In fact, when Volpe comes up, you can feel the collective global tribe - including the YES booth Yes-Men and Yankee Network Driven by Jeep Electrified-by-the-Jeep-Brand duo of John and Suzyn - rooting in anticipation.
Last night, even as Volpe fanned, Michael Kay extoled the rookie's patience and discipline. Nothing but positive vibes.
Volpe is 2-for-11 with 3 stolen bases and 4 walks. He has yet to record an extra base hit. He has played serviceable shortstop - no errors. (The Yankees as a team have only one, by the other Anthony, Rizzo.) He has not yet made what could be considered a SportsCenter highlight reel play.
His debut came with great fanfare and a sweet homecoming vibe - a young man surrounded by family. He did not bring fireworks, as Aaron Judge and - gulp - Gary Sanchez once did. No HRs, no gangbusters opening that would boost unobtainable expectations. He looks like a grinder, a tough out, and his number 11 might be the best description yet: He might not be less the Second Coming of Jeter than that of Brett Gardner. And that would be a good thing.
For whatever it's worth, in Scranton, Oswald Peraza - the SS that Volpe beat out - is 3-for-11 with 2 stolen bases and 2 walks. Small sample sizes.
One other note: Aaron Hicks played last night and got booed. You hate to see it, but was anyone surprised? Barring a wave of injuries, it's almost impossible to imagine Hicks sticking with this team when Harrison Bader returns, probably in May. Time is running out.
It's never fun to watch a longtime Yankee struggle and - yes - even though we've raged over Hicks' inability to stay healthy, now that the clock is really ticking on him, it's sad to see. Last night, Franchy Cordero absolutely mashed a double into the gap. What an intriguing player. Cordero might fizzle - he's failed everywhere else - but he still has a potential high ceiling. If he's learned to lay off a certain pitch... who knows?
Alas, there is no such feeling about Hicks. He's been here too long. But I don't think it'll be much longer.
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33 comments:
Kids are kids. Let 'em play.
Franchy is Franchy. Let 'em play.
But then, Oswaldo is Oswaldo. He should play, too.
And when Bader is Bader again, he's definitely going to play.
Judge will always play. Even Stanton will play sometimes.
I, too, feel bad for Hicks. Who is, simply, not going to play.
I almost don’t care what Volpe’s stats are this year. He’s learning how to hit at this level, and it takes time. A positional change might still be in the offing for him.
Cordero? 3 other teams have given up on him, so I’d temper expectations. Occasionally players do bounce around before finding the right formula (see: Cortes, Nestor) but most often do not…At least he is a LH bat.
When (when?)Bader returns, someone will have to go. Hicks? Doubt it, but fine with me. But Bader may not last the year, so the team is still lacking OF depth. I guess Cashman’s plan is to cobble together a rotation in the OF at least until the T/D where he will no doubt overpay for another flawed piece that’s cheap enough to squeeze under the next luxury tax level.
Volpe has not seen a lot of major league pitching. He'll need time to adjust. Jeter, as you pointed out, went through this too...
If Hicks goes - and it looks like he left a long time ago - that means we'll only have Donaldson to kick around. Jackie must be thrilled that none of the early bile is directed his way. But there's still plenty of time for that. Meanwhile, let the boo birds sing.
BTR has spoken. Volpe will be given a long leash and allowed to find his way. Right now, as long as the team keeps winning, nobody is going to care what he does. He's like our first born, a real live farm-to-table product. We're going to love him as he grows up.
And isn't it wonderful to see one of our own make the team instead of some of the high-priced dolts that The Intern has fallen in love with over the years (decades)?
The eye test for me tells me that Volpe is doing fine. The stats, s1all sample size, of course, but 2 hits in 11 at bats plus 4 walks. It's been a long time since I've rock n rolled ... ehr ... calculated on base percentage, but doesn't 6 for 15 in plate appearances come out to a .400 oba? I really don't give a crap if he doesn't hit home runs, I'll gladly take a high on base percentage.
I think EDB pointed out that Volpe has a long swing. He most certainly does. But right now he's young and stupid ... ahh, sorry ... he's young enough to get away with it. Bat speed, excellent. Hand eye coordination, looks excellent. Vision, seems great. His eye for the strike zone seems very good. He seems to be guessing along with the pitcher and is able to make contact and foul off pitches. As Duque says, "a tough out", so far.
