The most perilous Yankee period is upon us: It's Cashman Time

Well, the Babadook is here. 

We should have foreseen it, when Anthony Rizzo last week showed modest signs of primordial life. Rizzo homered dramatically against KC, temporarily salvaging a game that, in the end, would become a walk-off debacle. He followed with a 2-hit game, marching to the "Get hot & get hurt" mantra that has haunted Yankee hitters for a decade.

By now, you know that Rizzo will miss 4-to-6 weeks with a broken wrist. The way the Yankee front office soft-soaps injuries, it's reasonable to expect him to miss 6-to-8 weeks, if not longer. That would put his return in September, when God knows where the Yankees will be, and whether an open slot will exist for him. 

Considering the team's a $6 million 2025 buyout option - (as opposed to paying him $17 million) - the Anthony Rizzo Era may have ended with the Yankees. Between now and September, it's hard to imagine Cooperstown Cashman standing pat at 1B, especially the way DJ LeMahieu has been driving balls into the ground. 

Whatever happens - (thinking Yank fans always fear the worst) - it will likely cost Rizzo his future in the Bronx. Six weeks away from his 35th birthday, the guy was hitting just .223 with 8 HRs. Among MLB starting first basemen, Rizzo ranked 22nd out of 24 in OPS (a meager .630), just ahead of Detroit's recently demoted Spencer Torkelson.  

In a nutshell, the Babadook. At Scranton, the Yankees have a 6'5" oak named TJ Rumfield, who is batting .303 but with only 5 HRs. He's said to be good with a glove, and he bats LH, which helps. He's 24, signed out of Virginia Tech, and I gotta believe the fan base would love to see a broad-shouldered galoot, who at least looks good coming off the bus. But who are we kidding? Five HRs? Cashman wants something with pop.  

There's also Ben Rice, a 25-year-old ex-Dartmouth Greenie - (Alphonso's alma mater, by the way) - who is still listed as a catcher, though  he's transitioning to first. At Scranton, he's 14 for 42 (.333) with 3 HRs. (He had 12 HRs at Double A, so there's power.) But we must worry about his glove. Also, he bats RH, a bummer. 

Which means Cashman is working the phones. One possibility: 37-year-old Jose Abreu, who was released last week by the Astros, after compiling some of the worst numbers north of Joey Gallo. Abreu was hitting .124 with 2 HRs, and he bats RH, without a platoon pathway. The only advantage: Houston will pay his salary. 

Somewhere out there, some journeyman 1B might soon receive the opportunity of a lifetime - being injected into NYC pennant race. But Yank fans have every reason to fear the worst. The Babadook is here. Voldemort. Baltimore...

It's beginning to look a lot like...1973.

 

Your New York Yankees looked stacked, a combination of youth and experience that many were picking to win their division—not to mention the pennant or even the World Series. They seemed to have it all, and after a shaky start, they scrapped their way into first place in May. 

There they would remain for weeks, led by two beloved stars, a deep starting staff, and a young hitter taking a run at a historic batting mark.  

Then came a pivotal series with the Red Sox...

I'm talking about your 1973 Yankees, of course. 

After surprising everyone with a run at the division late in the 1972 season, the Yanks had added a slick-fielding, power-hitting third baseman named Graig Nettles, and a second Alou brother—Mateo, a former NL batting champ who was supposed to close an oozing sore in right field—to their core duo of Thurman Munson and Bobby Murcer.

Their rotation looked as deep as it had been in years—Mel Stottlemyre, Fritz Peterson, Steve Kline, Doc Medich, and Mike Kekich—with 1972 Fireman of the Year Sparky Lyle, workhorse Lindy McDaniel, and newcomer Fred Beene, in the bullpen (a trio I would take over the thousands currently occupying space in the 2024 Yankees' pen).

Then came spring training, and the whole Peterson-Kekich wife swap thing almost sunk the team before it was out of its moorings. Kekich was soon gone, and Peterson had the worst single year of his Yankee career. Kline, a hugely promising righty who had been leading the AL in ERA well into 1972, blew out his arm and never did recover.

Still, the Yanks picked up old Orioles stalwart Pat Dobson for a song, and bought Sudden Sam McDowell. Jim Ray Hart, the Giants slugger, was also picked up for cash. Most of all, though, the Yanks were boosted by "The Hebrew Hammer," Ron Blomberg, who—buoyed by the new DH rule—was batting .403 as late as June 28th.

On July 1st, after a four-game sweep of Cleveland, the Yanks were 45-33, with a 4-game lead—the latest they had been in first place since 1964, 9 years earlier.

Then the BoSox came into town for a big, Fourth of July weekend set of five games. The Yanks lost 4 of the 5, as their hitting and fielding collapsed.

They were able to cling on to first for almost another month, until August 3rd, but then a disastrous series up in Fenway knocked them out of the top spot. 

In the end, they finished 80-82, 17 games out, in fourth place.

What went wrong?

Not the pitching held up, which finished third in the AL behind only division winner Baltimore and World Series champ, Oakland. Munson and Murcer both had excellent seasons. But Bloomberg's average fell all the way to .329, Nettles and Roy White had almost their very worst, full seasons as Yankees; and Matty Alou performed the almost-statistically-impossible feat of batting .296, with a .694 OPS and just 28 runs batted in.

Meanwhile, in that summer of '73, there were odd rumblings across town. 

The New York Mets had fumfahed about for most of the summer, a seeming collection of misfits and has-beens who had fallen as low as 44-57 on the season. Their year was almost the diametrical opposite to the Yankees'. They spent everyday from June 1st through August 7th in last place, and as late as August 30th they were still in the cellar.

Then they became the "Ya Gotta Believe!" Mets, making a raggedy, 21-8 charge to the finish line, as their division collapsed around them like L.A. in that John Cusack movie about how the Mayans were right.

