For sure, Yank fans already knew him. We recalled the three seasons (2019-2021) when "Setback Sevy" threw a grand total of 18 innings. We remembered his October collapses and the endless debate over his role. Should he start? Should he close? Nobody questioned Sevy's heart. But we wondered if NYC was the problem. If he could flee to a low-stress city - a calm KC or beery Milwaukee - maybe he'd thrive.
Turns out, he didn't leave town. He just switched boroughs. And last year, as a measly Met, Severino threw 182 innings - most on the staff, his most since 2018, with an ERA of 3.91.
Nope, the pizza rats of Gotham weren't the problem. Sevy just needed a different employer.
On the Mets, Severino joined Harrison Bader, another ex-Yank. When the Death Barge traded for Bader on Aug 1, 2022, he was supposed to be the longtime fixture in CF. He lasted one year, unceremoniously waived the following August. Last year, Bader's numbers rose across the board - up in BA, HR and RBI - from his Yankee darkness. It wasn't spectacular, but it was serviceable. The Mets were a better team, sweeping the Subway Series. Bader joined Adam Ottavino, another ex-Yank, whose pitching - though not specular - improved over his time in the Bronx boiler.
In the last two years, the Mets have taken in David Robertson, Jose Quintana, Gary Sanchez and Tim Locastro - ex-Yanks with new leases on life. The results weren't as dramatic as Severino's - Sanchez only lasted a few weeks, though he keeps going - and a growing ex-Yankee clique will grace the Mets in 2025.
It's easy to foresee the Mets running away with the NL East, led by their former Yankees. And we must wonder: Is something wrong in the Bronx?
Throughout his career, in many cities, Josh Donaldson had never been a clubhouse problem; then he came to the Yankees in 2023 and was a disaster. Gleyber Torres was a future star, until last year he suddenly became a sleepwalking Gleyber the Glitch. Carlos Rodon? Marcus Stroman? These players had solid track records - before the Yankees, that is. WTF?
I raise this because, lately, New Yorkers have gotten ringside seats to a gloriously rotted culture of failure: It's called the New York Giants, and it's a top-down salute to mediocrity. As a Giants fan, you find yourself so alienated from this team, this disaster, that many of us root for it lose - to snag a higher draft pick, even though we know it won't matter: They'll just draft a bum.
The moral of the Giants (and the Jets?) A wealthy team in the wealthiest sports market in America can still breed an atmosphere of colossal failure. The Yankees are not the Jersey Giants. But they have a thing about collapsing under their own weight.
And all this talk about Juan Soto missing the protection of Aaron Judge - I dunno. Seems to me that Soto - and the Mets - knew exactly what he was doing. He was escaping a perennial collapse. I hope he's wrong.
What amazes me is that Hal Steinbrenner will never change the front office that has fostered this annual fiasco. My God, this is the New York Yankees, who are cheapening out. Listen: I don't think Brian Cashman is a bad person or - to be honest - maybe not even a bad GM. I just think that, together, they somehow become a primal and unstoppable force of mediocrity. And Cashman will run the team until age 90, when his face is as blue as Mitch McConnell's fingers.
We're in for a long, hard slog.
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13 comments:
I don’t see the Mets running away with the nl east at all, unless they signed 3 starting pitchers last night. Their rotation is Senga and Holmes right now.
"they have a thing about collapsing under their own weight."
Odds bodkins, sir, you have put your finger on the feeling I've had about the Yankees for some years now. Never had words to articulate it. This is perfect.
Something's wrong with the Yankee coaching. Maybe their analytics, which is telling their coaches what to teach. Definitely starts with their manager. Boone pulled a classic Joe Torre Buddha impersonation when he sat on his ass during that gruesome 5th inning of the last World Series game. Stuff like that is what's wrong with the Yankees.
Soto decided to run away. Says on the internet that he didn't even talk to any of his former Yankee teammates during this offseason before signing with the Mets. He was obviously not happy with the clubhouse. Can't blame him.
