What's sorta weird here is that, apparently, Cole accepted the same contract that he opted out of, a phantom haggle that - I can't help wonder - contains hidden consequences. Basically, the story being sold is that Scott Boras - once, the most terrifying name in MLB front offices - took Cole to the marketplace and then yanked him back. Does that make sense? Nope, unless...
1. Unless Cole never wanted free agency to begin with, and Boras jumped the gun. This happened long ago with A-Rod - remember? - who opted out during a world series, then canned Boras and signed with the Yankees, hat in hand, seeking to make nice.
2. Unless Cole and Boras realized that nobody would beat a 4-year offer at $144 million for a 34-year-old who last year pitched 95 innings and might forever be recalled as "the Yankee Buckner."
3. Unless Boras secured some secret, boilerplate change that will haunt us later. Are brown M&Ms still a thing?
Whatever. Everybody loves Cole. That sign - "Yankee fan for life" - it still touches our hearts. He'll always be that innocent, adorable 9-year-old. If you think watching the Eagles' Saquan Barkley vault defenders is hurtful to Giants fans, watching Cole pitch for, say, the Blue Jays would be cruel and unusual juju punishment, even for the most obnoxious of us.
So, he'll be back. Gleyber? Nah. Holmes? Probably gone. Soto? That's the question.
If Soto leaves - no matter where he goes - there is absolutely no way the Yankees can spin the next three months in a positive way. Already, the Mets secretly own NY. (The media hasn't figured this out yet.) If the Mets sign Soto... kaboom.
Wait! No! I take it back! There is Caleb Durbin, the Chuck Palahniukian pigmy - (at 5'6," even Anthony Volpe will tower over him; think of the photo ops with Aaron Judge) - now on the verge of beating Rick Holifield's all-time Arizona Instructional League single-season record for SBs. Why isn't ESPN doing cutaways?
In February, Durbin turns 25. It's sorta sad that he is The Distraction, but I'll take it. Last year, over three levels of the Yankee farms, he hit .275 with 18 HRs. (His HR numbers would be better, but he broke his hand and missed about 40 games.) Guy plays everywhere, but I gotta think he's a 2B.
Of course, it's worth wondering about the quality of catchers in an "Instructional" League. This season, over 18 games, Durbin has stolen 22 bases, caught stealing just once. He's hitting .265 with 3 HRs, only 4 Ks and 13 walks - (small strike zone?) - an OPS of .849. Yeah, it's a long shot, a moon shot, but I'm biting. If there's a pinprick of light, we'll sail towards it.
Gerrit Cole will return. But really... The Yankee Buckner?
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24 comments:
Actually, Rizzo did have a Buckner play earlier in the playoffs. Ground ball, not especially hard hit, rolled right between his legs and under his glove.
It was a sign, and we missed it.
JM - I saw it and immediately charged my Time Machine and set the controls to Core4
I shudder to think what this team will look like in 2 years.
That module doesn't work anymore, AA. "Core4" was obsoleted by the programming team. I hear that you can now use the old "CBS Ownership" module again, though. They updated it to the new code base and it's humming along without a glitch.
Feeling like everybody locked up the summer house around here and drove home. Where is everybody? This is "GO" time. We need to make some sandwich boards and stand around in front of the Stadium with air horns, chanting shit. NO SOTO, NO PEACE! and DON'T GO SOTO or FOOT STAMPS HAL
I'm mandated by a judge to walk around Yankee Stadium with a sandwich board that reads "I steal plastic forks".
Can we get Mike Burke back? If not him, just his sideburns and plaid bell-bottom suit?
Bit, I think maybe you meant Food Stamps Hal, but I kinda like Foot Stamps Hal. Like when he thwows a wittle tantwum.
Carl, when you come to a plastic fork in the road, take it.
Summer House? Locked Up? Home?We're at the ready with the pull cord in hand.
(just to be clear - it doubles as a lawnmower AND a parachute)
"Everybody loves Cole."
Uhhhh, I don't know about that, Duque. I would've gone in a different direction than Mr. Prima Donna. But 'tain't my money, so I could care less. I suppose there's always hope. Prima Donna might come back next year on a mission from God, to win a World Series Championship and to flush down that diarrhea of a 2024 World Series loss.
He should never have started ANY games this year, let alone in the postseason. Gonna be rinse and repeat next year. He'll be here still, and he'll still be the starting 1B.
I don't love Cole, as some here might have guessed. BUT, he did pitch well in the World Series, and got thoroughly screwed by his fielders. Even on the Buckner play, while he should've run instead of pointed, he wasn't going to beat Hustlin' Mookie Betts to the bag. AND...a player as experienced as Rizzo should've seen that.
We need pitching. Cole is a start.
Yeah, I don't think Cole beats Betts to the bag either. He should've yelled for Rizzo to take it himself. As soon as the ball was dribbled to first, you could see Cole breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that he got out of it. It was Rizzo's error (that wasn't scored an error). There was some lack of communication there.
But it's really nobody's fault except Boone and Cashman. Gotta be able to see when a guy doesn't have it anymore and take him out of the lineup. That's the most frustrating thing about Yankee management. Just relying on career stats and hoping that a guy reverts to his former glory or gets hot: that's just what Mets owner Steve Cohen warned about, that "hope is not a strategy".
Glory days
Yeah they'll pass you by
Glory days
In the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days
Glory days-eh-eh
It was Rizzo's play.
Anybody see the news that the Yankees will be involved at Times Square on New Years Eve? League pennants used to not be good enough for NYC, but times change.
Anyway, word is Judge and Cole will feature. Judge will drop the ball, and Cole will stand there and point at it.
That play would've been a can of corn for Oswaldo Cabrera. Another guy who spent nearly the entire World Series sitting on his ass, never got much of a chance, except a defensive substitution. I don't think he got one at-bat. Terrible management. Boone is a blockhead. As much as you can say that they had no chance, Boone threw away two games in the World Series. He got the Dodgers halfway there all on his lonesome. Managers make very little difference in the outcome of games? I beg to differ. I could see Bruce Bochy winning that World Series. Unfortunately, we'll never know.
Pretty obvious the market for Cole was not gonna be what was anticipated. Soto is another story. I do believe the team will make a legit offer (how could they not) but in the end it will be Steve Cohen who sets the market.
Or John Berti. Maybe not DJ.
Yankees were outmanaged, in tne dugout and in the executive suites, in the World Series. That's what happens when the 21st Yankees face a team with near or equal it's talent.
Publius, They could bring Knoblauch back too. He and Cole could take turns pointing. Knoblauch can laugh it off, though, because he ended up winning that year. Cole, not so much.
This is incredibly funny. Great. Supoib.
I think I heard Berti was hurt, couldn't play. He wasn't on the roster, right?
I hope that after today, I'll be able to watch the Yankees live from other stadiums and not just the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Excellent, thanx for the laugh!
Good one!
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