Let's see if we can figure this out.
How is Booney doing?
Can anyone name a single move, so far, that merits a positive comment such as, " that was a smart move;" or " good for him" or, "that reminds me of Joe Torre," or " he pulled an Earl Weaver," that time? Even a totally wasted, " Atta Boy Aaron, you show 'em!"
Is there any reason to believe we have a baseball manager? He seems more like a community organizer, at this point.
How is he addressing this, for example?
The player described as " our best pure hitter," is batting .060. His defense has improved, at least as far as passed ball totals per pitch are concerned, but his hitting is deplorable.
And he is hitting nothing in the heart of our line-up. Right after the strike out king and MVP. A .060 hitter is " protecting " the guy who strikes out 5 times a game, while going 0-7 and leaving the tying, and winning runs on base.
If Gary Sanchez remains impotent, there can be no baby elephants. The Yankees cannot win a wild card game, or even come close.
Seriously, Jace Peterson looks like Micky Mantle compared to Gary. And we just DFA'd Jace for an old guy hitting .197. This is demoralizing. Take out a young, speedy .200 hitter for an older, slower version of the same thing.
I am not making a case for Jace.
But something has to be done about Gary. No one even asks Boone about him. We all assume that because he was a fearsome hitter in his debut, and last year ( post injury ), that he will become fearsome again. It is just a matter of "at-bats," and finding his rhythm.
But what if it isn't?
At this pace, Gary will be hitting zero by the all star break ( using the accounting method of "rounding down" once a number becomes less than .0005).
If ever there was a moment for Aaron to show more than a baseball heritage, it is now.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
The Sluggish Start....
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Boone is the problem. Cash is responsible for Boone. Hence, doing the old "if x, then y" blah blah blah, Cash is the problem. Cash is there forever. YES is an ATM for HAL, so we are doomed to a busload of bullshit for the foreseeable future. Trust me, the mathematics behind this equation is solid as my dog's last dump.
After last night, I cannot speak. There is nothing to say. We can't hit, we can't pitch, we can't get the attention of the beer guy.
Yuck.
Here's the ugly secret behind the hiring of Aaron Boone: the Yankees are a subtly but unmistakably racist organization. The obvious choice would have been Hensley Meulens, with his superb resume and years of painstaking preparation for the job of managing a major league club, along with his multilingual ability to communicate with an ethnically diverse ballclub. But the Steinbrenner/Levine cabal could not countenance a black face at the helm of their exclusive club in their one-percenter-friendly ballpark any more than they can tolerate the site of unkempt beards on their players. The reactionary/militaristic/jingoist yahooism pervades the upper echelons of Yankee management like a heavy, dank fog. Yes, the Yankees have black ballplayers--but never too many. If it's a choice between promoting Andujar or scouring the MLB rosters for a white mediocrity like Brandon Drury, we all know the outcome will be. If Andujar were a handsome young white matinee idol, do you think Drury would have had a chance? In Boone the Yankees found the perfect smiling, beguiling white face of the franchise--no experience or competence required. Do you think they would have hired ANY black man without a single day of coaching baseball at any level down to Pee Wee League, not a hint of the required skills needed to effectively discharge the complex duties of major league manager--over a white man with Meulens's superb resume? Think about it--it's all of a piece with the right-wing jingoism that defines "Yankee pride"--a euphemism for "Yankee reflection of the reactionary prejudices of the white country club set that owns the team."
Let's get real. Boone isn't the problem here.
Has he done anything to distinguish himself yet? No. Is he responsible for this entire team playing like crap (Not you, Didi. Or Romine. That's it.)
Here is the record of Casey Stengel, the guy I'd call the single greatest manager in the history of the game (with the possible exception of Muggsy McGraw) when he had first-class players: 1,149-696 .623.
Casey Stengel when he had players performing as the Yankees have in the last 11 games: 756-1,146 .397.
Yes, a fish rots from the head down. That means Hal.
And as for Cashman...I have accused him of every crime under the sun. But not racism. Contrary to what every sportswriter in New York was advocating—and in keeping WITH what we wanted—he did not trade off Andujar, but kept him.
Miggy managed to lose the third base job on his own this spring, and so far has done absolutely nothing to show he deserves it during his extended second chance.
Had Cashman ignored our expert advice, and dealt Andujar away for Gerrit Cole, we would not be out of starting pitchers by the second week of April.
How did Andujar lose the third-base job? By hitting a home run a day for the first week? By looking very good on defense, contrary to Cashman's incessant innuendoes to the contrary?
And the case for Yankee racism rests PRIMARILY on the choice of the spectacularly UNqualified Boone over the spectacularly WELL qualified Meulens.
