Saturday, March 6, 2021

For Miguel Andujar, a bad start can be a killer

Let's be clear: Nobody's hitting in Tampa. Nobody. And nothing matters. Nothing. We are watching a mirage, a practical joke played on us every March by mean-spirited  juju gods, who'd be better off bingeing Netflix. 

That said, I double-dog-dare you to study these numbers.

Reminder: A loss in early March is just as meaningless as one in late March. 

Unless you're Miguel Andujar. Unless you're on a bubble. Unless you're lost on the Tamiami Trail.

Miggy is now 1-9 - (no walks, one K) - and officially listed at 3B, which for now is as dark a dead end as exists in the Yankiverse... (after DH, of course, which shall be Giancarlo Stanton's until the end of time.)

Barring an injury, Gio Urshela should hold 3B for the next three years. No other Yankee fielder is so entrenched. (Aaron Judge still has a big contract to negotiate; Gleyber still hovers between 2B and SS.) To backup at 3B for the Yankees is to channel Wally Pipp, and today, that's where Andujar sits. 

Barring injuries - (speaking of injuries, where is Stanton?) - Andujar likely will spend the month of April at the Yankee Gitmo, alias Scranton. He won't even have a league to tear apart, or games to display his improved defense. He'll sit there like a lump of coal, counting cars on I-81, waiting for a phone call that might not come. Lost time, which he has come to know well.

Three days ago, Andujar turned 26. His incredible rookie season, when he outshone every other Yankee hitter, looks more and more distant... and, frankly, cruel. You see the wasted potential and wonder: WTF? Certainly, nobody is to blame for 2019, when shoulder surgery shut him down. But to be ignored throughout 2020 - he had 62 at bats, hitting .242. - how does that happen? And now, heading into 2021, nothing has changed. 

Of course, Miggy could get three hits today and be leading the team tonight. It's March. Nothing matters, nothing. But of all Yankees, he's the one player who needs a great spring. And he is 1-9. 

10 comments:

DickAllen said...


One thing about March with the Yankees is certain: if German continues to pitch like he did yesterday, nobody will care about his domestic transgressions. Nobody.

There are already too many coke heads, drunks, pill poppers, wife beaters, bang-the-can cheaters and other assorted criminals populating the halls of Major League Baseball (and every other professional sports league) to care about anything in the long term IF you are successful on the field.

I see Alex Cora is back in Redsux uniform as if nothing had happened. Hinch is out there collecting a paycheck; how many other felons have slid past their criminal behavior and come out smelling like roses.

Unknown said...

Where the hell is Stanton?

Anonymous said...

I've been preoccupied the last couple of days so here's my catch up...

1) "We are Old Testament Yankee fans."

I'm more of an Old Testicle Yankee Fan.

2) "Old Yankee Stadium-Alive with a rolling thunder. New Yankee Stadium-Corporate Neil Sedaka melody piped in for the folks beneath the moat. They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot."

New Yankee Stadium is to Old Yankee Stadium what the The City of Paris is to Paris, Las Vegas.

It's like they built a Vegas hotel version of what they think Yankee Stadium would be like and included other attractions in the building because the game isn't enough.

3) The last few games

The Yankees can't string hits (Still!) They have scored one run in 18+ innings against inferior competition and it was a HR. In the other games prior they also score on home runs. This does not bode well.

Doug K.

Kevin said...

I'll keep harping on Andujar needing surgery for a torn shoulder labrum as the true cause of his wilted bat until he starts hitting ropes. Yankee coaches see with wizened eyes what fans never see. Andujar not starting "someplace" is treated by fans as a deep conspiracy, which is simply silly. He'll play even if he shares DH with Stanton, if and when he hits.

HoraceClarke66 said...

So when does he get better, Kevin? Why is it that none of our players ever seem to recover from injuries now?

Kevin said...

Horace, still waiting on Greg Bird. Personally (this coming from forty years of heavy weight training), I believe that a lot of these injuries come from too much lifting. Every one's body comes with a heritable bell curve when it comes down to training and injuries. IMHO, a LOT of guys still juice (contrary to public perception, you can add crazy amounts of strength without getting much larger). But we can't rule out the possibility that the Team is simply on a bad run of Health Cards. Or that we don't pay attention to other team's injury troubles......

Maybe they keep hiring lousy trainers.

Anonymous said...

If most athletes still juice at the Olympics, I'm sure most players still juice in MLB baseball.

I didn't know Andujar still hasn't had surgery on his shoulder. Is that for real? They only rehabbed it? For a torn labrum? Sounds like surgery should have been done a long while back.

The Hammer of God

Anonymous said...

I checked wiki: Andujar did have surgery on his shoulder in May 2019.

The Hammer of God

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