1. Setback Sevy... he's back! And - spoiler alert - just in time to goose the cash register as an impending free agent!
Whoever signs him - (I gotta believe it won't be the star scouts from Starr Insurance) - he will demand a few more millions and a couple extra years - because folks will see those quality starts in September and think, "At last! Severino is ready to rumble!"
AL Pitcher of the Month in September? Go for it! A chance to lower that pesky ERA to below 6.00! Yes! Let the Redsocks try to outbid Steve Cohen for him. I don't care. The Severino Era on the Yankees is coming to an end. Go ahead, Sevy, pitch for the contract. That's okay. I wish you well. We'll always have Paris.
2. If you're rooting for the Yankees to tank - and, really, who isn't? - don't be discouraged by last night's meaningless victory over Detroit. In the first inning, we sent the Tigers a message: Bring your tomatoes, because the Yankees can out-tank anybody.
In the first, we loaded the bases on two walks and an error, and then struck out - gasp - three times. I mean... wow. A master class.
Sadly, we couldn't sustain it, and ended up beating a terrible team, perhaps a top five Tankathon disaster. But if we know anything about the '23 Yanks, it's that winning the first game of a series means nothing. This club could get two-hit by Reese Witherspoon, assuming her manager isn't invoking a pitch limit.
3. Hats off to the '23 Team Batting Crown leaders. Right now, here's the battle.
As you can see, it's too close to call. Don't sleep on IKF. The winner might even have to rise into the .270s.
4. Yes, in 7th place, that's Willie Calhoun - the kewpie of spring, who took a long hard look at this team and decided to walk. (He's still a free agent.)
In recent days, the Death Barge seems to have abandoned the pretense of plucking LH hitters from Triple A recycling bins. We haven't seen much of Jake Bauers, Billy McKinney, Franchy Cordero or Willie. Remember how, back in April, the Cashman Chatbot took bows for finding those lefty sluggers? Ah, the good old days. Now, when we talk about lefty bats, it's Ben Rortvedt and whatever.
The worst Yankee teams in history offered more hitters from the left side of the plate. Amazing.
5. And speaking of amazing, here's a shot from Above Average, taken last week at the IT IS HIGH meetup in the stadium. Enjoy. But don't get dizzy.
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Came across this excellent article by Kevin Kernan on Ballnine.
https://ballnine.com/2023/08/24/new-world-order
Covers the failures of relying on analytics and advocates putting Willie Randolph in the dugout among other things.
Well written, as expected by a guy with the following bio...
"45+ years, columnist at NY Post for the last 23 years prior to joining BallNine. Elected to the NY Baseball Hall of Fame. Former SportsTalk Host (KFMB), ESPN’s First Take and Cold Pizza contributor. Frequent guest on radio shows and podcasts nationwide. Author of seven books. Seen in episode 10 of ESPN’s “The Last Dance” (the one with Dennis Rodman). First baseball interview he conducted was with Thurman Munson. Now you know why he is America’s Most Beloved Sportswriter."
Good website by the way.
Gleyber is infuriating. He pretty much blows the game against Washington with lackadaisical play and then looks All-World yesterday.
We all know it's a focus issue. I get the feeling that if he played back in the days where there were bowls of "greenies" in the clubhouse he could have been Hall of Fame caliber.
The other day I was talking to someone (I actually know who - it's just not relevant) about being a professional. That everyone is a "genius" and that really it comes down to who can get the job done consistently. Who can be relied on.
Gleyber can't be. So his moments of "genius" don't mean squat. Sevi is like this as well. They both need to gone by the spring.
The worst Yankee teams had more left-handed hitters?
Isn't this team one of the worst?
Nice photo, AA. It induces vertigo, but that's what makes it fun.
HAIKU TUESDAY:
August fades Full Moon
Darkest night now strangely bright
The Yankees still suck
Bright spot, and I don't know whether or not it's true because what do I know, but I read this morning if they finish in the bottom 6 of the tankathon standings they don't drop 10 places in the draft. Gives me a reason to hang on to the railing a the ship goes under. C'mon Booooone...you can do this!
Ballnine sounds painful. Putting that aside though that's a great read. Thanks Doug.
* "as", as the ship goes under.
Great article, Doug. Thanks.
This from Kernan:
"In November of 2019, in praise of the new wave of analytics instruction he brought into the organization, Cashman said the multitude of moves were made “so we can be fully transformative from top to bottom.’’"
Since 2019 they went from top to bottom. See - success!!
@ Doug K., I'm with you, they (Torres & Sevi) have gotta go. I heard Miami had the hots for Torres at the trade deadline, so if Brainless had any negotiating skills, he'd have been able to move Torres for pretty good value. My best guess is that they'll keep Torres around until he walks away as a free agent after next year.
Severino is indeed another head case. There's no reason why a guy who can throw almost 100 mph with that kind of stuff can't get anyone out. His struggles this year were eye opening, astonishing. I don't know if Severino has a language barrier or if Matt Blake simply couldn't connect with him. These kinds of problems occur with a lot of pitchers on the Yankees. A guy starts to have problems and they can't solve them. The pitcher then begins a meltdown of epic proportions, spiraling down out of control, until he himself admits that he's "the worst pitcher in baseball" and that he doesn't know what's wrong. We saw a similar thing with Aroldis Chapman. It doesn't speak well of Matt Blake or their analytics department or whoever the hell is calling the shots with the coaching.
