This winter, what will the Yankees do with slugger Giancarlo Stanton? Will they:
a) Trade him for an ace pitcher.
b) Deal him for a few rising stars.
c) Move him for a package of top prospects.
d) None of the above.
If you said (d), congrats: You qualify as a cynical, furious, bitter, bile-spitting purveyor of Yankee realism, a reader of Sartre's Nausea, who understands the karmic depravity of the Giancarlo Doom Conundrum.
The correct answer: The Yankees will do absolutely nothing with Giancarlo, because their roachlike feelers are tied.
They owe Stanton $98 million through 2027 on a contract with a no-trade clause, and last year, at 33, he hit .194 in 101 games - an output starkly similar to his previous season (.211 in 110.) For a fearsome slugger, he didn't even draw enough walks to reach an on base percentage over .275.
Of course, there are always his high "exit velo" numbers - (which don't include the Ks) - which prove that math should come with a warning label from the surgeon general. According to the internet, Stanton plans to "tweak" his swing this winter, have a glorious 2024 and hit happily ever after.
At best, he'll hit when healthy. At worst - and we've seen plenty of it - he'll be a mid-order sinkhole who can't even beat out slow rollers to shortstops perched on the outfield grass. Last year, he fanned 30 percent of the time and hit into 11 double plays - fourth on the team behind Gleyber (19, yikes!), DJ (14) and IKF (12).
Nobody will take him, unless Hal adds - say - $70 million in "movie money." But that won't happen because the shell-shocked front office lives in fear that Stanton - once freed from this franchise's toxic orbit - might actually go somewhere and be reborn.
So, recapping the Yankee postseason of change, as best we know:
Owner Hal Steinbrenner - stay.
GM Brian Cashman - keep.
Manager Aaron Boone - keep.
DH Giancarlo Stanton - keep.
Rest of the organization, nobody knows.
And that, my friends, is the Giancarlo Doom Conundrum.
There are two huge problems. He won't waive his no trade clause without getting MORE MONEY. Is there a team willing to gamble thirty million dollars plus prospects to see if he can rebound? And if he rebounds, can you imagine the fan blow back? He's not old, and it's possible that his issues aren't as bad as he looked. Not that I care to take any side bets....
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, since I missed Stang's post and the comments yesterday, I would like to nominate Bitty for the Nobel Prize in literature and also a MacArthur grant, the latter so he can be free to develop more exquisite poetry "suggested by" the works of Willie Shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteSecond, Stanton will be with us until 2027 unless Hal simply drops him and pays him off.
(This is where the studio audience laughs uproariously.)
JM, YEP.
ReplyDeleteI’m one of the few who never wanted Stanton. If you recall , there were hosannas everywhere when we first acquired him. My initial objection was that we already had a very similar player (Judge) and that Stanton’s contract was ruinous and bound to be an albatross sooner or later. It happens to be sooner. And a “tweak” won’t fix what ails him. He has devolved into a guess hitter, with predictable results. That’s why he flails at sliders out of the zone while taking fastballs down the middle. He simply guessed wrong..
ReplyDeleteHe can possibly be induced to waive his no-trade clause by sitting his ass on the bench for extended periods but that would take a manager made of stronger stuff, certainly not the feckless, sycophantic Boone who wants to be liked more than he wants to win. It would also leave us effectively a player short, not what you want.
The real solution is to stop handing out long term contracts to players in their 30’s. I am already on record predicting the fans will turn on Judge in a few years, although I think it likely that he will spend most of his “golden years”on the IL.
Bitty, in addition to his turbo charging his Joe, may have unknowingly experienced the "Glenda Jackson Effect" from Ken Russell's The Music Lovers.
ReplyDeleteIn that movie, near its start, Glenda Jackson's character accidentally smacks herself in the noggin on an overhead beam. That trigger's the film's soundtrack to start playing and the insanity is off and rolling.
Bitty may have unknowingly triggered his unwaveringly node, deep inside his brain.
Everything from now on out will be transcendental whilst still nailed in tight to screwing the Bronx Brown Stainers.
