May have been more people on the Zoom than in the cold, dark stadium. You'd think it was Syracuse.
We should consider adding a Railrider Zoom Night to the IIH social calendar. It's low- stress. You watch a team of spare parts, of Ryan LaMarres (no offense to Ryan, who filled in dutifully, though trying to replace Aaron Fucking Judge.)
Last night, the three persons of interest were: SS Oswald Peraza, 22; LF Elijah Dunham, 24; and 3B Andres Chaparro, 23, all of whom contributed five Ks to the growing organizational whiff pile. The two runs came from 27-year-old DH Jake Bauers: two HRs. Hey, Friday night! Gateway to Saturday!
And today, let's celebrate the scrap heap signing of Franchy Cordero, a 28-year-old former prospect, now with his fifth MLB team since 2019. A .221 career hitter with a 35 percent K rate, which ensures a seamless fit into the Yank lineup.
What I like about Franchy:
1. He'll look good - 6'3," 225 pounds -coming off the bus.
2. Nobody will fight us in a bench-clearing brawl.
3. He bats left-handed.
4. He has a bone to pick with four organizations: San Diego, Kansas City, Boston and Baltimore.
5. The name "Franchy." Franchy the Yanchy. (John's HR call: Have a salad with Franch dressing!)
6. As stated above, he's an ex-Redsock. Last year, they gave up a shitload to get him, then hyped him - and he flopped. Every Redsock fan is secretly terrified that he'll be a Second Chancer, a One That Got Away.
7. When he does hit them, they stay hat.
With lumberjacks like Franchy, I think of the three-point shot in basketball. What if HRs over 500 feet scored three runs, instead of just one? If so, Franchy would instantly become a feared slugger. I'm sure he gives great Exit Velo, too.
Finally, Clarke Schmidt starts today, making him - technically - our No. 2 starter. Let this be a reminder of how much we needed Nestor Cortez last year, and how much we need ANOTHER Nestor this year.
Last year, Nestor and Jose Trevino came out of nowhere to be all-stars, propelling the Yanks to a lead that saved us through the miserable second half. Could Schmidt be another Nestor? Could Franchy hit - say- 20 HRs?
If we squeeze a lump of coal into a diamond, we win the AL East.
So, today, the Railriders are on at the same time as the Yankees - 4:06 p.m. Which to watch?
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19 comments:
Yanks on TV, RailRiders on radio.
Adam Marco calls RailRiders games. He's not bad. Back in the Baby Bomber era, Scranton had John Sadak on the radio. He was very good. Sadak is now play by play for Reds' TV and does a fine job. Used to think Sadak, a New Yorker, was John's proper heir apparent. But Ricky's been a revelation the last few years. It's gotta be Ricky's job.
Schmidt looked great in spring training. It feels like he took a major step forward. I'm looking forward to his continued success.
I agree. Ricky also works well with Suzyn, who I hope keeps announcing games into her 80s.
Franchy HR call: "That one was Franch fried!"
Thoroughly unimpressed with the Cordova signing which was done for financial reasons more than any potential value he may have on the field.
Proud to say I was among the earliest voices calling for the ASZ. I don’t know why MLB. tolerates sub-par umpires. Are they so afraid of the Umpire Union?
I try to follow the minors as much as possible, especially the small number of prospects we harbor there. Peraza, Vazquez, Dunham, Weissert, maybe Chaparro, are the ones to watch. Can someone else break out? Hope so.
Looks like we’ll be dodging the raindrops in NY today, but we may be able to squeeze the game in. The new “balanced” schedule, which I loathe, will make it more difficult to effectively schedule makeup games. This especially impacts an aging team like the Yankees.
Big opportunity for Schmidt today. Will he grind out an effective performance between the raindrops, or will he, ahem, spit the bit?
BTW, Colten Brewer was sent to SWB...so Florial still on roster today...
Not sure there'll be a game in the Bronx today. Still raining here, and very gloomy.
@Hoss...I was thinking about that...with this balanced schedule how are they going to get all these games in this year? Teams only come in once a year...
