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.