3 strikes, 3 outs, 9 innings - 3x3. Babe Ruth wore number 3. The last Yank championship: 2009 - 3 3s. And last night, The Martian - on the 3rd planet from the sun - went 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs. He wears number 24 - that's 8x3! Incredible, right?
So, today, 3 questions...
1. Has The Martian nailed down LF?
Last night, Jason Dominguez's bases-clearing double, raised his small sample BA to a respectable .275. It was his second crucial moment in two nights: Monday, his dramatic catch in LF silenced critics of his glovework - which includes practically everyone who ever visited IT IS HIGH.
Two games don't make a season. Not even a month. But three can make a week. And Dominguez' two games against KC cannot be overstated:
For now, The Martian is holding his own.
One of our biggest fears this spring was that Dominguez, 22, would be overmatched and outclassed, and ticketed for Moosic, never to return. Last night, his line drive double to left came with two outs, on a 1-2 count, with the bases loaded and the game on the line. He delivered the clutch at-bat, which many veterans find elusive. And it leads to another question.
2. Will Boone now rest him?
You wanna say no. For any other management moron in baseball, tonight's lineup would be a no-brainer: Dominguez will play, maybe even rise a notch. With Aaron Boone, who knows?
One of Boone's career ticks is his love of resting players after a big night, ignoring the million years of evolutionary biology that fostered "the hitting streak," one of humanity's great pillars of juju. It sounds crazy - benching a guy after a night to remember, but that's our boy Boone. Hopefully - but not necessarily - Boone will play Dominguez tonight, when KC rolls out lefty Kris Bubik, of the 21.5 ERA.
You'd think Dominguez would start. The entire world does. Watch Boone go the stats, summon the ghost of Gene Mauch, and figure why Trent Grisham should be out there. Last night, after Dominguez's double, Boone quickly benched him and moved Cody Bellinger - bad back, and all - to LF. So, we'll see. It should be obvious. With Boone, you never know.
3. Has Juan Soto become self-aware?
I hate writing about traitors. Now, with yesterday's post on Joggy Cano - (see below) - it's raining words of contempt. But last night, Juan Soto spake words that we've longed to hear for months:
He's not getting the same protection in the order, since the game's greatest slugger no longer stands behind him, frightening all who'd pitch around him.
Listen: Soto had a great October. At one point, he was intentionally walked in front of the slumping Aaron Judge. It was a sad moment.
But make no mistake, the presence of Judge added about 20 points and 10 HRs to Soto's 2024, career-season totals - boosting his insane contractual demands. Now, he bats ahead of Pete Alonzo, who hit .240 last year - (after .217 in 2023) - about 70 points below Judge. It's not the same. It never will be. And he can suck on it.
Soto nixed the Yankees over a luxury box. Let's see how it protects him in the everyday lineup. I believe 2025 will be the roughest year of his life. And maybe, just maybe, the fool is starting to realize it.
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18 comments:
Jeremiah was a bullfrog
Was a good friend of mine
I never understood a single word he said
But I helped him a-drink his wine
And he always had some mighty fine wine
I used to think that luxury box would protect me, but all it did was obstruct my view. Then, one day, when I least expected it, a raft of seagulls dumped a rain of shit on my head and I didn't see it because of that luxury box. They don't protect shit, yo. They just block your view. Trust Hal and prosper!!!
Milly white Rain
Ruined my Game
Shat from the Skies
And Burned my Eyes
But tasted Great
On my Garlic Fries
that's beautiful, AA, far above average. Most people can't pull off a good bird shit couplet, let alone a sestet.
Note: If Soto hits .211 with 15 HRs seasonally from here to eternity, he still collects so much $$$ that -- even after paying the tax man and his agent, etc. -- he'll receive enough actual income that there will be rich Sotos on up to the year 2275. Or later.
Beware drawing conclusions from SSS, whether good or bad.
Too bad it should have read:
Milky White Rain
Each couplet's unique.
We shouldn't compare it.
But like the ancient joke goes...
"If the Foo shits... wear it."
Been extremely busy of late. Too busy to check in. Too busy to post. Too busy to catch last night's affair. So of course The Martian has his best game of the year so far.
But of course The Martian will sit tonight. He'll probably sit for about a week. I can just hear the Yankee boardroom:
HAL: Goddammit, Brian. My accountants tell me that if Dominguez has a lot more games like that, his salary arb will go through the roof. We haven't planned on that kind of expense for next year. What the hell are we going to do?
BRIAN: Yes, sir, boss. I'll get right on it. I'll phone Boonie to bench Dominguez for the forseeable future. As soon as Stanton gets back, we'll send Dominguez back to the minors for more seasoning. He's not a finished player yet anyway. He needs at least six years in the minors to work on his defense. At that time, we'll switch him over to right field because Judge will become a DH. Then Dominguez will spend another six years learning how to play right field. At that point, he'll be ready to retire. So we'll avoid ever having him earn his free agency status.
