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Saturday, May 27, 2017

If you blinked, you missed Chris Carter's molten hot streak

Against Kansas City, Yankee first-baseman Chris Carter's bat finally reached a torrid boiling point. 

I mean, the man was scalding, scorching, blistering, puckering, coruscating - muy caliente! We knew it would happen eventually. Big time sluggers just need at bats. Suddenly, Carter was bringing the boom!... raking the thunder!... crapping the gravy!... calling the bingo!... honking the huzzah! O, the horror, Mr. Kurtz, the horror! SOMEBODY, GET THAT TRUCK NUMBER!

For the record, during his super-thermal streak, Carter went 2 for 8, with two home runs. Two for eight. Both home runs came with nobody on base. What added to Carter's offensive explosion was the fact that he only struck out twice - his 38th and 39th whiffinpoofs of the year. (Last night, he added numbers 40 and 41 - fourth on the team, behind Holliday (51), Judge (51) and Headley (45.)

Soon, as we all know, the Evils will add Greg Bird, back from big-toe rehab. But we should not wait for Bird to go through channels. Tyler Austin is a week ahead on his rehab. As soon as Austin is ready, the Yankees should bring him up and pull the trigger on Carter, an experiment that simply did not cure cancer. Surely, the big man can latch onto some other team and maybe figure out how not to strike out 210 times in a regular season. But the Yankees claim to be in the middle of a youth movement, and right now, we have three lugs stuck like Mo, Larry and Curly in the first base doorway, looking for chances. We wanted to see what Carter would be like when his bat heated up. Well, now we know. Two for eight with two home runs, neither with a runner on base.

Last night, the bottom of the batting order was a miniature reproduction of Utica, New York. At one point, the incredible shrinking Chase Headley came up with two runners on and one out. It was a 0-0 tie. Chase looked fierce, swinging the bat hard in his warm-ups, staring down the pitcher. Then he stroked a surgically placed, perfect double play ball to third. Our hero hustled down the line, so fast and so close that Girardi almost challenged the call on video replay. Just another lost opportunity. Headley... Carter... Romine. One, two, three. Romine has an excuse - he's a backup catcher, for god's sake. But the Yankees need to make a move, and all the pieces are right there in Scranton, waiting for a phone call that should last about as long as Chris Carter's hot streak. If you took a piss, you missed it. 

4 comments:

JJ in MA said...

I almost feel bad for (that's) Headley, because it's so clearly dug into his brain at this point. You can see his lack of belief in himself every time he steps to the plate. Yips are brutal.

Still, he should sit in favor of Torreyes, Torres, or anyone more deserving of a shot, which as it happens is just about anyone you don't have to trade prospects to get. Vastly prefer an in-house solution.

Agreed as well on Carter. Results in; experiment over. Time to cut losses as soon as possible. Would be interesting if we could actually finally find out what we have in Austin, but I'm not at all convinced he doesn't come back from this thing, get hit in the head by a rock from space and have to go on the DL again. Some guys it's always something. Hopefully Bird's not that way over the long term too.

Games like last night emphasize how much work there still is to do with this team. And yes, Sanchez should DH when Romine catches. I was yelling same at the TV last night, but it didn't hear me.

Joe Formerlyof Brooklyn said...


Won't be able to get anything for Headley or Carter. Nada. Not even a ham sandwich each.

Will the NYYs just dump 'em?

That would seem logical. Therefore, there's no chance in Hell (or Heaven) that this will happen.

Sorry to be so gloomy at the beginning of a 3-day weekend.

Anonymous said...

GIRARDI BETTER GET OUT OF HIS "HABIT" TO REST GARY SANCHEZ.... I UNDERSTAND NOT MAKING HIM CATCH AT TIMES, BUT DON'T BE STUPID, THIS GUY NEEDS TO BE IN THE LINEUP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!...... AND WITH THE DH, HE SHOULD ALMOST NEVER HAVE A "REST" DAY. HIS BAT MUST BE IN THIS LINEUP AT ALL TIMES!!!!

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