For the last two years, LeMahieu has been a one-footed warrior, unable to regain his batting stroke of the Covid season, when he hit a league-leading .364. That's nearly 100 points higher than any year since.
Last season was DJ's worst in 13 years. He hit .243 with banjo power, blighted by a toe that attracts fouls like camera lenses to a Kardashian. He'll turn 36 in July, and he'll be a Yankee through 38. From all accounts, he's like a player-coach, a solid citizen of Gotham who can play any infield slot. That flexibility has always been his greatest asset.
This year, however, LeMahieu has been projected by the Yankee Dark A.I. as a fulltime 3B, replacing The Beastmaster, Whose Name Shalt Ne're Be Spake. But as his return nears, maybe the Yankees should still view DJ as a jack of all trades, rather than Brooks Robinson.
The key here is Oswaldo Cabrera, the most pleasant surprise of 2024. Thus far. Oswaldo is hitting 98 points above last year's .211. Thus far. He's been the team's second best lefty bat. Thus far. It's too early to declare him our Cinderella, or even our Travolta, but he's 25 and smart enough to see that changes needed to happen after last year's disaster. Last night, Oswaldo made a great defensive play to keep the game within reach. He's done fine. Thus far.
So, let's say LeMahieu returns from Bridgewater around May 1. What happens next? Some scenarios:
1. DJ takes over at 3B and Oswaldo disappears, transformed into Boone's 25th man. Right now, that's Kevin Smith and/or Jahmai Jones, neither of which see much playing time.
2. DJ platoons with Oswaldo at 3B, which means sitting out most games. (Note: If his foot hurts, extra rest might suit him.)
3. He takes the bulk of games at 3B, freeing Oswaldo to platoon with Gleyber Torres, who has been crapping the bed. Thus far.
4. DJ moves to 2B - (his best position, he's a former Gold Glove) -benching Gleyber until he screws his head on straightly. Oswaldo stays at 3B, where he's doing well. Thus far.
5. DJ platoons with Anthony Rizzo at 1B, whose slow start (and uncharacteristically flighty defense) has prompted the beginnings of concern. Oswaldo and Gleyber stay put.
Whatever happens, LeMahieu will bring flexibility - always a good thing. He can play anywhere, as can Oswaldo. Could it be a waste to have them share 3B? Also, by May 1, somebody will probably tweak a gonad, making these scenarios moot. Nobody can stay healthy. Thus far.
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It's a lousy way to go out, but if DJ is more selfless than Jeter, maybe he should hang it up. If not now, sometime this year. Stay on as a coach. But if he still can't hit when he returns--or worse, he fouls yet another pill off his foot to bad effect--he should consider retiring as a player.
I've never really forgiven Jeter for forcing that last year after the injury, and the Yankees were idiots for batting him leadoff the whole season. He couldn't play like his old self, he couldn't hit much, and he should have bowed out gracefully. But, he didn't. So he besmirched his fine record and confirmed to me that he was a little too full of himself and a little too ingenuous in his public persona. The gift baskets didn't help, either.
Anyway, I hope DJ comes back, plays every day, fields like Ozzie Smith and bats .400. I just doubt it.
My prognostication would be that LeMahieu will split time between 3B and 1B, with ample time off. I don’t see the team benching Torres, even if his D continues to be worse than ever. Cabrera will lose some playing time, but won’t be ignored like the anonymous Smith and Jones. Jon Berti will return at some point as well. As Duque pointed out in his conclusion, ultimately injuries will dictate playing time, with LeMahieu and Rizzo the likely victims.
OK, OK, OK - what no one is talking about is that DJ’s foot and Judge’s foot are besties now and until DJ’s hammer toe is back hanging and talking fungus with Captain Bunion then AJ ain’t gunna hit.
Yah got Aaron and Anthony’s doggies and DJ’s and AJ’s “dogs”.
Harmony must be restored
What the fuck happened last night? I was treating a terrible headache with a grapefruit negroni and missed the game.
Fuck Hal.
Amazing comeback, Warbler! Yanks down, 4-1, in the 8th when the man HAL wants to wave goodbye to hit another line drive homer and leapt around the bases with enthusiasm. (Enthusiasm! This must be STOPPED!)
Then, a splendid, 4-run rally in the 9th, featuring a monster shot by Mr. Muscles and a nice slap down the third-base line by Capt. Judge (no, that's NOT a Sly Stallone movie). All preserved by Volpe making a terrific stop and throw to gun down Vladdie, Jr., chief jerk of the Toronto Genetics.
Saw much of the game on the YES replay, after an afternoon in Flushing.
First off, Cabrera looks like a completely different player from last year. He was lining the ball all over the field and making terrific plays in the field. For the Yankees to bench him now just because DJLM is back would be idiotic...and just the sort of thing this team would do.
Hey, you used to read it all the time in the sports books they had when I was a kid. "So-and-so was a beloved veteran, but he got old and lost his slot when The Kid came up and hit .365 for a month."
Don't know if those were admonitory lessons in capitalism or something—"Don't get too cocky, kid! And never let up on the assembly line, because Mr. Ford's got a guy just as good ready to come in for you."—but that's what happened, going all the way back to Wally Pipp and his "headache" (aka, near-fatal beaning)...
...Don't get me wrong, I love me some DJLM. But it's actually been THREE years and counting, not two, since his MVP-caliber, 2020 mini-season.
