Thursday, February 8, 2024

Too Much Pitching?

 

Yeah, remember that year, ladies and germs?

The Yankees' starters for 2003. Moving clockwise, from upper right: 

—Jose Contreras, "the Bronze Giant."

—Andy Pettitte.

—Mike Mussina.

—Roger Clemens.

—Jeff Weaver.

Not even pictured here was a sixth starter, David Wells, who had a previously scheduled chicken-wing eating contest, or something.

And in the end, this team...didn't have enough pitching.

A certain Mr. S.F.B. Cashman, GM for Life, forgot to restock the bullpen. After The Greatest Closer What Ever Was came the likes of Chris Hammond, a recycled Jeff Nelson, and even, briefly, Armando Benitez.

At a key moment in the World Series, Joe Torre decided to throw Weaver into a game in the 11th inning—and the rest is history. All right, that was probably due more to the petite mal seizures Torre began having in the postseason, starting in 2001. But still.

As it turned out, The Bronze Giant was really The Papier-Maché Colossus, save for when he was able to lead the ChiSox to a World Series win in 2005. Jeff Weaver, supposedly a can't-miss youngster, turned out to be another One-Fall Wonder...and that fall belonged to the St. Louis Cardinals, in 2006. 

Wells begged out of a Series game after one inning—then walked off the team in a huff when the Yanks politely requested that he seriously consider salads.

No, you never can have enough pitching—a lesson Brian Cashman resolutely refuses to learn, no matter how many times it is beaten into him.

HAL won't let you sign some young stud to a risky, long-term contract? Fine, go get a "loaner." 

As Kevin pointed out, Cashman has now punted three times on making an offer for a short-term deal to Charlie Morton—two of those times even after Morton was instrumental in beating us in the 2017 ALCS. The Yanks missed out on a pitcher who went 89-41, with 7 postseason wins—and two rings—in those years.

But here we are again.  

Personally, like many here, I would favor signing Monty and Snell, BOTH, and in that order. Yes, Snell, in particular, has downsides. But are the Yankees leaping for that rapidly closing window, or what?

I know that JM like Trevor Bauer, and I agree that—much like Domingo German—he did not receive due process. But—much like Domingo German—there are "other issues." 

Personally, I think that if the Yanks sign Bauer, they should dress him, Rodon, and Stroman up like the Three Stooges, bring back the old "Hey Moe" video the Mets used to play during the seventh-inning stretch, and have them poke, slap, and punch each other to their heart's content. That way we'd at least get some entertainment value out of these scalawags.

But I digress. 

Point is, Cashie has—yet again!—failed to sufficiently shore up the rotation, or "super-charge" the bullpen. Doing the same thing in the same way and expecting different results...ah yes, the supposed definition of insanity. Or was that Linsanity? I forget. Our teams all have their own ways of driving us mad.














16 comments:

  1. Shore up the rotation? Shore up the fucking ROTATION!? CASHBRAIN DETONATED THE FUCKING ROTAION!!!

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  2. Get Bauer at a bargain price and trumpet his unfair treatment--with the woman proved full of shit and all--and if he gets into it with somebody, fine. The Bronx Zoo did okay, after all.

    Of course, Booney is no Billy, but that's probably a good thing. And we have Judge as the enforcer. I think any unruly player will think twice before losing their temper with him around.

    Snell just isn't worth the money or the risk. His track record isn't great, he's had two good years, yadda yadda yadda. Monty is going back to Texas once they cough up the money, and they will because they want him and he likes them.

    Our only option at this point is Bauer. Give him a chance. If you have the balls to take no part in the collusion.

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  3. 84 just flickered away and became 85 wins.

    Don't know why. I am Butt, the Humble Messenger.

    I'll leave you with this:

    Never stop the Bitchin'
    'Bout more and more Pitchin'
    We wants lots of Winnin'
    To stop our hair from Thinnin'
    But who are we Kiddin'
    Us fans we are Fearin'
    Right from the Beginnin'
    Of the very first Innin'
    There may be some Hittin'
    But our spirits will be Slippin'
    As the clocks will be Tickin'
    See the lights they are Dimmin'
    On this crap they are Slingin'
    From the spring to Thanksgivin'
    If we don't get more Pitchin' !

    RIGHT!

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  4. I'll buy tickets for a Cole vs Bauer cage match...

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  5. Winnie is in midseason form already!.

    Am I the only one that doesn't get the S.F.B.???

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  6. With a history of only signing the most respectable, upstanding citizens throughout their history, Trevor Bauer shouldn’t present any kind of a problem for the Yankees.

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  7. BTR,

    Thank you. You'd think that having worked in the military industrial complex back in the cold war, I'd know that. We had another one (similar to REMF) for our boss at the time, that certainly applies to Ca$hole:

    LDNBSMF

    We would manage to slip it into all sorts of paperwork the pointy haired boss had to sign off on.

    Limp dick no balls spineless mother fucker.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Damn, 999, you had to tell him!

    JM, hey, at this point I'd settle for Bauer. Or, almost anyone. But we're not gonna get 'em.

    Kickin' it, AA!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well, hey: at least the Knicks made a big trade.

    Maybe, just maybe, if the Knicks AND the Rangers win their championships...

    Nah. Last fall, I was hoping for a Subway Super Bowl. Still wasn't going to move HAL, though.

    ReplyDelete

  10. I'm all on board for the Bauer hour. Give him a year, load up the incentives, comes in with a chip on his shoulder. Maybe he pitches like Cy Young, maybe sets the house on fire. It's worth a shot. Not like the Yankees occupy some moral high ground.

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  11. Silly me - - - I thought that the Russians and/or the Chinese got Bauer.

    Better check with CTU on his availability.

    (remember - events occur in real time)

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  12. The Yankees acquired the cuban crisis missile (sic) TWICE!

    But Bauer is a reprobate?

    I am old and frequently confused. Very much so in this case.

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  13. If the Yankees bring in that waste of oxygen Bauer the curse that’ll fall on this team would make the curse of the bambino look like a brief interlude.

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  14. Truth is, looks like all MLB teams have blacklisted Bauer...smh...

    ReplyDelete

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