Brian Cashman is not a good judge of talent?
To quote that old baseball ad, "You make the call!"
And Hammer & Joe: I think this is the start of the yearly debate. HAL and Cash: incompetent or evil?
You make the call!
Horace, does all of this prove simulation theory? I mean what are the odds of missing all those guys while developing nothing on the farm?
I’m getting that feeling of deja vu all over again.
The saddest part of this discussion is that it is the same one we’ve been having every spring training for foreseeable past. The only difference is that the cast of characters keep getting longer, but the triumvirate remains ossified in place, making all the wrong choices, giving too much money to the wrong players and completely misjudging the talent of the players they ultimately choose.
And to make matters worse, after all is said and done, we will all arrive back at the same place at the end of the year - completely disappointed in the same way we’ve been disappointed for the last thirteen years.
Let the games begin. Let the bile flow freely.
@ALL
There is so much knowledge about the game, the team and the history of baseball in general here, that I understand that basically I have nothing to add. I was raised with soccer, even though I played baseball and all that comes before that, from the age of 7.
But......
I feel this time around I have seen the light.
The New York Yankees will spend the first months of the year with what can be described as "baseball activities".
No hussling, no swinging for the fences, all pitchers on the IL.
Just the guuys that are going to get injured anyway will be in the line-up. Donaldson, Hicks to name the most prominent ones.
m
Who needs a first half like last year?
Who needs a 101-61 season, when 86 wins will be ore than enough to get a WC at least?
Cashman knows this, HAL knows this, Boone knows whatever Cashman knows.
So, relax everybody, enjoy the baseball activities the coming months and then, somewhere in August, feel the prodromes of a world series win.
I almost forgot to do this: 98 wins this year. Call me an optimist.
Sorry, 52 HRs and .289
You may be right, Kev. But if so, I want a better program!
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