Yankee website says Florial was DFA'd. I can't understand why they couldn't trade him for something else at least two or three years ago. Well, I do understand, actually, the only theory that makes any sense is that they like to keep the status quo. They like hanging on to guys who suck. They don't like to develop young players. They just keep them as insurance in the minor leagues, while "big name" players who suck continue to suck at the major league level. It all adds up to: Yankee management likes to suck. They don't really want to win. Now, it's true that they do want to make the playoffs, but they don't want to go all the way either.
When they run into a team like the ASS-stros in the ALCS, it's really no contest. ASS-stros have better hitters, better pitchers, better coaches. And it's no secret why. ASS-stros have better scouts and better player development. They continue to find TONS of new young players who are just as talented as the old guys who they let go.
Yankees: they're too busy hanging on to guys like Hicks. And letting guys like Florial rot in the minors. And their scouting obviously sucks. And their player development obviously sucks. And their coaching obviously sucks. And a lot of their players obviously suck. Yet, they continue keep on keeping on with this charade. Why? There's only theory that makes any sense.
You know, on the subject of coaching, I've heard that Dusty Baker preaches contact to his batters. He says there are three things that have to happen when you make contact. Someone else to catch the ball; someone has to throw the ball; and someone has to catch the throw. When you strike out, nothing more has to happen than the catcher hanging on to the ball. Think Aaron Boone preaches anything like that to his batters?
Nah, the Yankees are all about home run derby. Exit velocity, launch angle, moonshot trajectory, stat cast distance measurements.
If you were think of the Yankees as a fighter or boxer, they would be like the young George Foreman. A one dimensional slugging machine. They are a "mechanical" fighter. They fight the same way against everyone. Which is not bad, in a way. Because the young George Foreman, despite his limitations, won the heavyweight title. The trouble is that he ran into a fighter who thinks (Muhammad Ali). The clever fighter who thinks can easily defeat a mechanical fighter. And that, in a nutshell, is why the ASS-stros continue to beat down the Yankees, year after year.
Weather clearing up this afternoon but then getting worse early evening. The 4 pm Fox scheduling might screw us up. An earlier start would have been better. Unless the game clocks in at two hours or less, in which case we should be okay.
But right now, the rain is still coming down steadily.
Mid to upper 60s and wet. San Francisco weather.
Hammer--exactly.
Today’s lineup
1LeMahieuDH
2JudgeCF
3Rizzo1B
4StantonRF
5Donaldson3B
6Torres2B
7Cabrera LF
8TrevinoC
9VolpeSS
Break in the rain coming, possibly T-storm around 7 pm
Florial DFA’d as Hammer reported
Could simply be because he struggled against MLB level pitching. If he passes through waivers, he could still return to us as a non-roster add to Scranton.
But yeah, the team’s record in developing minor league talent is atrocious. Cashman is never held accountable for anything, ever.
Enjoy the game!
Very well put, Hammer! Exactly what the Yankees are...
Also, Cashman's propensity for throwing players away is another of his worst qualities. Why not at least trade them for a low-minors lottery ticket? Nope.
I have the feeling that neither he nor anyone else in the organization really has a very good idea of what other teams have in their systems. Instead, he's constantly doing this last-minute juggling just to make the roster fit.
Chances are, we won't miss Florial at all. But really, isn't he worth a shot over Hicks? Oh, wait! Aaron Hicks makes $10 million a year, and will next year, too.
All told, that's five games' worth of ticket sales. Yeah, the Yanks can't risk money like that.
Florial won't pass through waivers. If the Yankees are lucky, someone will offer a trade. If not, he's gone to the first taker. I wish him the best. Maybe someone will teach him how to hit smarter, instead of just swinging for the seats.
The fact that the Yankees preferred " Frenchy" to Florial, means they didn't think the young, defensive whiz could come close to hitting .220 ( which is what French" posts).
Scraps are scraps. Florial had his chances. He never capitalized. I can't feel a huge loss here.
Me needer, Alphonso.
Beautiful weather now. I just walked, very slowly, to the pharmacy, and it's warm and sunny. It's the longest I've walked since the hip replacement and it hurt like hell. But I made it.
Jesus, what a pain in the ass recovery is. A few more weeks and it should be hunky dory, though.
Pro tip: rye on the rocks helps.
JM - did you load up your thermal sippy cup with that rye on the rocks to accompany you on that round tripper to the pharmacy?
Wish I had.
Game thread is up.
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