Too easy?
Last night, in the late innings, with a sizeable lead, the Yankees faced Kyle Barraclough, who started 2021 in Scranton. Of course, they were going to score. Why wouldn't they?
Then, in the ninth, with Brody Koerner on the mound, there he was - the ghost Yankee schooner from the long-lost past, Brigadoon Refsnyder - with a .292 batting average, striking out.
So easy. So simple. Is this a dream? Or is it our old friends, the Twins?
Today, the Yankees face a rich team's problem: Too many hitters. The Dodgers have endured it for three years. Suddenly, we have too many batters for two few slots. And down in Scranton, Miguel Andujar is rehabbing in LF... just in case.
So, what to do? Frankly, every Yank fan in captivity knows the solution: Aaron Judge in CF.
DJ 2b
Judge cf
Gallo lf
Stanton rf
Rizzo 1b
Luuuuuuke dh
Gio 3b (when he's back)
Sanchez c
Gleyber ss (when he's back)
Don't sweat the batting order. We can toggle it. Who cares? The bench is Wade, Odor, Gardy, Higgy and maybe another speed-bunting OF, Jonathan Davis or Greg Allen?
Of course, this needs to happen.
And, of course, it won't.
By the time Urshela and Torres return, somebody will be hurt. That's the Yankee reality. Still, barring a double-wipeout at catcher, or a terrifying OF collision, the Yankees should have enough depth for the stretch.
Also, I yearn to see how a Gold Glove 1B affects the play - and mindset - of Gleyber Torres. Luke is a trooper, but those bouncers fly past him. What if Gleyber no longer has to fear his defensive liabilities, because the Second Coming of Tino is on the other side of the diamond?
It all looks so easy. (Then again, who pitches the ninth in a nail-biter?)
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Is it to soon to (gasp) give Ca$hMoney some (double gasp) credit for somehow grabbing two excellent position players and three relievers to provide his manager with a balanced line up, improved defense and winning attitude?
Yes, he did give a batch of Suspects to accomplish this, but none in our top 15. Will some haunt us, maybe, but overall even the most jaded among us has to agree that this version of the Yankees is one hell of a lot More fun to watch than the version which dragged thru the first half of the year.
Who gets the credit?
No credit given for extinguishing a fire you set.
This team was beset almost immediately by injuries, The Plague, no situational hitting, and terrible focus. If you think back, Cashman "visited" the club a few times in July. Years ago Cashman made a visit, and it seemed that players suddenly woke up. Coupled with some nice trades, DAMNED right Cashman should get credit. Plans get shorn, but it's the ability to pull it the fuck together anyway that separates Men from those who " always know what to do ".
Saying all of that, Cashman should be kicked upstairs next year, Boone takes over the Mets.
Looks like they will rotate some combination of Rizzo, Voit, Stanton and Judge for the rest of the season. Voit will get his at bats...the way he's been hitting, he can complain all he wants about playing time as this is motivating him. If Torres comes back and can hit, and once Urshela comes back, there will be no one in the lineup to pitch around.
It's time for Chapman/Britton to become Openers
Ghost of Hoss here:
BJP Burnside makes an excellent point. Yeah, he got some lefties for the lineup. Who would've known they'd be missed? Uh, everyone.
But I'm happy to give Coops his props, if this continues to work out. And to be fair, this is often when he's done his best work, picking up guys at the trade deadline.
You know, if the Yanks had a really involved owner, he might've started really pressing for a doubleheader today, with the hurricane on tap. Pretend it's all out of concern about not making the Twins come back, but get it in while we're hot and they're not.
No can do, of course. Man City's season opens in a few weeks.
Who pitches the 9th? Easy, the bionically rebuilt six million dollar Severino
Yeah, tomorrow's game looks like a washout. Literally, if you're on Long Island. But even here in the city, up to five inches of rain. That's a lot of rain. The subways won't work, some stations will be flooded, and any hilly streets will be game for popsicle stick races.
We moved just a couple blocks to the west two years ago from our long-time perch between Avenues A and B. We're out of the flood plain now, I think. During Sandy, the water got to Avenue B and couldn't go further. Those were weird yet kind of fun days. Many of the people we shared the time with have moved away. We'll never have that kind of closeness with old friends in the city again, no matter what.
Donaldson cries about an obvious third strike. Here's your Spider-Tek, asshole.
Meanwhile, interesting stat from a friend:
Yankees are 30-11 with a 3.14 ERA in their last 41 games.
This is the first time since 1998 they've had 30+ wins and sub-3.15 ERA in any 41-game span within a season.
That makes sense. This is a historic tear. Six weeks ago, we looked like a completely imploding team. Now, just the opposite.
I can't stand Rosenthal. Ever since he tried to be a tough guy reporter by pouncing on Rose when MLB finally brought him back for an All Star game. The little twerp with his asshole bowties...man, he irks me.
JM: In your years between Avenues A & B, did you ever go to 11th Street Bar (as it was referred to then, when it technically and deliberately had no name), especially in the mid-to-late 1990s to watch a Yankees game with Nancy behind the bar?
JM,
It was Jim Gray. It is easy to confuse the two little twerps. Never like either of them.
The only guy who should be allowed to wear a bowtie is Peewee Herman.
I believe the 11th street bar was where Crocodile Dundee manually checked out the 'ladies'
Hoss,
Came across this today via Phil Muchnick in the Post. Looks like the kind of thing you would dig.
https://www.instagram.com/infinitecardset/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=20d86f10-0831-4642-8601-c604575a248c
Obviously others might like it as well but you instantly came to mind.
Doug K.
Jesus, really? I've always remembered it being Rosenthal. Wow. But I can't stand him anyway.
