Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Last August, the Yankees won 13 straight, then followed up by losing 11 of their next 13. So, there's that...

Peabody here. Sherman, set the Wayback for Aug. 27, 2021... 

Okay, here we are. The Taliban is overtaking Afghanistan, Covid is raging across Florida, and Pfizer just won FDA approval for its vaccine. (Ten years, every week, eh?) On this date, the Yankees wallop Oakland, 8-2, behind Gerrit Cole, with HRs from Giancarlo, Luke, Judge and Higgy - their 13th straight win, putting them 24 games above .500, four games behind Tampa in the AL East, three ahead of Boston in the Wild Card. And think - just imagine - how good they'll be when Gary and Red Thunder start hitting!

Fun, eh? Unfortunately, on the next night, the Yankee bats will go quiet, Nasty Nestor will give up three runs, Aaron Judge's 2-run HR in the ninth will merely close the gap and we will lose, 3-2. The first of four straight. We'll win two, then lose seven more. By the time the losing streak ends, we will sit 10 behind Tampa, a game below Boston, and the rest of 2021 will be a dismal race for the final Wild Card, which we'll botch, anyway.

I'm not here to killjoy our Yankee Arab Spring. We all know how fickle April/May can be, and no matter how we fret over what comes next, a 10-game winning streak is a joyous ride, and - at our ages - we should know enough to enjoy life when the getting is good. 

Last night, we could experience a world where Gleyber Torres is the player we dreamed of, long ago, when we traded El Chapo to Chicago. 

And last night, we won a grinder against arguably our greatest threat in the AL East (though, frankly, I still fear Tampa, until they show themselves unworthy.) 

Last night, we saw reasons for hope:

1. Tim Locastro. Once again, he came through. In the ninth, he pinch ran for Giancarlo and - with all of Canada determined to stop him - stole second base. He then threatened to steal third. With two outs, Gleyber singled sharply to right, and there wasn't even a play at the plate. 

Without Locastro stealing second, Gleyber's hit - assuming it happens - is just another lost opportunity, and we've seen what happens when the Yankees become the team that blows chance after chance. 

I know this is a lost cause. (A poem: Fish gonna swim/Bird gonna fly/Cash gonna say/Ignore this guy.) I believe if Loki played every day, he'd hit .240 (his career is .229), with about 10 HRs, play a lockdown CF and lead MLB in stolen bases. (He is currently tied for 8th, with four.) I believe that, somewhere in Cashman's vast number-crunching software, there's an alt-Yankiverse where Locastro beats a Joey Gallo who hits .190 with 30 HRs and 180 strikeouts. 

But here on World 2022, the reality is that the Yankees are committed to Gallo, at least, until the All-Star break. 

2. Will we ever provide righteous run support for Jordan Montgomery? I mean, this is getting to be ridiculous. 

After five starts, Monty ranks 17th in the AL with a 2.88 ERA. He is 0-1 on the season.  Last year, despite a serviceable 3.88 ERA, he was 6-7. (I know what you're thinking, why be obsessed about W-L? It's still the stat that gets most attention.)

The Yankees never seem to score for him. As a result, Montgomery has achieved the impossible: He's being in New York. 

Peabody out. Next up, Bullwinkle's Corner...

23 comments:

AboveAverage said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AboveAverage said...

Its Badenov to have had to have witnessed Gallo's bad performance so far this year - and watching the LO-Castrate the nerve endings of the opponent's defense has been a, uh . . . new Dawning of Joy for this Hanky fan.

ranger_lp said...

And now it's time for Mr. Know It All...

mik said...

Let's hope last year's win streak/lose streak pattern does not return.

Also, kudos to Giancarlo Stanton for his incredible catch last night. Happy to see such an athletic play by the big guy!

Ceeja said...

A compact little single to center. A stolen base. Then a two out Lou Piniella type single to center to score the winning run. Is this 1978?

For one day I forgive Cashman. "But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."

Carl J. Weitz said...

I have only 2 words for this post: Ponsonby Britt

LOL...No Googling, please!

TheWinWarblist said...

The losing streak is just around the corner. The Ghost of Stump Merrill haunts the franchise.

ZacharyA said...

Locastro's career 162-game pace: 4 HR, 26 SB, .229 BA

But let's be optimistic like el duque and say he can hit .240 with 10 HR and 50 SB (league-leader had 47 SB in '21) over a full season.

Tim Locastro (optimistic version)
620 PA
101 1B
24 2B
2 3B
10 HR
50 SB
10 HBP
40 BB
TOTAL: 101+48+6+40+50+10+40 = 295 bases


Joey Gallo (career 162-game pace)
618 PA
44 1B
21 2B
2 3B
40 HR
7 SB
6 HBP
92 BB
TOTAL: 44+42+6+160+7+6+92 = 357 bases

I think the Yankees would argue Joey Gallo is a better offensive producer over a full season than the fictionalized Tim Locastro. I don't think they'd just add up the raw bases like I did; they'd use weighted run creation or something along those lines.

