If you constantly must keep telling yourself something, it probably isn't true.
As a kid, I assured myself that truth would always defeat lies, that good would always overcome evil, that America could never be wrong and - really - WTF did I know? I thought Roger Repoz would be a Yankee star. I was dead certain that Greg Whitaker was the real deal. Joe Pepitone? Don't get me started...
And 50 years later, I was still buying into Jesus Montero, Greg Bird and Gary Sanchez. Hopeless, eh?
On that note, here are some lines that the Yankees - via the Yank-owned media - keep feeding us...
1. Giancarlo Stanton's exit velocity matters. In fact, it doesn't. Not a whit.
Saturday, Stanton crushed a ball so hard that it bounced off the wall, back to the OF, and he had to leg out a double. In doing so, he strained a calf - not just any calf, a Giancarlo calf - and we all know what that means:
Four to six weeks.
Putting Stanton in an MRI machine is like letting Trump into the Miss Teen Universe locker room: Something's gonna happen. About five years ago, exit velo became a thing. Ever since, we've heard mucho blah-blah-blah about Stanton's laser blasts and told ourselves - collectively - that it mattered. It didn't. It doesn't. Not a whit.
Here comes another injury-compromised Stanton season, like all the others. Jeter knew what he was doing when he traded this guy, his gold-plated contract and personal MRI machine.
2. Jackie Donaldson is due for a comeback. This was an overriding assumption of spring training: That 2022 was an aberration, and Donaldson will cobble together a big season.
Well, he started slowly and then got hurt. He'll be back soon, and you know what?
I don't think we missed this guy one measly iota.
3. Aaron Hicks still has value. He fanned three times yesterday, the boos growing louder with each failure. The front office hopes to wring value from his contract, which it bestowed upon Hicks long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away. With Stanton out, he'll get another month to flounder in LF. And Estevan Florial will rot in Scranton.
At some point, Hicks will get a few hits, club a HR and maybe lift his average to .220. Then he will tweak something. It's a recurring sad story. If it were a movie, we'd say it was a formula tragedy: The beauty dies in the final reel. But the guy cannot turn a good week into a good month. So we're just playing it out. Again.
4. Everything will be okay when Carlos Rodon and Luis Severino return. Yesterday, Gerrit Cole reminded us of the value of a great starter. If Rodon and Setback Sevy can come back, it will truly lift this team. But Rodon is now facing a back issue, and after all these years, we have yet to determine how good Severino will turn out to be.
5. DJ LeMahieu is back. And he seems to be hitting like 2021, not last year's big-toe debacle. But is DJ entering a fragile phase of his career? The wear and tear on a utility player is incredible. He just seems to be banged up.
6. The bullpen doesn't need a designated closer. Actually, we have such a being - Clay Holmes. He just seems to have caught the El Chapo flu. He walks batters who seemingly have no chance to hit him. Can Holmes find his command? Or does he get replaced? All I know is that someone has to emerge. The notion of "closer by committee" requires that somebody holds a gavel.
7. It's only April, and there is plenty of time... Yes, indeed. We have six months. Then again, it's early to be having some of these discussions. We can keep assuring ourselves that we have too much talent to fail, and that everything will work out. And maybe we will believe it.
Roger Repoz is 82. Wherever you are, sir, I wish you well.
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27 comments:
Who has stolen more money, Stanton or Ben Simmons? Can't these people be prosecuted for theft by deception?
Good post. You left out Bader. After all, we traded the starter we are currently missing for him. Bader will return and stay healthy.
This is the way.
Volpe is clawing his way back to the Mendoza line.
I'll say it again. King is the closer. He was going to be before the stress fracture. Holmes does not have what it takes to consistently handle the job.
This seems so obvious to me. Am I nuts? Or does practically everyone else just not see it?
Of course, both could be true.
Anyway, now we're back to using a terrible hitter with bad fielding lapses (Hicks), a washed-up previous All Star (Jackie...and isn't that such a Yankees thing to do?), a younger guy who probably just isn't what we'd like him to be (Schmidt, not really a starter)...blah blah blah, on and on and on.
It's gonna be a long month.
Winnie-
Volpe will be fine. Plus, he takes his walks and turns them into doubles with his steals.
Right now they should DH Gleyber and move Volpe to 2B and let Peraza be the starting SS.
3B - DJ
SS - Peraza
2B - Volpe
1B - Rizzo
DH - Gleyber
RF - Cabera
CF - Judge
LF - Franchy
Not too shabby plus it uses all three of the kids.
Duque,
I apologize for being a Yankee history pedant, but the prospect you and I believed was going to be a star was Steve Whitaker. To this day, I can't understand how anybody could be so awful when we were being told he would be so good.
They need to add in all the strikeouts as a "zero" when calculating exit velocity. Because what good is it if a guy strikes out in 11 at-bats and then hits a moonshot in the 12th at-bat? The cost of hitting that home run was the 11 strikeouts.
Looks to me like Marinaccio should be the closer
Cole is pitching like an ace so far this year. How could this be? What's happened that he's all of a sudden pitching up to expectations of Yankee fans?
Here are four possible explanations:
1. The pitch clock has made him pitch quickly and without thinking too much. He's simplified things and is no longer trying to force stupid pitch selections. Ma and Pa Yankee seem to think this is the answer. Could be.
