Monday, May 20, 2024

Another Top 10 set of gooshy takeaways on yesterday's Yankee victory, (because you don't change juju on a 7-game win streak.) Ranked.

1. We won. 

2. We got basic doodily squat from our stars - (Judge with only one measly HR, a 337 feet pop fly, a mere 98.9 mph exit velo, not exactly a moonshot, should it have counted?) - and yet we won.  

3. Despite occasional bunt bloopers that somehow clear the fence, Judge now tied for 3rd in HRs in all of baseball. Has 7 in merry month of May. If (rigged by Democrats) all-star vote were held today, Judge should be starting CF. (Maybe  Juan Soto in RF?) 

4. Yanks' pitching staff has best ERA (2.81) in MLB. Without Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Loaisiga, Gerrit Cole, Larry Rothschild... Wait, is Matt Blake - age 39 with no MLB or even MILB experience - a supergenius? Best pitching coach in baseball? I mean, how is this happening: Michael "Golf of" Tonkin now at 9 IP, still not one earned run as a Yankee. WTF?  

5. Bumbling Redsocks now one game under .500, 9.5 behind in AL East. Hateful Blue Jays now 5 below .500, 11.5 games out. (Fortunately, their star will never lower himself to join Yankees.)

6. Only Phillies - who, historically, have never harmed us - have better record. Still, Yank ghosts of 2022 linger. On this day of that horrible year, Yanks were 28-10, in 1st, preparing to lose four out of five. It can happen here...

7. For those who cannot remember the past... In 2022 postseason, Yanks lost 4-0 to cheater Astros. This year, Houston facing plagues of flooding, electrical outages, mosquitos, lack of pitching... (Here's hoping the first three go away, but no. 4 lasts into October.) 

8. Daddy issues? Alex Verdugo is stone cold since becoming a father. Still, Yanks are 12-2 with him at cleanup, and recent revivals of Judge, Rizzo, Stanton, et al, argue for patience. You don't change underwear in a winning streak. Nor should you change cleanup hitter.

9. The Martian, rehabbing in dirt league Tampa: 0-2 yesterday with 2 walks and 1 K. Microscopic sample size: He's hitting .380. Also, at Triple A, mighty mite Caleb Durbin still standing tall, playing everywhere, hitting .285, leading Railriders in RBIs (32), while leading off. 

10. Amid wave of great catchers across AL - Salvador Perez, Adley Rutschman, Jonah Heim, Shea Langeliers, Cal Raleigh - Jose Trevino having quiet career year (.284.) Won't be an all-star again, but won't be replaced by struggling Austin Wells, either.  

55 comments:

  1. What, no accolades for Cashmoney and his starting pitcher success this year? Did he know something when he passed on Blake and Monty? Is this just a fluke that will dissolve in August? With Cole returning hurt the rotation?
    What do we know…..am I tempting the juju gods with my questions?
    Maybe time to give the boy some kudos?

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  2. "Only the Phillies - who, historically, have never harmed us..."

    They outbid us for Bryce Harper. I believe the final score was

    330,000,000 to zero. Still bitter.

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  3. Pgpick

    No Kudos For Cashman!

    Coincidentally, "No Kudos For Cashman!" is the title of my new children's book.

    It's a money management book that teaches children about the dangers of diving into dumpsters in search of "treasure" and to budget wisely so you don't have to.

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  4. He finds them in a dumpster fire
    He finds them in a dump
    He finds them in a scrap heap pile
    He pulls them from his rump

    But don't be fooled or tempted
    To search in a trash can
    Because no matter what he finds
    No Kudos for Cashman!

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  5. Dumpster Diving can be a fun, affordable good time for all members of the family regardless of their age or social economic background.

    With more and more state and local authorities coming on board, your city or town just might have already joined the growing list
    of communities ready to “Dive-In” to fun.

    Remember . . . YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A YOUNGSTER TO GO DIVING IN THAT DUMPSTER!

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  6. All those years of writing marketing dreck paid off, after all.

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  7. Pgprick,

    You're absolutely right about Cashman. Right now, he does deserve praise for putting together this team. The problem, though, remains that he built a similar spring power in 2022, and then shot it in the head with the worst set of trades in memory.

