Saturday, June 18, 2016

Hello five-hundred my old friend, I've come to talk with you again...

Last night, John and Suzyn took issue with anyone who says the Bronx Bridesmaids should abandon 2016 and start rebuilding for the future, stressing that this team "is only five games out." (Technically, 5.5.) They quoted Joe Girardi, who says his club is NOT chasing a wild card birth but the AL East Division crown! We are pursuing NOTHING LESS than our 28th World Championship.

From what planet, you might ask, were they broadcasting?

Well, the answer is simple: Planet Four-Run Lead. Give the Yankees a four-run first inning and a Triple A opponent - and the happiest couple in the universe will be bubbling like Trump at a gun show. In his review of the first inning, The Master actually said, "Four scored... and seven years ago, heh, heh, heh... " Yes, when the Yankees lead, reality is suspended. Nothing else matters in the universe driven by Jeep.

Let's face it: After a victory, the Yankees won't dismantle their team any more than they would trade a player after he homers. Any sign of hope - even a distant glimmer against the league's worst team - offers an excuse to send the Light Brigade into the Valley of Darkness. For the Yankees to rebuild would require the front office to explain what happened over the last seven years, and why the farm system has grown one legitimate Yankee star (Betances... I'd put Gardy on the cusp) with its other core players (Melancon, Cervelli, Robertson, Kennedy, Cano and - yeeks - now Eduardo Nunez?) playing elsewhere. For the Yankees to alter their mediocre course, someone at the top must first admit that the grand strategy - whatever it is - didn't work.

So we beat the Twinkies. We're back to one game below .500. If we win today... meh. How many times do we flirt with .500, and pretend it means something more than the achievement of mediocrity?

I really hate to say this, but I'm almost rooting for the Yankees to lose. I don't want to get suckered into thinking this team will win anything because, frankly, it's just too painful. The worst thing that can happen is that a year from now, I will be writing these same exact words. Look at this team. Who do we think it going to lead us out of this darkness, which has become our old friend?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would Girardi resign if they do not get their 28th world championship this year//
Come on Joe, put up your grossly overpaid job where your mouth is..
Brian and you can open a little retail shop, which will sell 28th world championship souvenirs.

JM said...

This brings to mind my long-established antipathy toward Joe Torre. When the Yankees won, this formerly mediocre manager expected and accepted more money with each contract. But when the Yankees stopped winning championships, and it was revealed that Torre was merely as good as the teams he was given to manage--making him a large zero in the championship equation--he took umbrage and was insulted when it was suggested he take a pay cut of any kind at contract time. He left in a huff and has since gone on to be lionized by many as a great manager, even though his performance in Los Angeles was equal to his entire career performance: give him a great team with players who always respond well to any situation they're put in, and he's a genius. Give him a flawed team where actual manager moves can make a difference in the record, and he's the same mediocre guy who led the Mets, Braves and Cardinals to resounding meh.

We can never know what Girardi actually thinks or believes of himself, but it's human nature to think you're OK and all your decisions make perfect sense in context. Unless, of course, you went to Catholic school and had a dysfunctional family, learning that actually none of your decision are defensible and you will one day be found out as a total fraud.

Of course, there is a lot of room in between on that spectrum, but somehow I don't think either Joe is inclined to introspection and self-critical analysis. That would seem to fit nicely into the entire Yankees front office mentality and organizational outlook.

I'm Bill White said...

I wish we had a mole. A whistleblower. Somebody on the inside.

Anonymous said...

LETS MOVE FORWARD AS QUICK AS WE CAN!.... JUDGE HOMERED TONIGHT IN SCRANTON, AND SANCHEZ GOT 2 HITS AND 3 RBI........WE CAN BE SMART AND OPEN THE DOOR TO OUR FUTURE RIGHT NOW AND IT MAY EVEN HELP US WIN MORE GAMES THIS YEAR, AND WON'T COST US ANY PLAYERS IN TRADE OR ANY FUCKING MONEY!!!.....BELTRAN IS OUR WHOLE OFFENSE RIGHT NOW, BUT HE SHOULD BE OUR FULL TIME DH........ WE NEED TO HAVE THE SMARTS AND THE BALLS TO MAKE AROD A $30 MILLION DOLLAR A YEAR PINCH HITTER....IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT.....HE'S GOING TO GET PAID NO MATTER WHAT, BUT HE CAN BARELY MOVE NOW... GOTTA BE REALISTIC...WE WON'T CUT HIM, BUT PINCH HITTING AND A RARE DH START WOULD BE PERFECT, AND KEEP HIS BABE RUTH/HANK AARON/BARRY BONDS MILESTONE BONUSES IN CHECK......PUT JUDGE IN RF EVERYDAY, LET HIM TRY TO LEARN ON THE MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL NO MATTER WHAT (THIS WILL ALSO IMPROVE OUR OVERALL DEFENSE RIGHT NOW)......GET GARY SANCHEZ UP HERE IMMEDIATELY, AND LET HIM SPELL MCCANN AGAINST LEFTIES, LET HIM LEARN ON THE MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL, ( NOT ONE FUCKING GAME, ONLY TO GET SENT DOWN THE NEXT DAY-THAT'S RIDICULOUS)....NO DISRESPECT, BUT FUCK AUSTIN ROMINE, HE'S NOT OUR FUTURE, LET HIM CATCH AT SCRANTON, NOT SANCHEZ.......THINK OF IT...HOW MUCH WORSE WOULD THIS MAKE US???? ...THINK.....WE CAN'T HIT NOW, (ESPECIALLY AGAINST LEFTIES)...HOW CAN THIS HURT US?....IT CAN'T!!!.... WE JUST HAVE TO SET THE GUIDELINES AND TELL AROD THE HARSH REALITY...THAT'S IT...THIS WILL OPEN THE DOOR TO OUR FUTURE........GARY SANCHEZ NOW...AARON JUDGE NOW....GREG BIRD IN THE WINGS...(ALL FOR LEAGUE MINIMUM)!....GET THE CHECKBOOK READY FOR BRYCE, AND A BIG PITCHER, AND WE MAY BE SET..............SEE, I'M NOT ALL GLOOM AND DOOM...

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