While I understand where Duque is coming from when he writes, "We cannot get any worse," Ed's reposte was the very first thing that came to mind when I read that sentence in Duque's earlier post.
Oh, yes. We can, indeed, get worse. We can get a lot worse.
Look at the Rockies' record. Look at Oakland's. Look at Kansas City. Or even Washington.
Or the Mets, who are 43-50. Not anywhere close to the immortal 1962 team, still somewhat respectable. Guess what the 1966 Yankees' record was after 93 games?
43-50.
 |
| On paper, they shouldn't have sucked |
The full season Run Differential for that team was -1. We are currently at +16.
Plenty of time left. 70-89 is not out of reach. A few more deft moves by Cashman in a couple weeks and we'll be pining for the days of Repoz, Amaro, Hoss Clarke, Pepi and Jake Gibbs.
In fact, looking at the '66 roster on paper, it didn't look like a bad team at all. Maybe not a great one, but not bad. We had Mel, Bouton and Whitey. Mickey and Rajah. Some promising rookies like Roy White and that Murcer kid. And Dooley Womack.
Sound familiar?
And the fans did what fans do. Surely, next year would right the ship. Or the year after. Or Mike Burke.
Like Burke, those '60s fans usually dressed better than we normally do, certainly for a day at the Stadium. But then, it was the real Stadium. With posts blocking your view. A real Death Valley in left center. The (few) monuments and a flagpole sitting in dead center (461 ft...or was it 463?). And the short porch with the short wall in right.
Whatta we got? A lot of nothin', that's what.
 |
| Though armed, disappointed fans remained peaceful |
Posts
12 comments:
Hey, whether they lose every game or whether win, win or lose, we fans win. How's that? Think about it. With every loss, the end of Cashman gets one loss closer. And if they win, well, that's alright by me, cuz we're fans.
Always look on the bri-ight side of life....
Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best
Of course it can get worse. I'll give you a preview.
In two weeks, the Yankees ship out prospects to try to save things. Like slapping bandages onto a broken femur. Out go the next Thairo Estrada, Ezequiel Duran, and JP Sears and in come the next Joey Gallo and Frankie Montas.
The Yankees claim Rougned Odor off waivers and send Oswald Peraza back to AAA.
Aaron Judge returns the first week in August, and it is immediately apparent that his foot isn't right. His mechanics are all wrong, but Boone insists he is healthy. Judge plays for one month, hitting .150/.300/.275 before being shut down for the year.
On September 1 the Yankees announce Anthony Rizzo will need to undergo neck surgery and will miss the rest of the season and maybe the start of 2024.
The Yankees limp to an 82-80 record. Good enough for the pundits to celebrate another "winning season" under Brian Cashman, but obviously short of the playoffs. Hal Steinbrenner gives his public support of both Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman.
"The injuries to Aaron Judge and Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes were too much for any team to overcome."
Luis Severino signs with the San Francisco Giants where he will finish in the top-3 in Cy Young voting in 2024. Harrison Bader signs with the Boston Red Sox where he will stay healthy for the first time in his professional career.
The Yankees splurge on Cody Bellinger, giving him a 6-yr/$120M contract. He immediately reverts back to the low-BA/high-K guy he was in 2021-2022. That is the only lineup change made in the 2023-2024 offseason.
Shall I go on?
Please Zachary, please continue
I am unfamiliar with the fan base of other teams. Do they all root for one of their high-paid "stars" (i.e., the Jackie D types on their teams) to get injured -- as many of us here have -- and STAY injured for 3 months?
Just asking.
Perhaps Ellsbury spoiled us?
All too true, Zach.
Joe FOB, I think few other teams have management that tries to constantly bring in over-the-hill guys and snow them into thinking that they are still as good as they ever were.
From what little I know of them, their front offices seem to issue statements saying things such as, "We're rebuilding," or "Here's a promising rookie to replace that over-the-hill guy."
Only the Yankees produce propaganda like the Kremlin does.
Those 1966 reminiscences brought me back, JM.
That Yankees team seemed to be enduring some kind of epic disaster, which made it all a little more endurable.
And it was true: The Mick had a pretty good year, but missed 54 games. Roger had some bad injuries and was all but done at 31. Tresh's back was going at 27, Howard and Bouton had hurt themselves badly the year before and were finished, and Whitey Ford blew out his arm.
It did just feel like terrible bad luck—or maybe karmic payback after 40 years of unparalleled success. This feels much more like the "residue of design," guy after guy brought in who any thinking observer would've said was a very risky proposition.
Speaking of which...this is the Cashman "philosophy" in a nutshell:
Bring in guys who are too old and in serious decline...because everyone knows, the way of the world is that things never decline permanently, only return to their very best.
Never have any kind of bench or back-up plan...because everyone knows, every first decision you make is always the best one, and nothing that can go wrong, will.
Never listen to anyone else...anyone who has good advice to offer is someone who can replace you one day.
HC - please allow me to add one more Cash-man philosophical bullet:
Always remain unwaveringly arrogant
HC, you would think that The Brain would have tried to de-construct what was right about those nineties teams. Not many GREAT players (disparaging nobody on those teams), but waves of the VERY GOOD. If the Yankees could resist paying for "The BEST" they would be in the thick of the fight every year for less money (using the above strategy). Looking at things in hindsight, if The Brain (assuming that he had any say in the matter) should have let Jeter go after THE FIRST big contract, and anyone who wanted market value. Again, After the first big contract. Clearly they would have taken a beating from the fans, but the fans would have fallen back in line IF the team kept on going. It's the real secret that the Rays, Dodgers, Astros, and the fucking Red Sox have been using over the past 10-15 years. THERE REALLY IS NO CRYING IN BASEBALL! George Weiss, Branch Rickey, and others understood this idea to a "T". "Analytics" is all bullshit to heap onto the fanboys. If Weiss or Rickey came back from the grave today, without using analytics they'd have a title within 5-7 years.
New York fans come for the stars. Notice that Hal never said they were current stars. Just stars, at some point.
Every Yankee win is a victory for mediocrity, unaccountability, greed, and the mystique and aura of Rudolph Giuliani.
Post a Comment