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Kevin Baker's book is here!
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Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Necessity forced the Yankees to try a rookie infield; now it demands a young rotation

Last night, as Miguel Andujar was rounding the bases on his first career grand slam, my cough syrup/baby laxative/Mountain Dew cocktail finally kicked in, and I briefly stumbled into a nearby alternative Yankiverse. 

There, John Sterling wore a beard, and his sidekick, Sarah Sanders, was a man. But the most noticeable difference was our infield: Jace Peterson played 3B and Danny Esposito held 2B. It was the Yankiverse of Not That Long Ago and Not That Far Away - when the team's annual quest for that final Wild Card slot meant a lineup too important to be placed in the hands of rookies. In this strange and perverted dimension, manager Joe Girardi still champions the need for veterans at the skill positions. That's how it's done in this Mets-crazy city.
Meanwhile, still on my Romilar trip, I saw Andujar in Scranton, working on his "footwork" in front of the AI-driven robot Billy Connors. Gleyber Torres was playing shortstop, a prime showcase for Brian Cashman's upcoming franchise-bending face-lift.  

It's not hard to imagine the Yankees preferring grizzled vets, because that's been their act for most of the last 20 years. But lately, the greatest fun is waiting for the bottom of the lineup to come to bat. Our 2-to-5 sluggers strike out or pop-up, but from 6-to-9, we're in business. It's youth that drives this team, and that's not even counting Clint Frazier, who deserves a shot before being traded for some aging warhorse, one step from being churned into Gorilla Glue. 


In this Yankiverse, our infield could be intact for the next eight years, which in baseball is several lifetimes. Trouble is, our rotation may not last the next eight starts. Yesterday's news that Jordan Montgomery will undergo surgery was a kick in our Stump Merrill. Trades are coming, folks.

It doesn't matter what we - or any other blogger, for that matter - say. Brian Cashman won't stand pat, not with the tall stack of trade chips at his disposal. And there is no sense speculating on future deals; Cashman never shows his hand. One day, we'll learn that so-and-so has been traded for such-and-such, and that's that.

But just so it's said, here is one fervent hope - hereby shouted into the void of Yankee space, where nobody can hear you win-warble: 

Mr. Cashman... please, I beg you... 

TRY THE ROOKIES, FIRST! 

All of us idiots who wanted Andujar and Gleyber from the git-go... we were right, dammit. We simply wanted players on the rise, rather than codgers looking to squeeze out one last annual salary. Before you trade for the ghost of Freddie Garcia, try Justus Sheffield or Chance Adams, or Jonathan Loaisiga, or Josh Rogers, or anybody.. and see what happens. If they get walloped, it won't destroy them. This isn't like bringing up a 19-year-old Marv Throneberry. At the worst, if they get knocked around, it'll be a learning experience they'll have gotten out of the way. Give them a chance. Even in losing, they'll still generate more hope than to be loaded in an Uber van and driven to Detroit. 

Try the rookies, sir. See what happens. Let's stay as far away from that other alternative Yankiverse as possible. I just can't handle John in a beard.  

7 comments:

TheWinWarblist said...

So endeth the JuJu.

13bit said...

A few sprigs of fresh mint in that cocktail, along with some Brioschi - shaken, not stirred - and The Master would have been wearing a red wig, been speaking Spanish, and Carlos Pavanos, the Cuban sensation who tossed Pineda overboard two miles outside the six mile limit, would have been tossing his third straight no-hitter. Carlos, named "The Iron Man" for his willingness to play through every injury.

The Yankees won last night. Pass that bottle of Night Train.

JM said...

Bring up the kid pitchers and let them take a stab at a start or two. German is young and inconsistent, but that's what young pitchers do. He has enough flashes of brilliance to suit me.

There has to be at least one other guy like him down in the depths of Scranton/Trenton/Hell.

Anonymous said...

LOAISIGA LOOKS LIKE A REAL OPTION....(POSSIBLY GARRETT WHITLOCK TOO).

JOHN M IS RIGHT, GERMAN IS INCONSISTENT, BUT HAS REAL GOOD STUFF. (HIS LAST COUPLE OF STARTS, WE HAVEN'T REALLY HIT FOR HIM)....

STAY WITH GERMAN. IF HE GETS WORSE, THEN TRY JUSTUS, OR LOAISIGA.

I'M AFRAID CHANCE IS NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT AS A STARTER.

ALL THIS HOPE, BUT COOPERSTOWN CASHMAN HAS OTHER PLANS.

DAVID HALE.

THE ONE GUY WE DON'T WANT TO SEE.

UNBELIEVABLE.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Hear, hear, all you guys!

And hey, what exactly has A.J. Cole done wrong as a Yankee?

I hold out some small hope in that there are so few obvious candidates for a trade. Michael Fulmer looks terrible in Detroit. The Giants are close enough that they're not letting go of Bumgarner, and Kershaw is hurt in LA.

Our only real fear is Hamels—and hey, with any luck, Texas GM Jon Daniels will hold out for some insane price from us, a la, Pittsburgh with Gerrit Cole.

We can only pray, and sacrifice virgins.

13bit said...

This is where a good knuckleballer or even a junk baller would come in handy. Is Niekro still ambulatory? Do you think we could trot him out there?

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