With all sorts of marginal players—such as Ron Hodges, seen here—making contributions, the Metsies finished 82-79, still the worst record ever, I think, for a baseball division winner in a completed season, and derailed the Big Red Machine in the NLCS, with Battling Buddy Harrelson taking on Pete Rose.

The Mets even led the World Series, 3 games to 2, before Reggie put an end to all their nonsense, with two big games in Oakland. 

This year, you may have noticed, after a completely putrid, 22-33 start, the Mets have started to turn it around, winning 5 in a row and 11 out of their last 15. (Five RBI for Pete Alonso yesterday, by the by. Still against giving up Gleyber to get him?)

Could this be what we're looking at? The start of another miracle run in Queens, while our boys collapse in the Bronx???

Well, no. The Mets don't have anything like the Seaver-Koosman-Matlack rotation that got them to the brink of a World Series title. 

But they could easily make the playoffs, with 40 percent of the teams going now. I would put them at even money with the Yankees to do so—and I could easily see a scenario where there is no October for our guys at all.

Hey, it's happened before.

 

Or... We Could Look At It This Way

 

We're going to be just fine! 

Why? If you read between the lines it becomes obvious that last weekend's pathetic, embarrassing, horrendous showing on national TV and to our armed forces around the world, was just a little bit of gamesmanship designed to sand bag our future opponents. 

Nine stolen bases? That doesn't happen in little league, much less to an All-Star Catcher. 

Sure, let future teams think their offense can run wild and them BANG! Trevino comes to life and nails a guy at second with the game on the line! 

Clever Cashman

Last night we stood witness to the brilliant execution of Brian’s master plan to destroy the Red Sox. Think about it, they have a new GM, Craig Breslow, who has been tasked with reviving a moribund franchise. They have been truly marginal all year and he is about to embark on his first trading deadline.

Cashman lured them into a Pyric Series Victory™   

Prior to this weekend the Sox had to be in “Sell” mode. But now, with taking two out of three from the NL Champion Phillies, and humiliating the AL’s best he has to go, “Hmmmmn this team is just a couple of pieces away. Certainly a Wild Cad spot is attainable." 

And so, he will switch to "Buy", insuring that the Red Sox remain, essentially losers for another three years. By not going into full tank mode they don’t get that full and lasting rebuild, the likes of which the Orioles, and the Astros before them just completed.

Rizzo

As to Rizzo’s “injury”. It appears he was hip checked into falling on his sword.

Rizzo is an honorable man who knows that he is at the end and can not play to his standard. I saw the slow motion of the collision and the aftermath. It didn’t look too bad. Yet there he was writhing on the ground like a French soccer experiencing nicotine withdrawal during a match. No longer a “Danger Man” Rizzo did the honorable thing. He hurt himself.

Let’s see Ben Rice for seven days. It’s a tough call because he’s just learning first but, why not?  

If the other problematic Yankees lack this level of nobility perhaps the Yankees could arrange for a golf cart containing  Torres, Stanton, and DJ to have a  minor fender bender. Have Gleyber drive. 

“But officer I thought I could get across the intersection. Who knew there was a school bus in the crosswalk? “

As to the bullpen…

Cole back. Poteet to middle relief as he becomes the next Michael King. This will reduce the number of times Weaver and Tonkin are called upon. Find a real closer and give Holmes less stressful innings and he will straighten out as well.

Gil will figure it out. 

Stroman is our number four not our number one or two. He’s a very good number four. He’s not an ace. He’s a better than average four who more often then not gives us enough for us to stay in the game. And we were in the game right up until that bases loaded meltdown by the offense.

So Take a deep breath... now cough. Again, cough. 

The Yankees will be fine. You have a hernia. 

 

Embarrassed and undressed on national TV, the Yankees prepare for Baltimore - and maybe second place in the AL East

 Well, that was fun, while it lasted.

First place. Best record in baseball. 

The Promised Land, that is. 

The feeling that this was it, that something important was happening in the Bronx, ending the malaise. We'd win the series at Fenway, knock Boston below .500, and then welcome Baltimore with the pitchforks and torches they deserve. 

It looked hopeful, yesterday... a million years ago.

Instead, the Yankees today look battered and beaten in every aspect of play. Last night, to a national audience, they played their worst game of 2024, crapping the bed in newly creative manners, a month of mediocrity crammed into nine innings... and, perhaps, a bellwether of what's to come. 

How did we lose? My god. Let me count the ways.

1. The bullpen is shot. What was recently being hailed as baseball's best reliever corps now looks like a bunch of scrapheap redemption projects facing their market corrections. Ian Hamilton and Luke Weaver had been two YES fairy tales of hope. Now, Hamilton's ERA sits at 4.45, and Weaver last night was pasted an ERA is 2.74 and climbing. Clay Holmes has blown four saves, most among MLB closers, and  Tommy Kahnle (ERA 4.50) is starting to look like a dud. The only good news from last night: We didn't have to watch Holmes blow a save. (We saved that for the Baltimore series, eh?) 

2. The starters are wilting. Friday night, you could feel the air leaking from Luis Gil, and he shuffled from one jam to another. He's had a great half season, but he's not Cy Young. We can celebrate the impending return of Gerrit Cole, but he must throw several pain free outings before we can count on anything. And this weekend, the comebacks of Carlos Rodon and Marcus Stroman were placed on hold. Both were outpitched by no-names. Sad. 

3. Jose Trevino's defense has collapsed. He has the slowest throw to second base in the majors, according to ESPN, and the Redsocks just floated that news on a Goodyear blimp. It was humiliating last night, watching them run on every first pitch, without abandon, and easily beating his throws (that is, if he bothered to make them.) The message to MLB: Run, run, run on Trevino. Considering that Austin Wells is supposed to be an offensive catcher, this is Defcon Four. We have an open hole in the raft. 

