Friday, March 25, 2022

Miggy, Schmidt, Abreu... Finding meaning in the words of Brian Wilson

The Death Barge lost yesterday because Joely Rodriguez - a fringe bullpen lug nut last year - was hideously pummeled. This might not be Joely's year. Still, though, an interesting afternoon...



1. Miggy Two-Bag. The lost Yankee city - Miguel Andujar - played 3B, delivered two hits (one a signature double) and drew a walk. Not since Brigadoon Refsnyder have we seen a more mysterious disappearing act. At times, I wonder: Was he a mirage? An alcoholic fever dream? Did he really finish second in the 2018 Rookie of  the Year balloting? But there he was.

I don't know where Miggy fits into the 2022 Yankees. Add him to the list of unexplained phenomena, the Andrea Doria of the  Yankees, the Loch Ness of the outfield. Still, he's 3 for 10 this spring, and after four years of telephone tag, could he be the comeback story of 2022? Guy's still just 27.

Am I crazy? Of course. If he keeps hitting, Cashman will trade him for another Joely - but today, we're channeling Brian Wilson, "Wouldn't it be nice..?"

2. Clarke Schmidt pitched two scoreless innings. Okay, let's not go full Andrew Brackman here: He wasn't lights out. He gave up two hits. Still, we've been waiting on this guy since 2017, when he was the 16th player selected in the draft. Guy's a tweak magnet. Over three seasons, he's thrown only 152 innings - always recovering from something. But here he is - age 26 - knocking on the door?

Okay, I promised myself I wasn't going to cry... still, Kleenex, please... Clarke could be the impact Yankee rookie we haven't seen since - well - Miggy! If he could evolve into a decent starter, maybe third or fourth in the rotation, this team could finish above Boston and Toronto in the AL East. It's been five years, but we're finally unwrapping the package. 

3. Of all the nicknames suggested in our recent cattle call, my fave is the one for Albert Abreu - "Double A." The perfect snark, cynicism, malevolence- the ideal summation of our grievances. We've been waiting on Albert since 2016, after trading Brian McCann to Houston for him (to make way for Gary Sanchez.) 

For six years, we've been hearing about Abreu's radar gun readings, his "live arm" and limitless blah-blah-blah, as he shuttled between NY and the Anthracite Capital of Pennsylvania. But last year, on a couple occasions, he actually came through for us. Could he be the next Loaisiga? 

He threw a scoreless ninth against the Tigers freshman team. He fanned two and never broke a sweat. Wouldn't it be nice...?

5 comments:

Dantes said...

Wouldn’t it be nice if Schmidt takes that 5th starter spot?

JM said...

Calling Abreu "Double A" would add a new significance to calling the pitcher-catcher tandem the battery.

AboveAverage said...

JM - a Rayovac of light this morning in our Eveready blog

13bit said...

giddy up, giddy up randy levine....

HoraceClarke66 said...

I would love to see all the kids do something. That's the only way we avoid collapse.

And I would love nothing better than to see Miggy back.