High upon a lonely ledge
A figure teeters near the edge
And jeering crowds collect below
To egg him on with, "Go, man, go!"
But who will ask what led him
To his private day of doom,
And who will answer...
Who. Will. Answer. Not me. But today's sleuths of the Yankiverse face a mystery unlike all others: The fate of Marcus Stroman, of his Instagram profile, and of the remaining $18 million on his contract, which Team Cashman seems determined to cast overboard. Go, man, go...
We've been here before, eh? Like... every fucking winter? Wasn't it last January when the Death Barge brain trust desperately shopped around Carlos Rodon, like a YA novel pitch from Diddy? As it had done previously with Sonny Gray, with Nathan Eovaldi, with Lance Lynn, with all the other disappeared?
Last October, Stroman was royally dissed, when the Yankees shelved him. Now, he's poster boy for 2025's Cashman Scapegoat Syndrome, as the franchise seeks someone to blame for its most recent failure. But the Yankees always need a scapegoat.
Yesterday, Stroman deleted his online presence. Who cares? Probably, the next team that gets him. Because he'll have something prove. He'll be the latest in a train of players who grew up loving the Yankees, and now push voodoo pins into them.
Stroman's 2024 season was disappointing. But here's the rub: It wasn't THAT bad.
He finished 3rd on the team in wins and innings pitched, 4th in strikeouts and games started. Yeah, at times, he fell apart. So did Cole. So did Gil. So did Schmidt. So did Rodon. No Yankee pitcher lasted the year without a meltdown. Stoman's coincided with October.
So, no Instagram? He's deleted his Yankee logo. WTF does it mean?
Well, it means he's gone, and he knows it. It means the Yankees have once again devalued a trade chip, just as they look for a deal. It means he'll have something to prove in 2025. It means the Yankees will open camp with five starters and Clayton Beeter. And it means the Yankees are still blaming bad contracts on the players, not the guy who writes them. Insert sigh here. And take it away, Ed...
By a fear it cannot name
If the mind is baffled when
The rules don't fit the game
Who will answer, who will answer
Who will answer
Posts
12 comments:
That’s my boy, Brian Cashman. You’ve done it again.
Just brilliant. Year after year after year. And the wonderful second basemen he seems to have in mind make Brian Roberts look like a stud.
“And it means the Yankees are still blaming bad contracts on the players, not the guy who writes them…”
If you don’t like the food, fire the chef.
Is Ed Whitson's tack tormentor still around? Cashman's driveway looks ripe.
The Yankees have several scapegoats. None are players.
They overpaid him in the first place but now they really don’t have a choice unless you want to move Gil or Schmidt to the pen. Stroman won’t take the demotion because of the Ming’s incentive
1) "Yesterday, Stroman deleted his online presence. Who cares? Probably, the next team that gets him. Because he'll have something prove."
Having something to prove and being able to do it are two different things.
Part of the Yankees problems stems from the lack of "winners" on the team. If we keep getting guys from organizations that don't play winning baseball and we have no one on to teach them how to win (Cough. Boone.) we get a team that can only go so far. Talented but lacking that 6th tool, "Knowing how to win".
As much as I don't like Bregman, and I'm not advocating for him, he knows how to win. Well, he cheats, but not always.
Innings incentive
I'm becoming increasingly sold on Ha-Seong Kim, so somebody here has to talk me down from that ledge because it could mean another serviceable-pitcher-for-an-injured-guy trade scenario.
He's a very good glove. We need players who know how to play baseball and give a crap about fundamentals.
""Kim's high baseball IQ and defensive versatility and prowess would be a breath of fresh air for a Yankees team that ranked 30th in FanGraphs' baserunning metrics in 2024 and routinely suffered from defensive miscues, poor fundamentals, and mental lapses in the infield (see: the World Series)," Thosar wrote. "The Yankees don't need more flashy free-agent signings now; they need a dynamic jack-of-all-trades Gold Glover like Kim who can quietly transform their offensive production." -- Spotrac
Stroman is penciled as the #6 starter and on most teams would be a viable #4 starter. As such, he's probably the best #6 starter in the league. And on a team that breaks pitchers like breadsticks, having a 6th starter is smart planning.
But then there's the matter of his innings bonus. Either the Yankees give him his innings or they offer him his incentive bonus as a gimme, if they want him to be the swing man. And hope he takes it.
Trading him has proven difficult. Nobody wants an 18 million dollar #4 starter. The only way to get him off the roster is to eat most of that money. Which defeats Cheapskate Hal's desire to cut payroll.
Faced with this dilemma and ignoring Cheapskate Hal, maybe the Yankees should go with a 6 man rotation. Easier on the arms. Maybe fewer trips to the IL. If the Yankees only get 3-4M in payroll relief by trading him and get little to nothing in return, maybe its better to keep him on the team and adapt.
Now, there's a crazy thought, the Yankee leadership learning how to adapt!
Post a Comment