Today, Joggy Cano plays in Seattle, where he bolted for more money, because that's all he ever cared about, and when he left, the Yankees got nothing in return. And it's the candy of karma that we now have Gleyber Torres at 2B, while the Mariners wait for Joggy's drug suspension to end. Time passes slowly when you lope.
Unfortunately, we have a new Joggy.
Last night, Yankee fans were treated to the sorriest display of laziness since Cano. We watched Gary Sanchez sleepwalk through an entire game, from an embarrassing first inning passed ball to the outrageous last out in the ninth, when he couldn't be bothered to run out a grounder. Then, in the clubhouse, "I Don't Care-y" somehow managed to sound lazy while explaining his lack of hustle. This, from a guy hitting .188. Amazing. He is Mr. Whatever.
Listen: We all know where this ends. He had the winter to work on passed balls. He didn't. And if playing for the Yankees isn't a reason to hustle, what the hell is?
A few years ago, when he was in the minors, the Yankees suspended Sanchez for several weeks due to his lack of hustle. (Actually, they never gave a formal reason, but that was the speculation.) So, we've been here before. We have a player who simply doesn't play hard, and probably never will. When he hits a ball, his instinct is to stand and watch it. Maybe late in his career, when it becomes clear that his days are numbered, he'll run hard. Most do, when it's too late.
Last night, in his one solid at bat, he blasted a ball off the wall in left field, and settled for a single. Never even coaxed a throw.
The Yankees are on the verge of forgetting Boston and the AL East, and starting to worry about the Wild Card slot. And last night, Sanchez became the Yankee poster boy for underachievers.
I don't like trades as punishment. If the Yankees deal Sanchez tomorrow, they'll get next to nothing in return. But I hope Brian Cashman puts an "x" next to Sanchez's name, and come winter, deals his sorry ass to Cincinnati or San Diego, where he can see what obscurity looks like. There is a point where the Yankees should evaluate a player and move on, and it must be clear by now that Sanchez is no future Core Four. Let's ditch him, before he ditches us.
I spent the night imagining Sanchez boiled in oil, or going full Ed Whitson on his driveway. It's been a long time since a Yankee pissed me off so much. At the least, he should be benched for the rest of the Tampa series. I wouldn't mind it if he were demoted across town to Single A Tampa, where he can flounder at his leisure and not cost us another game. I'm done rooting for Gary Sanchez. The sooner he's gone, the better. Let's not be stupid. But let's get rid of him.
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I believe that it is Sanchez and Ma Boone's inability to deal with him that is killing our division chances, perhaps even our wild card chances.
I never ever EVER watch the Mets, but seeing Nimmo hustle to first when he was either walked or hit by a pitch was eye opening. The SlothChino is beyond infuriating, who the hell doesn't bust it at the bottom of the 9th with the 'effing game on the line!!!!!!!
He plays like he's taken five hits from a bong before he steps up to the plate,,,, the sooner he's gone the better.
Five hits from a bong would make it understandable. I want to know if someone is going to step up in the clubhouse and hold Gary Maniloaf (well done NY Post!) over the coals. It's clear we don't have a captain now. Will we ever have another?
TWW,
I think Stanton is the guy to do it. Tell him how much fun he'll have when he gets traded to Miami. Ahhh, the nightlife, the 5,000+ fans every night, the losing, and losing, and losing. He'll fit right in. No need to hustle, because they *expect* a crappy team.
Also Stanton is really huge. He is always nice on camera, but looks like he could be very intimidating when confronted.
"This is one of those instances when you learn from it," Sanchez said. "You put it behind, and you look forward to tomorrow."
I won't be putting this behind [me]. I agree with Duque and everyone else. I want him gone--to the minors or to some other team, I don't care.
It really bothers me that Girardi might have been right about him. OK, that he WAS right about him. What a toad.
There is nothing so frustrating as watching someone waste a talent that we all wish we had.
Hear, hear, El Duque, you are right on, as usual: trading him right now, as I am longing to do, would be counterproductive, as his trade value is nearly nil.
San Diego in the winter would be perfect. Or better yet, someplace like Kansas City.
As I've said, the only thing that comes close to this meltdown of a player that I can recall is George Scott, going from a Gold Glove, .303-hitting first baseman (good for 4th in the league, in that pitching dominated era), and 10th place in the MVP vote, to .171 in 1968, with all of 3 home runs.
Sanchez, thus far, is "only" down 90 points from his 2017 average, which will make reaching the Boomer's 132 point-drop hard to do. But hey, there're two months left yet!
I agree with Duque. If those pinstripes are not enough to make you focus, to work your ass off all winter, and to hustle all summer, nothing else will. He may be the product of a system that rewards perceived ability too quickly, that coronates new "core" members before they have earned it, that financially rewards young players before they deserve it. In other words, I think that Sanchez has considered himself a made man for the past year when, in reality, he should still be considered a wannabe. Whether this is from a dim intellect, a lack of true self-examination, or his buddies exhorting him and blowing rose-colored smoke up his fat ass, I don't know. Nor do I care. He does not play like a serious athlete, let alone a real Yankee.
