First, I realize that it's winter, and that snow is falling in places like Alabama and Mississippi, which otherwise do not have weather. It's goddam cold outside, and they say Tampa temps this week could plummet into the 50s. Stock up on soup!
But today, I'd like to ponder the Yankee pitching rotation, which is...
Max Fried
Cal Schlittler
Will Warren
Luis Gil
Ryan Weathers
One observation...
This will not win the AL East. Nope. Won't come close. Soon, spring training injuries will start piling up, like chain reaction accidents on the New York State Thruway. They always do. Soon, we'll be down to Ryan Yarbrough and the Rule 5 guy, Cade Winquest. Think about that. We'll be touting a Rule 5 pick in the rotation. In my memory, we have never done that before. And we're basically one or two tweaks away.
I know what you're thinking: All we gotta do is kill time until June, when Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon return. Then we'll make our move.
Well, as Jake says to Lady Brett, in Papa Hemmingway's finale:
"Isn't it pretty to think so."
The Yankees need at least one more starter - one more workhorse who can eat 100 innings and keep the team relevant through late May.
Two pitchers meet that criteria. Both are in the final throes of Hall of Fame careers. I'm referring to Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. They are awaiting your call.
They would 1) Elevate the Yankees over the Mets in the public eye. 2) Give the team a jolt of life. 3) Keep us in the race. 4) Accept incentive-laden contracts. 5) Sell tickets.
Sir, the Yankees need one, maybe two, veteran arms for the early part of the season. You can wait until somebody's elbow barks in spring training, and then bid on them in desperation. Or you can call them now. Your choice.
But the Yankee rotation will not hold. If the guys in the office say otherwise, they are bullshitting you.
Stay warm.
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8 comments:
Good night and good luck. Oh yeah, Mission Control? One more thing - kiss your ass goodbye.
The eternal comment: Steingrubber won’t pay them
Buy your tickets now!
It would be fun, if nothing else, to trot both these legends out in April.
But of course, the Yankees are too stupid to do it.
Stupid+Cheap=Bad Combo
Kenny Rogers sang:
You got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Signing old starters like Max Scherzer might hold the fort for a couple of months, true. There'll be pitching injuries that will threaten to derail the season, true.
But last year's team wasn't going any further than one round in the playoffs. And they got killed in the second round.
This year's team might not even make the playoffs, let alone survive one round of it.
That's why they should've played Jasson Dominguez for the full season last year, whether in CF or LF. (It might've been better to play him in CF. Because at least that's where he had been playing in the minors.)
That's why they should play Dominguez full time this season. Probably bring up Spencer Jones as well. Need to develop them or at least find out if they're keepers or not. But they've committed to vets, Grisham and Bellinger. So Dominguez and Jones won't get much, if any, playing time. They won't develop the young players, nor will they find out about them.
Justin Verlander's wife hates NYC after she got pelted with spit in the stands. Anyways, even if they sign Verlander or Scherzer, or even both, they'll get hurt within two months.
Any way you look at it, this year should be a FOLD. No reason to keep upping the ante this year.
Probably the best thing they could do is to engineer another trade for a starter. Something similar to getting Ryan Weathers. Give up a few lower tier prospects or maybe Jazz Chisholm. Get another young starter with upside.
There's an article on yardbarker that says trading Jasson Dominguez is not a good idea because of he's got serious skills. Well, no argument here, but it doesn't matter how high the skill level is if he never gets playing time. It's looking like another year with minimal playing time, if any, for The Martian.
I looked at Stanton's contract. He's here 'til the end of 2027. At that time, they can buy him out for 10 mill. So Jasson Dominguez will have to wait until then to be the DH.
But here's the thing with the Yankees: they will sign some 35 old to be the DH, replacing a millstone with another millstone, with a five year megacontract. And that guy will play, no matter what. Even if he hits .022 for three years straight.
So when will they ever develop a young outfielder like Dominguez? Answer: never. They simply don't develop position players here. The only guys who get the opportunity to play everyday soon prove themselves as .200 hitters who aren't good enough. Maybe they might be a lot better on other teams with better coaching, but that's not happening here. So we're stuck with Volpe hitting .200 for six years, until he hits free agency and just walks away. If they let him walk away, that is.
Ditto with Austin Wells. Have to hope that Ben Rice is a hitter, but the way Yankee coaching ruins guys, you never know until he puts up 3-4 really good years. Soon as Rice goes into a slump, they might replace him at 1B with one of their dumpster dive pickups for the rest of the year. Just like going with Grisham in CF over Dominguez.
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