Meanwhile, as Boston ran around the bases, the Yankees countered with Giancarlo Stanton, the Trotter, who can barely reach first on a drive to the outfield wall. Last night, it was hard to remind yourself that the Yankees were the team in first, and Boston was straddling .500.  

4. Everywhere, our defense looked sloppy. A catchable fly dropped in front of  the languid Alex Verdugo and the listless Aaron Judge, leading to a big inning. DJ LeMahieu, playing first after Anthony Rizzo went out with an injury, looked slow on a line drive into right - one of those plays that he used to make. Everywhere, the Yankees played slovenly. The crowd got it right: "Yankees suck." They did. 

5. I cannot overlook Gleyber Torres' impressive strikeout with the bases loaded in the 7th, before the game rocketed out of reach. Ahead 3-0 in the  count, he took two pitches right down the middle for strikes (which, I suppose, was okay; I mean, they weren't going to give him the green light, eh?) then swung at a ridiculous pitch in the dirt. He greased the wheels for a bases loaded, no outs, zero. The Yankees didn't score, and all hope flew out the window.  

Until last night, I believed Torres could save his season and - perhaps - his Yankee career. Now, he's looking like a Josh Donaldson. He's not getting any better. 

6. Along with losing Rizzo, who had shown slight hopeful signs lately, the Yankees lost Jasson Dominguez last night in Scranton. An oblique injury. Not only could he miss several weeks, but there's another thing here... the injuries that seem to keep happening with this kid. Is he another walking bag of tweaks, too muscular for his own good? Obviously, the jury is out on that question, but this is really bad news, as the Yankees get ready for their own inevitable wave of troubled gonads. 

7. A dreadful night and weekend, leading into Baltimore's arrival Tuesday. By this time next week, the Yankees could be in second place in the AL East, proudly leading the AL in their new, 2024 wild card quest! Something to look forward to, eh? 

Carmines Game Thread

 

Best record in baseball. Gerrit Cole returning. The Martian rising, and yet... a stinker like last night makes you wonder what's coming?

Yesterday, in a beery summer delirium, I joked to Alphonso that the Death Barge - having crushed Boston Friday night - would probably be down by 5 in the 1st, leading to self-harm and throbbing pustules, because that's Chinatown Fenway, Jake. Of course, I was using reverse juju, predicting the worst, even though both of us were smirking, sure that had Boston square in our nutcrackers. 

Yep. This year would be different. No collapse. No stress. No injuries. This year, we boast baseball's best hitting tandem, plus an airtight rotation, soon to get a Viagra boost from Gerrit Cole. This was our year, right?

Yeah, sure, uh-huh, whatever. So, what happened? You know it. We're instantly down by 3, and every time we cut their lead, they roll us back. A crumbling loss to a team that was imminently crushable and on the verge of collapse. And tonight, we can lose the series, while their frat boy fans hurl creative obscenities at us.  

That zing, that dominance, we showed Friday, behind Verdugo... it can be forgotten tomorrow. 

Listen... there are massive reasons to be cocks of the walk over the 2024 Yankees. I can't sit here and righteously whine about life, when our team has baseball's best record. But here's the rub: 

We should be eight games up on Baltimore, not merely one in the loss column.

We've been lucky with injuries, which always lurk around the corner.

And tonight, we can fall into one of those Fenway potholes, the kind that have ruined our last 15 seasons. 

How many Redsock teams were on the verge of folding, only to be revived by the defibrillating sensibility of an October-like series with the Yankees? And how many times have we floundered, just as the fan base began to believe? 

It's sad to write this, but we have all been here before. 

The modern Yankee trope is to fall apart, right around now. 

It can happen due to injuries. It can happen due to a closer meltdown. It can happen without reason. 

It's great to be baseball's best team. Really, it is. The problem? It's just June. Tonight, we should be chasing a sweep. Instead, we're trying to stave off a revived rival. There is no rest, no peace, no feelings of safety. The Orioles are coming, and we better be ready.

Game Thread and a Compromise

 OK, forget this Ryan McBroom stuff... 

He's a jinx.

How about this guy instead?

Now is the time to put the Redsocks out of their misery

 

We can do it. This weekend. Next two nights. Rodon, tonight. Stroman, tomorrow.

We can flatten them, knock them below Toronto, maybe even Tampa. 

We can drive a spike into their hopes for the AL East. We can seriously degrade their shot at the wild card.  

It's been a while since we could do this. When was the last time a converted Redsock led us to victory at Fenway? Roger Clemens? Wade Boggs? Now... Alex Verdugo! And with two nights to go. A miniature Boston Massacre? Sign me up. 

Listen... they are reeling. They are knock-kneed, staggering in the middle of the ring, their hands at their sides. Last night, they crapped their beds. After Rafael Devers, their lineup looks paltry, Triple A. They have nothing like Soto and Judge.  

We can do this. 

Ryan McBroom. Ryan McBroom! RYAN MCBROOM! 

Alternative Game Day Thread: RailRiders vs. Red Wings . Now Yankees /Red Sox

Cole takes the mound!  But they make him give it back so, unless it raining in Rochester as well, this can be our baseball thread until the Yankees/Sox game begins.

The game is on the Roku MLB channel.

Did you know that Rochester is called Flower City? I went to school in Brockport for years and never knew that. Does anyone know why it's called that?

We return to our regularly scheduled program...

On a day of multiple bad omens, Yank fans wonder: Is this the wall we so feared?

 

So, here we go. ..

Boston.

The Beans. The Frat Boys. The Idiots. The Bosox. The Olde Towners. The Hub. The Sawx. The Crimson Hose. 

The S.O.B.s. 

