Nope, we're talking about Anthony Volpe, the meat-and-potatoes shortstop on the all-the-crab-legs-you-can-eat Yankees.
And to answer our heading, no! The Yankees certainly have NOT destroyed their 23-year-old future icon... yet.
He's hit a sour patch, that's all. Just ignore the last month - er, seven weeks - and Volpe's dearth of HRs, SBs, hits and walks. He still plays excellent defense. Considering the plights of Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Who's On First, we can view Volpe as a flickering candle in an infield of blackness.
Trouble is, that's not what the Yankees sold us.
Last year, in a disappointing rookie season, Volpe banged out 21 HRs, despite a BA of .209. In the minors, he'd been touted as one of MLB's premier hitting prospects, and he potentially would fill the Post-Jeter Abyss, which has haunted the Yankees since 2014. (Think: Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Gleyber, Tyler Wade, Troy Tulowitski, Didi Gregorius, Thairo Estrada, Your Name Here). Jeet retired 10 years ago, and nobody has come close. Volpe was supposed to be our best shot. More and more, that comparison looks unfair.
Dear God, the quickest way to destroy a rookie is to compare him with an all-time great. (By the way, the Yankees crafted the perfect expectations trap for Jasson Dominguez, by suggesting he's the next Mickey Mantle and Mike Trout. Our new tradition: Killing youngsters via expectations.)
Last winter, Volpe worked on leveling his swing, putting more balls into play. Through May, it worked. He batted .292 and was being mentioned in the rarified company of Gunner Henderson and Bobby Witt Jr. With Volpe leading off, the Yankees soared. On a few occasions, we at IIHIIFIIc might have even suggested that the Post-Jeter Abyss had been sated.
Fuck dat. Lately, Volpe has withered into a batter without power and average - the worst of both worlds. He's been dropped from the leadoff spot, which should have been a cathartic place, ahead of Soto & Judge. Now, the YES spinners claim Volpe is free from the pressure of hitting leadoff - as if playing bat boy for the Yankees doesn't conjure ten times the pressures of KC.
Look... Volpe can turn around this season. He's got three months. The question is - and it's a dark one - whether he's trying to remake his swing, in the guts of a season. It's a lousy time to be starting anew.
The Yankees haven't destroyed him... yet. Then again, Dua is still out there. Stay tuned.
Alza Volpe need a Dua iza mangiare the chicken parm, capiche?
ReplyDeleteCan't say if the Yankees destroyed him but they've certainly destroyed most of my affection for them.
ReplyDeleteMayza and the Metrics Boys
ReplyDelete“All those numbers have moved in the wrong direction here in 2024, but there are reasons to suspect he’s not been as bad as an 8.03 ERA would suggest. His .367 batting average on balls in play and 54.8% strand rate have both been on the unfortunate side of average, which is why his 4.91 FIP and 5.08 SIERA paint a rosier picture of his work this year.”
Raccoon Brian eating from the dumpster.
ReplyDeleteFIP FOP SIERA FUM HO HO HO
ReplyDeletehttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/07/yankees-sign-tim-mayza-to-minor-league-deal.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
ReplyDeleteDiDi G had his moments
ReplyDeleteThe Pharaoh had his moments, too.
ReplyDeleteAt 23, it’s obviously too early to write Volpe off as a hitter. But his recent slump is approaching 2 months, so it is much more than a rough patch, more an indication of something fundamentally wrong. The organization lacks competent hitting coaches and philosophy so an option to SWB probably wouldn't help, although if his current malaise reaches into August that is what should happen. Clearly help from outside the organization is required, a la what Judge did. For now, he should be batting ninth, although the lineup is full of players who should be batting ninth.
ReplyDeleteIt’s always wrong to label players as the next Jeter, Mantle…it’s really a marketing tool to juice interest, distract from overall poor play, and generate revenue. And if this organization isn’t about enhancing revenue, what is its mission? Certainly not winning Championships.
RIP - Shelly Duvall
ReplyDeleteShelly had her moments, as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there was Shelley Duncan…
Shelly . . . .put down the bat.
ReplyDeleteLoved Shelly Duvall!
ReplyDeleteAs for Volpe, you beat me to it, Duque. My headline was going to read: "IS VOLPE THE NEW GLEYBER?"—which is what he certainly resembles: terrific stretches of play, followed by months, even years when he just falls off a cliff. MORE than coincidence?
ReplyDeleteAnd hey, just for the record: Thairo never got a chance (I would pay cash money to have him on the Yankees now—the same cash money HAL got for him from the Giants), and Didi was generally pretty damned good.
The shortstop in waiting then was...Gleyber Torres. Sigh.
Three Women - required viewing.
ReplyDeleteThat recently rediscovered, low budget, underground, sleeper The Shining.
and of course . . . Popeye
https://youtu.be/bBh2O5h-oMU?si=wNPAbB2-REwXo3h6
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ReplyDeleteThat is great. But telling the truth is a sure way to get fired. This organization is not big on that.
ReplyDeleteFunny Boone Deep Fake video:
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/JacobBSpeaks/status/1811064137868284307
Can “infield of death” be the new Steinbrenner-esque “True Yankee”?
ReplyDelete