I'd counter-argue that the Joey Gallo who came to New York is only slugging .378 as a Yankee and .295 this season, so his career power averages should be called into question going forward.

Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside said...

Zachary left out the summary conclusion…. They both suck. Buy me someone other than peanuts and crackerjack or I ain’t ever coming back to the stadium.

Platoni said...

Am I the only one that gets less joy from a win than frustration from a loss?

Is it because we expect the Yankees to win? My father used to say, "If you know what 2+2 equals, it's not that big a deal, but if you don't, you fail the class".

Is it because the Yankees are a "waiting for the other shoe to drop" kind of team? You just KNOW they'll start a losing streak soon, so every win just brings us closer to that.

Or it could just be me. I am, after all, addicted to this site. No better place to bitch about the Yankees than this one.

JM said...

Now that we've racked up a long winning streak, it's about time for Fractured Fairy Tales.

HoraceClarke66 said...

In the choice between Locastro and Joey Gallo, I pick...Miguel Andujar.

Put Hicks in center, spell him with Locastro during his inevitable, long stays on the DL. Let Stanton play the field—where, obviously, he is LESS likely to get hurt, and where he did save the game yesterday. Make Andujar the DH.

Dump. Joey.

Carl J. Weitz said...

Joey Gallo's agent should hook him up with Visine to be their celebrity spokesperson.

AboveAverage said...

Please don't misunderstand - there's nothing up my sleeve - I was just suggesting that we are a better team if that super-sonic speedster LoCoMotive is on base one or more times a game.

Doug K. said...

Three Bullwinkle as magician baseball themed jokes:

Bullwinkle: Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat...
Rocky: Again Bullwinkle?
Bullwinkle: Nothing up my sleeve... and Presto.
(Pulls out Rabbit Manville)
Bullwinkle: I guess that one was for Hoss.

-

Bullwinkle: Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat...
Rocky: Again Bullwinkle?
Bullwinkle: Nothing up my sleeve... and Presto.
(Pulls out Trix Rabbit)
Rabbit: Trix are for kids!
Bullwinkle: Fucking MLB...

-

Bullwinkle: Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat...
Rocky: Again Bullwinkle?
Bullwinkle: Nothing up my sleeve... and Presto.
(Pulls out… nothing. Reaches in again, pulls out nothing… Reaches in again… pulls out nothing.
Bullwinkle: Well that’s three… Hat must belong to Joey Gallo.

---

Rocky: And now here’s something you’ll really like…

BTR999 said...

I’m gonna drop a few thoughts…

I kinda like LoC in the role he has now: a late inning sparkplug whose base running abilities can make the difference in a close game. He would be exposed as a starter. Hopefully, we’ll get a little more out of Gallo when he returns, because the team is going to continue to run him out there nearly every game. Wondering about Donaldson; Hell yes, it’s early, but he really hasn’t shown too much, has he? Enjoying IKF, but we know a course correction is coming soon. Not too high on Torres, last night notwithstanding, swinging as hard as you can at the first pitch is not a recipe for sustained success, and he remains a substandard defender. Hicks is allergic to RISP. Trevino is a small upgrade over Hig, but he is an upgrade. There is a definite opportunity for Rortvedt there, if he ever gets healthy. Right now there are no MLB ready bats in the farm system, except maybe…Andujar? Pleased and impressed with the starters so far, but durability and sustainability could really bite us down the road. There are some up and coming pitching options in the minors when needed. Schmidt, Weneski,….Krook? Obviously the BP is the strength of the team, and thank god for that - can you imagine the hash Boonster would make out of a substandard pen?

Alex Manoah pitching for TOR tonight is probably to high a mountain for us to scale, especially opposed by the weakest link in our starting chain, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t enjoy the win streak and feel good about where we are now. At some point, the team will return to earth (it’s baseball’s law of gravity) and then we can all get back to bitching…

ranger_lp said...

We didn't watch cartoons growing up...nah...lol

Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside said...

Just an awful choice. Lochlamydia or Gallorreia… which do you prefer?

TheWinWarblist said...

Andujar.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Thanks, Doug!

Bottle washes up from the surf. He opens it, finds a message inside: "Hmm, fan mail from a flounder?"

HoraceClarke66 said...

BTR3x9: I share your concern about Donaldson. And yes, the idea of the bullpen putting in so many innings now is to let starters build up slowly from the shortened spring training. All well and good. But they have to then, BUILD UP. We have to see guys starting to put in 6-7 innings a start, or the pen won't last.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

I miss Rocket J. Squirrel.

And both Yogi's.

edb said...

This Yankees team looks awfully good. It is how they
y are winning. The pitching and defense has been superb. The Yankees are running the bases correctly and stealing bases. This is not the same team as 2021. Believe me, I did not see this coming. The Yankees won a game that the Jay's Ace piched. A huge win on Tuesday.