Sunday, July 9, 2023

Jackie Donaldson is having a year like no other

First, congrats to Mr. Giancarlo Stanton, whose two blasts yesterday move him into 5th place on the Yankees 2023 season HR Leader Board, with 9. 

He's on course to belt 18 this year - two above his seasonal average since 2019. (Over the last five years, Gio has 82!) 

Still, as symbolic unicorns of death go, it won't be easy for Stanton to catch the statistical trotting corpse known as Josh "Jackie" Donaldson, who is cobbling together a season for the ages. The Dark Ages, that is.

I cannot fathom how the Yankee front office and its algorithms manage to put a value on Donaldson, the 2023 poster boy for offensive incontinence. At certain junctures of the season - such as the All Star break - it's important to stand back and admire what we've witnessed. 

Fun Facts...

1. On the season, Donaldson has 10 HRs out of 14 hits, with a BA of .146. He has one double. The other three were singles. 

2. Eight of Donaldson's 10 HRs came with nobody on base. For the season, he has 15 RBIs, tied for 13th on the team, with Jose Trevino.

3. In his 96 ABs, Donaldson has fanned 30 times, about one every three appearances.  He has drawn 10 walks, with an OBP of .222. That's lowest on the team except for Franchy Cordero, who has reached base at a staggeringly rancid rate of .186. The Yankees just promoted Cordero to fill an injury hole. 

4. Donaldson currently sits 13 points below the hot seat occupied last summer by Joey Gallo - a BA of .159 - before the Death Barge traded him to the Dodgers. After starting hot there, suggesting his problems were related to the traffic snarls and pizza-eating rats of NYC, Juggalo Joey hit .162 for the Dodgers. This spring, he began hot with Minnesota, suggesting his problems had been relating to the formerly allowed defensive over-shifts. Well, Gallo is now hitting .189 for the Twinkies. 

Last summer, in the Gallo deal, the Yankees coaxed pitching prospect Clayton Beeter from LA. He'll appear in next week's Futures Game, the lone positive from a string of disasters. 

Unfortunately, Donaldson will attract few, if any, suitors. Most likely, the Yankees will have to DFA him and take a bath, publicly, by paying his salary for a rival. This, Brian Cashman is loathe to do. Thus, the Yankees stand in the corner where they've painted themselves, waiting for the shellac to dry.  

Damn. This gets tedious - the same story, week after week, year after year. Believe me, it's no fun, writing shit about the Yankees. But entering 2023, everyone with eyeballs foresaw major holes at 3B and LF, and the team vowed to do something. 

Hal Steinbrenner  had just spent gobs of money on Aaron Judge and Carlos Rodon, and you sensed that he was THIS CLOSE to shelling out for a free agent that might solve at least part of the problems. Then Hal abruptly zipped up his fanny pack and assumed the fetal position. The front office chased some Willie Calhouns and Jake Bauers - and while I mean them no disrespect - that doofus plan, from Day One, was a mortal self-wound. 

The Yankees are on course to miss the post-season for the first time since 2016, when they unveiled the Baby Bombers, a talent surge of youngsters who were going to launch a new Yankee era. We have no hidden arsenal rising through the ranks. We just have Donaldson and Stanton. Congrats to both on their homers yesterday. 

142 comments:

  1. Truer words have never been written.

    We are headed for the bottom.

    W-L GB
    Red Sox 47-43 --
    Blue Jays 49-41 2
    Yankees 49-41 2

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  3. Prepare for a disastrous loss today to close out the nominal first half, 2023 Yankees style. Will they get no hit, perfect game'ed? Or will it be an excruciating type loss, where they get robbed on the way to the bank, courtesy of Aaron Boone's shenanigans?

    BTW, watched the last half of the Tampons/Braves game on FOX last night. It was already 4-0 Braves when I started to watch, but I saw some real pitching by both teams. Lots of fastballs inside, especially ahead on the count. Just smart pitching fundamentals, unlike what you see when you watch the Yankees.

    Also saw the Tampons pitcher throw one over the head of a Brave hitter in the 7th, with two outs and nobody on base. Tampons, just as dirty and unsportsmanlike as ever. Do that to them and they're all crying FOUL, FOUL! But they do that all the time to other teams. Tampons have lost 7 straight. Good for those a-holes!

