Used to be easy: The team with the worst record drafted first. Then Houston and Washington tanked their ways to power, with Baltimore on the cusp of a dynasty. After the 2022 lockout - (remembered by Yankee fans as "the good times") - MLB instituted a lottery system. Here's how it works... I think.
The three teams with the absolute worst records receive equal odds - each a 16.5 percent chance - to win the coveted first pick. But all 18 teams that miss the postseason qualify for the lottery, with ever-declining odds.
If I'm reading the Tankathon.com site correctly, the Yankees - currently 12th - have a 1.10 percent chance of taking the top pick in next year's draft. (This only affects the first round; succeeding rounds revert to the old order.)
There's no way to catch Oakland, KC, Colorado or the White Sox - top shelf abominations - but if the Death Barge can keep losing, it could tank its way into the top five - achieving a 10 percent chance at the first pick. One in ten. That's worth chasing. That's worth keeping Luis Severino in the rotation.
To reach the Syd Thrift Platinum Tier of Mediocrity, the Yankees must play - quoting Aaron Boone - "unbelievably" bad.
This weekend, they showed they can.
Yes, it's a longshot, probably a waste of time. But you know what's a bigger waste of the next six weeks? Winning a few meaningless games to maintain the status quo.
They can't salvage 2023. It's over. For weeks now, it's been a lost cause. There is absolutely no reason to root for this team, unless you have a fetish for self-abuse. Nothing good shall come this week from Yankee victories over the Washington Nationals.
Frankly, I wish they could run the table - lose them all! But we all know what's coming. Once the pressure's off, some of these Viagra-built boners will start to hit. That's the '23 Yanks' signature move: Meaningless solo HRs, when games are out of reach.
Let's not fall for it.
Yes, we should root for Anthony Volpe, who might be The Future. It's not his fault that the Yankees hyped him to Hell and brought him to the majors before he was ready. They threw him to the wolves, and he barely survived. He deserved protection in the batting order. He deserved better.
Yes, we can root for Gerrit Cole, as he chases the Cy Young with a won-loss record that befits a last place team. All those quality starts, and no win to show for them. He deserved better.
Yes, we can root for the kids, such as Everson Pereira, who might soon be playing LF even though he's only appeared in 35 games at Scranton. They'll need someone to hype. Will he be the next Oswaldo Cabrera? He deserves better.
Yes, root for your favorite Yankees. Just remember: We're better off losing.
We're better off embarrassing the owner and his rancid front office.
This eight-game losing streak has already affected the future. I think everybody knows Aaron Boone will not return next year. Same with Giancarlo Stanton, though it will cost the owner a shit-ton of money just to bid farewell. Brian Cashman will probably return, though perhaps with less control. The Yankees have plenty of high paid stooges with putting greens in their offices. Cashman might invest in one of those click-clack thingys for his desk. It can get lonely without a window.
With or without the top pick, every loss compels the Yankees to change. That's our only hope. Hey, here's an idea: The next Yankee GM: The philosopher, Mike Tyson.
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27 comments:
um, guys?
https://yanksgoyard.com/posts/yankees-2024-draft-pick-is-screwed-no-matter-how-much-they-tank-in-september-01h84qpcpcnj#:~:text=Unless%20you%27re%20the%202023,Goodbye%2C%2012th%20pick!
I think JM mentioned this, he was right, nut not because of the Rodon signing. We’ll be pushed back 10 allots.
It wasn't me, BTR. But thanks for thinking it might be.
On the other hand, my memory is shot. So even I'm not sure it wasn't me.
JM, sorry if I misattributed to you! Just trying to paint an accurate picture. MLB rules, contracts, and procedures are really Byzantine nowadays. Plus watching this team on and off the field is enough cloud anybody’s mind.
born to
It was me. I thought it was because of Rodon though. Apparently not.
Sigh
It’s time to put Abreau into the rotation. Let’s lock this down!
Here's yet another damning take...
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-please-put-the-yankees-up-for-sale-20230821-xb4g55innndhbiwkpq4kvsewlq-story.html
Cashman might invest in one of those click-clack thingys for his desk. It can get lonely without a window.
Reading this made me feel warm inside.
Isn't there something in the rules that says the worst teams don't lose their picks, or get them pushed back? The Yankees have always been in the top tier. Thus, they lost picks by signing Rodon. But I think if you are a genuinely awful team - as they are - and have the record to prove it, they don't knock you back. I hope I'm right.
Either way, I still want them to lose. I want them to feel the pain I feel.
This team is tough to root for unless you root only for the laundry. Easy to root against though. Besides being shitty they're unlikeable.
There's a path to 99 losses here. They're 1-9 over the last 10 with 38 games left. If they can manage to successfully keep up that pace 3-35 puts them there. If they really slam the pedal to the floor and go 2-36, that's Graceland!
One thing is certainly for certain - BOOOOOOOOne’s sanity is going to SNAP like a cheap rubber band if they continue to lose. And although it may be wrong to root for, it’s something that will sure be a site to behold.
How to tank without really going all in? Be the New York Yankees.
Led by our illustrious Intern, this organization can't even do tanking well. They will be just bad enough to get into the lottery playoffs, where the results are, of course, as everyone knows, a crapshoot. And who could fuck up a draft better than Brain Cashman?
