I got nothing.
If you expect me to wax hopefully on anything that relates to the '24 Yankees, I'm sorry. Dead in the water. They have ruptured my verbal spleen. They have squandered what shards of optimism remained following the Verdugo Belly-Flop Game, which replaced the Ten Stolen Bases Game, which replaced the Clay Holmes Meltdown Game, which - aww, stop this! Please, toss me back into the lake, invalidate my parking stub, cancel me, delete me, exile me, or just postpone me... but listen: I got nothing.
Here's a stat from The Athletic:
Over their last 31 games, the Yankees are 10-21, the second worst record in baseball, after the lowly White Sox. (And if we played Chicago, does anyone doubt they'd win 2-of-3?)
Here's a stat from MILB.com.
Spencer Jones, our best prospect, is hitting .238 at Double A. Six months ago, he was untouchable. Now, the Yankees are dangling him in trade talks - and he's at his lowest value. For years now, they've been trading prospects at the deadline, something a younger Brian Cashman long ago vowed never to do. Now, it's an open tap. (And if they do trade Jones, does anyone here doubt they'll get burned?)
Here's a tidbit from Baseball Reference:
Heading into the all-star break, DJ LeMahieu was 0-for-10. Coming out of it, he's 0-for-7. Dear God. He's 36, and the Yankees have two years left on his contract, at $15 million per. We can't trade him. Nobody will give us anything. (And here's the rub: If we release him, if he signs somewhere, does anyone here doubt that, at least in the short term, he'll find his stroke? I mean, how did the Yankees become such a toxic organization that decent players suddenly go into the tank?)
Nope. I got nothing. Every glass I see is half-empty. No. Completely empty. No trades, no return of Gerrit Cole, not even Aaron Judge can save this sorry team. And if anybody thinks Giancarlo Stanton - the Creeper - will miraculously raise this Titanic from the ocean floor, well, have at it. I see a zombie franchise, oozing money from every pore, but refusing to do what every successful team in the modern era has done: Rebuild with youth.
Last year, the Yankees went 82-and-80, 19-games behind Baltimore in the AL East. Nineteen games. It was their worst season since 1992. And the reaction? Denial, of course. They traded young prospects, draining the farm, expecting a quick fix.
Well, I got nothing. And it's been a long, slow descent into nothingness. Twenty-five years ago, the Yankees represented the MLB gold standard. Now, their drought extends 15 years (16, counting this one.) They are a long dead empire and the second-best team in New York. They can close their eyes, pretend they're still relevant, sell Andy Pettitte Bobbleheads and chase one of those pitiful three wild card slots, which resemble T-Ball participation trophies. But if you want hope? Nope. I got none. It is mid-July, and the '24 Yankees look dead as dishrags.
It's amazing to me how quickly this team can implode. And in successive years. How do they come out winning every game in sight and then completely collapse? It's incredible. And, in a Bizarro Superman kind of way, very impressive. It's almost like he takes over the team and starts barking orders.
ReplyDelete"No! Stop hitting! Make outs is good...double play are better!"
"Starters throw meatballs now! Fielders no catch ball!"
"Me love Boone! Him great lousy manager!"
More like the all got exposed to white kryptonite.
ReplyDeleteHow. How can they have been so good, and now they are so so bad? HOW?
ReplyDeleteFuck.
https://nypost.com/2024/07/21/sports/rachel-minaya-wife-of-yankees-executive-omar-found-dead-in-their-nj-home/
ReplyDeletePerhaps it is indeed time to blame the white kryptonite.
The Intern has already has his ghost-writing team gathering material for his post-season apologia.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete“…how did the Yankees become such a toxic organization that decent players suddenly go into the tank?
1. Ownership.
2. Management.
3. Field Manager.
4. Coaching.
5. Lack of Accountability at every level.
Perhaps..
6. The Samson Syndrome - banning long hair and facial hair.
Or my personal favorite.
7. My friend made a loud deal with both god and the devil years ago to allow the team to beat the Mets in the WS. It included something about 40 years.
Actually it’s mostly a noxious combination of #1 and #5.
Especially #5.
Mrs. Minaya was only 55. That's not very old these days.
ReplyDeleteBack to baseball...Sevvy nailed it. Two hitters. And just like previous years, guys who can no longer hit at all, trotted out every day.
Get some kids up here. Get rid of the over the hill gang. Trade for some guys who will make a difference, who aren't aging fast or are borderline major leaguers.
Start spending that $300 million more wisely. Cut bait on the mistakes.
Oh, wait. Cashman is still here.
Never mind.
It certainly is dramatic—but not all that mysterious.
ReplyDeleteEvery year, Brian Cashman discounts depth. He does not provide enough on the bench, he does not provide enough in the starting rotation or in the bullpen.