So everyone please join me in saying:
Hip Hip - BITTY!
Hip Hip - BITTY!
Hip Hip - BITTY!
(I'm hopeful that he doesn't smack his Mellon again because it could lead to another Ken Russell movie experience, The Devils)
You nailed it, 999—you and Alphonso. Stupid me thought he would be a good pick-up—though I greedily wanted J.D. Martinez, too. Since this seems to be poetry week, I can only say that the Red Sox signed Martinez, and that has made all the difference.
ReplyDeleteIn fairness to Cashman—and why the hell should we be fair to Cashman? He's never been fair to us—Stanton was actually only 28 when the Yanks picked him up. He SHOULD have been good for some 5, great-to-good years, which would have nailed us a few championships. If he had, we would now be regarding his .191 hitting with affectionate chuckles...while still urging Hal to get him the hell outta here.
ReplyDeleteWhat is there to do about a problem like Cantrun? I still say play him in the field until he breaks, then cash in the insurance. That seems to be the only good thing you can imagine the Yankees doing. Ellsbury the fucker.
Hoss, it was the contract. Even if we had him for only 4 or 5 years, it might have been worth it.
ReplyDeleteBut hey…we can dream, right :
Submitted for your approval:
https://yanksgoyard.com/posts/diminutive-yankees-gnat-prospect-dominating-arizona-fall-league-showcase-01hd1y8spf2d
"I'm hopeful that he doesn't smack his Mellon again because it could lead to another Ken Russell movie experience, The Devils"
ReplyDeleteAA -
If Bitty hits his head again his teeth become a radio and we have a chance to finally get off the island.
Until then we will all enjoy the poetry!!!
It seems the writers can't get over the fact that Durbin is 5'6". They've obviously never heard of Altuve or the Scooter.
ReplyDeleteSaw a good article about Volpe in the NY Post. Hey, Sean Casey agreed with me that Volpe didn't have any more to learn in the minors: "“If he was down in Scranton and being an All-Star, that’s not helping [him] ... but it’s invaluable for him to be here and to have the struggles."
ReplyDeleteOnce a player has developed the skills to excel in the minors, he should be promoted quickly to the majors. I've always preferred to promote a guy too early rather than too late. When you finally bring a guy up at age 26 or 27, he has wasted most of his best years toiling in the minors. And for what, so he can hit .300 rather than .270 in the minors?
In boxing, it's well known that the best way to improve quickly is to spar against opponents who are much, much better than you. If you spar against those worse than you, you'll make virtually no improvement. If you spar against those who are at the same level as you, maybe you'll make incremental progress, but it won't be in leaps and bounds.
In major league baseball, unfortunately, there is no such thing as sparring. You don't get to practice hitting against pitchers like Justin Verlander. So at some point, you simply have to take your lumps, pay your dues, and learning how to hit major league pitching on the job. Some guys who are generational type talents will hit right away. But most will struggle for a while. Just got to be patient and wait. Then a good front office will make judgment calls and decisions.
I previously posted this on another thread, but it's probably more appropriate here:
ReplyDeleteGiancarlo Stanton supposedly has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I heard someone say that he used to have certain routines in Miami, like walking a certain number of steps from the clubhouse to the weight room, and so forth. Now, I don't know if it is true, but that's what I heard.
I don't know if Cashman knew this before making that deal to get him. If I had heard about this, I certainly would NEVER had made that deal. Because if it's bad in Miami, that OCD is only going to get a zillion times worse in NYC.
For anyone who doesn't know, OCD is a type of mental illness. It can be anywhere from mild to severe. It is capable of putting your brain into a loop, where you are paralyzed unless you do something just right, like stepping on certain stairs or avoiding cracks on sidewalks. Checking and re-checking if the door is locked, if the gun is empty, if the stove is turned off. Then having to run and check again one minute later. Being unable to do anything because the idea (whatever it is) is gnawing at the back of your mind.
In Stanton's case, if he has to walk in a certain way from the clubhouse to the weight room, taking a certain number of steps that he counts, a left here and a right there, I'd say that sounds pretty bad. You take a guy like that and move him out of his natural position and his familiar surroundings, what do you think will happen?