    And in other news, Blue Jays got no-hit by the Tigers. Kind of confirms what we all know, Blue Jays get up to play the Yankees. They look ordinary when they play most other teams. They'll still finish ahead of the Yankees this year. Because the Yankees are an ordinary run of the mill team that looks ordinary against everyone.

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  4. The Death Barge is using its official newspaper, the Daily Murdoch, to tee up the real reason the Yankees are doing so poorly this year. Today's headline says:

    " Hitting the Wall: Yankees' batting crisis may force Brian Cashman to change this precedent.'

    With this follow-up:

    "So the Yankees are at least contemplating if changes should be made, and how could that not include discussions about hitting coach Dillon Lawson?"

    Yeah, it's all because of the hitting coach. Donaldson, Gallo, Hicks and all the lame choices The Intern has made are failures because of the hitting coach (whoever he may be).

    This is typical corporate methodology to grease the skids for what is coming:

    It's the game played by a corporate executive (I'm looking at you Cashman) to deflect blame from where it truly belongs. The Intern doesn't have the slightest idea how to assess talent and so he finds scapegoats, people hired specifically for the purpose of having someone to fire when things go wrong. And because of his complete inability to form a "championship-caliber" team, he's developed the keen ability to swim successfully in Yankees corporate world.

    Duque, you're spot on: we've been watching this team descend into irrelevance since The Intern got hold of the all personnel decision way back in '15 and this is what his "expertise" has yielded.

    We can't blame Donaldson, or Gallo, or even Hicks. These guys (and many like them) are simply at the end of their careers. Washed up. Or never was. It's not their fault someone was willing to pay them millions to drag their carcasses down into a luxurious grave.

    I'm even tempted to suggest that Booooooone isn't even at fault here. But only just tempted.

    The real reason the Yankees are staring at last place is up at the top where Hal and Brain sit complacently watching as the Barge heads into an iceberg field.

    The real precedent that needs to happen in the Bronx is one that his father was famous for: Hal needs to fire The Intern and manager mid-season and rebuild this sorry-ass retirement yacht that is about to sink to the bottom with all hands aboard. Only Hal doesn't have the balls his father had to make such a bold and necessary statement. He's too focused on the bottom line.

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  5. A true stiss, is Done aldson!

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  6. Hal is focused on acquiring parts of European soccer teams, the latest in chic.
    BTW, has anyone ever checked his pulse? He always looks on the verge of keeling over. Agita?

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  7. The rule changes have caused teams to be more athletic. The Yankees are the least athletic team in MLB. They really should be sellers at the trade deadline...but we all know what's going to happen...

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  8. Re: Dick Allen - Another pathetic season! This time, the Yankees can't even PRETEND they are contenders. So the blame game in the front office begins. The World's Greatest Intern has begun his whispering campaign. Figures he'll begin with throwing coaches overboard. Probably a few bat boys too. When that fails, perhaps a few analysts will find themselves ushered toward the door, as the vultures circle his fine home in Darien.

    Daniel Boone descendant, Aaron, generally gets the old money pass, so his job is secure for the moment. But nobody is safe when the Intern needs to save his job. Meanwhile, Hal has given orders nobody should disturb him on the golf course, so he'll be the last to know the Death Barge is sinking. Not that he will really care. A quick call to Cashman will assuage him of any concerns and he'll return to the golf course and to the things that really matter. Like perfecting his putting.

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  9. In other news - the experiment of the ages is officially over.

    Volpe is back in the 8-hole and, in a bid to end today’s matchup as quickly as possible, Fire’em BoonEE has Torres leading off and Stanton, big swinging and missing in the number two spot.

    Yay!

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  10. Every game a new lineup.

    I stand by my previous assertion that boone has the lineup given to him by the blouse wearing poodle walkers in analytics; his priorities are babysitting his stable of millionaire underachievers and feeding pablum to the team’s sycophantic press core.

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  11. Corey Seager, the most obvious Yankee free agent signing two off-seasons ago when shortstops were growing on trees and the Yankees had IKF swinging a big bat has a wRC+ of 179 and his slash line is .345/.411/.609. Those are all good numbers I think.

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  12. Doctor T,

    HAL would more likely be at the polo field.

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  14. Rufus - I read Polo and thought Polio.

    Infantile Paralysis.

    Sounds like every time "someone" fills out our lineup card . . .

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  15. C’mon, Duque…. haven’t you been listening to Boonie’s post gamers? Donaldson is getting great swings! He’s starting to make better contact! He’s ready to break out! He just needs a tiny bit more time and patience and a little bit of luck and it’ll be just like 2015 again!

