1. Last night's seemingly toothless lineup inspired immediate Yankiverse chatter about Christmas - aka the Aug. 1 trade deadline. What gifts we'll receive! A new 1B! A 2B! A set of bullpen lug nuts! A Talking Tommy Trout! Clearly, 2022 has successfully vanished into the memory hole. We've forgotten Frankie Montas, Scott Effross, Harrison Bader-for-Jordan Montgomery... Amnesia is the forever chemicals in our bloodstream.
2. That said, let's quick bow to Cooperstown Cashman for this team. Okay, now let's pray he doesn't destroy it in one night of binge-deals. Yeah, we're tired of Gleyber's brain farts, and Anthony Rizzo does look cooked. But what will we get? Precooked versions of Gleyber and Rizzo? For 15 years, the Yankees have gaslighted themselves over the chances of saving this team on the night of July 31. Young, ascending teams win championships. Not deals for Joey Gallo.
3. Nice to not see Giancarlo last night. I say, "More!" Look... if a guy cannot run, why put him out there? Stanton's doubles are singles. His grounders are DPs. One of these days, he'll hit a laser to right and be thrown out at first. If he cannot run, the occasional moon shot cannot justify his presence. I get it that Giancarlo seems a popular teammate - that's not nothing - but if he cannot run, yikes.
The Yankees must deal with this. They seem obliged to ignore it. That won't work.
4. As we jockey with Philly for baseball's best record, we're not pulling away from Baltimore. The O's are the team to fear at the trade deadline, chock full of Triple A prospects, ready to go.
5. But but but... we could them with the additions of Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, The Martian and maybe this Brubaker guy. Adding the pitchers is easy, but Jasson Dominguez needs an opening. 6. If Dominguez keeps hitting - (currently 10 for 20 with 2 HRs at Scranton) - there's talk of trading Alex Verdugo. I'd hate to see that. Guy plays LF flawlessly, hustles on every play and grinds in the clutch. I think his best days as a Yankee in front of him. If we trade him, he'll be this year's Jordan Montgomery. Also, Redsock fans would hate seeing him win a ring in NY. Shades of Wade Boggs.
7. Great last night watching the Yankees bunt their way past KC. I'd almost forgotten the joy of a manufactured run. But but but...
8. It's Carlos Rodon who gave them the flexibility to bunt. In his last two starts, he's taken mini-no-hitters into the 4th. He's not Johnny Vander Meer. But quick turns through the opposing lineup gave the Yankees the freedom to play a one-run game. It's all interconnected.
9. More than ever, this is the season when the Yankees must go for broke. Next winter's turnover could be devastating, especially if they fail in October. But that still doesn't mean trading the future for players that, basically, other teams have decided to deal.
10. Marcus Stroman tonight. He's delivered innings, but he doesn't shut down other teams. When Cole and Schmidt return - (assuming they do, we should take nothing for granted) - the Yankees might want to rest both Stroman and Rodon in August/September with eyes for a fresh October.
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8 comments:
Brilliant, Duque! You may have cracked The Cashman Conundrum, a.k.a., Steinbrenner's Cat.
It's baffled baseball scientists for years: how do you work around a GM who can't build a farm system but ALSO can't pull off a great trade?
The answer, this year at least, is to run with youth. And I do mean run.
Stanton right now is in the middle of what looks like another death spiral. Not since 2021, his best year as a Yankee, has he been able to keep up his BA and OPS over the course of the year. This year, he has already dropped from a season high .258/.838 on May 18th, to .224/.746.
Things won't get better. Call up The Martian, call up Spencer, Rice, lawyers, guns, and money, if necessary.
Do NOT trade Verdugo. That's the "Jordan Montgomery Clubhouse Chemistry Killer Deal" (TM) of 2024.
The actual solution is simple but impossible. Remove Stanton. Bring up Jasson as a DH and 4th outfielder and have Soto and he switch as DH/OF plus giving Judge the occasional breather. DONE! Won't be done.
Keep Rizzo on the bench as a Judge whisperer but we all know he's toast and gone next year.
The Ellsbury rehab hospital for untradeable players has an opening. Maybe Stanton needs to rest his (cough, cough) sore hammy there. Say for about four years.
Yep, guys, that's it. That's what to do exactly. And if they simply cannot get rid of Stanton, he rides the bench. He and Rizzo have to ride the bench. A bullpen lug nut goes back down to the minors.
Torres should've been traded a long long time ago. If they do make trades, they should jettison Torres, Rizzo, Stanton, and anyone else who's long in the tooth. Get back something called "prospects". Even if they're wearing diapers and still suckling on their mother's breasts. "Hey, we traded Torres for a 1 year old babe. Looks like a winner in 19 years time!" But that's the only thing to do. NO MORE OLD GUYS NEED APPLY HERE. Bring up the youth. Youth must be served. If they want to win it this year.
I have to say, Ja'asson and Rice are showing they're ready, now. But they won't get called up. The Yanks don't want to put the Ma'artian in the position of sometime player and backup, they want him to play every day. Ish. And Rice...well, they'll drag their knuckles over him, though this might be his last year in the minors. We could use them both, of course, but there's no path for JD and some dead wood has to be cleared away for Rice--unless the dead wood comes alive again.
Gleyber, Gleyber, Gleyber. Somebody has to want him, but what will they give up in return? Maybe not that much. Maybe he just needs an Adderall prescription. I don't know. Certainly we can do better than a league-leading error machine at second. Who makes some great plays, too.
Consistency is not part of his game, sadly.
That's good thinking, Hammer. A lot of those one-year-olds have good genes.
As I said a few days ago, the Yankees need to get Mason Miller, the A's closer. He's had arguably, the most dominant start to a season in MLB history. Yes, even better than Chapman had a few years ago before he quickly hit a land mine. Almost every championship team has had an unhittable closer. We don't have one....yet. But we do have enough top talent to make a deal.
Also, the team has what talent evaluators claim is one of the best all-around catching prospects in baseball. Great defensively and just starting to hit regularly with power, a low strike-out rate, and a high on-base percentage, He will soon be promoted to AAA and a likely September call-up. His name is Augustin Ramierez. If this is true, Austin Wells days are numbered.....as they should be.
WHY THE FUCK DO YOU EVEN HAVE A MINOR FUCKING LEAGUE SYSTEM IF YOUR NOT GOING TO BRING UP THE KIDS WHEN THEY ARE FUCKING READY!!!???? IT'S SOOOOOOOOOOO FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!! FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK!!!!!!!!!!
HAL AND CASHBRAIN AND BOONE ARE GOAT-BLOWING CRETINS!!!!!
(My apologies to all the goat-blowing cretins among The Commentariat.)
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