This didn't just start in 2010. If you look back to the very start of his regime, it was there. He was given a team so loaded by the Holy Trinity—Watson, Showalter, and Stick "Should Be In the Hall" Michael—that for years it didn't matter so much. But even way back—such as in the 2001 World Series or the 2004 ALCS—the Yankees suffered catastrophic losses because the team had been worn to shreds over the regular season....
Given the number of pitchers we carry on the roster, I'm surprised we even have a bench.
ReplyDeleteHey, here's a good one. Rodent is pitching this afternoon and the betting line has the Yankees as favorites.
Bookies and gamblers having a little joke. There should be so much money plunked down on Tampa that the odds change before game time.
...Like any other incompetent inheritor of a marvelous thing—looking at you, Hal!—once he had worn his inheritance down to the nub, Cashman could not replenish it.
ReplyDeleteHe got lucky once, when Hal let him buy all the top free agents out there, and they came through. But that was it.
Over and over again, Cashman proved that he could not build the sort of farm system, provide the sort of instruction and training, make the sorts of trades, or buy enough players at rates Hal considered "sustainable," to construct a championship team.
Slowly, surely, like those scenes inside the Titanic in "A Night to Remember," the Yankees started to list....
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJosh Diemert on Pinstripe Alley, quote of the day:
ReplyDelete"Carlos Rodón pitches today. You may interpret this as a threat, but I mean it simply as a statement of fact."
Hoss, I meant "save me a seat when one slides by."
ReplyDeleteThose pesky words.
Remember back in spring training when the obligatory….”he’s re-shaped his body”, “he’s in the best shape of his life” nonsense about Mike Stanton? Yup, Father Time is undefeated (unless you drink baby’s blood like TB12). I mean if Hal Jr. said to Cash-hole, “look, keep them competitive enough to sell tickets”, he’s doing a bang up job. There is a pox upon this house.
ReplyDelete...It seems more dramatic to us because so many teams now tank when they cannot win, that the Yankees can go through incredible "hot streaks." But always, better teams are waiting. And always, the bolts begin to tear away, with no replacements available.
ReplyDeleteThere is no urgency to correct this because, in the offices of Yankees management, no listing is visible. They have fielded a "winning" team in a sport where they've convinced themselves that "the playoffs are a crapshoot," and we fans—poor suckers—keep coming out in big, profitable numbers.
What they will learn is that keeping a team in perfect stasis is not possible. But really...what will the punishments be?
Hal will still be rich—as will Cashie. And no doubt, some other sucker will hire him to run their team.
Yesterday. Could we give Oz #2 another try? And replace three guys in our crack bullpen with the three guys below? Looking at you, especially, Ferguson.
ReplyDelete2B Oswald Peraza 3-4, RBI, 3 SB, throwing error — back-to-back three-hit games, plus some speed
Scott Effross 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (win) — bullpen combined for five shutout innings of one-hit ball
Chasen Shreve 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Ron Marinaccio 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Ca$hman has always worked from the 80’s playbook. Put a team
ReplyDeletetogether of names, not solid players. The only way this team can beat anyone is to hit 6 HRs in game. No baserunners, no situational hitting, no fielders, just 10s of millions of dollars given to players past their prime who once put up good offensive numbers. Also, this team has no idea of how to handle pitchers. Look at the guys who sucked here and thrived elsewhere. Ca$hman should follow Biden and do the honorable thing.
From Max Goodman on X:
ReplyDelete#Yankees in LF from 2020 until today:
- Aaron Hicks (244 PA): 103 wRC+, .698 OPS
- Joey Gallo (350 PA): 102 wRC+, .712 OPS
- Clint Frazier (141 PA): 96 wRC+, .681
- Brett Gardner (214 PA): 93 wRC+, .680 OPS
- Alex Verdugo (385 PA): 82 wRC+, .639 OPS
snip
But we shouldn't be surprised about Verdugo...it happened in LA and it happened in Boston...
Today's Lineup:
ReplyDeleteBen Rice (L) 1B
Juan Soto (L) RF
Aaron Judge (R) DH
Austin Wells (L) C
Anthony Volpe (R) SS
Alex Verdugo (L) LF
Oswaldo Cabrera (S) 2B
Trent Grisham (L) CF
DJ LeMahieu (R) 3B
Sevy ain’t wrong….2 hitters
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRe-energizing of what? Genius Cashman has done a poor job, at best and further done irreputable damage to the Yankees Organization. The player development stinks. Ben Rice, now batting under .220. Loads of dead wood: Dj, Gleyber, Grishem. And what do we have to look forward to? The "Albatros", "Tissue Mon" Stanton, returning next week. This is if he does not reinjure himself, making a ham and cheese sandwich. Just like an injury was forthcoming, Tissue Mon will not hit for at least two weeks. We will get to watch him swing at pitches a foot of the plate. As long as the putz, geek, nebish, inept, loser Genius Cashman runs the show, it's the same thing over and over.