    I mean , you must have heard Boone say this, because he’s been saying it consistently for nearly two years.

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  16. I can't add much to Dick's and Doctor T's comments. Except to say that Darien is probably too much "starter" Connecticut. Maybe Westport, though I've lost track of Connecticut status crap.

    Just got back from a 4-mile walk in the morning desert heat and already the Master has provided two great moments. The first, by saying "but to get back to my stupid point," a classic, and then by describing McKinney juggling the ball for a good 20 seconds before he mentioned that he had made the catch. Hi-larious.

    Tampoon and the Home of John Waters are now tied in the loss column. The second half should be wildly entertaining for schadenfreuders of all ages.

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  17. Speaking of which, it's only the 3rd inning, but A's are beating the Red Sox.

    Sadly--and improbably--the Tarpons are beating Atlanta 4-0 early in the game.

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  18. Ironic conversation of the day:

    Michael Kay and Paul O'Neill discussing how Wade Boggs "could've been a 35-40 home-run guy" if he had let himself lower his average from ".330 or .340" (it was actually .328, lifetime) to .280.

    The irony part was that this conversation was being conducted while Giancarlo Stanton managed to strike out on a pitch well outside of the strike zone.

    Yeah, who the hell wants to see that ceaseless parade of singles, doubles, and walk, when you could have Giancarlo at-bats up and down the lineup?

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  19. Kay and O'Neill are morons and shills. Boone, however, is an idiot. An important distinction.

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  20. 2 quick obs as to why this team can’t score runs:

    Why wasn’t Volpe running prior to to Hig’s hit? Either a straight steal or a hit and run. You remember the hit and run? I bet analytics is forbidding that play because 60 % of the time it only works 80% of the time or some BS like that.

    Bader stole second (good!) but his awkward head first slide prevented him from both seeing the ball get away and being in a position to advance to third and score on JD’s inf. single.

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  21. Stanton called out on a bad, 3-2 call.

    But, hilariously, before that, Hendricks put an 86-mph pitch right down the pike...and Stanton fouled it back.

    Kay and O'Neill praised his approach and swing to the skies. "Juuuuust failed to square it up!"

    The guy is barely batting above .200, and today he is 0-3 with two strikeouts. Enough with the propaganda already.

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  22. I hate YES. When I get back to New York, I'm using WFAN as the soundtrack. It takes a little fudging to get them in sync, but it's better than listening to those clowns.

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  23. Sterling really gets excited when Volpe hits one.

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  24. The Master is just a great entertainer. Nobody like him.

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  25. O'Neill says this is a "big inning," three runs and all.

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  26. Gleyber comes through again. What a waste of talent.

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  27. He needs a visit to the Instructional League.

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  28. And Sterling points out that German was taken out too quickly. Boone and Torres combine for the loss. If we do lose.

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  29. Whaaat? Why Gkeyber is on his way to the All-Star Game!! Just look at his WAR!

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  30. Raining hard in Manhattan now. I'm hoping for about a four-hour delay, until the Cubs just give up and forfeit, fly back to Chicago.

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  31. Oh, we lose. They don't have a fifth run in them. In fact, at four, they've already used up one of the next game's runs.

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  32. German was taken out with a low pitch count, because ANALidiots say you need to rest the hot player.

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    1. Buffoone always takes out the starting pitcher before letting them face the order third time around except for Cole or if the pitcher is working on a no- hitter/perfect game. Analytics orders.

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  33. Yeah, Michael Kay is gently, gently questioning why German was pulled after 74 pitches.

    So far this game is shaping up like the whole first half in a nutshell. Awful clutch hitting, terrible managerial decisions, and Gleyber falling asleep out there.

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  34. Michael Kay mentioning Boone getting booed as if they were jeering the pope in Vatican City.

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  35. At 10:07AM Hammer Of God said "Prepare for a disastrous loss today". Good call!

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  36. Amazing shit show. Stanton throws to the wrong base, a wild pitch...and Boone's key move is putting Cabrera in left field. Uh, okay.


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  37. Wild pitch. Bad News Bears.

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  38. Paul O'Neill notices that "things that are, like, imploding." Well put, Paulie. Well put.

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  39. More concerning, Maraschino has looked pretty crappy for a while now.