Look, when Judge turned free agent a couple of years ago, I said "if he wants to win, he should run away without looking back". And if he wants the money, he probably should look elsewhere as well. Turns out, he didn't really care about the money, because he signed an ultra team friendly contract at almost half value. But I guess he really doesn't care about winning a championship either, since he stayed here. It ain't ever happening here. Soto was smart enough to see that.
Hoss, saw your post from a few days ago: "Hal Steinbrenner plays the long game". What an awesome post! Amen, Amen, Amen!
I especially liked these two passages:
"Take a look at how the Yankees have operated under the reign of Hal. Every single strategy they've pursued has been about making their business more exclusive and expensive, and not about widening the fan base or making the team better."
"But even so—even with a potential world championship on the line—the Yanks let Jasson Dominguez molder in Triple-A for much of this season, while Verdugo flopped about the outfield. The reason? They were concerned that, five years down the line, Dominguez might be able to file for free agency a season earlier."
Yeah, they've lost me as a fan. If they don't care about winning a championship, why should I care?
Why should I care?
Whyyyyyyyy should I care?
... Out of my brain on the five ... fifteen!
Out of my brain on the train
Everything about the Yankee management is wrong, the owner, the GM and the arrogant, pompous and incompetent executive suite, their medical staff, their player development team, their conditioning staff, their PR joke of a manager, probably their coaches and CERTAINLY their analytics department, who have way, way, too much say in day-to-day and on-the-field decision-making.
Analytics, who's role is far too large for their britches, are a major reason the Yankees break ballplayers like breadsticks, produce ballplayers who don't know how to field their positions, make up lineups that make me thump my head on the table, bad trades, stupid pitching match ups and just about everything else they think can be reduced to a number in a spreadsheet.
Mets definitely have a better owner and better field staff. Probably better everything else. Which isn't difficult, because the Yankees have nothing beyond their players who know how to play baseball. And the best of them rely on outside advisors to ensure their success on the field; another telling fact.
At this point, I just want Hal to sell the team to someone who promises to fire everyone besides the players, replace them with competent professionals and demonstrates a commitment to fielding championship teams. Soto saw this when he finally got to eyeball the leadership and realized they were the source of Yankee dysfunction and nothing but arrogant, self-deluded clowns.
What all of you wrote X100! Dr. T X200. In today's NYP John Sterling says that it wasn't the money. Soto didn't want to be a Yankee. He can't understand why. We can.
The allure of being a Yankee is gone. The modern player doesn't want to conform to archaic no beards and long hair rules.
👍 for the Quadrophenia reference. The most underrated album in the history of rock.
IS Brian Cashman really a good person, Duque? I mean, this is a guy who broke up his marriage and family for a nut he met at a cocktail party (Actual pick-up line: "The Yankees run the world—and I run the Yankees); who thinks a great practical joke is running around with a "fart gun," and who has devoted much of his career to trying to humiliate Derek Jeter.
Who knows, but I wouldn't turn my back on the little twerp. As for him being a good GM, well, I think that one was decided a while back.
Dr. T., YES! Remember when we used to debate: are the analytics wrong, or do the Yankees just not know how to apply them? I think the answer is: both.
Thanks for the kind words, Hammer. And yes, this is the only explanation that makes sense. HAL doesn't want to spend so much money? Fine. Hire a guy who can build a farm system and make a decent trade. But that just means spending more money down the road. He keeps Pal on because Cashie can provide exactly the sort of mediocrity he wants.
Sure, baseball is never a steady state (despite what Chase Headley's career might imply), and the Yanks will probably start to deteriorate in a few years. But they have a lot of bad seasons to give before the bottom line feels the pinch. Just look at those Knicks!...
...Speaking of which, let's remember that the last time a Steinbrenner nearly sold the team, the buyer was going to be the Dolan clan. So it CAN always get worse...
...As for me, I'm back to my version of Air Supply's big hit: "I'm all out of fucks..."
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