Please remember our guarantee: nearly every one of these ballplayers, by his presence on the team alone, would have ensured that the Yankees won multiple pennants and World Series over the past eight seasons.
Outfield/First Base—Bryce Harper. Allegedly, yet another free agent (see Machado, Manny), who was willing to offer the Yankees a discount, when he became a free agent after the 2018 season.
Harper was just 26 then, and had already garnered a Rookie-of-the-Year, an MVP, a Silver Slugger, and 5 All-Star appearances. Yanks passed—and since then, Harper has only picked up another MVP, another Silver Slugger, two more All-Star games, and, most importantly, a pennant with the Philadelphia Phillies.
To be sure, injuries in recent years have left him confined to first base this year. Yeah, not like we needed any help there.
The Yankees could have gambled all of a one-year contract, at $12.5 mill, to see if he was back. They didn't, the Cubs did, and the lefty hit .307 with 26 homers, and 20 stolen bases last season, and ran 10th in the NL MVP race. Think those figures might have been even better with our short porch?
And afterwards...the Yankees still weren't interested. Hey Verdugo was on the market!
Cody has been less this year, just 9 homers and .269 so far. But he has yet to lose a game by falling on his face after spectacularly misjudging a flyball. Of course, it's not like we needed help in center. But hey, Cody would not have cost a couple of pitching prospects—only money.
Hmm, I'm beginning to sense a pattern here.
Outfield/DH—J.D. Martinez. Ah, a perennial Cashman all-star, the man he passed over for Giancarlo after the 2017 season, and that has made all the difference.
Martinez, of course, led Boston to title in 2018, hitting 43 homers, driving in an AL-leading 130, and batting .330. He's won two Silver Sluggers, and been in 5 All-Star games. Now he's over in Flushing, still going strong.
Since that fateful off-season, Martinez has outhomered Giancarlo by 173-153. Above all, though, he's been able to stay on the field, playing almost 200 more games than Stanton (816-618).
Hey, I understand. Just how long was Brian Cashman supposed to hang on to this perpetually sunny, but perpetually injured outfielder he had acquired for a vital pitcher at the height of a pennant race?
But he could've got, I dunno, maybe another player or two for Bader when he unloaded him last summer? Or even the usual Steinbrenner bag of gold?
No could do. Cashie didn't even get the cash, instead just waiving the Westchester native. Bader moved on to Queens where, miraculously, his game has revived and he's suddenly able to stay on the field. Hmm...
This is going to be the most painful one of all.
How can he go? Why should he stay? And will the Yankees even offer the most electric player they've added in years?
I tell you they will not.
To some, your Cashman all-star selections seem like cherry-picking. But in his case, there are so many cherries to pick from!
ReplyDeleteAroldis Chapman without the profuse sweats:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/yankees-add-animal-pitcher-who-throws-103-mph-fastball/ar-BB1q5Ttu?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=d42807fd093c427ef3435f469e27ce55&ei=3
Right now I’d day the arrow is pointing down on the Yanks resigning Soto. He commented last night how much he’d like to play with Soto. Of course that could just be posturing, which Soto does every waking minute. I just don’t think that Steinway will go the extra mile. If Soto signs for $50M and the Yanks go all the way over the competitive tax threshold it would cost them an additional $55M.
ReplyDeleteDo you really think little stein would sign off on that?
This is just meant to beat up Cashie for his awful signings and failures to sign. Happy to give him his props for all his great signings and trades, such as...
ReplyDeleteI kid, I kid. I know there are some. But the vast majority, dumpster dives who lasted a half-year or so.
Hal is a greedhead, A billionaire many times over who feels like he does not have enough money. He also hates baseball. Money is real to him, although arguably he does not know the value of a dollar. He does know that losing millions to some tax should feel bad and this, combined with his hatred of baseball, makes it easy for him to make the wrong moves. If he had a real baseball guy as general manager, things might work out, but he doesn’t. He has a thimble head running the whole team, from top to bottom. It’s a pathetic fucking mess.
ReplyDeleteEvery day, he probably wants to sell the team, cash out, and just earn stupid amounts of interest. It’s becoming an interesting psychological question of why he sticks around. Old King George really did a number on this poor little idiot’s head. Imagine never working a day in your life and being so fucking miserable.
Hoss, even a broken clock is right twice a day. I’ll give 100 hundred monkeys $1 billion and they’ll sign a few good players. I refuse to give cash any credit for anything at all. Nothing, I tell you.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I don't think Steinbrenner will re-sign Soto. I don't think he ever intended to. But as someone wrote, giving up 4 pitchers for the guy and then NOT re-signing him is baseball malpractice.
ReplyDeleteI think what Hal and The Brain thought was that Soto would bring in the fans for a year—always the overwhelming priority—and, who knows, maybe even win a ring for the Yanks. The fans would be so overjoyed, they wouldn't even mind seeing Soto gogo...since after all, The Brain could point to his two, cheap new farm call-ups: Spence and The Martian. Who, in the best-case scenario, would have already won our hearts.
This is not unlike what Washington did in letting Bryce Harper go, saying, "But we have this great new kid, Soto!"
We now operate at the level of the Washington Nationals. Except that our great new kid is always injured. Sigh.
It looks WFAN will pair convicted felon and baseball no-nothing Craig Carton with Suzyn Waldman for a series in Aug.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they have found their replacement for John Sterling?
Thoughts? (And Prayers?)
It is a mystery why Hal sticks around, Bitty. Fear of letting down his father (if only on an unconscious level)? Just waiting so he can pass the team off on the next Steinbrenner generation?
ReplyDeleteFor a moment, it looked like he might be bent on slowly selling out to Murdoch. Then that stopped. Next, it looked like he maybe wanted to try to build a soccer/real estate empire on top of what he inherited—hence that whole "Soccer City" nonsense. But now that's been abandoned.
So what he wants...who knows? I wonder if he knows himself.
Ugly Unis at the All-Star game
ReplyDeleteIncredibly ugly. The gear nonsense has to stop.
ReplyDeleteFun game so far. Just wish Judge had done something.
Forgot to put in Yelich as yet another guy Cashman might have gone after when they were selling off the Marlins. But no interest.
ReplyDeleteI “recorded” the all star game to put on later to help me get an uninterrupted, restful sleep.
ReplyDeleteYou're missing this amazing announcing. They were just lamenting that "there haven't been many great division races of late." Yeah, that's what happens when you let 40 percent of the league make the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteIs Sherlock going to be in in the 9th? With a 5-3 lead?
ReplyDeleteThis is like a Twilight Zone, where the same thing keeps happening. I want the AL to win, but I also want Cashman to be embarrassed on a national stage.
The broadcast STILL flogging the "Ohtan is better than Ruth" horse.
ReplyDeleteThe latest: "Ohtani won the All-Star Game as a pitcher two years ago, and has now hit a home run in one—something Babe Ruth never did."
Sigh.
Of course, Ruth never pitched in an All-Star Game, as one was not played until he was 38.
Phew, no Sherlock! At least, not yet.
ReplyDeleteOh, I almost forgot:
ReplyDelete"Thuhhhh Yankees' league wins! Thuuuuhhhhhhh Yankees (league) win(s)!"
Throw Refsnyder in there. Just for fun.
ReplyDelete