Bosch, is that the bar at 11th and A? I remember it, but didn't go there. The gal who used to catsit for us hung out there, she lived in the building above. So I was only there to see her. Her name was Natalie. She basically got bounced out of the building when a new landlord started clearing out the low-rent folks so he could gentrify the place.
That's when the neighborhood really started changing. Early morning copters as the cops cleared out squatters, the methadone clinic on our block disappearing...sigh.
Doug, Dins Makovsky. I never heard of him before.
And the attack of Rose was at the WS.
My brain is not very reliable sometimes...
JM, the bar was (is?) on East 11th between A & B. I lived on East 10th (the north side of the park) from 1979 through 2001. I remember sitting on my living room windowsill and watching the cops storm the park. I went to the bar a lot - Nancy was a die-hard Yankee fan (and a damn good bartender) and turned down the music and made people shut up when a game was on. My great pal Margo hung out, too, as did many of my neighbourhood friends (including a NYT drama critic who lived on A). A great hangout for musicians, writers, actors, publishers... I really miss the community we formed there between 1995-2000. Nancy would annually buy a block of tickets for a Yankee game for us all.
I think that's the bar that was right across from the back of our 10th Street place. Never got over there. Used to lie in bed listening to some of the bands that played there--that was later on, after you had moved.
I missed the police riot. Went upstate to see my folks that weekend, came back to horror stories from my downstairs neighbor. Lived at 327 at the time, before 30 years at 307. Was on the block from 1987 to 2019. Great block, even if most of the buildings are co-op now.
We were neighbours - I was at 309!
It's Minnesota.
Bosch, I probably saw you a million times and we never knew each other. That's so New York!
Fuck. There will come a moment in a big game where Booooone will do something stupid or even worse, not do something. Case in point: Judge gets tagged out at home because the Twinkies catcher is blocking the plate. Not a peep from the Yankees dugout. It should have been a no-brainer to challenge that call.
Dick,
Not only that, but it was a force and the catcher's foot was not on the plate. Judge touched home before the catcher did.
Our bullpen can blow a 6-run lead. Even in Minnesota.
And blow a 5-run lead too.
My bad. No force.
I still don't think he tagged him.
I need to start drinking earlier in the day.
Winnie,
Chapo is ready if needed.
Was the HR call Andy is Dandy?
Nah Merry Andrews retread.
Lágrimas de los Velázquez.
Suzyn won’t tell us the origin of “Squid” and keeps giggling…. Hmmmm
Gleyber who?
I'm waiting for a Boogie Down reference out of the master.
Gleyber of the Kansas City Royals.
Squid background:
https://www.nj.com/yankees/2021/08/yankees-andrew-velazquez-slippery-about-squid-nickname.html
Yankees are playing well - against palookas.
I’m mildly optimistic - this is the time of year when good teams separate themselves from all the dogs - and there are a LOT of dogs in the AL. And don’t any of you lugs tell me the Sux are good: BOSTON SUCKS!
I only wish this winning streak was happening in September - they might be rolling too early. But hey, right now I’ll take it.
And I noticed that the Yankees are now four back of the Tampons. Might get interesting. Then again, it might not
I’m waiting for the inevitable crushing loss.
DickAllen, you are waiting for the inevitable crushing loss. The Twins played us very close for 4 innings today, and they are terrible. A good team would have shredded our bullpen after not giving up 6 six runs.
"Squiddy, squiddy, squiddy
Love my little squidgy
Squiddy, squiddy, squiddy
Rock'n'roll!"
Really, the sight of his family actually crying in the stands was something else. There IS crying in baseball!
And Luke Voit stepping up to the mic: "And I'm telling you, I'm not going!"
And yes, seriously, they are palookas. And injured palookas at that.
This may well be so much sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Still—after how miserable and lifeless they were for the first 3 months, this is good to see.
The magic number is 10!
Stupid question (my specialty): Does the addition of LH hitters of some quality to the line-up make the RH hitters better?
If you answer YES, that's all the measure you need of Cashmoney's brain. Ain't got one.
If you say NO, please splain.
We swept the Dead Sox. Won the series from the Whiteys. Won the series against Houston. And, as all good teams must, beaten the tomato cans.
Sadly, we cannot play the '61 or '98 Yankees. We would have to win a series against each before we could be taken seriously.
I would like to say to the nattering nabobs of negativism that we are also winning the war against the Viet Cong.
he one thing Gleyber might be worried about is a power hitting Velazquez.
So John's HR Call...
Andrew Merry Andrew Velazquez...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_Andrew_(film)
https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/mlb/yankees/2021/08/21/new-york-yankees-andrew-velazquez-first-homer/8230639002/
He already used that one for Andru Jones. He needs help, but nothing is coming to mind. Get Squiddy with it? Squiddiddlyumptious! Velasquez sayz ADIOS BIESBOLOS! “THUUUUUUUH Bronx bomber!” Velasquez hits a home run and the Bronx Boogies Down! Bronxite, Bronx Bright, Velasquez crushes one tonight! All terrible.
BJPB, oh how I would get squiddy with it.
"Bronx Boogies Down" gets my vote!
Gettin' Squiddy with it is just as unlikely. Either one would be welcome.
Is it good enough to spend $75 contacting Suzyn on Cameo? Alternatively I have the email address of Uncle Floyd alum and current Yankee Stadium organist but who knows if he can get in contact with the very unplugged John Sterling…
Do what you must Beauregard!! Do what you must!!!
Well if I was truly committed to this endeavor, I would stick out the press entrance to the stadium. I’m very concerned for John because when the WFAN contract is over yes is taking over the radio broadcast. We need to help him take 40 years off his cultural references.
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