They stand a good chance of getting some draft talent this year, but what about next year? This team will be terrible for the foreseeable future; not Baltimore or Detroit bad, just Cleveland bad. The Yankees won't even be champions of the draft lottery. They will be just bad enough to get in. We are stuck in a reverse parallel universe.
Think of it: we are on a course to witness a lottery playoff crapshoot for years to come, stockpiling mediocre talent that will be allowed to linger on the vine until they are out of options, or traded for more washed up talent. We will spend the rest of our lives remembering the glory hole years while, come August, contemplating our mediocre draft position.
The future looks bright.
Maybe there’ll be a coup d’etat in the front office?
Below from Pinstripe Alley, they run a concise daily summary of the farm teams:
CF Estevan Florial 2-5, BB, 2 K
SS Oswald Peraza 3-5, BB, K, SB — on base four times
LF Everson Pereira 0-2, 2 BB, K, 2 SB, HBP — making things happen, even in a hitless day
DH Austin Wells 2-4, 2 HR, BB, 7 RBI — HUGE day, goodness; now at .830 OPS in 25 games
How?
Option Cabrera, Rortvedt; DFA Bauer, Allen…. It could be that simple, but once they’re here, they need to play EVERY FUCKING DAY
Ah, I shoulda figured it was Doug who wrote about the draft picks. The rules, to me, are impenetrable.
(Some kind of sex joke here off of that...my brain is slow today...)
BTR, they should just put all the regular guys on the IL. Make shit up for some if necessary. Then call up the kids and let's see what we got.
By the way, Weissert was sent down so Rodon can lose a game for us tomorrow.
BTR, a perfect idea.
Only The Intern won't do it. Why you ask? Because he's only an intern. All he ever was, all he ever will be.
born to
Don't forget this guy
DH Jasson Domínguez 4-5, 3 2B, RBI
and this one CF Spencer Jones 3-4, HR, BB, RBI, SB
Maybe they all smell the opportunity that a housecleaning will bring.
I think we shouldn't obsess about the draft picks. This isn't the NBA, where the first draft pick can be Kareem...and the second, Neil Walk (perfectly serviceable NBA center for 8 seasons. Still.)
It's not like there's one great who can turn the whole team around. Even when Derek Jeter was left to be picked 6th in 1992, only one guy ahead of him—Phil Nevin—really had an excellent major-league career.
Teams rebuild as much with who they draft in the fifth round, as the first. And as DickAllen points out, the picker will be Brian Cashman (shudder).
Really, if the Yankees started rebuilding tomorrow—and started rebuilding smart—it would take them 5-10 years to have a first-rate team.
And Duque, I think you have a boffo Hollywood story there:
"Two brothers, Neil and Mike, growing up on the mean streets around the Hayden Planetarium. Neil wants to be heavyweight champion of the world, Mike, to study the stars. But through a cruel twist of fate, they would be forced to switch destinies."
Possible title: "Sock Me to the Stars."
This thing practically writes itself. If only this damned strike would end!
Except for one small detail Horace: there are no mean streets surrounding the Hayden Planetarium. It's a neighborhood where there are only murders in the building.
But otherwise, a pretty funny premise.
And I pray the strike will end when writers get a bigger slice of the pie. A much bigger slice.
UNION!!!
Doug,
Nice article you referenced. That guy sounds like one of us.
BTR, hopefully I will see all those guys this week.
From your lips to God's ears, DickAllen!
And thanks for the kudos. The "mean streets" line was part of the joke; been going to the Museum of Natural History since I was five. Only now, they've added some weird, cave-like structure to it.
Could it be that everyone running an NYC institution is as stupid as the Yankees' front office? Or is the joke on us?
Hey Doug, any chance you could copy and send the piece? Can't get past their paywall.
Doug, yes - and there are more guys that bear watching too, Ben Rice, Pitchers Drew Thorpe, Dick Fitts…problem is Yankee prospects seem to struggle at the higher levels. They are sticking it out with Volpe though, they should give the others a decent chance. I think the problem is they don’t want to be seen as running up the white flag for fear of impacting revenue in September.
Duque, the CBT is VERY hard to parse; I’m not a lawyer, but work in Intl Trade and Logistics so I’ve had to decipher a lot of weird contracts and regs, but some of the MLB stuff is impenetrable. The penalties are based not just on exceeding the thresholds, but by how MUCH you exceed it by, and that final total is calculated at the end of the season. In that case, the Yankees did themselves a favor by not adding any payroll.
@ JM....In reference to your comment about impenetrable: No matter who the Yankees draft, their minor league talent will always be cock-blocked by Cashman's washed-up, over-the-hill acquisitions.
Horace, we have been hoisted up on our own petard. We volunteered for it.
Duque, I wouldn't mind having Mike Tyson as the new GM. Certainly can't do worse than Cashman. I too hope that this miserable concoction loses every single game the rest of the year, if that will produce some big change. Hopefully, Cashman gets the boot.
You think Boone and Arch Stanton are in danger of getting booted? Hmmm, maybe Boone gets sacrificed. But isn't their plan to simply hold onto Stanton and play him, if he's healthy, until the contract runs out? Even if he strikes out 450 times a year, with 15 moonshots, I think Stanton will be here. They'll ooh and aah at those 15 moonshots. Highest ever recorded exit velocity of 141.8 mph on that solo moonshot in the 8th inning of a 12-1 debacle loss!!! Longest home run of 610.2 feet in statcast recorded history on that meaningless home run on the next to last day of the season, 44 games out of 1st place!!!
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