Nearly three months in, it's our first first weekend at Fenway. It's the homecoming for Verdugo. A night of fires, looting and street violence (if/when the Celtics win.)  The night after a crushing walk-off loss. The night after Aaron Judge's first full-scale meltdown in nine weeks.

Be afraid. Be very afraid... 

1. Let's start with Judge. Last time he went 0-for-4 with four Ks was April 20, against hateful Tampa. We lost that game 2-0, in ten. (Ironically, Nestor Cortes also pitched it.) At the time, Judge was hitting a meager .179, and the Chicken Littles openly opined that he was secretly injured. 

As we all know, he went on a tear, beginning May 4. It hadn't ended until, gulp, maybe yesterday?  

But but BUT... no panicking here. Yesterday, the sun was so brutal that, early in the game, Suzyn Waldman grumbled that is was hard to see the field. She lamented the glare off the grass and the oppressive heat - 90 degrees on the field - that roiled through the press box. After all, this is Kansas City, heat domes and tornados. But a hellish day for baseball, and the Yankees nearly were no-hit by a middling fifth starter.  

2. Unfortunately, that didn't help Clay Holmes. The Royals saw him just fine. Holmes became the first MLB closer to blow his fourth save. (He is 19-for-23 in save opportunities, and batters are hitting .263 against him, the highest BA against closers, with the exception of KC's James McArthur, whose ERA is over 5.00.)  The worst part of this? Holmes was done in by a nubber, a virginal bouncer between the mound and first base. Neither he nor Anthony Rizzo could figure it out. Shit happens, I guess. Two minutes later, the walk-off double. 

For now, here's the big takeaway: A one-run lead is not enough. Holmes dominated in April. Now, his every appearance is a Chapmanesque misadventure, sort of like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, where you wonder how Larry's going to get himself into trouble. But it's not just Holmes who is cracking. The entire bullpen is faltering. Wednesday night, with an 11-1 lead, Boone had to call in Luke Weaver, who is also showing distress signs, to staunch the bleeding. Tonight, if we're lucky enough to have a lead, somebody's gotta pitch the ninth. I have no idea who that person will be. 

3. But look... If they said we'd win three out of four in KC, who wouldn't have signed up? Next is Boston, who clobbered the Phillies last night. They're a bunch of slobs wrapped around Rafael Devers, who could beat us single-handedly. 

They've moved the game up a half-hour, so Boston fans can watch the Celtics. The Yankees have better make short work of Boston, or they'll be stuck in the victory riots, while driving to the hotel. During such happy events, while they're breaking windows and shooting each other, Boston fans used to spontaneously chant "YANKEES SUCK!" Now, I'm not so sure they care. Right now, they're a game above .500. We better not let them get up off the mat. 

Where he ranks.

You don't need me to tell you about the season that Aaron Judge is having—but I'm going to do so anyway.

Right now, Judge leads the American League in 19 different hitting categories, some of which...I'm not even sure what they mean.

Judge is leading the AL in WAR for position players, offensive WAR, OBP, slugging, OBP + slugging, total bases, home runs, walks, adjusted OPS+, runs created, adjusted batting runs, adjusted batting wins, extra-base hits, times on base, offensive win percentage, (fewest) at-bats per home run, base-out runs added, and situation wins added.

He was also named the top batter at the World Cricket Championships, and filled in for Aaron Rodgers at the Jets' "mandatory" mini-camp. Rumor has it he will be taking Krisnaps Porzingis' place in Game Four for the Celtics.

No, Judge cannot possibly keep up this incredible pace (he wrote, placatingly, obsequiously to the juju gods). But let's consider where it would rank him among the all-time greats, if he somehow did.

What are the all-time greatest seasons by a batter for OPS, on-base percentage-plus-slugging, currently the gold standard for judging a hitter's performance?

Right now, Judge's 1.135 OPS for 2024 would rank him...88th, just ahead of Mickey Mantle's 1961 season. 

At least, that's the official measure. But let's get serious for a moment.

As you know, MLB recently decided to count in all the known statistics for the old, force-segregated Negro Leagues. That was a fine gesture by an institution that specializes in little else but fine gestures, but it doesn't tell us much.

Undoubtedly, the best Negro League players (and many others excluded from the game for so long because of color) were at least as good as those in the major leagues. But 23 games—which is what the official Negro League season often were—just does not a real season make.

So let's throw those figures out for the sake of argument. Let's also, though, throw out the stats for all the white players who played the old, segregated baseball. (I would include in this Stan Musial, whose National League was barely integrated during his great, 1948 season. Sorry, Stan the Man.) 

Let's also get rid of the juicers—cough, cough, head-actually-grew Barry Bonds, cough—and those who played most of their games at altitudes above low cloud cover (looking at you, Larry Walker and Todd Helton). Also the abbreviated Covid season and the 1994 strike season must go (apologies, Juan Soto and Frank Thomas).

And even...an extraordinary cheating event, such as Norm Cash's corked bats in 1961.

By my lights, this gets us down to the very best, on-the-level, playing the game fairly against all comers, best seasons there ever were, as measured by OPS:

1—Ted Williams, 1957, 1.257

2—Mickey Mantle, 1957, 1.177

3—Mickey Mantle, 1956, 1.169

4—Aaron Judge, 2024, 1.135

5—Mickey Mantle, 1961, 1.135

Not too rooting bad, as an Aussie cricketeer might say.

 

In front of Soto and Judge, Anthony Volpe enjoys the most protected hitting slot in all of baseball. Should the Yankees consider others?

First, let's be straight here: 

The Yankees are clicking on all mousepads, leading the AL East, the league, and nearly all of baseball, and there is no reason - none! - to tinker. 

You hear that, Mr. Cashman? 

No. Reason. To. Tinker. 