    When Cashman wins a world series, I guarantee you that the shadow over his name will be lifted. But we haven't even made it to a world series since 2009, and championships are the only way that Yankee fans know to judge performance.

    This may sound strange to say, but believe it or not, I'm rooting for Cashman. It's just as Giambi once said: They're only booing, because they want to be cheering.

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  8. Cashman inherited a dynasty, beat it to death, and ran it into the ground. It's a long way from 2000 to 2024, with one ring to show for it. And so many bad moves, terrible moves, missed opportunities, and poor personnel management.

    I'm not rooting for him, I'm rooting for us to see at least one more championship team before we shuffle off this mortal coil (doubtless, to Buffalo). He's been an incredible impediment to that happening for the past 15 years and, until '09, eight before that.

    There's nothing quite like a guy who has fucked up for years and is also arrogant, whiny, and surrounded by toadies, especially in the media. Hey--maybe he should run for President.

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  9. Aside from all that, though, a heck of a guy.

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  10. Doug, JM, AA—you guys are the Tinker, Evers, and Chance of our indomitable team! Now, all we need is an illustrator for this book...

    As for Cashie...well, to quote great pitcher who beaned more Yankees than anyone in history, if he does win us a World Series, I'll be more than happy to tip my cap and call him my daddy.

    But JM's right—just as the fact that, when he was suspended, the guys left in charge of the Yankees built all-time great, incredibly entertaining teams, gets George Steinbrenner off the hook.

    George was a classless bore, a man with all the baseball know-how of an iguana, who shamelessly exploited the taxpayers while acting like a simpering, spoiled bully toward his players and especially all the great baseball minds that he chased out of the Bronx.

    It's an old saying that "I'd rather be lucky than good." I'd rather try being a human being once in a while. On that count, both George and his longest lasting weasel fall short.

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  11. And Doug K, you're right about Harper. Also, Realmuto. Signing either one of those two, alone, would likely have won the Yankees another 4 rings over the past 7 seasons.

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  12. These next couple weeks will be the first real test for your New York Yankees. Tomato Can Days are over, and they now have 10 of the next 13 games—6 of them on the Coast—against Bushwhackers.

    That is, teams that are only playing about .500 ball, but which our boys rarely see—and who have an array of good-looking young pitchers, some of them on their first trip around the circuit.

    Traditionally, these are the sorts of teams and pitchers that kill us. If we can win 7 of the next 13, we'll be doing very well. Taking 5 will suffice.

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  13. Also, may we have a moment of silence for a team that played with surprising heart and skill, all the way to the end, before succumbing to a devastating series of injuries? And one that—for the first time in about half-a-century—left us with reason to hope that they might actually take the whole enchilada next year?

    Ladies and germs, I give you...the New York Knickerbockers!

    Okay, time to move it along, folks. Nothing more to see here. What's that about a hockey team? They still play that?

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  14. I watched my first Knick game yesterday in like 21 years.

    I felt an odd combination of sadness and frustration with a pinch of something lacking.

    I turned to my wife and one point and said that you can't have a championship team with a head coach with a hairline like that.

    If only Sy Sperling was still hair with us . . .

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  15. If Judge keeps poking shots to right, he'll be very hard to pitch to. Might even be unstoppable during the playoffs. Very nice form on that swing: staying back and then just picking that foot up and then putting it down, very smooth and quiet, short and quick, efficient. Not trying to do too much. The kind of swing that opposing pitchers dread.

    Gleyber Torres: are you listening? There'll be a surprise quiz tomorrow!

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  16. When Judge was struggling, I believe he had a much bigger leg kick and longer preparatory movement. He has cleaned it up for this hot streak.

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  17. Pgpick, Cashman deserve accolades? Come on, man, what a hoot!

    He'd need to win something three or four World Series before any of us would even consider kissing his ass. Yes, he's been that bad, for that long. Yes, all indications are that Cashman doesn't even call his own shots. Everything he thinks, says, and feels are all dictated by HAL's accountants.

    In the face of all of the evidence that has accumulated since 2010, Cashman has a whole hell of a lotta damage control to do before we could even call him a legit GM.