And you want to keep trading away young talent for mediocre starters from other teams? Then you're as dumb as Cashman.
Meulens was that right choice to be manager by every real baseball measure. If it wasn't racism that he wasn't hired then it was supreme stupidity.
from a different anonymous
At the next Cashman Appreciation Night, the first 40,000 guests will receive an Aaron Boone commemorative hand puppet. The Boone hire was based on analytics- his high projected Compliance Index, not race or baseball heritage.
Stop, already.
—The trouble was that Andujar stopped hitting home runs or anything else after that torrid first week. He finished 12-45, with just 3 walks. But in any case, what's he done since? .125, with no power and 1 walk. Sorry, but as our Dauntless Leader puts it, you have to flash at least a little as a rookie.
—No, I don't want to keep trading away young talent. That's why I was glad that Andujar stayed. And thanks to Cashman's screw-up on Drury, Miggy is getting his shot, which is good. But so far, he looks like he's in well over his head.
—Bam Bm was "spectacularly well-qualified"? Please. I always liked Meulens, dating back to when HE was The Great Third Base Prospect What Never Was. And yes, based on their resumes, I would've hired him over Ma Boone. But c'mon—this was somebody else who had never managed anywhere.
Stupidity, yes. Racism, no. (Hmm, could be our new motto.)
—So, you're telling me that, in a game we lost 14-1 with our ace on the mound, made 3 errors, and left a gazillion men on base, the manager would've made the difference? You're telling me that, with the spectacular under-performance of this team so far—and its amazing number of injuries—a better manager would've turned it all around?
You know, in the 1940 NFL Championship, the great Sammy Baugh opened the game by driving his Redskins down the field, then throwing an interception in the end zone. Chicago went on to win that game, 73-0.
In the locker room afterwards, a reporter asked Baugh if the game would've been different had he completed that potential touchdown pass.
It sure would have, Baugh told the man. It would've been 73-7.
Another manager last night would've made that game 14-2, 14-3. Maybe even 13-4.
Hoss, I agree with you. I just don't like Boone's demeanor. I have have always preferred volatile, opinionated, slightly crazy Yankee managers. This is why the Midge Game was the kiss of death for Torre in my book.
Anyway, look at how we're acting in early April.
At some point, we'll go on a tear and Boston will slump. I still don't like Boone. If we win the Series with him, I'll consider re-jiggering my biased opinion and will happily admit I was wrong or pretend I never said this to begin with.
Fire cASS-man!!!!!!!!
13bit, I agree with you about the midge game. It was time for Torre to go.
I thought all along that Torre was a mediocre-to-poor field manager. But what he did that was so invaluable was to shield his players from George and the media.
I always sort of wished that we could swap him for the spirit of Billy Martin come the playoffs. Martin was sort of the polar opposite: a terrific field manager who was always about to destroy his own team—and himself—off the field.
HoraceClarke66--what a specious, dishonest jumble.
Boone never coached for ONE SECOND at ANY LEVEL of organized baseball. Meulens' by contrast, capped the following rich coaching background by serving as the Giants BENCH COACH--the closest thing to a manager--for the San Francisco Giants in 2017:
"Meulens began his coaching career with the Bluefield Orioles for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. From 2005-2008, he was the hitting coach of the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates,[11][12] also coaching in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Saguaros in 2005 and the Hawaii Winter Baseball league for the Honolulu Sharks in the 2006 off-season. In 2009, Meulens served as hitting coach for the Fresno Grizzlies, the AAA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants of the Pacific Coast League.[13] Meulens reached the Major League ranks as batting coach in 2010, serving as hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants following the firing of previous hitting coach Carney Lansford.[14] He helped the Giants win a World Series in three of his first five years. In November 2017, Meulens became one of six candidates interviewed by the New York Yankees for their vacant manager position, following the decision not to renew the contract of Joe Girardi. The other candidates were Carlos Beltran, Aaron Boone, Rob Thomson, Eric Wedge and Chris Woodward.
"Hensley Meulens also runs the Dutch Antilles Baseball Academy in Curaçao.[15] He is reportedly interested in starting a baseball league in Curaçao in association with Major League Baseball's RBI Program."
See the difference, you dishonest dick?
And no one was claiming that you can reduce the difference in qualifications to one lopsided game. That's another of your patently dishonest--or just plain stupid--maneuvers.
Tell me something--are you normally this sleazy and stupid, or did you make a special effort in this case?
Also, asshole66--no serious baseball person judges a player on the small sample size of spring training at-bats. As Jim Leyland said in a recent interview, the standard technique is to return to "the book"--the large sample size of his last level of professional ball. David Cone--most likely a more perceptive commentator on such matters than an Internet shut-in like you--stated that Andujar was a major talent with a lightning quick back who needs REPS--playing time.