Yeah, there is the Scranton Shuttle, perpetually using bullpen arms like Kleenex. But that's not tinkering. That's normalcy. That's supplying fodder to the front. Tinkering is when you swap Jordan Montgomery for a CF whose greatest attribute is his contract. Tinkering is when you throttle a winning clubhouse by imposing changes that didn't need to happen. Tinkering is acquiring Frankie Montas and Joey Gallo.

That said, I'm going to propose - well - a semi-tink, which might improve our chances heading into the July 31 trade deadline.  

What if the Yankees move Anthony Volpe out of the leadoff slot and use that incredibly lucrative placement to boost other batters? 

I know, I know... moving Volpe is blaspheme, but hear me out. The Yankee leadoff spot is most protected hitter's position in all of baseball. No batter receives more hittable pitches than the guy perched in front of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, the game's best offensive tandem. Batting leadoff has helped Volpe raise his average by about 50 points, up to nearly .290 before a recent cooling off. 

What if the Yankees experimented with other players in that spot, to juice them out of slumps? Crazy? Maybe. But think about it...

One part of Volpe's game may have been hurt by leading off. He has but 13 steals - tied for the 20th in MLB. Shohei Ohtani has more. If Volpe batted elsewhere, he would freer to run, (though he isn't an automatic steal; he's been caught 3 times.) 

What if, say, Alex Verdugo or Gleyber Torres, or DJ LeMahieu, moved into the leadoff slot, depending on the RH or LF starter? Wouldn't their production surely increase? Or even - gasp - Giancarlo Stanton? Wouldn't he be likely to go on a tear? If Giancarlo hits leadoff, that's at least one at-bat per game when he can't roll into a DP. 

Right now, when Soto and Judge come into view, you can sense panic in the opposition dugout. But after them comes a declining stretch within the lineup, a problem that might be massively tinkered with next month: I'm talking about a trade by Tinkerbell himself, Cooperstown Cashman. 

Before the Yankees trade Gleyber Torres or Anthony Rizzo - current holes in the lineup - they should try everything imaginable to rouse them from their present walking dead state. Last year, the Yankees were embarrassed when Aaron Hicks, a looming pariah, went on a hitting tear in Baltimore. It showed the world what a depressing organization the Yankees had become. 

Today, the Yankees have an 11-game lead over Minnesota for the final AL wild card slot. Certainly, after such a great first half, a wild card slot would stink up the Bronx, but here's the bottom line: The Yankees will almost surely reach the postseason. Wouldn't it be nice if, instead of trading hitters who then bloom elsewhere, they salvage those players? 

Trying one in the leadoff spot, if only for a while, might just be a way. Am I nuts? 

Game 70: Never Mind the Bollocks

We just got a letter from Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside, who said he'd listened to the John Sterling interview that Rufus linked to in yesterday's game thread. Anyway, the lede is, John just happened to mention that he might come back to do a show on WFAN. Huge if true! The tease commences at 38:02.

The Yankees are a two-man wrecking crew. Could Jasson Dominguez make it three?

Their numbers are insane. They're Ruth & Gehrig, Mantle & Maris, Hepburn & Tracy. Top two in the upcoming all-star vote. Top two for the MVP? Nobody in the Now - not Ohtani & Freeman, not Tucker & Alvarez, not Putin & Kim - breeds fear as they do. 

In Yankee terms, they are bigger than Reggie & Thurman, stronger than Jeter & Bernie, and basically what Judge & Stanton were supposed to be, before the injuries. I mean, look at these numbers for all of MLB, look...  

I speak for all of baseball in saying, YIKES! 

But here's the rub: The Yanks still cannot protect them. They have no third monster, someone to keep opposing pitchers from walking Judge? Giancarlo cannot run, Verdugo can't seem to sustain a hot streak, and with the rest, the drop-off in quality is - well - like Saturday Night Live after Weekend Update.

They say rising waters lift all boats. That might be happening with Anthony Volpe, who enjoys the most envied batting order spot in baseball. But it's not helping the beer gut of the lineup, especially Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo. 

Each night, the YES team dutifully points out reassuring signs: Last night, though he went 0-for-5, Rizzo hit the ball hard! But it's mid-June, and nobody has stepped forward. If Judge or Soto gets hurt, the impact will be devastating.  

So, should we look forward to big deals at the trade deadline? Please. For starters, Brian Cashman wrecked the 2023 team with trades so disastrous that Congress should have investigated. Lately, the bloggery bullshit machine blathers about of trading for Pete Alonso, who has only 14 HRs and a OPS barely above Giancarlo's. Not gonna happen. Then there's Vladimir Guerrero Jr., having a genuinely rotten season - 7 HRs - but he's vowed never to suit up for Sodom. Everybody else carries the scent of a Joey Gallo - long HRs, but not enough to matter. 

Nope. The world is not going to help us. There is but one possible solution, and you all know of whom I am speaking: Jasson Dominguez, age 21, now rehabbing in Scranton. Long prophesied to be the Second Coming of Mickey or Trout, "The Martian" is the most intriguing hitter in the Yankee system, if not the entire minor leagues. 

Last night, in a 10-0 rout of Rochester, Dominguez went 1-for-5. He is now batting .440 - a tiny sample size of 25 ABs - with 2 HRs. At Double A two weeks ago, he hit 3 HRs, hit .313 in 38 ABs.

Last year, at Scranton, he hit .411 in 31 ABs. He came up to NYC and did .258 with 4 HRs in 31 at bats. (As you know, he tore his elbow and underwent surgery; it's a miracle of medicine - and youth - that he's back playing.) 

We have yet to see Dominguez get 100 ABs at any high level. That should happen between now and the all-star break. If he keeps hitting, the Yankees must find a spot. (Injuries would grease that path.)

To win the world series, and to break the Cashman Curse, the Yankees need a third Babadook. Nobody will trade it to us. All eyes on Scranton, people. For better or worse, that's the future. 

