Friday, January 15, 2021

The Yankees need to set a deadline for DJ LeMahieu, and the country needs a plan for pro sports

Okay. Enough is e-NUFF! This stalemate has lasted two months, two long and dreary  months: LeStagnation... 

It's the Yankees' cheapo way to flatter (and wheedle) D.J. LeMahieu - by saying they'll make no major roster moves until he decides where to play this season. 

According to the Gammonitic hordes, LeMahieu is now soliciting offers from other teams. WTF? He should have done this last month. Likewise, it's time for the Yankees to call the cards. 

News reports put the two sides $25 million apart. If that's true, compromise might be hopeless. Either way, Hal Steinbrenner should spike the punch with $5-to-$10 million and set a deadline. If LeMahieu balks, they should sign Didi Gregorius and Masahiro Tanaka, two popular souls who actually might better fit the prince of billionaires self-imposed austerity roster. 

I don't mean to criticize LeMahieu or suggest the Yankees ditch him. But he's a smart guy, and he should see the reasons to return: He's had his greatest seasons as a Yankee, he fits into the clubhouse, he thrives in Gotham, he'll reach the post-seasons, he'll do hair product endorsements, he'll get a plaque in Monument Park and a Jeep. If those don't ring his bell, well, he can chase the money all the way to Canoville. We've seen how that movie ends. 

The Yankees should settle this. I'm starting to wonder if the 2021 season is more in jeopardy than we think. Right now, it's hard to imagine games in Covid hotbeds like LA (148 cases per 100,000), Arizona (134), Miami (98) and even NYC (73). Who knows where the numbers will be in April? (Note to clubs: Don't throw out those cardboard fan placards.) And soon, pro sports across America will hit a massive, ugly controversy: 

Should star athletes - keys to a massive economic engine and societal obsession - move to the front of the lines for vaccinations? 

If you're thinking of - say - jabbing ten Knicks, fine, that's nothing. (Even the Knicks.) But expand vaccinations across the NBA, with coaches and staff, and it becomes a huge, angry bellwether test about privilege and wealth. 

And then there is the current political unrest. God knows where we are headed. But last week, watching that mob storm the Capital, I wondered if - were I sitting in a bar with a beer - I could reach these guys by talking Brees v. Brady, or Verlander v. Kershaw. (Note: I think no on the  horned "Q Shaman ;"he's Vanilla Ice v. Mungo Jerry.)  Could we find common ground in agreeing that Gary Sanchez sucks?

I dunno anymore. Enough of the Big Lie. Here's my Big Truth:

We need pro sports in America. 

America needs a baseball season. 

Baseball needs the Yankees.

And the Yankees need LeMahieu.

Jeeze. Damn. WTF? THIS SHOULD BE SIMPLE. 

6 comments:

JM said...

It should be simple but it rarely is.

It should be obvious but it rarely is.

It should be easy but it rarely is.

It should be Mungo Jerry but it rarely is.

Carl J. Weitz said...

They heard you!
6 yrs and 90 million. Much cheaper than imagined.They must have promised him a fast track to management or a Bloated Front Office position after playing days.

J.P. said...

Looks like we got our man. 6/90M. Gotta say less than I expected. At 15M per year lets us stay a little more flexible and maybe, just maybe go sign an actual number 2 behind Cole. To think, after all that bullshit back and forth it came down to less AAV than most were expecting. Coops better make every single signing now for pitchers but you can bet every one of them will be scrap heap/reclamation projects that flame out in spring training. Go get a real starter you assholes.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Mungo Jerry, But he needs to lose that fishnet shirt. Gotta love *any* band that includes someone playing jug.

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