Honestly, though, we knew something was coming. The juju gods never spare us from doodoos, and this doodoo was overdue. Normally, I'd want some midlevel pitching coach's liver served with fava beans and a nice chianti - the Yankee deep state is supposed to limit the load on young starters. But I can't see a mess-up. Two years ago, Schmidt threw 57 innings. Last year, 159. If anything was gonna blow, it should have happened this spring. Schmidt was into his 60th inning when the Lat locked. It wasn't even an elbow. Nobody to tar and feather. Weird, huh?
Other takeaways from last night...
1. Anthony Volpe's hit streak is over. Damn. It was starting to be a thing. But he drew a key late-innings walk - putting team above personal numbers - and it ends the inevitably painful comparisons to Joe DiMaggio (which I still believe contributed to the collapse of Miguel Andjuar. You simply cannot start touting a young player in the same breath of a Ruth, a DiMaggio, a Mantle. This is a yoke that Volpe no longer has to carry.)
2. Over the last 7 days, Gleyber Torres is 6 for 21 (.314), maybe emerging to see his shadow? Right now, entire Yankiverse expects him gone next winter - part of Food Stamps Hal's self-inflicted austerity plan, which he will blame on keeping Juan Soto. I'm not saying Gleyber will be a lifelong Yankee, but maybe we shouldn't count him out. Worth noting: the current status of his would-be replacements. Caleb Durbin, the 5'6" Altuve fantasy, is injured. And Oswald Peraza is hitting .162 in his minor league rehab assignment.
3. Cody Poteet pitches Saturday, a tiny band-aid for a massive wound. The Yankees keep chanting that Gerrit Cole looks great and will soon return. I dunno. I believe nothing that comes out of that gaslight factory. I'll believe Cole is back when he's into his fourth start.
4. Over his last 7 games, Giancarlo is 2-24 (.083) with 8 strikeouts. The mere sight of him stepping to the plate kills an erection. I get it that he's a streak hitter - when hot, he wins games. But the Yanks need to find an exit ramp for this guy. He'll never make it to 2029. Of course, it's too soon to make a move. We lead Baltimore by 2 games. But Stanton is floundering, and talk of a big comeback season is starting to grind.
5. The NHL Rangers lost last night, looking doomed to the atrocity of Florida teams winning in hockey. The team might get its final back pages of this season this weekend. Considering the Mets' collapse, the Yankees should start ruling the tabloids again. But they'll have a hard time catching the Knicks. This could be the year the Yankees lose New York, a potential earthquake in Gotham's sporting culture. (For more on that, buy Hoss's book.)
6. Tommy Kahnle looks good. If Clay Holmes continues to struggle - always with the tying run on third - he might have our replacement.
7. I'd argue that we should sign that Mets reliever who flung his glove into the stands, but without a glove, he can't play, right?
8. The highly touted Spencer Jones - the Judge clone - has gone into a massive, maybe existential slump at Double A. Last night, he went 0-for-4 with 2 Ks. This spring, the Yankees supposedly revamped his swing. He's now hitting .205.
9. I watched a Hudson Valley Renegades (Single A) game last weekend, and, I must say, it was fun. Listening to the local announcers, every Renegade is a future star. The YES team has nothing on them.
10. DJ last night at first? Why not? I'm sensing a platoon situation that Anthony Rizzo won't like. But something has to happen.
1) "This is a yoke that Volpe no longer has to carry" I've heard of carry a tune but never carry a yoke. Maybe in Sweden.
ReplyDeleteKnock. Knock.
Whooosea therea.
Ikea.
Ikea whoooa?
Ikea your car. (and then he runs away.)
2) Giancarlo is back to stepping in the bucket. Why? His slumps seem so stupid. Keep your foot down, kill the ball. Step in the bucket, miss the ball. How fucking hard is that for him to understand?
3) Schmidt. When you're out of Schmidt... I don't know, Cody Poteet sounds like a Kurt Vonnegut character to me. He was good that one time but has not done well in AAA.