ReplyDeleteSo are you guys, myself, and the majority of the Yankee fans in New York ready for the house cleaning? I'm talking about trading every player who will bring in prospects at the deadline. Including and especially Soto, maybe hanging on to the few linchpins such as Judge and Cole (I'm sure that they'd be crazy about the plan)? Re-stock the farm and wait for the promise that in five years we'd have something? Of course that plan sometimes takes ten, fifteen, maybe twenty years. IMHO, the only realistic thing to do is fire The Brain in the off-season, bringing in a GM from outside the organization and hope that in three to five years that everything works out. If the Stanton Disease hadn't infected the farm maybe I wouldn't feel such despair. Maybe some of those touted arms, The Martian, and a few surprises would have re-energized the team. But right now things look fucking grim, at least from the outside.
ReplyDeleteJudge might demand a trade before too long. He's aging out of his prime.
ReplyDeleteI would be up for what you describe @Kevin, but the group of executives who would be doing this re-set have already shown a poor track record on a smaller scale, so we get what we get. Luckily, since I live in Wyoming, I’m far enough away and 2 time zones removed, I get to hide from most of the Yankee carnage in real time and can just lurk on this excellent site.
ReplyDeleteLOL, apparently the Rays started Sandy Koufax today.
ReplyDeleteAgain we see a team not prepared to play, lacking any urgency or fire.
Why bother - either way you get paid and your boss kisses your ass.
Wow I didn't have NRFI on my bingo card today...
ReplyDeleteBack to back and a belly to belly...
ReplyDeleteKevin, I think everybody here wants a house cleaning. It has to start with firing cashman. (or least removing him from any decision making capacity). In that highly unlikely event, we need a younger, innovative GM not afraid to take chances. He’d have to keep his fire and desire under wraps during the interview process, and be granted absolute sovereignty in player, managing, and coaching choices.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the odds of that?
Wells, okay. But Volpe?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't bail on the whole team. I'd just like to see it restored to what it was earlier in the year. That means DJ doesn't play, Stanton provides protection in the middle of the lineup, Schmidt and a couple other pitchers return. I'd trade Gleyber if possible. Give Peraza that job and see what he can do. Trade Verdugo too, or at least make him a defensive replacement or something to minimize his damage. I don't know if Rizzo can ever come back from the injuries last year and this.
ReplyDeleteWe need Gil to be a phenom, Cole to be an ace. Trade Nestor if we can replace him in the rotation. I'll take Schmidt for that, if he can return.
We really could use the Martian, but who knows what's going on there. Grisham is good for the bench. Trevino might have a few miles left, but he's tradeable, imo.
It's all fixable without a teardown. But a few changes are called for.
We had some good luck earlier this year. It evaporated. We'll need that to come back, too.
ReplyDeleteRodent serves a meatball.
ReplyDeleteHey Vertigo:
ReplyDeleteHow’’bout running out the ball when you hit it instead of guessing if it’s fair to foul?
Hey Siri
ReplyDeleteHow about a fastball in the ribs.
MF needs to get hit.
DJ?????
ReplyDeleteWow
ReplyDeleteJM, I'd keep Volpe. But I'm on the fence concerning a rebuild. Generally I think that rebuilds are the thing of younger fantasy league players without memories of how teams can take decades to "rebuild".
ReplyDeleteI agree, Kevin. Volpe is fine with me, too.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I preferred a Peraza over Volpe, but the last few games notwithstanding, he seems to have flamed out at AAA. Could he still be viable trade piece? Hope he doesn’t wither on the vine like so many others.
ReplyDeleteI’d be ok with a rebuild. It doesn’t have to take decades. But there no cashman and the current management structure could pull it off. No way.
Soto x two
ReplyDeleteNice
ReplyDeleteCan we sign Soto after the game please?
ReplyDeleteIt’s not my money - so how about 10 years @ 510,000,000.00
Have the press conference tomorrow before the Mets game.
Thank you.
They won
ReplyDeleteTheyyyyyyyy
Won
Yankees Win!!!
ReplyDeletePut a bow on this one.
ReplyDeletecheck out the SOTO article in The NY Times/Athletic if you can
ReplyDeletecomments section sure sounds familiar
Cheer-up, we don't always get the gas-pipe in trades. Just most of the time. Below is from "Major League Trade Rumors."com (edited):
ReplyDeleteThe A’s received an unwelcome injury update over the weekend, when righty Luis Medina was diagnosed with an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Medina is headed for a second opinion on his elbow.
The 25-year-old Medina came to the A’s alongside lefties JP Sears and Ken Waldichuk in the trade that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Yankees. As it’s turned out, four of the five pitchers involved in that swap — Medina, Waldichuk, Montas, Trivino — have incurred significant injuries since the deal came together. Waldichuk and Trivino both had Tommy John surgery. Montas underwent shoulder surgery. Medina is now facing a prolonged absence himself, in all likelihood.