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  40. This is such a joke. What a pile of garbage. Thanks, Brian and Hal. You bring such pride to our fans. Meanwhile, Kay jokes about being forced to wear a suit and tie because the Yankees are such a class organization. Class clowns!

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  41. This would be a remarkable collapse if it wasn't so typical of them.

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  42. Thank goodness it’s raining…they can call the game now and avoid further embarrassment…

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  43. Actually, forget hoping for the rainout. I think the Yankees should just walk off the field now and take the forfeit.

    Hell, most of them didn't come to play anyway.

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  44. Worst of all? Some idiots are chanting, "Let's go, Yankees!"

    Is there no end to our masochism?

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  45. Hey it always rains at the end of act two.

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  46. If polo is Hal's game, Rufus, he's definitely sitting in the stands. He has the look of a sedentary man. ('Polio,' nice one, Above Average).

    FYI - Cashman actually lives in Darien, JM. Boone lives in Greenwich.

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  47. Irrelevant to the meltdown today, I know. But something is VERY wrong with Rizzo.

    The last few games, I've seen him connect solidly with a few balls...and drive them meekly to about halfway in the outfield. He is seriously injured, and it's time to address it.

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  48. And the tarp is out!

    Which is perfect. There will be about five people in the stands for the end of the first half, which is just what this team deserves.

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  49. I think that the evidence is in. Analytics is only one of many "tools" to be used for talent assessment. According to Cashman, Donaldson, Stanton, et al have been hammering the ball and should be enjoying successful seasons. What about all the other players who have done nothing over the past few years? Judge has covered up a lot of flaws in The Brain Way. 'Nuff said.

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  50. HAL deserves ritual disembowelment. After he witnesses Ca$hole's.

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  51. Kevin, I don't think the Yankees understand analytics. Nor do they realize that such information is provisional, pending the eye test. Or understanding the fundamentals of the sport. Or understanding that a cheap hit is better than a long fly out.

    But much of this sabermetric nonsense may just be smoke and mirrors to cover systemic management failures.

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  52. Without Judge, they’re just another of the many lousy teams I’m MLB this season.

    I guess it’s that simple.

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  53. Uh-oh. The Cubs have brought in their killer reliever, Michael Fulmer. 0-5, 4.62 this year. How can we possibly hit him?

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  54. Big yucks from the booth because Paulie spilled his coffee during the rain delay. ZZZZZZZ.

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  55. Big head opines that there is a dangerous. .204 hitter on deck

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  56. Bullpen has allowed 18 runs in last 5 games.

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  57. Imagine that the Yankees turning point of the game was an error…

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  58. I did LOL at Flaherty during the rain delay, saying he wouldn’t be one of the voices questioning Boone’s quick hook of German then repeated it 5 more times.

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  59. Annndddd...Boone now seems to be conceding the game with Ramirez in. Great.

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  60. Now they’re kicking it around in the field.

    Bad Team is Bad,

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  61. Yankees are not going to make the playoffs…might as well start selling now…

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  62. That's pretty funny, 999.

    And now...Boone finally gets around to putting in the guy he probably should have used in the first place, Schmidt, with the next 4 days off. Could have at least started the inning with him. But no.

    Been an all-around tour-de-force for our manager today.

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  63. Boston's lead in the race to the bottom shrinks to one.
    Both Boston and Toronto won today.

    We are now just one game away from the basement!

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  64. Just turn on to hear the loss. Where is Suzyn?????

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  65. He is confused out there, 999, playing so little baseball in the field as he does.

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  66. "GOOOD job by Schmidt but the Cubs scored one"

    Michael Kay ladies and gentlemen. Take a bowel.

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  67. Prediction:
    Stanton k
    Rizzo ground out
    MasterBader gets on
    Jackie K

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  68. Kay: "Anybody gets on, Donaldson will get a swing!"

    Oh, what soaring words of hope!!!

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  69. Apparently, we AMUSE the Cubs. We make them laugh. It's very funny.

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  70. So, after his big day of hitting a ball really hard, Stanton is back to another collar.

    Who could've seen that coming?

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  71. Ladies and gentlemen, give a cheer for these -- YOUR New York yank-me's.

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  72. Well at least tonight we can look forward to a franchise altering draft pick or most likely a pitcher who will require Tommy John surgery on his way to the podium.

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  73. Paulie: "The Yankees' best baseball is ahead of them. You have to believe, in the second half they're going to be healthier and better..."

