I mean, who bothers to ponder 2028? By then, the caps will have melted, the asteroid will have hit, the super-volcano, the space nukes, the Taylor-Travis breakup - WWIII, the aliens, AI, "everything bagels" - something will get us. Four years from now? If we're lucky, we'll be sitting in a rehab cafeteria, eating creamed corn, watching Gomer Pyle.
Which - "Surprise, surprise, surprise..." brings us to Giancarlo Stanton.
At age 34, Giancarlo has finally reached The Precipice.
If he doesn't hit in 2024 - if he begets another .190, hobbling, injury-pocked year - he will officially become a pariah - a Bonilla, an Ellsbury, a Sandoval - a podcast punchline to be remembered for his franchise-killing contract, and the premier reason why Hal Steinbrenner will never again splurge for talent during his sorry-ass time as owner of the NY Hellbent Yankees.
Listen: We can list the keys to 2024, but Stanton aint one.
If he doesn't hit, so be it! If he's wallowing below the Mendoza Line on June 1, the Hellbents simply must ditch him - in any way possible. DFA. Salary dump. Ozempic overdose. Doesn't matter. What they cannot do is waste another season waiting for a slugger who has lost his ability to turn on a fastball. It happened to Ryan Howard. It happened to Mo Vaughn. It happens all the time. What you don't want is to prolong the experience, to yank off the Band-Aid slowly.
If Stanton doesn't hit, no problem! Just free him. "Liberty-Biberty!" Absorb the payroll hit. It's called "the price of doing business."
The Yankees will pay Stanton $106 million through 2028. That includes a $10 million buyout and $20 million, which will be paid by the Marlins - (thank you, Jete) - who in 2017 were so desperate to disappear their then-MVP that they opted to pay partially for his final two seasons, which they knew would be abysmal.
Look, okay... yes, there is a chance Stanton will mount a comeback. This is America; anything can happen! Three years ago, he hit .273 with 35 HRs. He claims to be working harder than ever, with a new approach to hitting. (Heard that one before.) If so, good for him!
But the worst thing the 2024 Yankees could do is face another full season of Stanton hitting .200, batting 4th or 5th, and clogging the DH hole so other hitters cannot rest.
We finished fourth last year.
We don't need to worry about Stanton.
Stanton needs to worry about Stanton.
It's only been three years since that 35 HR season?
ReplyDeleteGod, it feels like ten.
We're on the precipice that the EL will be renamed the SL...
ReplyDeleteWhy would you be concerned. He’s going to hit .220 with 20HRs. He’s the model of consistency
ReplyDeleteRanger
ReplyDeleteStanton's been on my SL for years. Or maybe that's a different SL.
At some point the team will release him, but I don’t see that happening this year. Since the organization’s primary concern is profit, not performance, the team is relatively unconcerned that this individual is being paid $32M this year for being basically useless on the field. He is a marketable commodity for the team to sell to the lightweight fans, rubes, and corporate types who don’t really give a damn either way.
ReplyDeleteThe true fans are the ones that suffer the most.
Good one, Doug!
ReplyDeleteAnd 999, I fear that you're right. The one thing that HAL absolutely can't stand is someone doing something for someone else with his money. Even if that means ruining that someone's team. Much preferable to have him ruining OUR team.
It's as though HAL, kinky boots aside, just doesn't get the idea of entertainment performance. To the HAL's of the world, everything is your old-fashioned corporate office, c. 1980. Better Stanton be slacking away by the water cooler and in the break room, than trundling your hot sales lists and company secrets over to the competition.
And hitting .190? We should hope. At his current rate, Stanton will bat .171 this year. I'm hoping for a complete physical breakdown, in spring training.
No doubt, Big G or Big I for injury will get injured and then hit aroiund .200.
ReplyDeleteIn Miami they remember Bobby Bo fondly. Ellsbury gets pats on the back in Boston. San Francisco still loves the Panda. Nobody likes Stanton.
ReplyDelete"We don't need to worry about Stanton. Stanton needs to worry about Stanton."
ReplyDeleteI love the line and I love the sentiment. As we've been doing for years, let's wish the man well, hope that he can turn his decline around, and not count on him to contribute anything. But I doubt he's worried, either. He hasn't had much to worry about since November 17, 2014.
In the big picture, there's not much need to get worked up about any of the Yankees. Certainly, if everything breaks just right, every player puts up a career year, the veterans all have comeback seasons and the younger players all have breakout seasons, no major injuries, etc, the team could be good. Otherwise it's a dogfight for fourth in the AL East.
Another castoff claimed. McKinley Moore RH RP fin PHL
ReplyDeleteMoore, 25, made his big league debut last season for the Phils, allowing seven runs in 3.1 innings of work.
Cashman seems to have a hard-on for guys who got their heads beat in during their MLB debuts and were jettisoned by their former team.
999, it all plays into Cashie's insatiable desire to prove what a genius he is. "Oh, the Phillies/Brewers/Whoever didn't see what they had! Only I could look beyond the awful outing, see the real talent that was there!"
ReplyDeleteYou're wrong about 10 of these flameouts, and nobody remembers, their careers die in the minors. You're right about 1...
Continue to Piss on our legs and tell us it is raining!
ReplyDelete