What do we do with Arch Stanton? If it was up to me, I'd eat the rest of his contract and just let him go. Check'll be in the mail every week, or electronically deposited, if he prefers.
ReplyDeleteHaving made the mistake to get him, the time to trade him was after his first year, when he had put up a somewhat decent year. He certainly did not look like he was going to pan out here. Of course, they did nothing over that winter, as is their want. And it was all downhill from there, as we all know.
Are we going to do a Stanton batting average prediction for next year? I predict .146 in 200 at bats.
I fully expect that nothing of any consequence will happen this winter. That's been their modus operandi for a decade and a half now.
Hammer, perhaps you are on to something regarding the OCD. He may have difficultly changing his weight lifting routine or perhaps a hitting routine, things that used to work but don't because he's aged. But the condition IS treatable if he is all in on the idea (why wouldn't he be, but...). It's possible that his central nervous system has aged a little more quickly than normal, perhaps his joints are all filled with debris, maybe it's his eyes. But on the surface he hasn't had any main cables snap, and I don't recall reading about him having spinal issues. He just might bounce back. But the reflexes, still early, but if they are shot....
ReplyDelete"NONE OF THE ABOVE." Hal "Wilpon" Steinbrenner will not eat contracts. The new hitter coach will be working with Stiffton. He will, I understand, employ a new trainer. Will the trainer also serve as a psychiatrist. Stanton is afraid to run. Same old shit will occur in 2024. One two two months of game time and upon return, a reason that he should have stayed on the IL. He will not hit. His average is going down down down!
ReplyDeleteGiancarlo is done as a major leaguer. They can release him to free up a roster spot. But they won't. That's about it for options.
ReplyDeleteSomeone should call ahead to save Giancarlo a space in the J. Ellsbury Memorial Hot Tub.
I don’t think the ntc is a problem unless they try to trade him, any team willing to take a shot at a rebound is likely a west coast team he’d be ok with. The question is how much it’ll cost to get rid of him. Just spitballing here but if the Angels lose Ohtani I’d offer Stanton plus money and take on one of their bad contracts. Maybe San Diego but I can’t see a contract there to swap.
ReplyDeleteUnless they try to read him somewhere in the Midwest. That got cut off
ReplyDeleteDid you mean to write, "leave him somewhere in the Midwest"? Because I'd be all for that. Maybe at a crossroads, where there's a bus stop. And then a small plane appears on the horizon...
ReplyDeleteHoss . . . your Hitchcock is showing.....
ReplyDeleteI recall someone once asked The Scooter what his favorite movie was, and he said "North by Northwest". This must've been in the early '80s, back when WPIX channel 11 did a lot of Yankee games.
ReplyDeleteIf I was an actor doing a movie, and the director told me to go running around inside a giant cloud of dust, I'd be like "go fuck yourself, find yourself another two legged insect, you can't pay me enough to do that". (Because can you say "lung cancer/emphysema/COPD"?) I suppose it's a very good thing that I didn't become an actor, because I would've been the Empress of All Prima Donnas. Gerrit Cole would be like the ultimate "ours is not to question why/ours is but to do or die" professional soldier compared to moi.
Hammer - send me your headshot.......I may have to cast you in something . . . .
ReplyDeleteAA, a remake of "Scream and Scream Again"? LMAO!
ReplyDeleteWhat other Yankees website could be this erudite as to recognize that reference, huh?
ReplyDeleteLove you guys.
But...another threat is looming on the horizon. Houston won again tonight. Could the Astral Cheaters get into the World Series AGAIN?
You know, I thought it was a mistake to pitch Scherzer in Game Three. You're up 2-0 on a dangerous, veteran team in the playoffs, it's not time to see if you're injured, 39-year-old acquisition is ready to go. Leave that to next spring, or maybe a couple mop-up innings. He wasn't, and now Houston must be the favorite to pull this out. I'm nauseous.
@ Hammer....I would have been a great actor were it not for a physical problem. You see, my penis was too large, and every time I went on stage, I tripped over it.
ReplyDelete