Long man:
Marcus Stroman (until traded)
Clayton Beeter
Will Warren
Blowouts/Mop-ups:
Fernando Cruz
Scott Effross
Jerry de los Santos
6th inning:
Mark Leiter Jr.
Jake Cousins
Jonathan Loaisiga (around July)
7th inning:
Ian Hamilton
Boone 8th inning Circle of Trust:
Luke Weaver
Closer:
Devin Williams
Fun Fact: None of the above throws from the left side.
Yep, the big bad Yankees - in Yankee Stadium, no less - have no lefty in the pen.
To say the Yankees have work to do is an understatement. It's like calling the Atlantic Ocean "moist." Early this week, the arc of the universe pointed to the Yankees signing LH closer Tanner Scott. Then the Dodgers signed him. That left RH closer Kirby Yates as top dog in the free agent market. With the speed of a wildfire, the Dodgers signed him. The Yankees turned their head and coughed.
So, what came next? The lords of baseball reacted, as always - squealing like stuck pigs. They raged about spending - blaming the Dodgers, Mets and - of course - the Yankees... the Evil Empire.
I swear, some Gammonites must have a programed user-key that rips the Yankees for spending. Forget that the Dodgers ($309.1 million at year's end, according to Cots Baseball Contracts), Mets ($289.1 million) and Phillies ($288.9 million) all spent more, the Yankees ($283.4 million) remain the poster child for financial gluttony - even as they are bullied in the ATM line. It's muscle memory: Blame the Yankees.
And Yank fans know the reality. In terms of signing a big fish, we're done for the winter. Forget Alex Bregman: He'll go to Boston. Forget Pete Alonso: He's a Met. Any deal Cooperstown Cashman makes will hinge on shedding Stroman and his $18 million salary, a move the team will rue come July, when the pitching staff is decimated and commuting to and from Scranton.
But but BUT... so be it.
The Yankees will sign a bullpen lefty: Seriously, they have no choice. Maybe they'll find a backup catcher in the scrap heaps. But they're done, as far as signing any major acquisition. Their lifelessness over the last few days proves it.
Everyone will complain about the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees, ruining the competitive balance of baseball. If only it were true...
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14 comments:
We are the champions. We are the Yankees. We are the greatest. Don't question our aura or mystique - and I'm sorry to quote ass-face Schilling here.
I'm so tired of all the winning....
Hey, why haven't we signed Tim Hill? He was good last year. So wtf?
On another note, this cold weather snap showed up just in time. We can watch the Dodgers skate.
You’d think by now even the rubiest of the rube fans would catch on to what’s happening here. 🫤
I hate to be a fly in the ointment (along with all you other flies), but I'm so tired of hearing all the bitching about the Dodgers and the Mets and how continuously lousy the Yankees are.
What I want to know is this: one of the greatest Yankees over the last twenty years has just been elected to the Hall of Fame, and no one has said so much as a "hell, yeah" to the big fella.
Would someone please write an ode, a paean, a tribute, a dithyramb, or even a singular kind word about the last Yankees pitcher to win a ring?
Anyone? Please?
DickAllen - You are right. He was a great pitcher and a stand up guy and well deserving of our congratulations.
Part of the issue might be that although he was a stand up guy he basically let us down when we needed him most and while anyone can appreciate his struggles with alcohol and other indulgences, particularly here, it doesn't change the above.
I really can't speak for anyone else but it's possible our lack of huzzahs is rooted in that failure, both in CC and perhaps in ourselves.
Yeah, as I wrote the other day, CC's getting in shape and getting off the bottle...AFTER he made a gazillion dollars with the Yanks, irks a little. After those spectacular, first 4 years in NYC, only 2 of the last 7 were any good, which does tarnish a bit of the luster.
But I did give him credit. Through the 2012 ALDS, which he pulled out with a gutsy effort against Baltimore, he was 7-1 for us in the postseason. He also deserved a win in the famous, "Johnny Double-Steal" game against Philly in the 2009 World Series, but Joba coughed up a lead...
...The Bear was terrific, all in all, and I miss him. Happy to write him a tribute after I get off this crazy deadline. Also still owe Fernando Valenzuela and Rudy May a couple of eulogies.
And yes, JM: never thought I'd pine for Tim Hill, but how is it possible he hasn't been signed?
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Caribbean today, Hal Steinbrenner decided on the crab-avocado salad for lunch with the chef of his yacht, the "Finding Nepo." The afternoon was spent bantering with guests about how his father once convinced a union and several congressmen to support subsidies for his shipbuilding operation, then moved it anyway. Then shut it down. Fun times!
@ BTR....I thought that would happen with the voters and a particular politician.
This is for you, Horace:
https://youtu.be/9bynQvcIxQ8?si=24_J1aSSRpaVv_ky
Here you go, Dick:
CC Sabathia, thanks for the championship ring
Keep attending AA and stay away from that alcohol fling
We miss you, CC.
But the Yankees still suck balls.
Let's never forget.
Alcoholism is a bitch. Most people can't or won't do what needs to be done. I give him credit for being a stand-up even if at times he couldn't stand up.
But what I remember most about CC was his willingness to stand up for his teammates no matter the cost to him personally. And it did cost him. I got this from sportsnet, and for this alone I will always remember the best in him:
"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — CC Sabathia protected his teammates, not his wallet.
The 38-year-old left-hander got his 246th win and moved the New York Yankees closer to hosting next week’s AL wild-card game but may have cost himself a $500,000 bonus. Sabathia was ejected from Thursday’s 12-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the sixth inning for hitting Jesus Sucre on a leg in retaliation for Tampa Bay reliever Andrew Kittredge throwing a pitch behind Austin Romine. Making his final regular-season start, Sabathia had thrown 55 pitches over five innings to raise his season innings total to 153 — two shy of a $500,000 performance bonus in his contract."
I don't care about the gazillions or the failures or the alcoholism. I want to remember him for being a great Yankee even if he wasn't always capable of living up to it.
DickAllen - Yes the hit batter story is nothing short of great! More than enough to make me like and respect him. That and taking the ball on short rest time and time again and willing the Brewers into the playoffs knowing ful well that he was risking his arm in a walk year. Legendary! He would have gotten my HOF vote if I had one.
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