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| Hitting stats over the last 30 games |
A local boy. Full of hustle. Big smile. Respects old ladies. Uses the right fork. Flosses.
And don't get me wrong: I come to praise Volpe, not to bury him. To avoid death threats, let me state emphatically: I adore Anthony Volpe.
Never - ever! - would I suggest or imply that he is not the Yankee SS of the Future, the next Jeter, the next Dent, the next whatever, because - frankly - that bar of success bounces like Lauren Boebert in her party dress. But lately, in these twilight contests of 2023, I've come to ponder the curious case of Mr. Oswald Peraza.
Last September, in the days before Starr Insurance, t seemed a given that Peraza was the next Yankee shortstop. He hit .300 over the final month and earned his shot in the lineup. He certainly didn't need another year at Scranton, where he'd hit 19 HRs. He had proven himself.
Then came the worst Yankee decisions of 2023 - I use the plural, because they did it repeatedly - to play Josh Donaldson at 3B. Over and over, through his injuries and slumps, the baseball brains decided that Donaldson - the cagy vet - was on the brink of breaking out and restoring his MVP luster of the previous decade. Well, it didn't happen. As we all know, Donaldson hit .142 this year, and his 10 HRs netted an incredibly meager 15 RBIs. (Now with the Brewers, as a spare part, he's 5 for 16 with a HR and 3 RBIs. He's all yours, Milwaukee.)
Last spring, after a hot camp in Tampa, the Yankees announced that Volpe had won the SS position and would start on Volpening Day. Ever since, the Yankees have basically slept on Peraza, who faced the disillusionment of playing his third year at Scranton. (He hit .268 with 14 HRs.)
And here's the rub: After a year-long experiment, we still don't know if Peraza is a better future SS than Volpe, who - love him as we do - simply has not hit. All year. We've waited and waited on Volpe. And yes, he has 20 HRs. But over the last 30 days, he's hitting what he's hit all year - .202. (On the year, .211.) We keep waiting for a breakout. What if this is what we've got?
Two months from now, Yankees will have a huge decision to make. Is Gleyber Torres their long term 2B? He'll be 27, a year from free agency, coming off a fine season, and expecting a big contract. If they're going to deal Gleyber, next winter is the time to do it.
So... what about Peraza? Is he a SS? Is he a 2B? Is he a better candidate than Volpe? Or will the Yankees go out and sign another Donaldson? Are they still sleeping on their future? In a winter of massive decisions, this might just be the biggest.
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12 comments:
If we assume Cashman comes back next year--pretty much a given--than it's impossible to predict what he'll do to the lineup.
All we can be sure of is that whatever he does, it will be stupid, and he'll never own up to it being stupid.
Duque - Thank you for bringing this up. Peraza is supposedly the better SS. If th Yankees went with him at SS at Volpe at 2B they would be strong up the middle. Gleyber is far too much of an adventure.
BTW
I read this AM that between FAs and obvious roster cuts the Yankees can easily turn over 1/4+ of their 40 man this off season.
If only we had a GM up to taking advantage of it.
duque,
You main point (Peraza should have been in NY all season) is absolutely correct. But-but-but-bbbbuuuttt...
Volpe has hit, just not at Judge level. 20 HRs for a rookie is not bad. All of us would have taken that in spring training. Using the stupid WAR stat, he's the second best hitter on the Yankees this year. Not the best measure, but it tells you something.
Now, it's a given that the odd man out should have been Jackie Donaldson. Even better if Ca$hole had traded Jogginson Torres over the winter for usable parts.
So true JM. It won't really matter where any of these guys play. Hell, The Intern's crack analytics team seems to think anybody can play anywhere: infielders can play the outfield and infielders should be able to play any position on the diamond. Maybe pitchers could even catch.
Our HOF GM will be back simply because Prince Hal doesn't know anything about baseball.
I've become convinced that the only reason The Intern has remained in his position for so long is because the putz in the owner's box would have no way of knowing who to hire next, and he's so disconnected from the game that he wouldn't know how or who to ask for advice. I doubt his father ever taught him how to do that. Dad was a one-man house-wrecking crew and took his own counsel, so I'm sure the son has no real communication skills to fall back on. And I doubt they teach communications in MBA programs.
We are doomed to long-term miasma in the same way that Dodgers and Braves fans can look forward to a future filled with success. Those teams are run by people who understand the game and business of baseball while the Yankees are led by the clueless and incompetent.
As for me, I'm thoroughly disgusted. I'll be watching any number of other games in these last few weeks that matter; anybody but these Yankees.
I have no doubt that once this season is officially over for the Yankees, there will be all sorts of press releases lauding the Yankees success at another winning season and their ongoing commitment to (profitable) success.
All great points, guys!
Duque, I have to disagree with you about "Volpe hasn't hit all year". I agree with Rufus that Volpe hasn't done that bad at all. The batting average is bad, but his overall production has been very good. After Judge, he's been one of their most valuable players. He's had a lot of big hits, big home runs. One of the problems is that Volpe seems to have run out of gas down the stretch run. He's reverting to swinging for the fences and pulling everything. That makes it look worse than it is. His overall year has been very good.
Torres has had a pretty good year with the bat. I think it might be because he sees competition from Volpe. He's got a kick in the pants to get it going. Healthy competition is a very good thing.
I've said from the get-go that Peraza had no business being in the minor leagues. I understand that he had an awful spring training, but he'd hit last year. So the odd man out should've been Donaldson from the very beginning.