Clear enough?
Baseball commentary does not seem to be your strong point, notwithstanding the torrents of verbiage you unleash on the subject nearly every day to about twelve equally clueless blog readers. Why don't you consider loan sharking or used-car sales? They seem better suited to your devious temperament and penchant for slinging bullshit.
Such language, Bitter Buck Anon! Do you kiss your dog with that mouth?
It's a sad fact of life that rookies who do not hit in spring training will not get fruit cup, or starting positions. But hey, I hope that Cone is right, and that Andujar will excel.
Also, I already had very successful careers in loan sharking AND used-car sales, which is how I made enough money to sit around and pontificate upon the great game.
I especially enjoyed your comment about my "devious temperament," in the sense that "devious temperament" means "someone who disagrees with me." Once again, your brilliant mix of juvenile insults has carried all before it!
HolyCrap66-- I nailed you on your slimy dishonesty in equating Boone and Meulens for having no managerial experience and your denial of the obvious genteel racism and Palm Beach chauvinism that infects the managerial claque of the Yankee organization--but rather than acknowledging your crass sophistry and juvenile inability to deal with these glaring realities, you strain to summon up your best frat-boy insouciance, not realizing that you've already been exposed as a dishonest, intellectually vapid jerk and that no amount of pretzel posturing will save your sorry ass. You're done here. Fuck off, asshole.
Oh, oh—somebody's bought a thesaurus!
Look, Bitter Buck Anon, this is not going to work if you won't read all the words. Take a look above. That's right, in this same thread. There, see?
Did I not say that Meulens has a better resume? Yes, I did.
But as we both know, my foul-mouthed friend, "coaching" is not "managing." And while running the Dutch Antilles Baseball Academy is no doubt impressive, the fact remains: Bam Bam did not have any managerial experience, either.
And again, I am impressed by your psychic abilities, and how you just know that it was Cashman's racism that made him choose Boone. (As to what "Palm Beach chauvinism" is, I confess I haven't a clue, but it sounds like a great name for an umbrella drink.)
If you could just contain your own, hilarious "torrents of verbiage" for a moment and think, it might occur to you that Cashman—who has never been recorded saying anything racist that I know of, but who DOES seem to be a bit of a control freak—picked Boone because he thinks along the same lines, and because he feels he can control him all the better.
Now, you may disagree with that analysis, but in such cases it is customary to make a retort filled with elements such as logical arguments, or evidence of some sort. Spewing insults, and assumptions—I'm not sure which is a surer indication of a rusty mind—tends not to convince anyone.
By the by, I really enjoyed your latest update on my own resume. Now I was in a frat! I guess that before I started my career of used-car-dealing or loan-sharking. Where oh where did I go wrong? Perhaps you could provide a motivating incident. Before long, we could have a helluva novel here!
HC 66--You think I bought a thesaurus because your stunted brain can't conceive of someone typing literately spontaneously--you're a pathetic philistine.
There's nothing hilarious about your pompous natterings on this site--your mind is frozen at the level of a college sophomore who thinks he's clever because he doesn't yet know what he doesn't know. You DID equate Boone and Meulens with your facile distortion that neither has managed at the MLB level--an intentional mangling of the truth to subserve your vapid little apologia for the imbecile Cashman. There is abundant evidence that Meulens is actually better versed in analytical strategy than Boone--Cashman/Levine/Steinbrenner chose the latter for his marketability as a congenial baseball semi-celebrity to help YES ratings. That is purely racist, and purely stupid--just like you!
You're just a desperate, petty liar. Every one of my posts has been larded with facts and arguments--which you mostly ignore in favor of your pet distorions and affectations of adolescent archness to veil your essential stupidity. Fuck off, moron--you're a scummy little egotist, a Yankee flack without a trace of real knowledge about the sabremetric framework that now governs baseball strategy, a dunce who imagines that he's the E. B. White of a tiny blog and therefore a grand eminence of some kind--a sad joke, a waste of everyone's time. There's my argument about you.
"Literately spontaneously"? Wow, what a coincidence! That was my nom de guerre when I was loan sharking.
And a new career! Now I am a Yankee flack. I do have quite a resume.
"Literately spontaneously" is perfectly sound English--only a sophomoric twit like you doesn't know that an adverb can modify an adverb. Give it up. You obviously have not read ONE SYLLABLE of ANY book on sabremetrics--you just traffic in dopey herd caricatures of a modality of analysis that you know nothing about. You're a pretentious ass. Your adolescent japes only underscore your ignorance.
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