IT IS HIGH at seventeen

 Today is the 17th anniversary of this blog.

The first post, by me, dated June 12, 2007, is here. It's awful. I'm embarrassed. But I was only 53, so I have to make allowances. 

The first good post is a great one by El Duque. It appeared a day later.   

Happy anniversary, everyone. Play us out, Janis. 

Game Thread?

 

Cricket: Tastes Like Chicken

 

I Went to the T20 World Cup of Cricket last Friday.  Ireland vs. Canada. 

Backstory

My first introduction to the game of cricket was during a brief trip to England in the 90’s. I was a taking a walk with the sister of my girlfriend and we came upon a middle school. There were some kids playing and I asked if I could take a swing. 

They said there was no pitch (the hardened surface that the bowler bowls on) they were just hitting fungos and practicing fielding. They handed me the bat and I flipped the ball in the air and crushed it. I was in my thirties when such a thing was still possible.

The ball was high far and gone. They were screaming, “Six! Six!” I looked around quickly but not seeing Patrick McGoohan anywhere I gave them back the bat, thanked them and continued on. 

Later in the trip I acquired a small cricket bat, kind of like the miniature bats they give out on bat day, (The Yankees are cheap bastards! My full size Yogi Berra Bat day bat served me all through High School) but that was more of a souvenir and, as it turned out many many, years later, a great tool for keeping my kids in line.

OK, that part is not true. But it really would have been perfect for the job if I were a completely different human being.

--

Several weeks ago I was visiting my cousin on Long Island. We were driving near Eisenhower Park, and we passed the stadium. She said it was for the World Cup and that they slapped it up in under a month and would take it down after it was done. I said we have to go. 

She’s a baseball fan and I like going to games with her. The Mets. The Long Island Ducks… and now we would do the T20 World Cup.

We chose the Ireland vs. Canada game mostly because the tickets were $60 apiece as opposed to India v. Pakistan. That match was priced like the Super Bowl.

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Getting Ready

I prepared for the day in two ways. The first was watching a YouTube Video called “Cricket Explained For Baseball Fans”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWpbtLIxYBk

It helped quite a bit.

The second way involved going down to my old Junior HS ball field that, due to an influx of South Asians, and the conversion of the school to condos and offices was now a cricket field with an actual pitch.  The teams were made up of  a combination of Indians and Pakistanis, who by the way, got along really well with each other proving that if you take people out of the firing line, they tend to treat each other like human beings.

When they heard I was going to the T20 World Cup they were delighted to help me understand the game. T20 is a shorter and way more popular version  of the game. A cricket match can last for five days, the T20 matches only take around three hours. The twenty stands for the number of rounds.

I asked a guy about how anyone can go to a five day match and he said, you become like family with everyone in the stands. Yeah… I don’t think I could handle a five day Yankees / Red Sox game, and there’s no way I’m able to treat a Red Sox fan like a human being.

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Three Cool Things I Learned About Cricket

1) The Match Is Played With A Single Ball

Consequently, in the beginning of the match  the teams use their faster bowlers (pitchers) because the ball is in perfect shape and is more aerodynamic. Towards the end of the match the ball is seriously scuffed, and they bring in the junk ballers.

2) A Team's Best Hitter Is Called “The Danger Man”

Early in the match Canada’s “Danger Man” made an early Wicket (out) and was done for the day. The Danger Man is an artist with the bat able to hit ones and twos with ease but can also go deep for fours and sixes. Think Edgar Martinez. 

A batter gets a four when the ball reaches the outer boundary. It can roll or bounce. The fielder does what he can to stop it from reaching it sometimes looking like a soccer goalie diving full out to deflect the ball away. Hitting it over the boundary on a fly is a six. 

Now I know why those kids were yelling, “Six!” 

3) They Play Ominous Music During Reviews

As in all sports there are judgement calls and while I'm not sure who gets to ask for a review there were a couple of plays that required a second look. 

For example, there was a pivotal moment in the match where a fielder caught the ball on a fly and they needed to determine if the ball was tipped or if it was off the bounce on the pitch. It was difference between a dot – no run but the still pitch counts - and a Wicket – the batter is done.

While they looked at the tape and the AUDIO,  (There’s an audiometer because often it’s the sound of the ball hitting wood that is the determining factor)  they play music right out of a horror movie. Dark. Foreboding. Cool.

Three Things I Thought Were Stupid Until They Were Explained To Me

1)When A Player Makes A Great Defensive Play The Entire Team Congregates To Congratulate Him

Picture Verdugo makes a great catch and then he and Aaron Judge walk all the way to home plate so Judge can go, “Nice Catch!” It made no sense.  

Here’s what is actually going on.

In cricket the entire team does all of their at-bats in sequence so the defense doesn’t leave the field until ALL of the other team has batted. There is no sitting in the dugout in between innings to go over what is happening on the field. No opportunity for a defender to point something out to another one. 

When they congregate it’s like a quick time out and a chance to prep for the next batter.  

2) The Bowlers Start Their “Windup” Around Twenty Yards In Back Of The Point Where They Release The Ball.

It is sort of like what a javelin thrower or Fred “Twinkle Toes” Flintstone does. 

Long run then release, EVERY TIME. They can get the ball into the eighties and nineties that way.   

It seemed like a lot of needless running. Some do a shorter, ten yards, run up but most do the long one. One of the bowlers, after doing the short one made a nice play on a ball hit right back to him and I surmised it was because he wasn’t exhausted.

The reason for the run up is… the bowler is not allowed to bend his elbow, so everything is over the top and the only way to generate speed is by running up.

 Three Cool Things About Being There

1) The Food

 

Who doesn’t want to eat ball park chicken tikka marsala? I went with the curry which was actually quite good. There was another stand with Fish and Chips for the fans or Ireland, but I had to go South Asian. Canada has no food unless you count Tim Horton’s coffee and bacon cooked in beaver grease.