As he ages, which would six years from now, maybe ten, twelve years from now, the long swing could make him vulnerable to exploitation, when the vision is not as good, the hand eye coordination and bat speed are not as good.
Right now, though, with that long swing, I'll be shocked if he doesn't hit 20 to 25 home runs a year.
His defense also seems to be very good, maybe even excellent. The only botched play was the soft liner with a ton of english that he kind of butchered in Game 2 of the year, but that was a tough play.
I've heard the talk on the radio that scouts for other teams in spring training were saying that Volpe would be the starter at 2B or SS for a lot of teams.
I personally am SHOCKED that the Yankees are starting him at SS. I fully expected IKF at SS this entire year and Hicks in LF until he got hurt. Does this mean that HAL is going for the championship this year? Could be.
I don't know how Jasson Dominguez is doing in the minors so far, but if HAL brought him up and put him in LF, then I'll know for sure that HAL is going for it this year.
Franchy Cordero is a career .220/.289/.386 hitter with a 34.7 K% in 731 PA in the majors.
That tells us a lot more than his hitting a double off Yunior Marte (career 6.43 ERA in 41 games).
I'm tired of giving playing time to other teams' castoffs instead of our young players. Let Cabrera play every day and then dump Cordero when Bader returns.
What is the betting here that - if/when Darth Bader returns -- Oswaldo is sent down, or Franchy is DFAd.....vs. Hicks (finally) being given his walking papers?
Based on past performance, I find it impossible to even Hope that they shed Hicks. The NYYs just don't kiss $30 million goodbye.
I'm not happy to see a strike-out artist playing the outfield. I'd like to see the team be just a bit more patient with Oswaldo, but -- well, you know, the NYYs just don't do that, either.
So we'll have Darth back, and Hicks as an OF caddy. You do remember that The Mick had a caddy, back in the mid-Sixties...
Hammer -
All good points. The on-base pct is solid. Also, because of the stolen bases those walks are like doubles.
Jasson's season hasn't started yet. I think it begins this week.
Franchy can be sent down to SWB. He has one option year left and signed a 2-way deal with Yanks. 1mil for MLB, 300K for AAA.
I would think that is the plan when Bader is done rehabbing .
Volpe doesn't lack arm strength as it's rated as at least average. What makes up for a lack od superior arm strength is his very quick release and great mechanics. He could be a SS his entire career but he'd grade out better at 2nd
I did hear about lack of a pure shortstops's arm strength last year, but so far I haven't noticed that Volpe's lacking in that category. I think Jeter probably had a better arm, especially when he was younger, but then Jeter had an excellent arm, A-1 shortstop's arm and then some. Anyway, these days, if they can make pitchers throw harder, (e.g. Nestor Cortes), I think they can have Volpe do some conditioning with the weighted ball. But not necessary right now, as I see it.
@ Doug K., Yep, walking doubles. I like what I'm seeing so far.
About the pitch clock, so far, most pitchers seem to be adjusting to it. Also seems to be helping the batters and the offense. The countdown seems to put pressure on the pitcher to keep up a rapid pace.
I thought maybe fines doled out to players and corresponding fines to the ball club would be better than a pitch clock which seemed kind of too artificial. But so far, I really like the pitch clock. It's doing the job. Could it be that MLB has actually done something right?
Ma and Pa Yankee also were saying that they love it. That it's taken much of the dead time out of the game and left the baseball in.
Bigger bases, also, I like it! More stolen bases. Ma and Pa Yankee pointed out that the bigger first base bag extends further out to the equally bigger second base bag, so that the total distance between the bases has shrunk by quite a bit. The runner gets a bigger lead, and he has a shorter distance to run. And with the limitation on throws to first, we might see Rickey Henderson & Lou Brock type baseball come back!
I would love to see guys squat down in their stance and get that strike zone down to a flat pizza box level, like Rickey Henderson used to. I would love to see smaller batters drive pitchers insane by drawing walks and then running the bases. Of course, the Yanks are probably never going to go that route, but at guys like Volpe could run wild.