Trade him while you can. Send him to a town that won't treat him like a god. Let him earn his stripes elsewhere. If we REALLY wanted to win in the future, we would follow Hoss's suggestion and blow it up now, sell off the dead weight and keep rebuilding. My guess is that, if we did that, we would also give the AL East a run for the money this season, as well, but that would just be a bonus. Cashman is, at the same time, too conservative with his overall strategy and too risky with his tactical moves. Blow it up now, man! As for Sanchez, if we cannot trade him, hold a special promotional day and fire him from a cannon in left field into the scoreboard, then put him on the DL.
So you only have one bullet left... Sonny or Gary?
It's like what I said here two weeks ago. I think the Yanks know that they cannot catch the Sox and they are just dogging it right now because it's almost impossible to loose the wild card. Even if they go .600 for the rest of the season then they will still have it, so why bother to try hard?
It is a horrible attitude I know but this was just about proven last night. Seriously there is no other way to explain his "meh" attitude! At least try to fake it to some point of believability like the others if you do feel like that Gary...it's simply amazing how brazen you were about it last night. One of the few times I felt some serious outrage while watching baseball.
Bea, can we line them up with their heads together instead and then use that bullet? I'm kidding. Sonny cannot help sucking for the Yanks so I don't wish him dead. I'm sure he'll be OK on another team. Gary has attitude issues that probably cannot be fixed by any team which pisses me off so much. It's just something that'll come with age, if ever. I dislike such arrogantness.
Beauregard- Sanchez without question. Sonny may suck, but he’s not an asshole.
I'd use the bullet on Fat Sancho. Sonny can only hurt us once every five games. When he's behind the plate, Sanchez can strike like corpulent cobra at any moment. When he's at bat, we are safe from his Mr. Whatever attitude only during "true outcomes".
Plus, I don't get the sense that Sonny doesn't give a shit. he's trying.
seriously, who wants to spend money and time on a team whose members won't put out their full effort? Why would I give two shits, or even one shit, about such a team?
something big must happen. I need to be startled. Yankees management must demonstrate to me that they know this situation is serious and that there's no excuse for it. and then discipline Fat Sancho commensurately.
WATCH THE REPLAY....
THEN MATCH IT WITH HIS POST GAME COMMENTS...
IT ACTUALLY LOOKS AND SOUNDS LIKE HE WAS A BIT ANNOYED HICKS BEAT THE THROW AT 2ND BECAUSE THEN HE WOULD HAVE TO RUN HARD.
UN FUCKING BELIEVABLE!
IT NOW SEEMS OBVIOUS HE DOESN'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT PLAQUES IN CENTERFIELD AT THE STADIUM, OR HALLS IN COOPERTOWN.
JUST LIKE JOGGY CANO.
TRADE HIM. (HE COULD BRING A DECENT HAUL).
Don't waste a bullet. The Yankee outfield with two bats each should be enough.
Someone has got to step up and be a leader.
The corrective course is obvious here: you won't get full value in a trade at this point, and he still is a major talent, notwithstanding his lousy attitude and poor work habits. Benching him would be merely punitive. He needs playing time and reps, but in a less pressured atmosphere where he can work on his hitting and catching skills and attitude. That means a long sojourn in Scranton. A tandem of Romine and Hagashioka would be superior to Sanchez at this point anyway.
Another addition by subtraction: JUST RELEASE NEIL WALKER ALREADY. What the fuck is Boone doing running him out there nearly every day? He is measurably one of the WORST PLAYERS IN MLB right now, on both offense and defense, without a hint of athleticism, and we have a large enough sample size--more than half a season--to tell us that this is not statistical noise, but the end of a playing career. Every time Boone pencils his name into the lineup he is diminishing the Yankees' chances of winning that game. A platoon of Drury and Wade is so obviously the superior choice, pending Torres's return, that one wonders whether Cashman's ego--his inability to admit to a major mistake--is the reason for this daily act of strategic masochism.
Any thoughts on this?
One of the things that makes baseball great is that, while clearly a team game, it is about distinct individual efforts that exist isolated from everything else.
The pitch. The swing or lack thereof. A tag up play consisting of the initial catch, the throw, the catch, the tag, and the runner's slide. Each gets it full moment and, at those moments, our attention is undivided.
Because of the space between the players and the separation of these actions baseball tolerates flakes and big egos better than any other sport. Teammates don't even have to like each other. Unlike say, a point guard who doesn't pass to a forward or how linemen must act as a single unit or the team fails.
