This AM El Duque asked an important question. What are we going to do with Sanchez?
As a "What if?' type of guy I try to reframe problems as challenges. To solve it we just need to ask the right questions. Clearly we're stuck with him, so the questions become...
Why does Gary Sanchez suck? Why can't he hit or field? And most importantly, can it be fixed?
I've been thinking about Sanchez's issues for a while. Obviously I don't like him and haven't since he rabbit punched an opposing player in a scrum some years back. As already stated he is perhaps my least favorite Yankee. Ever.
"But what about Nettles?" you ask, "What about Billy Martin? They sucker punch as well."
OK I'm a hypocrite. But Nettles single handily shut down LA in the series and Martin delivered a number of times as well. So I guess I cut them both some slack. And, truth be told, I'm in the Billy Martin was an asshole school of thought. Nettles was at least funny.
Funny caries a lot of weight with me. It's why I like Pedro Martinez now even though he threw Don Zimmer to the ground. Of course, when Zimmer was the manager of the Red Sox I didn't like him...
What I'm saying is... baseball is complex.
But I digress...
So again...
Why does Gary Sanchez suck? Why can't he hit or field?
I was playing with the lyric "How do you solve a problem like G. Sanchez?" from West Side Story and the line that stayed with me was "How can he lay off pitches in the sand?"
(It's off of, How do solve a problem like Maria? How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?")
And then it hit me like a series of Sanchez rabbit punches from behind.
I think he has a perception problem.
Think about it. His main defensive issue is blocking balls in the dirt. Want to strike him out? Bounce one.
He can't perceive balls breaking down and away. So he swings or he moves to block them too late to get it done.
So...
"How do you solve a problem like G. Sanchez?
How can he lay off pitches in the sand?"
Get him a pair of fucking glasses.
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13 comments:
Leave it to the Yankees to miss the obvious. Well done, detective.
West Side Gary
When yer a Met, yer a Met all the way
From your first living breath to your last dyin' day.
I picture Marni Nixon in a nun’s habit singing
“When he’s out there he’s confused
Out of focus and bemused
And he never knows exactly where he is”
From Act One: Tonight
Tonight, tonight won't be just any night
Tonight I think I'll go four for five.
Tonight tonight I won't swing with all my might
and try to hit the ball to the stars.
Today, I'll stop with my free swinging.
and also with my singing
until our team gets ringing
at least I'm going to try.
I'll fix my sight
and then I'll get it right
end my plight!
To-Night!!!!!!!
Doug K.
Just because...
Late in Act Two the song reprises:
I’ve finally got my glasses
No more sinkers that passes
I block them when they bite…
The show remains true to its original power and tragic outcome when, in Game Seven of the World Series against the Mets, Gleyber Torres is hit by a pitch and removed from the game. The injury is minor but Sanchez does not know this...
Enraged, Sanchez grabs his bat, steps up to the plate, and screams at Jacob deGrom, “You HIT Gleyber! You hit me too!”
And deGrom does and he dies.
THE END
I remember Ruben Sierra, at one point during his Yankee days, was struggling with the bat. And they finally figured out that he couldn't see. I think he got contact lenses.
Gary Sanchez may have an eyesight problem too, who knows. But there are two things I see: (1) he tries to "launch" moonshots on every pitch, every swing and (2) he does the biggest leg kick I ever saw. Both very fixable faults, but I'm 100% sure that the Yankees will never fix him. I think the Yankees management wants everyone to swing for the fences because their stupid computer algorithms show that it maximizes run production.
When he does the leg kick, it's so huge that it takes a lot of time, and his head moves around too. It makes it very difficult on your timing and balance. I would like to see that leg kick reduced to only a few inches. His head will be more stable, his balance will be better, his timing will be much improved.
As for defense, he just doesn't have the quickness and agility of some catchers. And it's possible that he doesn't bear down and concentrate sometimes. But he does have a great arm. One of my favorite defensive plays of all time was when Chapman threw a 100 mph fastball way over Sanchez's head. Sanchez turned around and the ball hit off the back wall and came right back to Sanchez, who turned and threw a bullet to 3rd base to nab a baserunner going from 2nd to 3rd. It was like ping pong or Ricochet Rabbit. The baserunner was so amazed that he lay on the ground laughing.
The Hammer of God
Strat,
Nice!
Doug K.
It's not glasses.
It comes down to a few things that are difficult to quantify, but you can see them clearly.
1. It comes down to heart/guts/grittiness and a desire to win. FIRE IN THE FUCKING BELLY, MY FRIENDS, fire in the belly. Forget about asshole factor, Billy and Nettles wanted to win. There are plenty of unsavory players, people I did not like, but they wanted to win - Ted Williams and Pete Rose come to mind, as does Randy Johnson. I won't mention Schilling because his asshole factor and possible cheating ways place him beyond any redemption. Billy was not a nice guy, but he wanted to win and he had a sense of humor. Twisted, yes, but still humor. ICS has that Joggy Cano lackadaisical attitude without Robbie's skill. HE IS FOGGY AND CLUELESS and the only thing that will motivate him is the imminence of a walk year.
2. The other thing - and this is big - is intelligence, which goes hand in hand with self-awareness, which goes hand in hand with situational awareness. To put it in a not-so-subtle way, he's a moron. And not only is he a moron, but he's in the position where you can LEAST tolerate a moron. He should be the mastermind when he's on the field. Instead, he's the numbskull. I cannot stress enough how his stupidity is a liability. There may have been great players who were also morons, but I think they were all smart in one way or another. This guy is just a fat fucking lug. He's a fat fucking lug who doesn't give a rat's ass about the team or winning. THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIS HEAD.
3. What else? That's enough for now.
So you're saying the Yankees are missing the obvious by not giving El Gary an eye test. That explains it. Here's an alternate take: he won't listen to constructive criticism. For the record, I like him and hope he at least hits .230 with 30 homers.
I agree, Bitty & Doug...save that, as a manager, Martin was ultimately always a disaster, because the manager has to—as Bob Lemon used to say—leave the game in the bar. Billy always wanted to drag the bar back to the game. In fairness, though, all the GMs and owners who were willing to exploit his talents—until the next implosion—should have seen to it that he got some real help.
But I will add that what you guys are talking about is what Derek Jeter had, in spades.
I have no idea what the guy was like in reality. The one time I met him he was perfectly nice—and had a look that I would hate to see in a dark alley.
But that's what he was: always a gamer, always alert, always trying to improve himself. All the blah-blah-blah about algorithms and range and whatever: you knew he was always going to try to find a way to beat you.
No wonder it drove him crazy that someone like A-Rod—who probably had more natural talent to start with, and augmented it with juice—was such a head case and such a distraction.
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