4) I've been watching the Patriots as well. MLBTV has them on and since the Yankee games don't start until after Carson I get my BB fix that way. Jones was leading off last night. I can not imagine why. It seemed to change his approach.
5) Sorry that Volpe's streak ended. It was nice to have a game in the game to root for.
Last -
6) The Panthers are a step quicker and seem to get to all the "loose balls" the hit more and it always feels like they are on a power play even when they're not. I know each game is it's own thing and the Rangers can still do it but the Panthers look like the better team.
It's an inside yoke.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteNo finger pointing.....
Rustling the jimmies of the Juju gods, poking a stick at the hoodoo - we should not be getting high on our own gas.
The first tweak across the bow.
Well, the yoke's on somebody.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Schmidt even knew the Dorsies. Which one went on him, Jimmy or Tommy? My guess would be Tommy. I mean, a trombone can be murder on your back and shoulders.
Doug...when you're out of Schmidt--excellent. Obviously, we're out of beer. Except at $20 a pop at the Stadium (which isn't the real Stadium, but neither was the last one).
A sparkling appearance by the Gulf of Tonkin last night. Even a broken clock, you know.
Giovanni gets arrested for car theft. The police handcuff him and take him to the station. In the cell, he tells the guard it's *his* car and his driver's license proves it. The guard asks why he didn't tell the officer that? I couldn't talk, my hands were in handcuffs!
ReplyDeleteMikey Glassman has been a hard-off for years.
ReplyDeleteNo, no, no on Gleyber Cano. Trade him! DJ at 2nd, no matter how bad he hits. 3rd base goes back to the land of Oz.
ReplyDeleteGleyber only recently realized this is his contract year, hence the big improvement in his recent numbers.
ReplyDeleteHe's still a bumbler and a space cadet. We need better.
I suppose if I rooted for a different team, I'd find his lapses and goof-ups highly amusing.
Dunno why we’re being subjected to Cody Poteet, the Oklahoma dirt farmer, scion to the Joad family fortune.
ReplyDeleteLast night @SWB: Yoendrys Gomez (newly yclept “YoGo’) 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K (win)
Why no he?
Not ready to give up on Peraza yet, though I admit he’s currently blowing it like a $10 trick behind the Yankee Tavern.
BTR gets Best Blowjob Joke of 2024 award.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the team has started to clear the minor league catching logjam by trading Luis Torrens to the Mets for…$100k. We couldn’t get at least a lottery ticket player? This team needs another 100k? That barely covers one inning pitched by Rodon.
ReplyDeleteInexplicable. 100 grand? That's Hal's lunch bill. WTF?
ReplyDeleteYep. Cashie starting to warm-up for his big, trade deadline fiasco.
ReplyDeleteThe amazing thing about Cashman is how he absolutely, NEVER learns from experience. Never. He sells Thairo for a still unrevealed amount, and he turns into one of the best utility players in the game.
Who knows if Torrens will be as good, but surely he HAD to get a player for him.
That's why they call him CASH . . .
ReplyDeleteWhen is IIHIIFIIJ going to a game this year? I'm open to the Yankees or the Hudson Valley Renegades.
ReplyDeleteAs the young folks say: Whatevs.
I believe that Poteet got the call over Gomez because Gomez just had a start. I haven't seen if this is The Plan moving forward. Selling Torrens is inexplicable. Torrens never lived up to the early hype, and maybe he's cooked, but man I guess Hal needed jet fuel money.
ReplyDeleteI was going over AL hitting stats and was shocked by this one: Rizzo WAR-0.0. Carlos Santana WAR-0.1.
ReplyDeleteA player that I was surprised that he was rendered a contract 2-3 years ago, who I thought looked terrible at first base when he moved there from catcher, years ago is rated slightly better than Rizzo by WAR! Hopefully Rizzo is concealing a series of aches and pains because THE BRAIN will have to do something. Sign and platoon him with Brandon Belt? I think that everyone here would agree that this lineup could easily get thin in a hurry.