That's the point in each episode when little Boogie, (played by a college-age actor), teaches everyone the true meaning of Christmas, or honesty, or testosterone. The studio audience would go, "Awww, " the cast would hug, the star would say his catchphrase, and - somewhere, on the grimy outskirts of Burbank - the writers would down another round.
I propose a show: Boonie & the Cash, where "Boonie," the scrappy manager of a junkyard, deals with his crazy boss' constant get-rich schemes. Last night, Cash held a homecoming for all the items he'd sold off in recent years. As usual, it didn't go as planned. Hilarity ensued. And in the episode's Moment of Shit, Boonie and the Cash choose to kindly step aside and let Boston back into the 2025 pennant race.
Heading into the weekend, the Redsocks were a team in distress. Fourth in the AL East. Four games below .500. Eleven losses behind in the standings. A collection of former and future Yankees, ready to be buried by the all-star break and dismantled on July 31.
We had a perfect chance to put them to sleep. Then came our MOS.
Which one was it? Take your pick. Was it Carlos Rodon giving up a three-run shot to Carlos Narvaez, who the Yankees sat on for nine years? Was it Ian Hamilton, loading the bases and killing our chance at a comeback? Was it Rafael Devers? El Chapo? Brigadoon Refsynder? The guy we gave up for Verdugo? Was it Marcelo Mayer's first HR? Was it Dobbins, expressing his Yankee hatred? Take your pick. We had a chance to bury them. Instead, we gave them life.
I wonder: Come October, will we point back to that first weekend in June?
The 2025 Moment of Shit.
Sounds like a cross between Sanford & Son and The Honeymooners. It just might work.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you knew they'd fuck up against the Red Sox. More ex-Yankee players there than Pittsburgh and Oakland (Sacramento) put together.
ReplyDeleteCarlos Narvaez, I thought he looked like a good player. Next thing you know, he's gone. I don't even how they got flushed him: was it DFA, trade for a bullpen lugnut, or trade for a bag of money?
ReplyDeleteThen there's that pitcher who they lost via rule 5 draft because Cashman failed to protect him. If it was me, I'd have found a way to protect him. All these middling bullpen lugnuts and over the hill vets were on the roster, and they fail to protect a perfectly serviceable major league pitcher? Really odd. At the least, Cashman could've traded a few useless bodies and made some room on the 40 man roster. No can do.
The Post had a dumb article about how ex-Yankee catchers are all over the majors, playing well. That's not exactly what we should aspire to be, a farm system for other teams to develop their catchers. I didn't even bother reading it.
ReplyDeleteDuque, the Yankees always give the Red Sox life (almost) every year. Boston might be struggling, but as soon as they play the Yankees, the dead come alive. It figures that the only thing wrong with Boston was that they hadn't played the Yankees yet this year. Next weekend looks like another horror show, probably be worse than this weekend.
ReplyDeleteHate to keep on harping on this, but man, it gnaws at me mind. So yesterday, Judge hits that two run homer after the leadoff man's single. Whenever Judge hits #2, and then crushes a home run in the 1st inning, I always think "what if he'd batted #3, and if both guys in front had been on base?" That possibility was an absolute zero yesterday.
ReplyDeleteSo the dumb reasoning for putting your biggest home run hitter #2 is that he might come up an extra time late in the game, which might not have happened if he batted #3. That reasoning sure came into play last night, eh? Down 11-5 in the 9th, Judge comes up as the third hitter that inning and blasts another homer. Sure woulda been nice if it had been a close game, eh?
My point is that, much of the time, that last at-bat makes no difference whatsofuckingever. If the game is lopsided, it makes no difference. If their closer comes out and throws nasty stuff, it makes no difference. If their manager gives Judge the intentional BB, it makes no difference.
But in the 1st inning, it always makes a difference. That's the trade that you make for putting Judge #2. You lower the probability of a bigger inning in the 1st for the increased probability of an extra at-bat at the end of the game. And how many times has it ever made a difference? How many times has Judge ever had a big hit in the Yankees' last at-bat to win a game? Like ... zero? Maybe it happened once or twice, but I don't remember it. Long odds....
Boone’s failures all weekend were truly indefensible, and can’t be criticized enough. It’s mind boggling the team gave him a new contract, that certainly confirms the contention that the team prioritizes profits over winning.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Hammer. Especially that last paragraph. Very, very true.
ReplyDeleteIn the scheme of things, it's hard to say who's worse at his job, Cashman or Boone. We see how bad Boone is on an almost daily basis, but Cashman is probably just as bad, it's just not as readily visible or as obvious until his mistakes come back to haunt us directly.
This organization is a joke.
VERY true, Hammer! And as you note, most runs are scored in big innings, and most games are decided early on, in this age of the closer.
ReplyDeleteJump on a starter, particularly a mediocre starter, early on, and you have a chance to do last damage to, say, a division rival. Make them use a lot of their bullpen in a doomed effort. Leave them to bring in the back of their bullpen early, usually leading to more runs for us.
But this is the whole problem with analytics, which insists only on seeing "big picture" statistics. It's liking taking your every picture of earth from a satellite in space. Useful for some things, NOT for others.
The Yankees offense is highly overrated, Often does not score when needed or heibernates during a game.
ReplyDeleteCashman is a stiff and he is backed by his stiff manager.
ReplyDelete