Not about Boone, not about Cashman, not about Hal - not about any of the wonk kewpies who run this organization, this ongoing mess, which rules our days and nights.
Today, the Yankees have the 2nd best record in all of baseball.
They lead the AL East by two games in the loss column.
If the season ended now, they would enjoy the home field advantage through the ALCS.
So, why are we so squeamish, so terrified, so defeatist, when we peer into the road ahead?
Well, it's simple.
The Yankees are a two-man team that can be pitched around, and they cannot close a tight game.
Every one of us knows that opposing teams seldom pay a price for walking Judge. And we all dread taking a one-run lead into the 9th, because we know that, at any moment, even with two outs and nobody on base, the switch can get flipped, and the season can fly out the window.
It's a reality that Yank fans have lived for the last five years, ever since Aroldis Chapman transitioned from baseball's most intimidating closer into a sweat-dripping turnstile who raised the hopes of every team we faced.
We have gone through closer after closer, but we have never replaced Mariano Rivera, and we probably never will. (The same can be said of Jeter. Despite all our efforts, and all our hypes, replacements always fall short.)
Over the last three days, the Yankees beat one of MLB's best teams, 2-1, in a three-game series. Twice, behind Judge and Soto, we bashed in their miserable skulls. But in that one excruciating loss, every gremlin in the box escaped, as the Yankees could neither score a runner or hold the lead.
So, here we are - sitting uneasily in the rarified air of 1st, behind the Dodgers, a team that has outspent us by $17 million this year, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. (The Mets lead all of baseball in spending, at $338 million; that's $35 million higher than the Yankee payroll.) Realistically, we should not complain.
But each of us knows the massive flaw in the center of this roster. Eventually, it will be the end game for 2024. It is the reason why this team has so much trouble against tomato cans. It's the reason we will fail in October.
If Judge and Soto don't hit, the team won't score.
And God help us if the bullpen must hold a lead.
We should enjoy this moment. We are the best team in the AL, on paper, for now. Trouble is, it just feels so fragile, so tenuous and, most troubling... so temporary.
Yes, they ARE a two-man team that can be pitched around and they cannot close a tight game. But they are so much more... They are a team that has no depth, a team that does not know or cannot execute the baseball fundamentals, a team that doesn't know how to develop young players or care for the ones it already has. A team that has no fire in its belly - from a collective standpoint. Individuals, sure, but that thing about "keep the line moving?" Not so much. I remember how the last dynasty, if a guy was one base, the next few guys in the hole would be salivating to drive him in. I don't see that here. In fact, of all the acronyms that have overtaken baseball in recent decades, the big one for me is LOB - left on base. We have become the High Lords of LOB for MANY YEARS NOW. It's what we do best. There's a rudderlessness about them, a spiritual malaise. And yes, we're in 2nd or 1st or whatever on any given day, we do this and we do that, but it's more of a reflection to me of the sorry state of the modern game than our abilities. How do you think THIS team would do against any good team in the late 90s - juice aside? the 1930s? I'm sorry, but this is a motley collection of mediocrities with a few genuine stars who have heart. Fuck Hal, fuck Brian, fuck Bonnie and Blitzen.
ReplyDeleteDuque, you summed up my feelings beautifully!
ReplyDelete13bit…preaching to the choir, Bro. Nail meet hammer.
ReplyDeleteacrilly - I know, but all I have left is this pathetic, tape-loop rant. my apologies.
ReplyDeleteNah, that reads too harsh. What I really mean is “I’m right there with you”
DeleteJD is turning it up in SWB. Hitting .438 (14-for-32) in his last eight games with the RailRiders.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but why do we need the martian when we have verdugo?
ReplyDeleteDick, if I had been drinking coffee, I would've done a Danny Thomas spit take.
ReplyDeletePeraza sent down…is that jazz music I hear playing?
ReplyDeleteYes, and the song is "Take the L Train" in honor of our impending series loss against another moribund team.
ReplyDeleteOuch! Can’t say I like that tune.
DeleteJazz officially back on the active roster. Will Boone sit him in favor of DJLM with a lefty going for the Rockies?
ReplyDeleteIf it hurts our ability to score runs, Boone will do it.
ReplyDelete1. Gleyber Torres, 2B
ReplyDelete2. Juan Soto, RF
3. Aaron Judge, CF
4. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
5. Jazz Chisholm Jr., 3B
6. Jose Trevino, C
7. Anthony Volpe, SS
8. Alex Verdugo, LF
9. DJ LeMahieu, 1B
All that Jazz, and all that Jizz at the bottom of the order.
and it's porn 'stache
ReplyDelete