HAL: Brilliant! Now that's why I pay you the big bucks to stick around here. If we only had thirty more brains like you in this organization, I'd be thirty times richer!
They rested Cabrera for about half a week after he had a three hit game earlier in the year. Don't want these youngsters to get too hot now, do we?
They used to rest Judge whenever he had a big game during his free agency year. They seemed to do everything they could think of to get Judge off his game that year. They tried batting him leadoff for a while. They'd rest him every Sunday. They'd rest him whenever he had a big game. They'd rest him whenever there was an off day following, apparently because two consecutive days off might cool off his hot streak.
After Judge signed that big contract, does he ever get a day off? HOT DAMN, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING! The man is paid big money, so he's got to play, not sit on the bench!
I say "big contract", but it's now miniscule compared to Shohei Otani and Juan Soto. Almost like comparing a minnow to Moby Dick.
You know, I suppose it's human nature, but I can't quite wrap my head around the hatred for Juan Soto. Soto is a traitor? Come on, man! Soto didn't signal that he was going to stick around here after 2024. In fact, all the signs pointed to him leaving.
This was a different situation from John Tavares using the Islanders, making like he was going to re-sign with them, then leaving for the Toronto Maple Leafs as soon as he got what he wanted, and then posting a picture of himself as a youngster wearing Maple Leafs pajamas. That's what prompted fury from Islanders fans who can't stop screaming "we don't need you" every time the Leafs visit Long Island.
But that's not what happened with Soto. He had two options, just like when Judge had his free agency: (1) Win a championship somewhere else, because he sure as hell was NOT going to get a championship ring if he stayed here; or (2) get paid. So he opted for number 2, and he got paid. In my view, he's at least as likely to win a championship with the Mutts, if not even more so. And he got paid. It wasn't just a luxury box. Steve Cohen treated him like a human being, like a friend. And he got paid. Probably like a 100 mill more than if he'd signed with the Yankees. Seriously, would anyone here throw away a 100 mill? Especially to stay on with a team run by the likes of HAL and Cashman, obviously never to win a championship for a quarter century, maybe a half century, maybe even more than a full century?
I can't blame Soto. I'd have run away from here like my hair was on fire. Traitor? Come on, seriously....
Courtesy of "Centurion" with Michael Fassbender (one of my favorite movies of all time):
Titus Flavius Virilus, 9th Legion Roman General (before leaving on a mission to expunge the native British Pict resistance, upon being introduced to beautiful hottie Pict Scout Etain, who will scout for the Roman army): I don't know whether to fight her or fuck her.
A few days later, after being ambushed and captured by Picts:
Titus Flavius Virilus, upon seeing Etain, who had led them into the ambush: TRAITOR!!!
Gorlacon, the Pict King: She would answer your charge, but she has no tongue. The Romans cut it out when they raped her and killed her family.
I would be surprised if The Martian doesn't hit for the cycle this year (as long as he gets playing time and he doesn't get sent down). He's got triples kind of speed.
He's been off to a slow start this year, especially from the right side. Which is surprising because that's his natural side. And he supposed to be a better hitter righthanded. At least before the Tommy John surgery. Maybe that took something out of him. Maybe he forgot how to hit righthanded. I heard he's been working on the right side. Sure would be nice to get that righthanded swing back. The Yankees are facing a lot of left handed pitching lately.
The best young Yankee hitters to come up during my time of watching the club (since 1981) have been Don Mattingly, Robinson Cano, Jeter, Bernie Williams, Aaron Judge. Of these, it took Bernie a long while to develop, so I don't even know if you could say he was one of the best "young" Yankee hitters. (I'm talking about raw rookies here.) And it took Judge while too. Judge hit home runs, but it took him years to learn how to really hit. Not 'til 2022 did Judge really become a great hitter.
So the closest thing to raw rookies who could really hit for the Yankees since 1981 have been Mattingly and Cano. Mattingly, I always thought took a year or so to become a great hitter. Looking up the career stats, just as I thought, he hit .283 his first real season with the big club. He didn't become a big time hitter until the next year. Robinson Cano was a little better with the batting average. Cano hit .297 his first full year.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Jasson Dominguez looks like he's at least a level or two above those guys. He does things that I've never seen a Yankee rookie do. Some of the things he does, I've hardly seen from ten year vets. The only question is whether management lets him develop. Because if they want to ruin him, you can betcha they can ruin him, and then some.
One thing nobody touched on, Max Fried looks like Jimmy Key with a much more powerful arm. Did I say he'd be the ace of the staff? In addition to his velocity and excellent stuff, this guy is cool, calm, and collected. He knows how to pitch. This is the way an ace is supposed to pitch.
Duque, is Mars the third planet from the sun? Thought that was us, planet earth. Which would make Mars the fourth planet. If I correctly remember the science lessons that my grade school teachers beat into me.
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