The guy is 36—and chances are he's past it. No, I don't want him to retire. I think he can be an invaluable bench piece (and lo and behold, the Yanks' bench is about as empty and cobwebbed as an abandoned mining town), and may well HAVE to fill in at first.
But no way, no how should he be allowed to displace Cabrera, as long as he's performing like this.
And JM, you and I will respectfully disagree on this forever. But I was fine with Jeets coming back for that last season.
The 2014 Yankees finished 12 games out of first and 4 games out of a wild card slot. They were going nowhere. And I couldn't blame Jeter for not wanting to go out on 2013, injured almost that entire season.
We hate to see "the boys of summer in their ruin." Joe D. in 1951, Willie Mays stumbling around the outfield in 1973. Babe Ruth old and fat in Boston, in 1935. But I've come to believe that's more on us.
When you're one of the greatest in the world at something, and it's all over at 40, give or take, I don't blame you for milking the last drop. Better to know it's over, than to always wonder.
Of course, it might have been different had the Yankees been a real contender in 2014, or if Jeets had been holding back some great kid waiting in the wings. But neither was true. Somehow, Brian Cashman's idiotic plans to replace him with Troy Tulowitski—or C.J. Henry—hadn't panned out. Gee, what a pity. I was just as glad to see Derek get that last, walk-off hit at the Stadium.
Sign me up for four and five.
Let Oswaldo stay at third and let DJ spell Rizzo and force Gleyber to sit on the bench when he screws up. (So basically, every game).
Don't worry about reducing Gleyber's trade value because the Yankees aren't smart enough to get something back for him before he becomes a FA.
Most guys get BETTER in their walk years but not our Gleyber.
Catch new episodes of "Our Neighbor Gleyber" Tuesdays 1AM and streaming on YES.
If the broadcast on the app seems slow and glitchy that's not the app's fault. That's just Gleyber.
DJLM was simply a live-ball wonder. MLB deadened the ball in 2021, and he hasn't been the same since. Age won't help. And, yeah, you just know they're going to put him at 3B in an attempt to permanently fuck up Cabrera.
Trade DJ and Anthony for a bag of Pet Rocks.
Throw in Gleyber if they add two Cabbage Patch Kids
Put Judge at first base until his injury(ies) heal. He can play there, easily.
Means Grish has to play CF. Means Stanton is the go-to guy when Soto or Verdo need a rest.
Put Cabrera at third. Either he is real or not. You know how you find out? NOT by playing DJ there, even occasionally.
Bring that kid up from Scranton to play 2nd.
This does not seem like rocket science to me.
I’m with Hoss on the Jeter issue for the last season. He kind of earned the right to try it one more year and, as mentioned, there was nobody waiting in the wings. This, of course, is on Brian. Nobody has ever waiting in the wings. In fact, this theater has no wings. Wally Pipp has centerstage and it’s a crew of cinderblocks and broken rebar at the Scranton slag pile.
By the time he’s done with rehab Rizzo will be on the il, he’s clearly having problems and off by an inch or
Two on everything. Kinda screaming post concussion symptoms
Hoss and Bit, we agree to disagree. Jeter did not help the team one iota in that last season. It's not a matter of whether or not anyone else was ready to step in and do better. For me, it's more a matter of pride, walking away when it's time, and not playing (much less leading off). And, also, it shows that you care more about your team than your personal glory and goodbye tour. Perhaps that's was asking too much. Didn't strike me as the move of a leader.
I believe he knew the truth by a month or two into the season, but chose to stay. And if he stays, he has to lead off, or it's an obvious diss.
The fact is, we don't know what the Yanks might have done in 2014 if he didn't play, if he played only the first part of the season and then quite, or if he said he wasn't a leadoff man anymore and got pushed down the lineup.
Maybe the result would have been the same. Maybe not. Maybe it didn't really matter. But he took away our chance to find out, which bugs me.
A debate that can stretch into infinity. Like most debates in baseball.
My God, someone wake up my grammar and spell check.
Whether you liked it or not, Jeter earned that last season. Sometimes the legend gets to dictate the terms of his surrender, and this was one of those times.
Cabrera has got to play. You play the hot hand. Particularly when he's young and looks poised to take on a starting job. Particularly when he's a switch hitter. Particularly if he's also got some pop with the bat. Particularly if he also plays well defensively. You leave him alone at that position and play him everyday. Baseball 101.
@ JoeFoB, If I was HAL, I'd hire you to be the GM. Unfortunately, I'm not. So they'll do everything the exact opposite of what you wrote. Because, for them, it ain't about winning.
@ JM, I definitely lean towards your view on the Jeter final year. If I recall correctly, (though my memory of down years kind of sucks because I wasn't paying too much attention), that was the year that Jeter was swinging at the first pitch in every at bat. Seemed to me that the vast majority of his "hits" were swinging bunts rolling down the 3rd base line. I even coined a name for it: the new Derek Jeter style single.
'Twas painfully obvious that the guy should've hung 'em up before that year. The athlete is always the last one to know. Always.
DJ can play all over the field. Oswaldo is pretty good at that too. There's a place on this roster and lineup for both of them. I like DJ. I'd like to see him return to form. He added a careful and impactful bat to the lineup. I'm juiced about Oswaldo finding his groove. In a 162 game season - hopefully with playoff games to follow - there's room on the roster for a versatile veteran and a versatile young'un, who have great bats and clutch hitting instincts. It makes the team more deadly to opponents.
At the end of the day, the players who contribute should play. Those that are there because of a contract or front office preferences, should be benched or cut.
Let Boone play the hot hand, if the analytics department will let him.
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