 

2) The People

Despite this not being a particularly well attended match, as the ticket prices indicate, the people in the stands came from all over the world. As an aside, India Pakistan will be SRO and watched by over a billion people on TV.

Sitting next to me was a guy from Australia who flew in for the match. He was VERY helpful in understanding some of the subtleties. Not so much on the fan side.

I asked him what were some good insults to yell at the batters, and he replied, “You’re always playing off your pads!” (Doesn’t hit the long ball). And, “Can’t duck the short ball.” (Still not sure why this is an insult.)  Obviously, he was rooting for Canada. 

Little linguistic tip... don’t ask a person from Australia who they are rooting for because in Australia “rooting” means having sexual intercourse.

Compare and contrast him with the old Irishman sitting behind me who was dismayed at the seeming lack of hustle displayed by the Irish squad. It was late in the match, and they were behind by a lot and running out of balls.

I turned to him and said, “What’s wrong with them? Where’s the urgency?  Someone needs to step up and light a fire. Where’s the manager?”  and looked at me and said, “Probably at the pub.”

3) I Finally Got It

The team at bat goes through their entire line up, runs up a score and then they switch.

It would be like the New York Giants get the ball for the entire first half and then the Cowboys get the ball for the second half. OK, that’s a bad example because the Cowboys would win on the first possession.

The challenge of watching has to do with figuring out where the tension is. Being down 84 runs seems like a lot, but is it?

There are two main ways to follow the score.

The first is knowing what a batter is capable of and then watching them meet, exceed, or fall short of the number of runs they are capable of. (See the Danger Man example above.)

The second, and the one that worked for me was… there is a finite number of pitches and so there is a finite number of runs that can be scored.

As every base is a run you can see when a lack of hustle to score the extra run is going to catch up to the team. 

Also, there’s a point when the trailing team pretty much has to go for the fours and sixes because being down 54 runs with 30 pitches to go is not where you want to be and every pitch that they come up short on is a wasted opportunity.  

Sort of like wasting a possession in basketball when you’re down by 12 and there is less than four minutes to go.

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There’s a lot more that I didn’t touch on… the round field, that the players don’t have to run after they hit the ball if they don’t think they can make the base, the insane amount of trotting that takes place when they hit it far enough to just get the run. Not big on hustling. (Gleyber!)

Bottom Line

I would do it again.  I would even like to try playing it, especially since I can’t go faster than a trot anyway and I think I can still bang a six if the bowl is away from my pads. Well, at least a four... 

What's with all this talk about trade deadline pickups? Have we forgotten 2022? (And other delightful takeaways from last night)

1. Last night's seemingly toothless lineup inspired immediate Yankiverse chatter about Christmas - aka the Aug. 1 trade deadline. What gifts we'll receive! A new 1B! A 2B! A set of bullpen lug nuts! A Talking Tommy Trout! Clearly, 2022 has successfully vanished into the memory hole. We've forgotten Frankie Montas, Scott Effross, Harrison Bader-for-Jordan Montgomery... Amnesia is the forever chemicals in our bloodstream. 

2. That said, let's quick bow to Cooperstown Cashman for this team. Okay, now let's pray he doesn't destroy it in one night of binge-deals. Yeah, we're tired of Gleyber's brain farts, and Anthony Rizzo does look cooked. But what will we get? Precooked versions of Gleyber and Rizzo? For 15 years, the Yankees have gaslighted themselves over the chances of saving this team on the night of July 31. Young, ascending teams win championships. Not deals for Joey Gallo.

3. Nice to not see Giancarlo last night. I say, "More!" Look... if a guy cannot run, why put him out there? Stanton's doubles are singles. His grounders are DPs. One of these days, he'll hit a laser to right and be thrown out at first. If he cannot run, the occasional moon shot cannot justify his presence. I get it that Giancarlo seems a popular teammate - that's not nothing - but if he cannot run, yikes. 

The Yankees must deal with this. They seem obliged to ignore it. That won't work. 

4. As we jockey with Philly for baseball's best record, we're not pulling away from Baltimore. The O's are the team to fear at the trade deadline, chock full of Triple A prospects, ready to go. 

5. But but but... we could them with the additions of Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, The Martian and maybe this Brubaker guy. Adding the pitchers is easy, but Jasson Dominguez needs an opening.  

6. If Dominguez keeps hitting - (currently 10 for 20 with 2 HRs at Scranton) - there's talk of trading Alex Verdugo. I'd hate to see that. Guy plays LF flawlessly, hustles on every play and grinds in the clutch. I think his best days as a Yankee in front of him. If we trade him, he'll be this year's Jordan Montgomery. Also, Redsock fans would hate seeing him win a ring in NY. Shades of Wade Boggs.

7. Great last night watching the Yankees bunt their way past KC. I'd almost forgotten the joy of a manufactured run. But but but...

8. It's Carlos Rodon who gave them the flexibility to bunt. In his last two starts, he's taken mini-no-hitters into the 4th. He's not Johnny Vander Meer. But quick turns through the opposing lineup gave the Yankees the freedom to play a one-run game. It's all interconnected.

9. More than ever, this is the season when the Yankees must go for broke. Next winter's turnover could be devastating, especially if they fail in October. But that still doesn't mean trading the future for players that, basically, other teams have decided to deal. 

10. Marcus Stroman tonight. He's delivered innings, but he doesn't shut down other teams. When Cole and Schmidt return - (assuming they do, we should take nothing for granted) - the Yankees might want to rest both Stroman and Rodon in August/September with eyes for a fresh October.

Game Thread: A Royal Pain?

 

Judge is hot, Stanton is snot.

