Or, last year, you could say Judge & Cody, or Jazz "50-50." Or, if you were into longshots, the Martian, or Goldy, or even Grish the Swish.
Nope. None of the above. The Yankees' BIG TWO now includes Ben "Original" Rice, of Cohasset, Massachusetts - who grew up as an outcast, rooting for Derek Jeter, who the Yankees selected as a catcher in the 12th round of the 2021 draft, who has a degree in Psychology from Dartmouth, and who in 2024 became the first Yankee rookie in history to hit three HRs in a game. (A feat since duplicated by Jasson Dominguez.)
Over the last two weeks, the Yankees have accomplished something exceedingly rare: They won eight straight without being carried by Aaron Judge.
Entering last night, when he went 3-for-3 with 2 HRs, Judge had been in a flailing, floundering, 6-for-30 funk. A bunch of bases-loaded Ks. He was a hole in the lineup, yet the Yankees kept winning.
Actually, there was no mystery to it. They had Rice, plus two sluggish opponents, the Royals and Redsocks.
Rice - see the chart - is on a pace he almost certainly cannot sustain. Barring injuries, he will probably hit 30some HRs and bat - well -.290? If so, he would be the all-star 1B, an MVP candidate and potentially a lifelong Yankee. He's 27. If he can string together a few big seasons, it's a chip shot to Monument Park and/or the YES broadcast booth. Within the Yankiverse, he has no ceiling.
But there are no guarantees. For example, consider last year's Rice.
I'm referring to Grisham, whose decision to accept a $22.5 million qualifying offer set into motion the Yankee plan to stand pat over the winter. Once Grisham chose to stay - foregoing his chance at a long-term contract - it was a done deal that Dominguez would play in Scranton until somebody - cue Giancarlo - tweaked something.
Well, Giancarlo has tweaked, the Martian's been called-up (1-for-4 last night) and Grisham is lost. Last night, he went 1-4, boosting his average to - dear God - .165. I'm not making this up. One-sixty-five. Last April, he was the hottest bat in the AL. This year, sinking without a bubble.
It's too early to sound the sirens or plan the parade. But the Yankees have been winning without Judge, and now -dare we dream? - maybe he'll get hot. (Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi may have something to say about that.) Win tonight, and we clinch the AL East for the month of April. One sixth of the season will be over. But we'll be riding high, thanks to the BIG TWO.
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21 comments:
And let’s not forget the holy trinity of Cam, Max and Will. All three in the top ten in pitching ERA in the AL. Let’s not forget about the Weather in the top twenty.
There are going to be long stretches when this lineup disappears, especially the black hole at the bottom. It’s the pitching that Will save the day.
Maybe one day The Intern will learn how to build a decent bullpen. And maybe one day pigs will learn how to fly
So far this year, our best power duo since Mickey and Yogi burned up April in 1956. That's really something.
I know. Far from guaranteed. But if—IF—Cole and Rodon can come back and be anywhere close to their old selves, then we can maybe add Weathers to the pen. Maybe we get Clarke Schmidt back, too—no world-beater, but better than much of what we have out there. Also, could Gil be converted into a reliever? Asking for a friend.
Meanwhile, just want to report that your New York Yankees are leading the AL in attendance, of course. They have already drawn over 525,000 fans.
Think about that for a moment. Over half-a-million fans, and it's not even May. And Hal has spent months crying about how much he has to spend.
Hal is a wanker
…and a game thread
YGY report that Elmer Rodriguez has been recalled from Scranton and will start tomorrow night.
Aaron Boone mentioned that Elmer Rodriguez will be called up tomorrow to make his MLB debut...
Boone also says they're bringing up Schuemann or whatever his name is for the roster spot that Stanton has currently vacated. I thought the Martian was already that?
I think tomorrow is an afternoon game. So I can see Elmer's debut.
Tough break for Rob Thompson. Now Donnie's in charge and his son is GM. Strange situation.
Stanton to the IL (surprise!) and Max Schuerman has been recalled from Scranton.
Technically, JD took Gil’s spot.
Everyone, calm down, calm down.... Infield defense, probably the worst in baseball. What'd we give 'em in the 9th, was it 7 outs? Bednar really earned his pay there. Jazz Chisholm, maybe needs to wear his glove on his face. Mr. 50-50 giveth, and Mr. 50-50 taketh away. We're very lucky Mr. 50-50 didn't give that game away. He should fine himself $500,000 for every error. Maybe that'll make him concentrate. This guy is like Anthony Volpe and Gleyber Torres all rolled up in one. Gotta trade him away before the deadline. Of course, you know Cashman will hang on to him and then let him walk away as a free agent.
Clarke Schmidt probably doesn't get back 'til late in the year, if at all this year. Too bad we didn't trade him a couple of years ago like I wanted.
Carlos Narvaez already has 8 HR for the Red Sux and is a Yankee Killer. He was exchanged for Elmer. I guess we'll see who got the better of the deal. Early preview, anyways.
I'd say it looks a lot like two straight losses to close out this trip. But maybe we can pull one out today.
I would've put Dominguez in the leadoff spot yesterday. J.D., Rice, Judge. That's a nice top three. Since Dominguez went only 1 for 4 yesterday, he probably rides the pine for the rest of this series.
Grisham can hit .165 for the entire year and he'll still play every day. Dominguez has to hit 4 HR every day to be in the lineup next day. And even then, they might sit him because they don't like it when prospects start to develop.
They're probably having meetings right now about what to do with Rice. This was probably not in their calculations. How to prevent Rice from having a monster year? That's going to be of paramount importance on their priority list. Maybe have him throw a weighted ball and blow out his UCL?
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