We saw this pitching nightmare on a smaller scale with Jordon Montgomery. There were times that he was struggling, and they couldn't get him right. Eventually, they told him to lower the percentage of fastballs he was throwing. Then, after he stabilized, they dumped him off on the Cardinals, who promptly had him throwing many more fastballs, making him much more effective. I guess that with Severino and Chapman, they weren't able to convince these guys to stop throwing fastballs, since that was their "A" Number One pitch, hence their unsolvable struggles.
Whatever the hell the cause of the problem, the fact remains that the pitching is an absolute mess. It figures that this is the year that Gerrit Cole, alone and all by himself, looks like a real ace, right? As the Master always says, that's baseball.
Pretty funny, Doug K.—and true!
Gleyber could also benefit from an old-school manager, somebody who would kick his ass about everything, every day, then rub his head. Or an old-school type like DiMaggio in the clubhouse, ragging on anybody he thought wasn't hustling enough.
That sort of clubhouse just doesn't exist anymore—and now it's too late. If Cashman had simply not got rid of Estrada and Duran for magic beans, we might have been able to replace Gleyber or at least pressure him into paying attention. Now...
Very true, Hammer—and the way things are, Sevvy might even turn it around somewhere else. Oy.
Mildred -
"Since 2019 they went from top to bottom. See - success!!"
Good one.
I don't think Sevy is a head case. More to the point, the Yankees don't know how to handle mental valleys in their players' careers. Their pitching coaches have been sub-par since they hired Larry " Mr. Miserable" Rothschild in 2011. Take the Yankees approach vs. the Blue Jays, for example. In 2001, after a couple of good years, Roy Halliday was sent to the minors after a protracted rut. Result? He came back after several months and had a borderline HOF career. Alex Manoah is another recent example. After his first 2 years of Cy Young-like stats, he hit an iceberg. Toronto did the right thing and sent him to the minors. Both Halliday and Manoah were given a respite from being shellacked in the majors and given the opportunity to work out their problems without feeling like "I'm the worst pitcher in baseball". I'm not sure if it's analytical/coaching hubris, arrogance or organizational incompetence but the Yankees have had little success in fixing the problems of once promising pitchers ( and position players).
And the Tragic Number is...still @ 20...
Jackie Released!!!!
Double Dipping Haiku:
Start spreading the News
Jackie is Leaving Today
The Yankees still Suck
Well, I hope Jackie enjoys Hal's money.
!966 tracker: 59-72. We're still four games off the pace.
“I’d like to say thank you to everyone for the love and support over the years !! I’ve had the opportunity to play with some great teammates and organizations. I wish nothing but the best to the New York Yankees,” Donaldson wrote on Twitter.
Love?
Support?
Those pain meds clearly have taken their toll with the poor guy.
Ca$hman has pissed away more $$ in the last 10 years than most third world countries have seen in the last 200 years
AA, that message from Jackie reads like retirement, do it not?
GREAT photo, AA! It nicely epitomizes the Yankees' vertiginous slide this season.
Goodbye Jackie!
Let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.
@AA...some PC corporate stuff written by a press release lacky...Jackie is not capable of writing such dribble...
As for Donaldson...hard to shed a tear. The guy was a terrible player by the time he reached us—even his fielding was overrated—and of course he created problems for us all with his "Jackie" nonsense.
That said, it wasn't his fault that that ass acquired him after he was done, and he was somebody who got over what sounds like a horrific childhood.
I hope he'll be very happy...somewhere else.
And good point, Carl Weitz! These coaches never seem to be able to do what coaches do, which is to get guys to adjust once people know their number.
Ding dong! The Witch is dead! The Jackie Witch! The Jackie Witch! Ding dong the Jackie Witch is DEAD!!
So the 40-man roster is now 39. Who gets put on the 40? Wells? Martian?
Indeed it does, JM.
And if penned by a press release lackey, Ranger - then I’d say; “those pain meds clearly have taken their toll with the poor lackey.”
A little parsing...
“I’d like to say thank you to everyone for the love and support over the years !!"
Over the years. Not necessarily with the Yankees.
"I’ve had the opportunity to play with some great teammates and organizations."
Again, Not necessarily with the Yankees.
"I wish nothing but the best to the New York Yankees,”
Well yes, of course he does. I mean how many other organizations would pay him 50+ million dollars to suck ? I'd wish them the best too. They still owe him at least $10M.
"We appreciate what Gio has done but he's not Josh Donaldson."
Infamous words from the great Brian Cashman
BTW in Donaldson's tenure as a Yankee, he had 666 plate appearances...
First Hicks. Now Donaldson.
Who’s next?
Bader...Bader has been waived...
Jesus. Thanks for that trade Brain
NO. Bader was placed on the waiver wire. He remains on the roster.
We are never going to overtake Detroit in the Tank-a-thon. They have got the eye of the Puddy Tat!
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