And yet, when Yank fans recall Boomer, they feel that unrequited sense of... "What if?"
He coulda been - shoulda been - much more.
Why? Well, it's simple.
They platooned him.
In the minors, no less.
They took away his bat against lefties.
They took away his future.
By making him a platoon hitter, they destroyed his chance to become an everyday player. Here was one of the best young hitters in baseball, and at age 21, they made him a lefty-only DH, a one-dimensional player.
They ruined Bloomberg's shot at everyday glory.
And today, we must wonder:
Will history repeat itself with Jasson Dominguez?
Apparently, the Yankees are rooting around for a RH-hitting outfielder, somebody to round out their lineup. They supposedly are talking with Austin Slater, whom they acquired last August, and who tweaked his gonad and missed the end of the season. They are also kicking the tires on potential trades.
They could end up destroying the long-term future of not only The Martian, now 22, but of Spencer Jones, 25. If the Yankees sign a RH outfielder, both Dominguez and Jones will be relegated to platoon status in what could be their most formative years. Scrap them against lefties this season, and they might never get the chance to become complete players. You might as well trade them.
If The Martian doesn't see lefties, how will he ever learn to hit them? How can you destroy a kid at age 22?
Well, we'll see. But right now, we are facing the four most feared words in the Yankiverse.
Cashman is calling around.
As for Boomer, he's 77. His Wikipedia page says he's a scout for the Yankees in the Atlanta area. Wishing him the best. Overall, a fine career. But I believe the Yankees let him down. Is history about to repeat?
Cashman has my number.
ReplyDeleteDo you think he’s gonna call ?
And if he does call and I answer, what should we talk about ?
The Martian saw plenty of lefthanders in Winter League ball as he hit righthanded all season. It was abysmal...
ReplyDeleteIt's entirely possible for a young player to be overhyped and mismanaged at the same time. On this team, anything is possible.
ReplyDeleteThank you JM for reminding us all that there is an Idiot loose in the Bronx. . .
DeleteOverhyped, mismanaged and ignored, JM.
ReplyDelete2 0 2 6
I saw on yardbarker yesterday that they've already made an offer to Austin Slater. Nobody else will make an offer to him, so consider it a done deal that he's coming back. What did I tell you's? Hate to pull a Christopher Columbo and say I told you so, but here it is: I told you so.
ReplyDeleteIf The Martian can't hit right handed, it's because of bad coaching, poor development. Because the guy is RIGHT-HANDED. Yeah, that's right, he's a natural right handed batter. That means that he used to be a better righty hitter and, through neglect/poor coaching, they've turned him into a dominant lefty/terrible righty hitter.
ReplyDeleteIf he's traded away to the right team, they will fix these issues pretty quick. What I noticed is that he isn't getting set early enough and he's behind on the fastball. They have to work on getting his "trigger" ready a couple of ticks earlier. The bat speed is there, but he's getting set too late. Easy fix for a good batting coach.
I think that guy on the Blue Jays, Jose Bautista, had the same problem when he was young. He eventually found the right coaches and they fixed it. All of a sudden, he had monster power. You've got to "get the head out" on fastballs. Can't be getting set too late or you'll never get the head out.
ReplyDeleteI used to think Jose Bautista might have used P.E.D.s or something to go from being a weak hitter into a home run machine. Sorry 'bout that, Jose!
Now, I really see how that could happen. It's happening to The Martian right now. Inferior coaching that can't get the best out of the player.
The Martian hangs his bat down his back, a droopy bat whilst waiting for the pitch. If I was his batting coach, I'd get rid of that. It serves zero purpose, except make it more difficult to get into correct hitting position. Even if he keeps doing that, he's got to get into proper hitting position a couple of ticks earlier. Judge's batting coach would easily correct it.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that Aaron Judge doesn't give Dominguez some advice about the right handed hitting. He doesn't have to say anything about the left side, but he really should about the right side. If I was a teammate, I wouldn't be afraid to tell somebody when I see him totally fucking up. Give him some pointers, damn it.
ReplyDeleteDominguez has a completely different swing from the right side. There's too much going on with that big sloppy follow through. I noticed it when I saw him hitting himself in the head with every follow through when he hits right handed. He's got to iron out those mechanics, make it smoother, more efficient. Hitting yourself in the head with every swing is not exactly conducive to good hitting. Gotta hit the damn ball, not hit yourself in the head.
He needs to find the right batting coach for his right handed swing. Being a switch hitter, it can require two different batting coaches. One for the left side, one for the right side. Not every coach will provide the correct instruction for each side.
I can see all this even though I never even played organized ball. Why can't the Yankee coaches see it? That's a knock on them. They suck, that explains it.
Going 4 for 100 will surely kill your confidence from the right side. Fix it during batting practice. Take 10 times as much bp from the right side until you get it right. Yankee batting coaches probably just concerned with exit velocity. "The four times he hit the ball, he had a 110 mph exit velo!" Bunch of incompetent stoopid assholes!
Unrelated to Duque's great - and a bit sad - post, I just saw this: "Director Brett Ratner is no Leni Riefenstahl" - Vanity Fair
ReplyDeleteHammer, Judge might have already tutored him to some degree. Who knows?
ReplyDeleteAs I commented yesterday, if they don't have a better alternative on the farm or believe that Spenser and Dominguez are better corner outfield options, this team is more fucked than we thought.
Carl, I would find it difficult to believe that Judge already tutored him. Because then there's no way he would still be doing those wrong things.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen Judge going over to him and talking to him about hitting. Never seen the camera with them two talking about batting. (You see the pitchers talking about how to get hitters out. Sometimes you see Cole giving instruction.) Other than someone asking Judge about the other team's pitcher after an at-bat, I don't see Judge taking Dominguez aside and showing him a batting stance and what he's doing wrong from the right side.
Carl, I just saw your comments from yesterday. Amen to that!
ReplyDeleteBut Cashman thinketh that Austin Slater = .120 hitter is better than Dominguez = .204 as a right handed hitter. In Cashman's head, anyone off the scrap heap is better than a Yankee prospect.
Anywhoo, I don't know how Dominguez ended up hitting .204 righthanded. Because didn't he start off something like 1 for 55? That would be .018! Must have got hot near the end. Got to get him the right coaching and keep hitting him right handed. After a few years, you know one way or the other if he's a keeper or trade bait. What they're doing now, they'll never know what they've got.