    Why? Why does one "have to believe" any one of those things will be true?

    Currently, we don't if or when their only good hitter, Aaron Judge will be back. We don't know what is wrong with Anthony Rizzo, or if he can stay on the field. We don't know if Nestor Cortes, our best pitcher last year, will pitch again. We have no idea if Giancarlo Stanton can continue to run his sorry ass back out there for a full half-season—judging by the last four seasons, almost certainly not.

    Our one guarantee: Aaron Boone will be back, making all those great decisions in the dugout.

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  74. Dr. T, thanks for the Darien info.

    This team stinks.

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  75. The 2023 Year of the Toe Chant (to be performed by a squad of high school cheerleaders):

    READY GO!
    THE YEAR OF THE TOE!
    MAKE IT SO!

    DONALDSON must - GO!
    TORRES must - GO!
    STANTON must - GO!
    SEVY must - GO!
    BOONE must - GO!
    CASHMAN must - GO!
    LAWSON must - GO!

    ....thank you very much




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  76. Another desultory loss.
    I’m sure Boone will weakmouth his way through the recap and then get the hell out of Dodge.

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  77. they actually should fire Boone during the post game show

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  78. Boonehead post-game:

    "These guys are competin' their butts off..."

    Also Boone:

    "We've faced a lot of adversity this year, been banged up..."

    *Insert eyeroll here*

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  79. Okay, here is our Boonewash on why Domingo was pulled after just 74 pitches, transcripted verbatim:

    "Um. I just felt like it was time and we were lined up there. Um. Understandable to question the decision. Uh, but just felt like, you know, especially Domingo coming off the perfect game and last time being a little bit fatigued. Obviously, he threw the ball great. You know, and then. [clears throat] You know with Suzuki gettin' him the time before and a couple walks in the final two innings and one to lead off the inning. We were just lined up there to get through that, and then with Tommy and Clay at the back, uh, we were set up. You know, reality is, Hamilton came in and got a pop-up and a double-play ball, and then we're handing the ball to Tommy and Clay, but, you know, fair question. Uh, Domingo obviously threw great. Uh, I just felt like it was the time, one—to get him out of there on a really high note, heading into the half."

    What more can he say?

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  80. Also:

    "What I love is, we're walkin' into the second half with everything in front of us."

    And:

    "As you know, Reggie always said, 'We hold the pen.' You know, we're in control of—you know, we haven't dug ourselves a hole, you know, or anything like that."

    Uh-huh.

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  81. Reggie Jackson playing career: 1967-1987. Time with Yankees: 1977-1981.

    Aaron Boone playing career: 1997-2009. Time with Yankees: second half of 2003.

    Glad to know he gleaned so much from Reggie during their many days together.


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  82. Hoss - you mean they didn’t fire Boone during the post game >sniffle <

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  83. I have given it some thought and I think that the death of OUR Yankees was 2009.
    I have never been to the new Stadium. my last games old Timer's Day/Weekend 08.
    Still have concrete chip from under my older brother's season tickets seat.
    Even then, it was hard to justify the expense of flying the family to a game and all the costs of 2 nights in a hotel and food, etc., even with the seats free to me.
    All the games after that were in Cleveland or Toronto.
    2009 was the birth of the new stadium and the "moat."
    The energy was removed from the stadium because corporate shills and profits were given preference over real fans.
    Nobody involved loved the game. They just saw merchandise and constant commercials. [I have been to Reds games over the years and the experience is wonderful.]

    This management team , the one that gave us the "lyle Overbay/Vernon Wells" debacle learned nothing.
    This will never change in our lifetimes unless Hal sells.
    Please stop going to games and stop giving them money of any kind.
    I have the MLB package down here in the South and I now channel surf between the Reds and the O's. Two young exciting teams playing well. Plus, listening to Jim Palmer do some of the O's games is a treat beyond anything that the Yankees provide.
    The Yanks are unwatchable and clearly, will remain so.

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  84. Another Boone bon mot:

    "We have a chance to do everything we want to do...A lot of teams aren't in that position."

    Right now, the Yankees are out of a wild card spot. Meaning that 6 other AL teams are ahead of them. Another 5, by my count, are in the AL wild card or division races—a couple of them breathing right down the Yankees' collective necks.

    In the NL, another 11 are still in one race or another.

    So...roughly 22 of the other 29 MLB teams are, indeed, in the position the Yankees are in—or better!

