No disrespect, but I saw no reason for the Yankees to keep playing him in centerfield.
I mean, his ceiling was spackled into concrete. He's a career .218 hitter, who last year finished below the Mendoza, at .190. He's never hit more than 17 HRs in a season. (Until now; he's at 17.) If he got hot, a market correction was coming. His presence in the OF took ABs away from Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones, fulcrum points in the Yankee future. If they flop, we're sorta dead. Grisham was the odd-man out.
Thus, every week, ,every series, every game, he needed to stave off irate fans clamoring to see Dominguez and/or Jones, rather than a 28-year-old with municipal bus speed - (Grisham has not one stolen base this year.) Grisham was the bog we must cross to get somewhere.
That said, to quote George, there's something in the way he moves. Grisham plays CF like a human computer. When a long drive heads to the gap, he instantly calculates where and when the ball will land, and then assumes a jogging trajectory to said location. He and the ball arrive simultaneously. It's weirdly calming. In 60 years of following the Yankees, I don't think I've ever seen a centerfielder lope so casually on deep and dangerous flies. He drifts. You'd think he's listening to a book on tape.
Well, as you already know, Grisham's grand slam last night spearheaded a comeback that the Yankees desperately needed. In their first game following the all-star break, they were mocked. In game two, they found themselves down 5-0. Another laugher would signal a lost series and the chance to be swept by a team nine games below .500. With two weeks before the trade deadline, the Yankees would be tanking. How could anyone not fear a total meltdown?
So, last night, Grisham played the hero. Good for him. He deserves every cheer. But the question remains: Will his presence in CF matter? Or is he simply a heartwarming back story in an otherwise crapola season, and one we might regret, if the Yankees keep playing him.
For the record, The Martian didn't see a pitch last night. And down in Scranton, Jones went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. (He's now at .397.) Come July 31, could either or both disappear in the Cashmanic trade winds? Or will it matter? Last night, Trent Grisham came through. How hard should we celebrate?
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17 comments:
I've always liked Grisham. Maybe it's the defense you describe. A long time ago, I remember reading something Joe D once said, that guys who dive and tumble and make "great" catches aren't good enough to judge the ball quickly and get to where it's going. No diving necessary.
The Athletic has an article on the increased number of pitching injuries. This part stood out for me:
"Tommy John surgery saves careers. But as pitchers across baseball push for higher velocity, more hurlers are going under the knife — for a first time, a second time and in some instances, a third or fourth procedure.
"MLB pitching velocity steadily rose from 2008 to 2023, with average fastball velocity going from 91.9 mph to 94.2. According to Meister, the total number of elbow ligament surgeries in professional baseball in 2023 was greater than in the 1990s altogether. A 2015 study revealed 56.8% of Tommy John surgeries are for athletes in the 15- to 19-year-old age range."
Jesus. That's bad.
I left this comment on Hoss's post about Dada (and yes, the possessive of a word that ends with S is technically an apostrophe and another S...though nobody does it much these days). And I don't care that Volpe hit two home runs last night:
Great post. You touched on some of my favorites: Duchamp, Magritte, Ubu Roi...which reminds me that the strange genius, David Thomas, of the band Pere Ubu, died not too long ago.
We should pool some money and create some postcards that copy the Magritte painting. A picture of Boone with "This is not a manager," Cashman with "This is not a General Manager," Volpe with "This is not a shortstop." I bet we could sell them to other malcontent fans.
My bigger peeve, JM, is the misplaced apostrophe and the seemingly ubiquitous placement of an unnecessary apostrophe after ANY FUCKING WORD THAT ENDS WITH AN "S." But remember, the whole goal - and I am as far form a conspiracy theorist as you will find - is to keep the people uneducated and misinformed. And, just to tie this into our purpose on this blog, that applies to how the Yankee management views us, as well. What they fail to take into account, though, are the large numbers of grizzled old Yankee fans who still retain some pre-internet, pre-smartphone critical thinking skills. I believe that our last mission as a generation will be to wake up the youth who suckled at the breast of a smartphone-addled nanny or mom. We must wake them up to media literacy! Look! Up in the Sky! It's a bird, it's a plane! NO, it's YANKEE MAN, riding on his pink pony, winning EVERY game, wining every series since 1921, making trades, ruling other teams and dominating the league. I'm starting to drool. Must. Go. Have. Coffee. Fuck Hal.
Wasn't there a patch around the time of Vietnam that had a mushroom on it, with the words: "KEPT IN THE DARK AND FED BULLSHIT"? Asking for a friend.
Yes. Yes, there was. I haven't thought about that in decades. Wow.
Bit, you're a national treasure. I tip my hat in your general direction. Which would be the other side of the Atlantic.
Good Golly - the images bombarding my brain.
Milk no sugar, please….
And leave the pot.
@ 13B.....That's what drove me to this blog about a decade ago. I could no longer read the NY Post/Daily News sports article comments. Most could not construct a coherent sentence, let alone weave together several into an understandable paragraph.
And along with the mushroom button, there was another one worn conspicuously with pride that was derived from a late-sixties song by the great and underrated group The Fugs, entitled "Kill for Peace." There was a scene in Full Metal Jacket featuring Matthew Modine (and for Fawlty Towers fans, Mr. Hamilton from the "Waldorf Salad" episode).
https://youtu.be/KMEViYvojtY?feature=shared
@ JM....I agree about Volpe. Coincidentally, he's having his bobblehead day this week. What they should have instead is a Bobblehands figurine with his name changed slightly to VOLPE-6.
Please allow me to answer ED’s question:
NO
Off to the Mets game today. Well, hey: it's not raining!
Traitor!
LOL...just kidding. Don't drink to much Rheingold.
And Hoss, please wear a sports jacket that would make Lyndsey Nelson proud!
A mad plaid.
Not a huge fan of Grishsm’s, who I must admit is having a career year in a suddenly crowded OF. But Injuries have a way of thinning the herd. My thinking is the team won’t trade Jones. Bad optics, if nothing else.
Excellent comeback win last night. Volpe the spark? 🧨 Volpe the spark…
JM - Great idea.
Well he got some rest over the All Star break. He always hits better after taking a break. Maybe he shouldn't play in every game.
I’m sorry. I refuse to get sucked in just because a blind nut found a squirrel.
It will be entertaining to see how The Intern manages to fuck this team up again with his annual TF blunders.
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