And now that Torres seems to have got his wind back, he's got to be moved. Yes, there is a chance that he goes somewhere and reaches his "potential". Next year is his walk year, so I'd bet on him having a good year. Hanging on to him and then letting him walk away for nothing would be a big mistake. So would coughing up a big contract for him. I would be very afraid of Torres getting a huge contract and playing like 2020. Or 2021, when his OPS was even worse.
Yes, they could hang on to him and then trade him at the deadline next year. But I would try to get it done over the winter. Get a starting pitcher + a good prospect.
And hanging over all this is Cashman, HAL, and their damned finances. Baseball has got nothing to with their decisions. That's why Donaldson was brought in. I'm surprised that they finally cut Donaldson loose. They probably figured that continuing to play Donaldson would hurt attendance and tv ratings, that it was better for their finances to finally bring up Peraza.
Here’s the thing: Volpe has been exposed by the overall terrible production of the offense. If the team had a solid 1-6 in their lineup most days, his production wouldn’t be a question, but because he has been thrust into the spotlight offensively his deficiencies are obvious. He badly needs to retool his swing and rethink his all or nothing approach at the plate, which is undoubtedly the result of the terrible coaching and development he has been subjected to in the minors. In the beginning of the year he ran wild when he was on base, then mysteriously stopped, no doubt at the behest of the limp-dicked automatons in the analytics dept. Rumors of a Gold Glove candidacy seem greatly exaggerated, but I think he has the makings of a superior defensive SS. Overall, a better approach and more development is needed.
Peraza has indeed been Scranton-ized (better than Stanton-ized!) but really seems to have a problem handling the hard stuff away. He needs to learn to go to the opposite field more, if he does he will be a very viable MLB hitter, just not All-Star level. Defensively, he looks more accomplished than Volpe, and he has an absolute howitzer of an arm.
I think I would be OK with Volpe/Peraza at SS/3B next season, but it’s no slam-dunk. Like everyone here, I shudder to think what a desperate Cashman might go. Brian Sabean & Omar Minaya are here. To the bat cave, Gentlemen, you’re needed!
Amen, guys. Very well said, DickAllen—and yes, Hammer, THIS winter is the winter to get rid of Gleyber.
But I suspect that decision has already been made—and it is to keep Torres. He will be kept for the usual reason: that will "verify" a previous Cashman decision, in this case, his big, 2016 trade of the two top relievers in the AL...for whom he got bupkus, essentially.
Pretending Gleyber—who has already flopped as the "shortstop of the future"—is the real deal, will allow Cashie to justify his existence.
Hammer, you're very right. And I think that Donaldson was jettisoned as part of Cashman's 9/9 panic. He was no doubt terrified that it would be a day with a packed Stadium chanting nonstop for him to be replaced by Derek Jeter. That's why the sudden moves, the promotion of The (Late) Martian, and—I think—Cashman even taking off for Japan, on a "scouting" trip.
I suspect that nothing got scouted beyond the local sushi. But if ticket sales are really slow this off-season, we COULD see a big Japanese free agent brought in.
But the main point was to get out of town. And...as usual, Cashie's survival strategies worked, even as his baseball strategies flopped miserably. The fans loved seeing the old-timers, and even the weather cooperated, keeping attendance down and delaying the game by hours.
The Office Boy strikes again. But nobody's luck lasts forever.
And I agree with Rufus: overall, Volpe has been a modest success. Good fielder, swipes bases, hits with some power.
But who in the majors does NOT hit with some power today? And how long will it be before this kid, too, blows out an elbow, Martian-style, swinging for the fences on every pitch?
The obvious move for any well-run organization would be to bring in Jeter to tutor Little Tony on hitting to the opposite field, controlling the strike zone, and letting the home runs come as they may.
And then, incidentally, grooming Jeets to take over Cashman's job.
But of course, such a thing is never going to happen, seeing as how The Brain hates Jeter worse than the batting average stat. We're screwed! But then...you knew that already.
I had to go back to his baseball reference page to realize that Volpe made the leap after only 22 games in Scranton. And he’s only 22. The Yankees have touted him as the second coming and he’s done admirably well. He belongs.
As has been well pointed out by both Hammer and Hoss, the kid has been more than adequate in an anemic offense.
I’ve been watching a lot of other teams these past few weeks and they all do certain basic things like bunting (I’ve actually seen this), shortening up swings with two strikes, (gasp) and they hit to the opposite field when called for. They just play fundamental baseball.
The Yankees, on the other hand, led by The Intern, have created a no-win system that values home runs above all else. This “system,” is a gross exaggeration of moneyball philosophy, and it emphasizes launch angles and exit velocity, two approaches that increase strikeouts and reduce effective situational hitting. It has resulted in a gradual drop in every offensive statistic and a corresponding drop in the standings.
We can’t really fault any of the players for being integrated into a system that has been a blatant failure across the board that will only continue as long as Cashman remains in charge. He should have been fired years ago.
@ DickAllen "a gross exaggeration of moneyball philosophy"
Indeed, that's it in a nutshell. Cashman is moneyball run wild. And with the pitching too, they only seem to emphasize throwing velocity and spin rate. Nothing else. There are zero fundamentals. So when it comes to playing a fundamentally sound team in a playoff series, they cannot make any adjustments like a good team. They are built, equipped to come up short.
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