When Reggie and Thurman were having issues and a ball was hit to right field with the runner tagging from third Reggie wasn't throwing to Thurman, he was throwing to the catcher. And visa versa. It wouldn't matter if the throw from right originated from Stalin. It's catch it and make the tag. While very different people, there was no questioning their commitment to the team and to winning. Baseball has room for this.
We can live with knuckleheads. We can live with overweight pitchers with rubber arms. We loved the Toe Show because that guy plays so far above his skill level if he wants to do a talk show in the dugout – go right ahead. He plays for keeps.
What the game does not tolerate is lack of hustle.
Aaron Hicks busted his butt to not get thrown out at second. Game tying run. Team in a pennant race. Came up limping a little bit. Gave 100%
Gary let down the team, the organization, and the game itself. They can’t get rid of him immediately. We all know this. But...
Next time a ball is hit to right on a tag play Judge will throw to the catcher. That’s the beauty and strength of the game. But he will no longer be throwing to a teammate. And that’s just sad.
Doug K.
Yes, they can send him down immediately to work on his hitting, catching, and attitude. Clearly they ought to, and the can. So why shouldn't they?
I tend to agree with you on all points here and I think that the point about Cashman’s ego cannot be over emphasized.
I believe he is out of options and would have to clear wavers in order to be sent down. There's no way he doesn't get claimed.
And that Walker is still on the team is beyond all of our comprehension. It's not like he's a young guy who fits into future plans. This is his final year in the game and there are much better options. so stupid. Deja Drew.
Doug K.
You're right--Sanchez is out of options. But can't he agree voluntarily to go down? Surely the team can convince him that this is the best course for his career and for the team.
Put him on the DL for being fat and lazy.
That *is* a valid reason, isn't it?
Anon,
He could agree, but he's not hurt (or if he is - just the ML DL works). You're asking him to take a demotion to work on his attitude on behalf of the team. But if he was willing to work on his attitude for the sake of the team he wouldn't need the demotion.
Very few people choose to humiliate and punish themselves. Actually I take that back. There are a number of people who do that. There are whole web sites devoted to it. (Cough) but I don't know if this qualifies.
I actually went to one once looking for pain. It was brutal. I ended up watching compilation of 2018 Neal Walker At Bats. I may never be the same.
Doug K.
Doug K., that is a great definition of how baseball works as an individual game within a team game. Baseball is full of teams—the 1970s A's, the 1977-78 Yankees—who didn't get along in the clubhouse.
Hell, for that matter, Tinker and Evers and Chance hated each other's guts (true story!). But they got it done on the field.
13bit: THAT is a great definition of the main problem with Cooperstown Cashman. He never dreams really big—"Hmm, how can I assemble enough piece for a dynasty here?"—but at the same time, he's always willing to risk a rancid, short-term trade: "Here's our best prospect for your dubious, short-term rent-a-pitcher."
I had hoped he was over the latter problem. We shall see.
ALL-CAPS, you hit the nail on the head, much more succinctly than I did.
Plaques on the wall at Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig sobbing on his day, the Bambino and the Yankee Clipper, The Mick hobbling around first base, Thurman on his knees in pain, Reggie hitting that third, majestic home run into the black seats, Jeter diving into the stands...
That's all so much background noise to someone like Sanchez, obviously a self-indulgent, 25-year-old kid, who has more money than he can burn, and is now doubt out getting toasted and laid every night. Hey, that's what rich young men who spend half their time on the road do. Everything else must seem more than a little silly to him.
But you gotta take it seriously when you're on the field. You gotta at least pretend to believe, and suck it up. One depends on the other, which is what guys as stupid or as arrogant as Sanchez never get. You want the big bucks and the ladies? You got to get out there and play.
Vampifella, I know what you're saying, but I beg to differ.
This Yankees team can quite easily miss the Wild Card—and it probably will do so if starting pitchers continue to drop like flies.
The real lead story last night was not Sanchez, but Severino, which was a body blow to any remaining hopes for this year. Don't be surprised if he joins his batterymate on the DL soon.
Next time a ball is hit to right on a tag play Judge will throw to the catcher. That’s the beauty and strength of the game. But he will no longer be throwing to a teammate. And that’s just sad.
Doug K., I quoted above the final sentences of a very nice post. Thanks for sharing.
Remember The Baseball Bunch? The Dugout Wizard (who looked incredibly like Tommy Lasorda) discussed once the virtues of "Running It Out". Gary should be shown this video, and all the others in the series for that matter.
In fact, the whole team could benefit from watching the multi Emmy Awards winning show. I think it would help the metrics vastly. Alas, they didn't have an episode on launch velocity or launch angle. But they did have one where the Dugout Wizard said more than once "Run it out."
Oh, one more thing...I heard that Sanchez was getting an MRI. Hopefully to scan between his ears.
Doug K.--he's been humilliating himself beyond endurance with his pathetic performance this year. If he were thinking rationally, or thinking at all, he might welcome a chance to get straightened out before further trashing his prospects at the major league level.
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