Gunnar Hendrickson should serve to remind us that Baltimore's resurgence is 10 crapola years in the making. The Yanks have won 8 of their last 10, but they're still only 3 games up on the O's, who ate our lunches last time we saw them. Hendrickson is posting A-Rod numbers, Nomar numbers, Troy Tulowitsky numbers - and he's followed by Bobby Witt Jr., the former No. 1 pick, who has finally arrived. Volpe might be No. 3 in the league - and for a long time to come.
But amid the wild HR streaks of Judge, Soto and Giancarlo, and starting pitching that would have defied the imagination of Larry Rothschild, Volpe might just be the Yankees' secret sauce. Last night, he hit in his 18th straight game, lifting his average to a respectable .282 and justifying his placement in the leadoff perch. When DJ LeMahihieu finally returns, sometime this coming week, it's hard to see him hitting first.
Volpe might win the Human Resources Dept.'s "Most Improved Yankee" award, (though Luis Gil might have something to say about that.) He won't beat Joe DiMaggio's hitting spree, but he's now halfway to the longest streak in this millennium. If it ends today, it's still pretty damn good. And so is Volpe.
The only issue with Volpe leading off is it seems to limit his stolen base tendencies. I don’t blame them, you don’t want to run into an out with Soto and Judge coming up next, but it’s limiting his biggest threat.
ReplyDelete"Hendrickson is posting A-Rod numbers, Nomar numbers,..."
ReplyDeleteBut I don't think it's the steroids.
Nah, it can't be, Rufus. Impossible.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Volpe recently steal some bases that led to his scoring?
I.Have.A.Question.
ReplyDelete(it is a two-parter)
Why/How Philadelphia?
I’ll take my answer off the blog.
JM,
ReplyDeleteThe triples are as good as two stolen bases :)
Off topic: How are the Yankees *off* on Memorial Day? Visiting the cemetery?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRuf, the same stupidity that leads to clown uniforms (candy colored clowns we call the padres tiptoe to the stadium every night) and the balanced schedule, permit travel days on holidays…I recall when Memorial Day was always a DH.
ReplyDeleteBTR, the "daddies" need that John 3:16 guy with the rainbow wig (that was the same guy right? I mean I never saw them together) to be their 3rd base coach. And maybe sideshow Bob as the first base coach. I'd buy a ticket to that, but it'd probably be a Savannah Bananas game.
ReplyDeleteScheduled DH? Oh, to be a kid again. But without the new diseases.
ReplyDeleteRight you are, 999! I used to love that.
ReplyDeleteAnd the uniforms are completely out of hand. How do teams have any pride playing in that crap? And it's all over. The Mets' "City Connects" unis are not as clownish, but just as awful in their way.
I know. I know: it's all about selling more gear. But WTF wants to wear that gear, once they have it? Or do they carefully squirrel it away in plastic, so that years from now they can auction it off when its value has skyrocketed?
In any case, it's nonsense. It's yet another attempt to make the game more "exciting" by people who hate baseball as it is.
And his defense is superb.
ReplyDelete@ BTR...And every Sunday was a DH with Mondays off.
ReplyDelete@ Rufus...Volpe is likely doing steroids by proxy. Let me explain: Volpe's mom always makes veal parm for Anthony, right? Very young cow calves are kept tethered to a 2 ft, rope their entire short lives, mostly in the dark next to a packed group of other mistreated animals. They are then pumped full of antibiotics and steroids so that by 4 months or so they can be offed while considered tender. So, by extension, Volpe must loaded with the juice.
ReplyDeleteI like the White Sox city connect hat.
Carl, please load me with juiced veal parm!
ReplyDelete