1. In about six weeks, he'll turn 36.
2. Last year, plagued by a broken right foot, he hit .243 - worst in his 13 seasons.
3. It was his fourth straight yearly decline, and 4 points below what Oswaldo Cabrera - whom he'll most likely replace at 3B - is hitting.
4. Originally a second baseman, he played almost all his games last year at 3B and 1B.
5. If he doesn't hit, strap in. The Yankees have him through 2026, at $15 million per season, with Hal Steinbrenner already poor-mouthing about Juan Soto.
6. Concerns remain about his foot, which caused him to quit an earlier minor league rehab assignment after one inning.
7. As a teammate, clubhouse presence and human being, he is considered a rock of stability. He has been called "Big Fundy" for his adherence to fundamentals.
8. There are questions about his ability to turn on fastballs. In 2022, he saw the highest percentage of fastballs (60.1 percent) thrown to any MLB batter. His average fell to .261.
9. There are no questions about his ability to grind. In 2022, he swung at the lowest percentage (54.7) of strikes in the majors. He also had the highest percentage of batted balls to the opposite field (35.8.)
10. He will fill some need, somewhere. He might platoon with Cabrera at 3B or Anthony Rizzo at 1B. If Gleyber Torres doesn't get his shit together... 2B.
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Haiku Tuesday- No Shit Sherlock! - edition
Breathing through my nose
Mouth open licking my toes
Fragrant little rose
Haiku Tuesday- No Shit Sherlock! - edition ~ Number Two
DJ LeMahieu
A roster of broken feet
Trainers love the smell
So some good news...
MLB umpire Ángel Hernández retiring after 3 decades...immediately-like...
Whoo!! See ya, Angel! You bum.
He and Joe West can become a really shitty vaudeville act.
I hear a voice in the darkness proclaiming wise words: You cannot predict baseball.
Fuck Angel Hernandez. And Joe West too.
Angel Hernandez said, “I have decided that I want to spend more time with my family."
No one wants to spend MORE time with their family. What did he do?
And again, Fuck Angel Hernandez. And Joe West too.
My guess is gambling. But it could just be macular degeneration.
Yes, DJ is through. He has been through for years. He probably should not have been re-signed...but that was, again, yet another situation in which Cashman left himself no choice.
Knowing DJ was too old for a long-term contract—he was going to turn 33 in the first year of his new deal, 2021—he should have either:
—Traded him the year before.
—Acquired another infielder to replace him.
But Cashman, as is his wont, did neither. Instead, he just waited to see what kind of year he would have—in the shortened, Covid season, which told us all less than we needed to know.
So, DJ won the batting title—playing 50 games. There were no replacements on hand. Cashie gave him the deal he wanted. It's as if The Brain really can't figure out that guys decline as they age.
Angel Hernandez's macular degeneration occurred shortly after he had flunked his potty training.
I believe that MLB made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Either retire, effective immediately or get strapped naked to the inside of that Boeing 737's turbine.
And that's not a load of Haiku . . .
I see an Angel
But Angel can not see me
Never could see sh*t
Never could.
I don't know, Hoss.
Remember how long it took The Intern to figure out that left-handed hitters could be useful at Yankee Stadium? Or that a completely right-handed batting order could be a liability?
I hope he is used as a utility guy, playing three infield spots and thereby giving rest (eg one day off per week) to each infielder.
36 is an age when few ballplayers shine.
Hoss nailed it above. Cashman, pardon the expression, dropped the ball with DJLM. Now we have to watch his declining play. Boone, a trained seal, will push him out there ad nauseam to the detriment of the team. This is not a slam on DJ, whose only sin was to age. Right now, the team doesn’t need him and he is blocking younger players.
I watch the movie “Patriot’s Day” yesterday. I was enjoying it until David Ortiz’ ugly visage made an unwanted appearance. The Mark Wahlberg character found it necessary to exclaim “you’re the greatest player to ever wear the uniform”. Was such unbridled fealty the cost of his appearance?
Also, Ted Williams would like a word.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFjOc8uHQZQ
Fuck Angel Hernandez. And Joe West too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgCHGtaOUns
Fuck Angel Hernandez. And Joe West too.
They could do a pony show at an S&M club, but which one is the pony? And which one rides?
Thanks, 999! And yeah, he did blow it. But Alphonso might have the right idea: DJ could be useful spelling everybody. Or at least as useful as possible.
Cashman loves to constantly give himself "no choice" by never planning for contingencies, and never thinking ahead. This very much helps boil down every choice to something where he can't really do anything else.
Need I say, this is not a great quality in a general manager.
9:38 start tonight here on the only coast. Wish they would use up all the Amazon/Peacock games on west coast trips. Who among us can stay up until after midnight?
I once watched an episode of Deadwood (HBO) in which I set out from the start to count the number of times the word "C...s...er" was used.
It was 41. The program was, I think, like 50 minutes long. Amazing achievement! And it was Ian McShane, a pretty fair country actor, who let loose with most of them.
Whenever I think of the deadwood on the NYYs roster (I count DJLM and GStanton in there, and of course Gleyber).....
.....I exceed the # 41 in the use of that word.
We could have a line-up with all 3 of those guys in there, at the same time. What word does that bring to mind? Or what words?
For the real thing -- if you need help -- see this YT excerpt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPcXZJV694
Ya gotta wonder...will DJ's return be another case of 2016--or was it 2018 or 17?--when the kids were doing great and then the "stars" (read: big money contracts) came back from injuries and promptly bumped the kids out of the lineup, proceeding to bump us from contention?
Kinda smells that way.
@Mildred...Yankee games on Amazon have been appearing on Wednesdays. The Peacock deal is not in place for this season. However, MLB made a deal with Roku:
Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) has secured the exclusive multi-year rights for Major League Baseball (MLB) Sunday Leadoff live games. Starting May 19, Roku will offer Sunday MLB games for free on The Roku Channel, plus an all-new MLB Zone to help baseball fans discover live and upcoming games, nightly recaps, highlights, a fully programmed MLB FAST channel, and more across the Roku platform. On most Sundays throughout the season, Roku will be the home for the first games of the day, with an exclusivity window during airtime as well.
Assuming DJ hasn't abnormally aged (maybe the layoff even helped, I pray) his return will help. We don't really know who on the farm is better (for "sure"). At this point he's probably our best second and third baseman, and our first baseman is tired looking. And the less that I see of Torres, the better. DJ ought to be fine as long as they don't work him to death. They probably will.
As for the steroid cheat Ortiz, triple fuck him! Something to think about. If eight Ortiz's went against a team of guys who didn't make the Hall, say Bobby Grich (take your pick) who would win? I believe that Team Grich would win AT LEAST 120 out of 162. Ortiz couldn't field, and he damned sure couldn't run. Was he truly a HOFer, or an ESPN darling? So how useful is WAR when comparing players who play different positions? Or is it even meant to?
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