So are the Dodgers and - evidently - us. (Cole, Fried, Rodon, Schmidt, Gil, Stroman?) If so, the long-awaited era of Slingin' Sixes may have finally arrived. For years now, MLB front office tiddily-winkers have pondered the six-man as a potential solution to the workloads that relentlessly grind down starters, enriching the likes of Stroman and Buehler. If it lessens the shredder on elbows and shoulders - or just seems to - the front six could become the new normal.
Here is Boston's Olympian six-man, for now:
Garret CrochetWalker Buehler
Lucas Giolito
Tanner Houk
Brayan Bello
Kutter Crawford
Yeap, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford!
As Jimi would sing, "'S'kyooz me, while I kiss this guy." The 1966 Dodgers (Koufax, Drysdale, Osteen, Sutton) won't lose sleep over this. But but BUT... Boston is quietly bolstering its staff, and it seems to be in on the bidding for remaining free agents.
Is this real or Memorex? Dunno. But we'll get a glimpse when music stops, and Alex Bregman sits down. If Boston signs Bregman, it would solidify the Redsock infield in a way that - frankly - we should find worrisome. Bregman would anchor 3B, Rafael Devers would move to 1B, and the only thing separating us from them would be - let's say it all together - pitching, pitching, pitching.
The upcoming season might bring an old-fashioned - (that is, circa 2000) - Redsock-Yankee divisional race. Add the wave of young talent still stockpiled in Baltimore, and this recent bogus chatter about a weakened AL East could turn out to be as real as the polls that showed Kamala winning Iowa. Toronto still has massive gobs of Canadian money, and I believe that Tampa - playing home games in a wild, sold-out Yankee bandbox - could be surprisingly reborn.
Which brings us back to current reality: The Yankees cannot be done this winter. Boston just made a move. We need a counter-move. Hey, Siri, can you call Mr. Steinbrenner?
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11 comments:
Not ONE of the Red Sox's pitchers has a name that begins with a letter from the second half of the alphabet. TYPICAL MASSHOLE DISCRIMINATION. As someone who was always close to the last called on, the last in line, the end of the alphabet, I call Boston Fungus Rot Disease when I see it!
Given the extraordinary arm injuries that befall pitchers these days - even more so for the Yankees - a 6 man rotation makes sense. Of course, that doesn't solve the gapping holes at 3rd and LF. Bregman would solve one of those problems quite nicely.
Nor have they addressed the fact that, minus Aaron Judge, the collective 2024 OBP of the emergent lineup was .298 and their collective batting average was .223. Woof!
But what would a Yankee 'championship caliber' team under Cashman look like, if it wasn't full of holes and totally doomed if one key player goes down?
Especially if St. Louis splits the bill for Nolan Arenado, I'd rather have him for three years than Alex Bregman for six or seven. Arenado is only three years older than Bregman and remains a Gold-Glove caliber third baseman. Even if Nolan has declined offensively, he's still a better hitter than most of the Yankees' batters. His power plays better in the stadium, and is more inclined to hitting the ball to the opposite field. Bregman, on the other hand, pulls the ball ,which isn't conducive to hitting home runs. Bregman would hit way more HR's at Fenway. His average might even jump a bit as many outs in Houston will end up as doubles in that stadium.
January 4, 2025 at 10:17 AM
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Hate to say it, but as we’ve reached the final luxury tax threshold, consider this team done. Yes, they are gonna trot out LeMahieu at third, so get ready for all the boonerisms about comebacks, good swings, being very close, etc, etc, etc as the king in “The King and I” would say…
Pitching the Ohtani way--one start per week, and only against sub-par teams. Anytime we face a team that's over .500, it's a bullpen game.
Take that, Trolley Dodgers.
You make a strong argument, Carl Weitz, but I'm afraid 999 has called it. Now comes the prayer portion of our season, in which Brian Cashman wards off injuries with a series of novenas.
It seems odd that starters rarely complete games or even make it past the 6th but need the extra days of a six man rotation. Does this mean they will try to go deeper into games? That would be good.
So, Hoss, you’re saying that the “thoughts“ portion of the off-season is over and we are now in the “prayer“ time?
Perhaps Cashie should employ Pedro Cerrano, the ex-Cleveland Indian, to do a little helpful voodoo.
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