Felicitous Injuries

One of the biggest pieces of Yankees luck this year has been the number of felicitous injuries they've endured.  That is, injuries that have opened up spots for other guys who can play as well as better.

We were facing the Spring of Tulo before that Man of Troy went down, and who knows how long Cashman was going to give Bird in his latest comeback attempt?  Instead, we got to see what Voit, Ford, and even Thairo could do, and it wasn't half-bad.

Even Sanchez's latest injury led to extended, terrific at-bats for Romine and Higgy.  And of course, the most unexpected boon of all (besides Aaron) came when El Matador went down for the season, and Gio stepped up.

It's been mostly the same in the outfield—though now it's starting to get a little thin.

Tauchman's injury is a crying shame (although before the very game he got hurt in, he was sinking like a stone at the plate).

Six-to-eight weeks with a "calf strain?"  Gimme a break.  Suzyn's right; this is another of the unending lies from Kremlin-on-the-Hudson.

Back in the day—I'm talking c. 2000—a "calf strain" was some Icy Hot, a wrap and two aspirin.  Now it's 6-8 weeks?  This is yet another euphemism for muscles and ligaments tightened and tweaked to a ridiculous edge by workouts, PEDs, or both.

It wouldn't be such a blow, save for the fact that, suddenly, we're informed that Hicks is probably done for the year.

Mark my words, when we look back on, Coops' extended contract for Hicksie is going to look even worse than those for Stanton and Ellsbury.  I love Hicksie to death, he's a very good centerfielder, who has some pop and a serious clutch gene.

But he's a lifetime .236 hitter (.235 this season) who has already missed 241 games in just 4 years with the Yanks, and he's owed at least $63.7 million through 2026.

Whereas it's entirely possible that Stanton will at least periodically be able to provide production in a DH league, Hicks' value is likely to plummet steadily, while he continues to draw the big paychecks that make are used as the excuse not to sign needed players.

So—how do we make Tauchman's a felicitous injury?  First off, of course, play the Red Menace.  As many here have remarked, this is ridiculous already.  Let's see what he can do in the next 3 weeks, at least (probably exactly what Cashman is afraid of).

And where to play him?  Well, how about CENTERfield, far from an extra injurious wall, and where his athleticism might be maximized.  Or not.  But get him out there already, for pete's sake.

Beyond that?  How about bringing up Estevan Florial, he of the High, High Ceiling (and yet another mediocre season in Single-A)?

No, I don't think Florial is for real, or a real possibility for this year's playoffs.  BUT he could be a useful defensive replacement and placeholder, making sure our now invaluable centerfielder, Gardy, does not get worn down or hurt the rest of the way.  Plus, we'll see what he's got.  (Probably nothing.)

Look, gazing at yesterday's typical Houston game—a 21-1 win, with Cole throwing a 15-strikeout, one-hitter—I don't think the playoffs are really going to be that big a deal anyway.  No way we get past those guys.

But let's USE this injury, the ways we have the other ones this year, to see what we've got.  We might be pleasantly surprised.

(And hey, didn't we used to have that other guy, a .300-plus hitter with power in Triple-A, who was mostly a first baseman but also played some corner outfield?  Hmm, whatever happened to him?  We must still have him, right?  I mean, it's not like we would rush out to sell him to some other team in September, right?)