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Friday, April 30, 2021

The Yankees plan for moving runners: Hit a homer

The incredibly miserable 2021 Yankees have now played four extra inning games, losing three.  In their lone victory over Tampa, Rays pitcher Colin McHugh dissolved into goo after our pinch-hitter, Mike Tauchman, laid down a sacrifice bunt. Tauchy was the Yankees best bunter - actually, their only bunter - before they traded him this week for a pitcher named Wandy Peralta. I wonder if he can bunt?  

With Tauchman gone, the Yankees have reverted to their main strategy for scoring under the new extra innings rule. It's the same strategy as always: Hit a home run. 

That's right. Imagine you're in a Calgon Bath Oil Beads commercial and.... SWING AWAY! The Yankees don't bother with "situational hitting." They value their freedom and liberty. Swing away!  When they start the 10th inning with a free runner on second, it's a chance for a 2-run homer, instead of the usual solo shot.

Solo shots. These days, that's the Yankees.  They hit seven homers against Baltimore this week. Six were solo shots. In fact, the Yankees have no more chance of scoring with a man on second than by starting with a clean slate. What matters is whether the opposing pitcher will toss a meatball, which a Yankee can bash over the fence. If so, the Yankees will score. It's actually quite simple.

Yesterday, in the 10th, the Yankees called upon Tyler Wade to bunt their free runner to third. He failed, horribly, in fact, so astonishingly ineptly that it begs a question: 

Could it really be that a career 26th man, a utility IF-OF, whose game is based on speed, hustle and the ability to play multiple positions, has never learned to bunt? 

Of course, it is possible. This is the Yankees! Why would anyone expect the fundamentals to be a thing? 

Last night, "Tyler Wade" was trending nationally on Twitter. I felt bad for the guy. I haven't seen such brutal comments since the Houston cheating scandal. The Yankiverse is angry. Still, I blame Aaron Boone for bringing in Aroldis Chapman too early. At least for now, when El Chapo looks unhittable, he should pitch the 10th, with a runner on second. 

The reason? Well, it's not fair. Other teams can bunt. 

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have never been this outraged by anything the Yankees have done since they DFA'ed Oscar Azocar.

why didn't they trade for AARON RODGERS ??!!!
He was begging to get traded.

He would cost less then Stanton,
has a better arm than Hicks; doesn't need several days off for "lower body issues" like St. Aaron;
when asked to, blocks better than Sanchez;
Can carry all the necessary analytics data on a handy wrist wrap;
and doesn't need to go full thermal facemark when it is 42.
I will never forgive them for this blunder.
The Archangel

DickAllen said...

Seriously, does anyone actually think Wade acted on his own when he bunted with two strikes? We spend too much time getting on the players when, in fact, the real culprit in this mess is the broadcast man masquerading as a manager. The team is being run by Ted Lasso.

Anonymous said...

Another winnable game blown sky high by stupid managing. We should count how many of these there are by the end of the year. Because I used to hear this stupid idea that the manager only makes a difference of 3-4 games during the course of the entire season. (No doubt the same moron who came up with this idea came up with the WAR stat.) At the end of the year, it's going to be about 50-60 with Boone.

The Hammer of God

Anonymous said...

Instead of a stent, he needs an enema and a prostrate exam by Edward Scissorhands.
P.S., I do NOT wish him ill health, I just want him to go away and take Hal and Cashmere with him.
P.P.S.S,I only get my Yankee news from this Blog now, so I am hoping that things are not as bad as the boys here seem to make them out.
The Archangel

HoraceClarke66 said...

Love it, Archie! Rodgers, Rodgers, Rodgers!

And who else could have been up there in that situation. Hmm, maybe SATAN? Which is to say, the same Mike Tauchman, who not only has our one effective bunt this year but also half of our stolen bases.

Of course he had to go! Who can bunt AND steal AND play the field??? It was SATANIC!

DickAllen said...

Boone may lose the Yankees a few games like he did last night, but that isn’t the worst of it. Watch the lineup card each day and see if this guy isn’t an amateur. He reminds me of the years Mattingky mid-managed the Dodgers. They fired him because he was a novice and had to learn on the job. Same with Boone. They need to stick in some out of the way place, say Altoona, or Elmira, where he can fuck up and not have anybody get too excited. This guy is going to lose a bunch of games by staying with the likes of Hicks too long and not simply putting Clint in LF and letting him work it out.

There is a young kid on the Spaghetti-Os who has one hit in his last 35-40 at-bats and his manager said that he can’t learn anything more in AAA, he’s in the lineup and he’ll have to learn how to cope here.

Words of wisdom. Sometimes you just gotta let the boys plat. It’s the only way they grow to be men.

Anonymous said...

@DickAllen1964 Exactamente, I agree. I would've brought up Florial already. He's got to play, along with Frazier and Tyler Wade. Deivi Garcia has to learn how to pitch in the majors. There will growing pains. It could take several years. But you have to find out about these guys. And that's the only to find out.

The Hammer of God

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