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  18. I really liked this Knicks team - the most fun NY team to root for since the 2017 Yankees. Indiana hit something like 147% of their shots but maybe, just maybe if the Knicks didn't turn the ball over 4 times in 5 possessions after cutting the lead to 5 it would’ve been a wilder finish. But I got a kick out of what they were able to do this season. Not one player who was in the starting lineup when the season started was healthy enough to get on the court halfway through the 3rd quarter of Game 7. Usually getting blown out in a close-out game leaves you in a dark & cranky place but I enjoyed the ride.

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  19. Re. Matt Blake, it's possible that the analytics geek squad that they called in over the winter might actually have helped. Incredibly, Yankee pitchers look like they're doing something called "pitching" this year, as opposed to merely "throwing" based on computer charts.

    Does he deserve credit for that? Any pitching coach with a functioning brain should've been able to get their pitchers to concentrate on the fundamentals last year. And I mean the fundamentals of "pitching", not the fundamentals of "throwing".

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  20. AA, I hear dumpster diving in you region of Cali might require dodging used needles. Maybe we can send Ca$hole there to look around. :)

    Hoss, great description of King George the Insane.

    Doug and JM, where can I preorder a copy of the book? I'll put it on the bookshelf right next to Kubler-Ross.

    I think more credit should be given to Bone-head's ex. The man must be feelin' single and reading to mingle. I little spring in his step and tensions relieved the old fashioned way - asking her to leave when he's done.

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  21. Well this news is just PEACHY. Ian Hamilton was placed on the COVID list for seven days. No chance that the rest of the team is going to come down with it. Right?

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  22. Other than the Angels, there is some pretty good competition coming up now through 6/3. I would be OK with 7-6, but if the team is truly ready to compete they should win 9 or 10.

    The CWS ARE awful, not overly impressed by the sweep.

    Recall this is right about when the great swoon of ‘22 began.

    OK team, show us some something..

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  23. That’s a definite blow to the ‘pen Kevin. Let’s hope it ends there

    From ESPN
    “The Yankees added left-hander Clayton Andrews to the active roster and designated right-hander Colby White for assignment in corresponding moves.

    Andrews, 27, made his major league debut last season with the Milwaukee Brewers. He is 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in 12 relief appearances at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.”

    That’s no replacement

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  24. Why not Better? At least until Hamilton gets back?

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  25. Yes, COVID is still out there. My sister almost died from in February.
    We haven’t seen the details yet surrounding it yet, but it’s prudent to take preventive action, even if it hurts us in the short term.

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  26. Beeter or Warren. He's still toiling down in Scranton or something, isn't he?

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  27. BTR999 - My apologies for making light of Covid.

    I was in fact poking fun at those that DON'T still believe its a thing.

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  28. BTR, sorry about your sister but glad she recovered. My brother died from it in late '21... unvaccinated and believing all the bullshit.

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  29. Shit, Giancarlo gotta run the bases

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  30. Marcus is pitching a fine game.


    Fuck CashBrain.

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  31. Thanks JM and Winnie, sorry for your loss, JM.

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  32. So is that 3 GIDP with the bases loaded?

    We are leaving too many runs unscored..

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  34. And now Holmes is blowing the game.

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  35. This is why we don't like Holmes.

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  36. Holmes definitely blowing this. There goes the 0.00 ERA.

    Tied. Cripes.

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  37. That's a "blown save", right? That's what that's called? A "BLOWN SAVE?" You fat bloated idiot!! AND OF COURSE TORRES'S FIELDING IS INVOLVED!!

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  38. I wonder what it's like to have a real closer. If we only had any experience in what a real closer looks like. I can't really recall anyone.

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  39. Don’t forget all the runners we left on base.

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  40. Elementary my dear Watson - HOLMES BLEW THE SAVE!!!!

    Only a 7 - not 8 percent solution!

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  41. Nothing worse than losing in the ninth.

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  42. A great way to begin a dispiriting losing streak.

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  43. Ok - full disclosure - Covid took my Brother in early 2020.

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  44. Just an aggravating loss, a game we should’ve won.

    How will they respond tomorrow?

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  45. I guess I can change my underwear now.

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