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  85. You make many good points, Archie. I have been to exactly 1 game since Jeter retired—which was with this motley bunch. Loved it! And I think our first team appearance since 2019 won't make a difference in the Yanks' bottom line. But oh, what an awful organization!

    Maybe it was the bad karma of the moat—or destroying a beloved old park in the Bronx, to build their sterile new stadium. Maybe it was taking out all of those cheap seats, in favor of the luxury boxes. Maybe it was just the sort of stupid, know-it-all management nonsense—often implemented by people who have inherited their positions—that has undermined so much of American corporate and public management.

    I dunno. But I know that all of us here could do a better job than the front office running this team now. We could do it simply by running our fingers down a list of teams with better, younger, healthier teams and saying, "Hey, they seem to know what they're doing. Let's hire somebody from there."

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  86. More Boone, with increasing hysteria:

    "Not. We're in it, man. This is the arena, man. Let's go. We got a chance to go out and compete and win a game everyday. And, you certainly look forward to guys on the horizon coming back and being part, especially when you know they're impact pieces and guys that's really gonna help. But, like, it's fun going to the post everyday, with-with everyone in that room. So, um, not frustrating at all. We're in it, let's go."

    The writers, apparently unnerved, quickly end the press conference.

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  87. Also, for all of Boone's insistence that he had the bullpen "All lined up," we find out at the postgame presser that, in fact:

    —Wandy was unavailable. ("Nothing serious, we expect he's fine." Translation: we'll be lucky to see Peralta again this year.)

    —Mike King was apparently unavailable.

    So, apparently two of the team's best relievers were not available. But, Boone decided to pull his starter at 74 pitches because...he'd tired himself throwing a 99-pitch perfect game two starts ago.

    Makes perfect sense.

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  88. Dillon Lawson fired? Well that should do it. Ship patched!

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  89. With luck, Dillon Lawson = Jeb Magruder

    Hopefully, bigger game soon.

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  90. What a fucking Coward. He fires the hitting. Charlie Lau couldn’t get these stiffs hit!

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  91. Trade Gleyber and a bullpen/minor league arm for a lefty bat, an outfielder. Someone's hitting over .250 with a bit of pop on a shitty team. Bellinger, maybe? DJ plays 2B every day and IKF/JD platoon at 3d (JD plays against lefties). Stanton plays outfield if/when Judge comes back. Judge DH only. See what happens.

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  92. Methinks that Rizzo hasn't been the same since hurting his neck. Methinks that it could be a season long issue.

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  93. That was exactly my reaction, Celerino. What a gutless move. I suppose the new coach will turn Gleyber around: "Ah, I see the problem, son: you got your head up your ass. There, just pop it out and you should be fine."

    What cowardly buck-passing! HAL didn't want to spend the money on Yoshida, so the Office Boy obligingly told him, 'Don't worry, Hicks will bounce right back!'

    Ridiculous—and worse, ineffectual.

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  94. Publius,

    Are you hoping for several more axings with the Magruder reference.

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    Replies
    1. I am. Notice the last syllable on the general manager's last name

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  95. ...or that the rotting fish head gets axed in the end?

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  96. An objective review of the era may show that Ervin, Sirica and Cox exceeded what the Constitution had formerly permitted. And one may even question their motives. But their example is useful in the current circumstances. Get these bastards, by any means necessary.

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  97. Agree Publius.

    Hoping against hope that the (non)hitting coach being axed means:

    Fuck launch angle and exit velo.
    Try to get fucking hits.
    Situational hitting.

    Aw, shit. Who am I kidding. More shit, different day on thursday.

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  98. Stats is stats. The new coach won't be allowed to be better. Cashjerk will see to that.

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  99. A minor note, but consistent with Hoss' point about smug 21st century managerialism...John stridently bemoaned Gleyber's error, assessing correctly that it might mean the ball game. And that little corporate shit Shakil all but cut him off with a smirking "that's baseball, John". Justin Shakil, the real voice of 21st century Yankees baseball. Just the way corporate wants it.

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  100. According to sources, Cashman claims that the new hitting coach will come outside of the organization and will be in place prior to the start of the second half of the season.

    In other words, that should provide more than enough time for Dillon Lawson to get fitted for an Argo-like disguise and be back in the dugout as Eddie Velo, our new hitting coach.

    I must say that I sure am looking forward to it.