In keeping with the generally juvenile theme of this post—one that I created, I realize—I think it's time to bring back those perpetual favorites from Highlights magazine, Goofus and Gallant. To wit:

During this weekend's series against the Dodgers, Giancarlo Stanton (Goofus) went 0-14 with SEVEN—count 'em, 7—strikeouts. He drew no walks, and batted in no runs.

By contrast, Aaron Judge (Gallant), was 7-11, with 2 strikeouts, 3 walks, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 4 runs scored, and 5 runs batted in.

Stanton (Goofus) didn't bat in any runs, because he didn't get a hit. Or even a sharp groundout.

Stanton (Goofus) didn't score any runs, because he didn't get on base.

Stanton (Goofus) left 13 men on base, including 8 men on second or third base, throughout the series.

Judge (Gallant) left one man on first base and one man on second base in the second game, when his long flyball didn't quite get out.

In all, Judge (Gallant) drove in 5 of the 10 runs the Yankees scored in the series.

Over the course of the weekend, Stanton's (Goofus') batting average dropped from .239 to .224, and his OPS dropped from .794 to .746.

Over the course of the same weekend, Judge's (Gallant's) batting average rose from .289 to .305, and his OPS rose from 1.080 to 1.139.

In the field, Judge (Gallant) made 8 putouts without an error.

Stanton (Goofus) doesn't play the field. Or run. But he can lift models over his head.

Oh, Goofus.

Note to ESPN: There are no "ghosts" in Yankee Stadium. The park is 15 years old. Babe Ruth never played here.

Last night, after the great Aaron Judge blasted a mammoth, 8th inning HR to effectively sink the Dodgers, ESPN played a short clip with - I think it was Buster Olney - and the Captain. The first question: "Do you believe in ghosts?" 

Judge chuckled and said, "Sure."

The follow up: When you're out in centerfield, do you talk to the ghosts of Ruth and Gehrig, Mantle and DiMaggio? 

On this, Judge stammered a deferral, so forgettable I can't summon it. But here is what he should have said:

"No, you fucking dolt. The ghosts of Ruth and Mantle do not roam this stadium. None of them ever set foot in this park. It opened in 2009. That place you're referencing - the one with the history, with the past, with the great moments? - they bulldozed it. They tore it down, sold whatever they could, and troweled the rest onto slow barges to China. 

"They did this not because the old stadium was beyond renovation, but because they couldn't cheaply retrofit it with luxury boxes, for the billionaires and corporations.

"So, they leveled it and built a replica, one that looks like the old stadium - but with a steakhouse and a disco, using hundreds of millions  of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, and they called it "Yankee Stadium," as if it were the same one, and they still pretend that it's the same place. 

"So, there are no 'ghosts.' Ruth and Gehrig never gazed upon this stadium. Neither did Mantle and Maris. Paul O'Neill never played here. David Cone never pitched here. Those great moments before 2009, they happened elsewhere. And the Yankees haven't won anything here since that inaugural season, when the ownership bought the three best available free agents.

"So, recapping here, no. I do not converse with the ghosts of Ruth and Gehrig. But when I'm standing in right field, I'm not far from the Michelob Ultra Clubhouse, and as each game progresses, there are certainly grand conversations to be conveyed."

Insert sigh here.

Sorry to be such a pill. But I hate it, hate it, HATE IT when the Yankees gaslight us into thinking they play on sacred grounds, the House that Ruth Built, with our 27 world championships.

In fact, most of those world series rings came before any of us were born. In this millennium, nearly a quarter of a century, the Yankees are a middling franchise with fewer championships than the Redsocks. 

Which leads me to say, pardon my French...

They better goddamm fucking win this year. 

Right now, the '24 Yankees have their best shot of a championship since 2009. It's time to end the drought. Not only do they desperately need to win this year, but they must then keep Juan Soto and not dismantle the team like the old Florida Marlins. And if Hal Steinbrenner won't do it, a massive and unending chorus must demand a new ownership.

This weekend, the Yankees lost two out of three to the franchise that represents what the "ghosts" of Ruth and Gehrig used to play for. This bullshit about history and 27 world championships? It's starting to resemble those lost empires in a jungles of Mexico, which only show up on ground-piercing radar. 

People, this must be our year. There are no ghosts. There is no mystique. There are merely human beings who wear Yankee clothes. And if we're lucky, maybe someday - a long time from now - some young Yankee star will talk about hearing whispers from the great Judge. In the meantime, ESPN oughta cork the bullshit. 

Game Thread:The Differences Between NY and LA

 

Because at this point all we can do is laugh.

         Plus, we have Gil on the mound. So maybe...

 

Disregard last night: Three takeaways from Kevin Baker's fantastic book

 I love this book, by our own HoraceClarke66. 

You gotta gotta gotta read it. 

Three little gems... and I swear, there are gems on every page...

3. Arnold Rothstein - the kingpin who fixed the 1919 "Black Sox" World Series - was a great pool player. At one point, planning to take him down, his enemies brought in a pool shark from New Jersey. Their match began on a Thursday night. It lasted into late Saturday, 32 hours. Rothstein - sipping milk all the way - beat the ringer, won $4000 and made his name in the underworld. 

2. Casey Stengel quit dentistry school to play baseball. His reasoning: "I was a left-handed dentist who made people cry. I was not very good at pulling teeth, but my mother loved my work."

1. The enigmatic Hal Chase, the best first baseman of his time, squandered his stardom with booze and gambling. At the end, he told the Sporting News: "When I die, movie magnates will make no picture like Pride of the Yankees, which honored that great player Lou Gehrig. I guess that's the answer, isn't it? Gehrig had a good name, one of the best a man could have. I am an outcast and I haven't a good name. I'm the loser just like all gamblers are." Prophetic words. He died a penniless alcoholic. 

Buy this book, dammit.