It's Indi Day, the m80s are booming, the Hoffman's dogs are popping, the Utica Club is cold, and the Death Barge has fulfilled Hal Steinbrenner's great need: The Yankees are contending.
They sit above .500, within spitting distance of leading the AL East. Their exact product placement depends on Boston and Baltimore, and - to be specific - their vaunted farm systems. For three years now, the Redsocks have been promising their fans breakout stars. Baltimore has Jackson Holliday, a disappointment last season. Thing is, three years ago, so was Bobby Witt Jr. If the scouts were right about Holliday, well - hey! - we're still contending...
By now, Giancarlo Stanton is out with some injury. Legs, shoulders, hips - somewhere, a leathery gonad barked and an overheated gasket blew. He'll be back for the postseason - he's always back by Sept. 15 - and meanwhile, the Yankees are auditioning journeymen and fingerlings, seeking a DH replacement that does not exist.
By now, we're starting "the bullpen" every fifth game, and Skipper Boone's Circle of Trust has shrunken to a microdot. Remember all that pitching depth we seemed to have in February? Ha ha. We're at stems and seeds. It's Clayton Beeter time. We're waiting for Jonathan Loaisiga, any day now. What made us think we had enough pitching?
By now, it's still too early to get a fix on The Martian - he shows flashes of hope and despair - but we are drawing a bead on the long-term future of Anthony Volpe. Either Volpe has improved, as he looked in the '24 world series, or the Yankees will quietly start looking for someone else to anchor their infield. We all love Volpe. We all want him to succeed. But by mid-2025, we will know.
By now, we'll look back upon this December and wish to hell that Nepo Hal had made one more big move, one more acquisition of note. Because if he stands pat, if he lets the Mets sign Roki Sasaki, if he fails to land Tanner Scott, if he settles for a team that can contend, well, he'll get what he wished for. Every night, Citi Field will be rocking so loudly that he hears it in the Bronx, and we better enjoy the fireworks show, because that's all we'll have.
If Hal is done, the Yankees will be, as the cynics say, "good enough for government." If Hal is done, it will be a long year.
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18 comments:
Hal is done. If he finds someone to take Strohman and has to eat 6 million, Cashman will be allowed to sign a bullpen arm/scrap heap rehabilitation project and a cheap has-been looking to hang on for dear life in the majors to play third or second. Then, he will pocket the difference of the 12 million he just saved. Time for us all to face reality. Same as it ever was.
Per Cot’s we are at the final luxury tax threshold…without the DJLM/Stroman/Hicks contracts and Rizzo’s buyout we’d still have $47M to spend.
Torres to Tigers; 1 year / 15M
See ya, Gleyber!
One of the saddest blowouts of the many in the endless Cashman reign. Bad on Gleyber that he could never make himself pay attention—and bad on the Yanks for never finding a coach/manager who could do the same. All too typical of how this organization is run.
Don't get thrown out at home as you're leaving!
And Duque, you are a cockeyed optimist. The Yanks aren't done just for next year. Try the next decades. Try the rest of our lives. HAL is ceding suzerainty over the city to the Mets, and imposing his own salary cap in a sport that doesn't have one. The Yankees are no longer a competitive ballteam, just a luxury lifestyle destination. They ought to open an exclusive swim resort out in centerfield.
But Hoss, we're always "competitive." You just need to use the quotation marks.
Come on Guys! 2025 is going to be the best year yet! I’m so excited for it! And our New York Yankees are going to go all the way this year! You’ll see!
And the old phrase was, "good enough for government work." The work part is kind of important.
"Good enough for rock and roll" is another good one.
I still want Burnes, but guess that's a pipedream. But I think we'll get more bodies, basically off other teams' scrap heaps. It's the Yankees way.
Let's talk defense...
RF - Judge >>>>> Soto.
CF Bellinger >>> Judge
LF Domiquez Uh.... well... hopefully but no.
1B Goldschmidt >>> Rizzo, DJ, Rice
2B ?? (one of the Oswaldim, someone else) >> Gleyber he of the slow turn on the DP and the mental errors.
SS Same
3B 2025 Jazz >> 2024 Jazz because now he's played the position. Or we get a better one and he moves to his best position 2B
C Wells >> > Trevino
So better where they were weak. Just sayin'
Let's talk offense
RF Judge = Soto
CF Bellinger << Judge
LF Dominguez >>> Verdugo I'm pretty sure this is true. Maybe just >>. You know... because Verdugo sucked.
1B Goldschmidt >> Rizzo, Rice DJ
2B If you get on base but get thrown out stealing or just running dumb does it really count as a hit? So slightly worse?
SS 2025 Volpe >> 2024 Volpe because I think this is the year he makes the leap.
3B Jazz = Jazz
C Wells >> Trevino Because he will make a leap as well. He's a good hitter. Also, Trevino couldn't hit so Wells has to be better by default.
Surrounded by guards to keep the hoi polloi out.
Starting pitching "Should" be better. Bullpen will probably be roughly the same, health be willing. Really, the team should be pretty decent. But it's waaaay too thin. As usual.
Let’s also not forget that July 4 is King George’s birthday, a day when Hal traditionally sits in the woods outside of a golf course and communes with Satan, renewing his yearly secret curse on his own team.
"suzerainty"?
"God darnit, Mr. Lamarr, you use your tongue prettier than a twenty dollar whore. "
It's not hard for me to imagine at all. But you have to remember I've seen loads of people die quite horribly from cancer.
So our suffering must seem easy in comparison?
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