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  101. Starve the Beast.
    Watch kids and MILB instead.
    Luckily for me Fall Ball for my oldest grandson resumes in August.[ They will play until the first weekend of Nov. Spring starts up again around April1st.]
    No. 2 will start in the spring of '25.
    The 3rd is still incubating , but Fall of '28 is about right [They can start at 5 here.]

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  102. What a negotiator, that Cashman. What a headhunter.

    Whoever the mystery man from outside the organization is should double, hell triple, whatever money's offered. There's no competition inside, and precioys little outside. What self-respecting, competent baseball professional wants to work for what is plainly an industry laughingstock? Ask for Kevin Brown's private plane.

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  103. “It has been well documented that I have been reluctant in the past to make changes to our coaching staff in the middle of a season,” said Cashman. “I am a big believer that successes and failures are collective efforts. However, I ultimately felt that a change was needed and that a new voice overseeing our hitting operations would give us the best chance to perform closer to our capabilities as we move forward into the second half of our season.

    “I want thank Dillon for all his efforts. He has a bright baseball mind that will continue to lead to a long and fruitful baseball career.”

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  104. I read that Ranger and I think that I threw up a little bit in my mouth . . .

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  105. The Yankees have released RHP Colten Brewer. Brewer will sign with a team in Japan.

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  106. On the upside, the Yankees have profitable partnerships with gambling concerns. If they can't scare up the illusion of a championship team, perhaps they can make a profit on the gambling lines around Cashman's and Boone's eventual dismissal.

    Hal, the absentee landlord, only cares about the money. Championships? Gambling? What's the difference?

    Gambling is more profitable.

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  107. @AA...I've been screaming for Dillion's dismissal for weeks...

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  108. I can do that friggen job...just give me video when the players were doing well and I'll show it to them...

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  109. You question the motives of "Maximum John" Sirica, Publius? The Eisenhower appointee?

    Well, whatever. We are quite agreed on the Nixon of the Bronx.

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  110. I get it Ranger. The situation won't change until it does and it doesn't look l like any outcome worthy changes are coming anytime soon. . . .

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  111. Never forget - 2022:

    Lawson has become the Yankees hitting coach this off-season after being its’ hitting coordinator in 2019. Lawson attended Transylvania University, where he played college ball as a catcher and first baseman.

    (Please note that to this day Lawson denies being a Vampire. "Transylvania University is just a small private university in Kentucky and is in no way affiliated with bloodsuckers anywhere", says Lawson.)

    "When we swing at strikes, we’re likely to make more contact. When we make more contact, we’re likely to hit the ball harder. When we make hard contact, we would like to hit it over the infield. Sometimes we would like to hit it over the outfield fence. All of that works.”

    “It’s definitely something we’ll focus on. Whether it was an issue last year or not, it would still be a focus of ours because we think it’s just going to lead to more success and, again, when you have guys that can hit the ball the way that we do, getting it over the infield is going to allow for better results.”

    “As a hitting coach, we’ve got monsters all up and down the lineup. I’m extremely excited. It’s amazing to be able to work with these guys. In reality, we’re trying to keep their strengths their strengths, and then any areas where we can improve by even just 1%, that’s going to make a big difference when we get onto the field, considering the outstanding roster we already have.”

    “There’s plenty of things to be excited and optimistic about,” Lawson said. “We have an outstanding roster. As a hitting coach, we’ve got monsters all up and down the lineup. It’s amazing to be able to work with these guys. In reality, we’re trying to keep their strengths, and then any areas where we can improve — even just about 1% — that’s going to make a big difference.”


    eeek

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  112. That's pretty funny, AA—only Lawson's "analysis" is funnier. Apparently, the entire Yankees' brass is convinced that all players stay at the very best they've ever achieved.

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  113. Anthony McCarron making an impassioned defense of Boone's quick hook of German today. I've never seen him so excited about anything.

    "He won't say it but I will. He [German] gets clobbered after 76 pitches."

    Oh, where to begin?

    First, yes, most pitchers do worse their third time through the lineup. That's true.

    So...are all Yankees starters now 5-inning pitchers? Apparently so. Including German, his recent PERFECT GAME not withstanding.

    This is how you break bullpens—and the evidence is strong that the Yanks' bullpen is now broken. As it usually breaks, sooner or later, in another, overmatched season.

    And is German never to progress? Never to learn how to work later in games? He had allowed 1 hit and 2 walks. That's it?