Which reminds me that Ma and Pa Yankee also were talking about how Volpe might steal 50 bases this year. (I think it might be even more than that.) And Sterling also said that he'd think about putting Volpe in the two slot.
If at some point Volpe goes into the 2 slot this year and Judge hits third, I would not be opposed to that.
It would put three righty hitters together, but like we've said, you go to war with the soldiers you have.
I wish they'd bring up The Martian, and then I'd put the first four together like this: DJ; Rizzo; Judge; The Martian.
They have played four games thus far. Hitting Judge second has not resulted in the extra at bat coming into play.
In Game 2 of the year, that was the closest that it came to being a factor. But if you recall, Judge came up in the 9th inning and there was only one out. So even if he'd been in the 3 slot, you can argue that he'd have come up to hit, and possibly with bases loaded. The only thing that would have prevented it would have been if Rizzo had hit into a double play.
The thing about hitting Judge in the 2 slot is that the potential for an extra at bat late in the game is not coming for free. You are giving up the increased probability for him coming up in the first inning with one or two runners on base. In exchange for giving that up, you're getting the potential for an extra at bat late in the game.
For the extra at bat thing to happen, Judge has to come up with two outs, the potential last out of the Yankees' last at bat.
EDB has been good enough to tell us that this thing would happen about 50 times over the course of a year. Now, assuming that the 50 times is correct, we know that the last at bat might not mean anything in a particular game. Because it can be a blow out either way.
For those 50 extra at bats, you are reducing the potential for Judge to come up in 150-160 first innings with one man or two men on base.
Assuming Judge plays 150 games, I repeat, that's 150 first innings.
Not saying that hitting Judge in the 2 slot is wrong, because I think there is not going to be a right or wrong in this strategic decision. But it's good to know what you're giving up.
Anyway, I volunteer to keep a tab on this for this whole year. And I will tell ya'll at the end of the year how many meaningful at bats Judge got at the end of the games due to the #2 hitter strategy.
Just off the top of my head, I think that it'll make a difference in maybe five games. Maybe that's a bit too low of an estimate, maybe it's seven games. And for those 5-7 games, you gave up the chance of Judge hitting in an RBI spot in 150 first innings. Which is better? Well, I'm curious and I'll tally it up at the end of the year. So far, it has not made any difference in the first four games. (Game 1, blowout; Game 2, Judge came up in 9th inning with only 1 out; Game 3, blowout; Game 4, blowout.)
Well reasoned, Hammer!
Thanks, Hoss!
I'm not a professional philosopher or statistician, but I think my logic is sound on that #2 hitter strategy. Boone is decreasing the chances of Judge having an RBI at bat in the 1st inning, in exchange for the higher probability of an extra at bat late in the game. An at-bat that Judge wouldn't have had as the #3 hitter, but because he hits in the #2 slot, he gets that extra at-bat, which might happen about 50 times over a full year.
And I'm curious to know just how many of those 50 at bats will be in non-blowout games, where it actually matters. Let's say, where the Yanks are leading by three runs or less, or Yanks are losing by three runs or less. I'm guessing between 5-7 games.
In a game where Yanks are losing by three runs in the 9th inning, with two outs and nobody on base, it's kind of a stretch to call it a huge at-bat. But I'll still count that at-bat as one that mattered, for the purposes of tallying the results over the year.
In last night's game, DJ led off with a triple. Then Judge walked. Perhaps it's arguable that the pitcher was more apt to pitch around Judge with first base open. Anyway, he then walked Rizzo too. Yanks ended up winning in an 8-1 rout, so I guess we can shrug and say "who cares if Judge was hitting #2 or #3, we won!"
I remember the good old days when we use to have live game feeds here.
I wonder. . . . will they ever happen again?
AA, you don't get live feeds of the Yankees on the west coast?
Felt like the pitch clock made the games move along… it was a mirage. With the Yankees losing, it’s as slow as ever.
IKF…smh…
How did I forget… Nick Jonas and John Sterling, on the radio together. You cannot predict baseball. When will John interview the Pope? The real one.
Le Machine…
Thank you, Mr. Donaldson, for reminding me that no first baseman has ever dropped a foul pop with two outs in the ninth, therefore excusing your lack of travel in that base's general direction.
