Whenever the Mother Ship faltered, we clung to the hope that a cavalry existed, that a new generation was thriving in Scranton and Somerset - that better days were coming.
Now? Well, maybe we're not so sure, anymore.
Right now, the Yankee farm system is being outgunned by Baltimore, Boston and Tampa. With Toronto set to retool, the franchise hits the symbolic 2024 midseason restart as an aging, faltering presence in the AL East.
Okay, fan blogs are known for crazy talk. The sky is always falling, right? Still, it's not hyperbole to suggest that the next 11 days - games against the Rays, Mets, Redsocks and Phillies - could set the direction of this franchise for years.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
As always, our worst fears stem from one man: Brian "Cooperstown" Cashman, who will probably seek to remake the team with trades. He will try to patch several gaping holes - bullpen, infield, catcher, yeesh, basically everywhere! - by trading prospects.
The last three trade deadlines were disasters - from Joey Gallo (2021) to Harrison Bader (2022) to Frankie Montas (2022) to Kenyan Middleton (2023.) Despite the calamities, Cashman seems to enjoy absolute fealty from owner Hal Steinbrenner, a trust fund baby in pinstriped pajamas. But Cashman cannot ruin run the Yankees forever. He must be feeling pressure. He will surely make deals.
Many Yank fans would welcome trading certain underachieving veterans. But they're either hapless (Alex Verdugo, Gleyber Torres), hopelessly outpriced (DJ LeMahieu, Carlos Rodon) or both. More likely, the Yankees will do what they always do - drain the farm and then dismiss the traded prospects as outliers who were never in the secret, strategic Yankee plans.
One who almost surely won't be traded: Jasson Dominguez, who is recovering from a muscle strain. This is a lost season for The Martian, still the Great Yankee Hope. But fans worry about his emerging history of injuries, which suggests a young Giancarlo Stanton.
Thus, if you're looking for trade chips, there are Warren, Hampton, Jones and several others who have stumbled recently. Once again, Cashman faces pressure to do something, anything, to save this season. For the Yankees, that's a bad place to be.
Brace yourselves: Whatever is coming, the next 11 days will set the stage.
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20 comments:
Sort of the anti-Christmas.
Christmas In July:
“Although it’s been said, many times many ways…
How the fuck does cashman still have a job?
Amazon has it’s Prime Days
Cashman’s should be called his Crime Days.
And remember - today is National Dole Whip Day. So show your support by entering your favorite local supermarket, removing your belt and swinging away at a pineapple or two whilst yelling in a southern accent, "YANKEES SUCK!"
1) Kenyan Middleton? Who was that?
2) Crime days. good one.
3) We've already had enough Pineapples this year. Is the swinging over the head a Hasidic thing? I know it works with a chicken.
Cashman is the kid who shits in the pool and pretends it didn't happen.
He's the burr stuck in our sock for a thousand years, the ache in our collective dick, the beast with no name.
He's the guy at the grocery store who never orders your favorite brand of cereal and there's only one grocery store in town.
One day he'll retire or die. And the following week, the guy whom he has trained for ten years will take over for him.
We are doomed.
Yeah, Kenyan Middleton? I thought he was from the African branch of the British royal family? Guess I was wrong.
The Dole Marketing Dept. was working overtime when they came up with this one. What a dumb piece of shit idea. Can we shoot the copywriter?
#NATIONALDOLEWHIPDAY
The frozen dairy-free treat Dole Whip® has been around since 1984. In fact, the original Dole Whip® consisted of a float of whip in a glass of pineapple juice, topped with a maraschino cherry. This frozen fruitiness was first introduced at Disneyland in 1986 and has been a favorite since. We think National Dole Whip® Day is the perfect day to enjoy a creamy soft-serve cup of fruitopia.
Can we please not trade these guys? Or most of them? Or some of them?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5644578/2024/07/18/yankees-prospect-update-will-warren-chase-hampton/
Not sure we have the prospects that would interest other teams. To me, quite possible that very little gets done, so the team will pivot to hyping the return of Stanton and Berti, and later Trevino, Rizzo, Poteet, and Effross (Remember him) as the needed upgrades.
On a happier note: it was 25 years ago today…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/07/17/david-cone-perfect-game-yogi-berra-don-larsen-yankees/
We say this every year, it seems. We fear the date every year, it seems.
And for good reasons.
Every year, the Yankees are in the same position, and every year they use the same tactic to evade the reality.
This buries us deeper than ever, as we only draft pitchers.
I have resisted and resisted but I finally have that deep down to the marrow molecular level resignation that this will never change as long as Cashman and Hal run this Team, so in a sense, whatever does or doesn't happen will always bring heartache, disappointment and despair.
I check in multiple times a day but I hardly contribute because there's not much to add that you haven't all brilliantly diagnosed and hilariously dissected, and, well, this team's dynamics are about as depressing as our current stuck in quicksand of a political nightmare!
I miss The Master and his joy!
And gawd bless Judge and ALL of you here at IIHIIFIIC!
Hampton & Warren are this years winner of the Chance Adam’s award!
Hinkey,
Thanks for that glimpse of positivity.
RIP Bob Newhart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUck4Q2_orQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k3xsLU_Jxw
Poor Chance Adams. Great name—and a pretty good minor-league career. I wonder if he could have been something.
"In Cashman's fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row
That marked our future,
Now our past
As we drop from first to last..."
Brilliant stuff, Peerless Leader, 999, Bitty, JM. And all so depressing...
Did a gig for my book at The Lambs Club last night. Really a lot of fun, terrific music, great people.
Paul Cartier, longtime organist for the Yanks was there, as was Pete Caldera, longtime beat reporter from the Bergen Record. Incredibly, Caldera can sing! He did a great rendition of "Summer Wind," and apparently sings Sinatra regularly in a New York club. I'm not making this up!
Caldera is convinced that Hal will re-sign Soto. I very much doubt it, but that was encouraging at least.
Doug....speaking of Hasidic- Did you hear about the Hassidic woman who married the KKK Grand Wizard? On their honeymoon, they had to have sex through a hole in 2 sheets!
Bada Bing!
Ouch! Not just because of the joke. I hope she wasn't the one wearing the hood.
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