    Thing is, too, you throw every reliever you have out there, and sooner or later you almost always get to the guy who doesn't have it that day. So it went today, Gleyber's error aside.


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  114. Thing is, however questionable pulling German may have been it shouldn't have mattered. 59 out of 60 teams at AAA level and above turn two to get out of the inning on that ground ball. The Yankees are, in that respect, one of a kind.

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  115. HC66--your argument boomerangs. This is how you break STARTERS. A perfect game is a fluke FREAKISHLY RARE OCCURRENCE compounded of skill and mostly luck on a given day. The susceptibility of German and most other pitchers after X number of pitches or third time through the order is a well-documented AVERAGE OCCURRENCE. Citing one freak exception to the average--and hence the overwhelming probability--from ten days ago is recency bias taken to an extreme--and an extreme lack of understanding of the concept of AVERAGE PERFORMANCE under X circumstances. It's odd--but you accept the concept of average performance when it is cited as batting average--but that's a traditional stat, so you're nice and comfy with it. Any evidence-based performance metrics that weren't in use forty or fifty years ago are inherently suspect to you because (a) you have not done your homework in this area (have never read a book on the subject) and (b) your nostalgia and fan superstitions eclipse logic and evidence in nearly every one of your posts.

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  116. I find it Interesting that the number of innings\pitches that pitchers can both safely and effectively manage is inversely proportional to the salaries that they command.

    In spite of all of the bio-mechanical studies, in spite of the coddling that most pitchers received from their general manager (make no mistake, managers get their strict marching orders on pitcher usage), in spite of myriads of studies pitchers still get hurt. Despite the studies, researchers still can't square correlation with causation. We only need to look at guys like Verlander, Scherzer, Clemens, Ryan, Halladay, Seaver, and many others who threw crazy numbers of pitches per game (and contrary to modern mythology very effectively), crazy, no mythological numbers of innings per season, and in living memory up to forty starts in a season. https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-best-pitched-game-in-baseball-history-warren-spahn-and-juan-marichal/ But read what these two pitching gods did. It really happened. And there are similar games like this over the years. I don't want to hear about today's athletes being bigger, faster, stronger. The very idea that pitchers CAN'T get through lineups a third time is weak, revisionist BULLSHIT, emblematic of our excuse addled times.

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    2. Here, dumbass Kevin, is the definitive evidence that takes all pitchers and all instances into account. https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/22156/baseball-proguestus-everything-you-always-wanted-to-know-about-the-times-through-the-order-penalty/

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  117. Excellent point Kevin - Evilution at work. Weaker minds create weaker bodies :)

    That said - I really think that we all what to know whether you believe that Dillion Lawson IS or ISN’T a Vampire.

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  118. Well, if YOU take him to dinner, I will pay. 😉

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  119. Whoever reads my post above, PLEASE take the time to read the entire article about the Marichal -Spahn game all way. The numbers are staggering, for both the game and career accomplishments.

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  120. I'm just an old guy who vents on blogs, but why didn't Boone just start the inning with Clarke if he as going to yank German after he let one guy on base?
    He was fully rested and would not get pitch for another week or so.
    He is a starter who has bullpen experience. If he sucks after his required 3 batters, then go to Kahnle and then Holmes, etc.
    [If this was mentioned earlier, I apologize. I just picked up this thread this morning where I had left off last night. This is a looong thread.]

    P.S. "Captain Cashman, this bailing is not going to work cuz we hit a freaking iceberg."

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  121. Archangel, good point. Plus,the outing would have kept him sharp for next week. Unless, unless they are planning to move him... Oh, nooooooo!

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  122. No one has stated that pitchers cannot EVER AT ANY TIME get through the third time around a batting order. That's one of your sloppy strawmen that you erect and then shoot down with your usual fragments of anecdotal evidence and outliers. The evidence is overwhelming: for the vast majority of pitchers in the vast majority of cases , ON AVERAGE performance falls off markedly the third time through. You do understand the concepts of averaging and evidence, don't you? What two pitchers did in one aberrant instance 60 years ago does not refute that mountain of evidence. Your problem is that you're too fucking stupid to understand the difference between a torrent of statistical evidence and a few droplets of a anecdotal evidence. You are a seriously stupid person-- the worst kind: the stupid person who thinks he's smart.

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  123. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2016/04/08/third-time-through-the-order-can-be-tough-to-navigate/82782104/

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