2. Cole finally cut his hair short. Previously, he had enough hair to open up a wig shop. You gotta think that all that hair wasn't helping matters. In the hot New York sun and warm and muggy nights, your head overheats, the sweat will pour down your face, you won't be able to think straight, and you'll be prone to throwing temper tantrums whenever something goes wrong. Seriously, unless your name is Samson, how does having a lot of hair help a baseball player?
Interview any king-size male African lion, and he'll tell you that wrapping a 40 pound mane on your head and neck in the 120 degree African sun is no picnic. According to all survey questionnaires, the lack of access to barber shops on the hot African plains is the worst part about being a male African lion.
3. (This one is speculation, but based on past usage of Spider Tack.) Cole has found a new stick 'em that works well but is not on the banned list or is not detectable by the umpires.
4. (This one is also speculation, but based on last year's NHL Stanley Cup Champ Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon. And since the NHL playoffs get underway tonight, why the hell not?) Cole is taking a page out of Nathan Mackinnon's diary and has cut out all ice cream, potato chips, soda, and chocolate bars from his diet. Cole is hell bent on winning the championship this year!
Love the analysis, Duque!
Parson Tom, you are correct, sir!
Yes, Steve Whitaker was a big flop. I think the problem may have been between the ears. In an interview years later, Stevie put the blame on his hanging around with The Mick. Never a great companion for an aspiring young ballplayer, to be sure, and Whitaker claimed that this led him down the primrose path of wine, women, and song.
However, back before he ever met Mantle, when he was still with the Greensboro Yankees in 1964, young Mr. Whitaker got caught in flagrante delicate with the daughter of the Greensboro mayor. In an old WW II airplane. That was on display in the town square.
Seems to me that Mr. Whitaker was major-league ready before he got to the big club...
HoG:
Perhaps Cole can pitch every three days.
This would eliminate much of the stress that the rest of our pitching staff is experiencing while our other injured hurlers heal.
Cole can handle the increased work load for a few months without any additional wear and tear on his arm.
He's a horse.
He can take it.
I mean, this is what we're paying him to do, right?
Hammer I see no significant change in Cole's spin rates year-to-year.
(2022)
4-Seam Fastball - 2428 RPM
Slider - 2569 RPM
Curveball - 2779 RPM
Changeup - 1616 RPM
(2023)
4-Seam Fastball - 2430 RPM
Slider - 2570 RPM
Curveball - 2760 RPM
Changeup - 1616 RPM
So I don't think the change can be attributed to sticky stuff.
I do notice that he's essentially given up on the cutter he was tinkering with last year and throwing a few more curveballs. But no huge changes to pitch selection.
I suspect Ma and Pa are correct in that the pitch clock doesn't allow Cole to get into his own head. Just get the ball, throw the ball. When you have good stuff, this works.
El Duque, thank you for the masthead shout out, very much appreciated! Annnnnnnd next up Schmidt and Brito, oh well, gulp,,, I'm hoping maybe for a Brito Bounceback
Re: Cole,
Perhaps this should be attributed to Small Sample Size? Nevertheless, given the sorry state of our pitching staffs at all levels, Cole’s value cannot be overemphasized.
Given the impetus provided by Duque's editorial, we should all list the Yankee we were counting upon to be a star. I was I the camp of Jackson Melian.
Father, bless me for I have sinned. I confess that I was in the Jesus Montero camp.
@ ZacharyA Thanks for the numbers! Good to know.
@ borntorun999 That could very well be. And I should've added that to the list as #5. He might be one start away from laying an egg.
I liked Kei Igawa.
@ AboveAverage Well, um, ahem, I hope they don't do that! At least not unless Yanks are facing elimination in the playoffs.
@ Horace....Whitaker's dalliance with the Greensboro mayor's daughter reminds me of Larry Kroeger's hook up with Faber mayor Carmine De Pasto's 13 year old daughter, Clorette. I wonder if Whitaker brought his girl home in a shopping cart.
Terrific movie, Carl Weitz! And from what it sounds like, they got caught in the plane. I suspect they weren't soundproofed!
And yes, I confess that I thought Jesus was the one. Montero, that is. But I really fell hard for Sanchez. Honestly, I thought that guy was the best looking young catcher I'd seen since Johnny Bench came up.
There's something wrong with the Yankees of recent vintage, when so many guys like that flame out so completely. But then, we've been through all that.
Back in the day? I thought Bill Robinson was going to make it. Also Ron Bloomberg, Tony Solaito, Ken Clay, Gil Patterson, Dan Pasqua, Tucker Ashford, Russ Davis (I have a thing for third basemen), Ruben Rivera.
Hey, that's the game. But when it's SO constant now...
@ Hoss I agree, Sanchez always had the talent. For his first year or so, he looked like one of the best catchers ever. I think they ruined him with poor coaching. He had bad fundamentals, both with the bat and on defense.
Who knows, maybe he just didn't have the desire to be great. It takes 100% dedication to be the best. A lot of great players who reach retirement age, when they're only about 40 years old, look like they're over 60. They sacrificed their bodies for 30 years or more. They spent all their time trying to learn and get better. They adjusted to how opponents played against them. They used their minds to the max as well as their bodies. With Sanchez, despite the claims from the Yankee media that he worked hard, I don't know that he took it to the level that guys like Jeter or Bernie or Posada did.
I don't know if I felt that burning desire to win from Sanchez. I certainly didn't see many adjustments. It literally took years for him to reduce that huge leg kick in his swing, for example. I guess you could say that Gary Sanchez was the very definition of a mechanical player. A guy who couldn't, or wouldn't, adjust to the things that opponents would do against him.
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