In recent years, one of Aaron Boone's worst failings is his inability to stanch an open Yankee wound; yesterday exposed several. Losing 8-7 in 10 innings to Cleave Land was the kind of debacle that can extend into the next series, tonight in hateful Toronto.
In one sad, otherworldly inning, the Yankees stumbled and fumbled away a victory, a road sweep, and redemption for one key player, Anthony Rizzo, who still plays under the twilight shadow of a head injury that's never been fully understood.
Let's not forget where we stand: Best record in MLB, at least two games above fearsome Atlanta, Los Angeles and Baltimore. Hooray for us. But it's a long ride merely to May 1. Over the long haul, some things need to change:
1. Gleyber Torres needs to wake up. Last season, he quietly put up nice numbers, while cobbling a disturbing reputation for baserunning gaffes and fielding lapses. It's as if he just loses interest. He hasn't hit - (.203) - and he's been dropped from leadoff to sixth in the order. Yesterday, he botched a grounder that might have saved the game. It wasn't easy, a sizzler on the infield grass. He just didn't make it.
We have no replacement option. In Scranton, the tiny Caleb Durbin - red hot for now - is more a parlor game than real: Durbin would need to hit for at least two months to be considered for a starting role in the Bronx. Gleyber's real potential replacement, Jorbit Vivas, fractured an orbital socket and will miss weeks, maybe months. Oswaldo Cabrera is still a dream, and DJ LeMahieu's ever-broken foot is starting to define his Yankee legacy.
Gleyber needs to fix himself. I think he will. He's 27 and hitting free agency next fall. It's a bad time to fall apart.
2. Anthony Volpe botched a potential DP relay that probably would have won the game. The ball slipped out of his hand, as he pivoted over second base. It was wet from the rain. Could happen to anybody. One of those things.
Unfortunately, it's the second time this year that Volpe blew a high-profile play in extra innings. (He sailed a throw to first against Toronto, costing a run.) No reason to panic. In fact, Volpe remains the feel-good face of 2024, a potential great Yankee if he continues to hit.
But one of last winter's weirdest moments came when Volpe won the AL Gold Glove at SS. I don't think many people saw it coming. Apparently, it was based on analytics, rather than the eye-test. I'm not questioning his award, but around this time last April, he was still being described as a future 3B or 2B. As his batting average climbs, will Volpe's offensive output justify a move to 2B? Is he Gleyber's replacement?
3. I couldn't understand why Boston gave up on Alex Verdugo. He always seemed to hurt us, and the price last winter - three minor league pitchers - didn't seem adequate. (That said, with Verdugo a free agent next winter, we might someday rue that trade.) A Redsock fan friend always suggested a dark side to Verdugo, that he "loves the night life." But Verdugo is now a dad. Fatherhood has a tendency to mature a player.
Well, yesterday, we saw a troubling side of Verdugo. Batting in the 10th, with runners on second and third - key potential runs - Verdugo lashed a grounder to first base. He had the play in full view. The first-baseman snagged it and threw home, prompting Verdugo to stop and turn around, to see what happened.
The catcher made the tag, then threw Verdugo out at first by a step. The inning was over, because Verdugo didn't run full-out. Shades of Robbie Cano and Gary Sanchez. It should be unforgivable, even to the ever-forgiving Boone.
It's too early to give up on Verdugo, who has not been hitting (.218 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs.) Maybe Boone doesn't need to confront him. Maybe he knows. Maybe he's expressed contrition. Dunno. But we might be starting to see why Boston punted.
Tonight, hateful Toronto. I hope they all follow their leader and vow never to play for the Yankees. It would serve them right.
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23 comments:
Rizzo is really struggling in the field. It seems like every game there's something. A couple of dropped pick off throws (no damage), botching easy ground balls... just not quite right.
In yesterday's game I had a flash in my mind of what it must have been like to watch Lou Gehrig. Y'know, "How does he not make that play. He's been automatic."
Not saying that he's on THAT path but something is clearly wrong.
Rizzo suffered a massive head shot last year and regardless of the lack of action by the team, the cover up and repeated soft denials - that type of intense concussion often causes permanent damage to the brain.
Rizzo’s perceptual awareness may forever be a bit tweaked. He’s probably aware of this and is working hard to get through it.
Time will tell but I feel bad for him because he’s a likable player that cares a lot.
Verdugo is shit. He should be benched for that garbage.
Fuck Verdugo.
Fuck Hal.
Big Tony is more troubling. Post-concussion syndrome is no joke.
Fuck head injuries. Fuck Hal with a head injury.
I hope someone in Somerset has given Spencer Jones a first baseman's mitt.
It is weird to see Rizzo make multiple errors at first. Has to be from the concussion. I hope he can find ways to compensate, this must be driving him crazy.