We need IKF Hicks AND Donald to get the fuck out the lineup....and the team
I'm curious to know why Hammer is intent on pounding this issue into a fine dust when there is no logic or empirical support behind his position. He can't point to a single study or simulation that demonstrates that there is a greater likelihood of scoring in the first inning--or any inning--with your best hitter in the three hole rather than the two hole. His conjectures and wacky arithmetic give no support to such a proposition. Zero. But there are copious studies and simulations--along with basic logic--that support the notion of giving your best hitter dozens of more PAs throughout the season and giving him a better chance of coming to bat late in a late and close situation.
The bottom half of the lineup looked awful tonight. A barren wasteland, except for Volpe. Donaldson, Hicks, IKF, Higashioka. Woof! 4 predictable outs. 4 guys with a collective .282 BA rode the pines, while 4 guys with a collective BA of .083 are allowed to bat in a row. In a row! Sheesh!
WHO MADE OUT THIS LINEUP? If I made out this lineup for my beer league team, half my players would call me out. Wow. It's gonna be a very long season with a very short ending, if this is what the brain trust thinks is championship-caliber.
Doc T, despite protests to the opposite, I somehow doubt that Boone is making out the lineup card, or at least just making the order with the starters selected by the pantywaists in Analytics
BornTorum99, I tend to agree. I've heard stories of Fishman's sabermorons congregating in the hallway near the dugout, shouting suggestions to Boone. I don't think Boone even chooses the batting order. Boone's just the babysitter and Cashman's sock puppet.
DocT,
I had the same thought. The Black Hole lineup.
ONLY excuse is that there is a day game today and short turnover time.
And they have to go all the way to Baltimore after the Weds. game!!
How did the ballplayers in our youth manage to play 150+ games a season?
I know, that was when men were men, yada, yada, yada.
@EDB "I'm curious to know why Hammer is intent on pounding this issue into a fine dust ..."
Because every time Judge (#2 hitter) hits a 1st inning home run, and it's a solo shot, I'm pissed, thinking that could've been a two run homer. The thought is amplified if the #3 hitter reaches 1st base.
And when Judge hits one out with DJ on, and then Rizzo reaches 1st base, then I'm pissed, thinking that could've been a three run homer. And that thought it amplified if Rizzo reaches 1st on a single, walk or hit by pitch.
It is mucho aggravating.
"[W]hen there is no logic or empirical support behind his position. He can't point to a single study or simulation that demonstrates that there is a greater likelihood of scoring in the first inning--or any inning--with your best hitter in the three hole rather than the two hole. His conjectures and wacky arithmetic give no support to such a proposition."
There is no greater likelihood of scoring in the 1st inning with your best hitter in the three hole rather than the two hole?
On that point, you're squarely wrong.
Try this thought experiment:
You're playing a one inning game for all the marbles. All the same rules apply, except that it is for one inning. If tied after the one inning, the resulting tie is wiped out, and they play another one inning game. They keep playing these one inning games until someone wins. Who would you pick as your first three hitters of the lineup?
I would pick DJ; Rizzo, then Judge. If either one of DJ or Rizzo reaches, then you have Judge up with a man on. And if both reach, you have Judge up with an RBI at-bat.
That would maximize your chances of scoring one or more runs in that inning.
Would you want Judge as the #2 hitter in that scenario? If so, then I'd love to play you in a poker game, for money.
Try another thought experiment:
You have a team full of incompetents, at least offensively. A lineup of guys who are going to make out, guaranteed. I mean they will hit zero, absolute zero. But you do have one real player, Judge. Where do you put him in the lineup? This is for a real 9 inning game, all the usual baseball rules.
In this situation, I'd put Judge in the leadoff slot. Because if nobody else has any possibility of getting on base, I want Judge to get as many at-bats as possible. The hope is that he gets at least one hit or home run in his first three at-bats, then he would come a fourth time in the 9th inning. And hopefully, hit a home run. Hopefully, they win 1-0 or 2-0. If you hit him #2, he might not come up again in the 9th, if the team gets perfect gamed.
This last thought experiment shows that you can't be locked in to your best batter hitting #2. It will depend on the rest of your lineup.
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