Verdugo. Jesus Holy Freaking Christ, buy a ticket if you want to watch the game. That was incredible. I never heard he was a space cadet and unfocused. What's next, he stops to watch airplanes go by? That one play damns him as a Yankee. Let's hope they don't resign him.
Let's get Spencer up here already. Enough of this bullshit with him and no-hit Grisham. Play the best players. Why is that so fucking hard?
Man, am I tired. Oh look! There's a comfortable-looking pineapple I can go sit on! Let me go plant my ass right now and get ready for the tidal wave of victories. We're all going to be tired of all the winning. It's April. We can win 120 games at this rate!
But-Bitty - President Stang did not foresee 120 games….
It’s tough have two guys with room temperature in the same lineup.
Both FA’s after this season, can anybody see the team paying either one?
The Verdugo trade was a strange one. You could've seen all this coming. First of all, I loathe bringing in Boston Red Sox players, Babe Ruth aside, because present-day Boston knows when to get rid of their players. Just like the Tampons.
And then there's the thing with the backlog in the outfield. With Spencer Jones ready to come up (and he should've been up here last year), we got Verdugo, then Soto, then Grisham. When they first got Verdugo, we all thought it might work out because they needed the left handed hitting so badly. But then the Soto trade happened, and all of a sudden, they have a glut of outfielders. For some dumbass reason, they then bring in Trent Grisham, just to crowd the outfield even more. Stanton chooses this winter to get his freaking ass together and show up 30 lbs lighter. He might actually stay healthy this year. Good for Stanton but probably bad for the Yankees.
With all of these veteran guys here, they're probably not going to bring up Spencer Jones this year. And The Martian might be "re-habbing" the entire freaking year in the minors. It'll be another year wasted. And you wonder why this franchise does not develop players?
@ Doug K., I thought the same thing about Rizzo! He's been dropping a lot of catchable throws, giving away extra outs. Been going on what seems like almost every game this year. Yesterday was particularly bad.
Someone needs to inform Verdugo that April games count the most. A loss in September might knock 4 points off your win percentage; yesterday's loss cost us 50. That's a lot of points we can't afford to lose.
Rizzo’s decline is also attributable to age, he will be 35 later this year. All the multi-multi million dollar contracts to players over 30 has torpedoed this roster. Rizzo has a buy out for next year @6M, I heartily recommend we exercise it. His age, injury status, and contract make him untradable.
I’ve been wondering if Verdugo lacks hustle or is just slow. Analytics always downplay speed, so it is always an afterthought for the Yankees.
Now that some time has passed since the Rise and Fall of Gary Sanchez, I think we can do a better job of understanding what happened with him.
Appears to me that he aged mighty quick. They would've been far better off bringing him up a couple of years earlier. Then they would've had maybe three years of good production, instead of a year and a half. Then the smart thing would've been to trade him, when he started falling off. The key would have been to develop him much more quickly.
I say bring 'em up early. Better to endure mistakes from inexperience than to wait until guys are "finished" in the minors. Some guys are already going downhill by age 26 or 27. You wait until they're 24 or 25 to bring them up, you're wasting two or three of their prime years in the minors. Bring 'em up early. Figure out if they're keepers or trade bait. Keep the line movin'. Stop it with the washed up veterans, the perpetual injuries, the dumpster diving for other teams' 27 year old former first round draft pick castoffs. Just stop it with that crap.
@BTR999, I thought the same about Rizzo. He should've RETIRED over the winter. He won't retire? Buy him out, force him out to pasture. (But they won't do it. They never do. All contracts here keep going until they finally expire.)
Verdugo is slow. He's carrying at least 15-20 lbs of fat. He was probably never fast to begin with, but he's getting older too, and the extra fat is not helping.
At least the carmines got shut out on marathon day.
The Hudson Valley Renegades, our A league team, has the best pitching staff in their league.
Bring 'em up now. Can't be worse than some of the guys we have up here already.
Scranton’s team should be called the “Slag Pile.”
JM - I'm wearing the t-shirt of the Hudson Valley Renegades alter ego - The Hudson Valley Cider Donuts, as I type this.
We should all do a minor meet up at this minor league park some weekend. 61 miles north of the city.
I am in on a meet up in Fishkill (the name has nothing to do with the chemical plant).
Went there last year the day before the meetup in the Bronx and it was great. Really nice ballpark. Also, commuter rail will drop you at the stadium from there, so it'd be relatively easy to do the twofer.
I could make it if I'm free whenever you do it.
Hammer, who really knows how old Gary Sanchez is? Lot of documents get "corrected" with Latin American players... I always called Sanchez "sleepy", or possibly the "nightlife" was too much.
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