That's right: On the Kei Igawa Scale of Yankee Disappointments, Williams ranks somewhere between Jared Wright and Kenny Rogers (the player, not The Gambler), with an ERA that just can't seem to land south of 7.00.
This stems from occasional horror movie outings - two in his last 10 appearances - when Williams has been lit like a police flare on a roadside pileup. He then pitches a few solid innings, raising hopes, only to get mugged again.
Due to the creativity of YES, and its army of propagandists, Yank fans enjoy numerous Yankee bullpen rankings and memes.
Along with the Igawa Scale, Williams dangles just outside the Aaron Boone Circle of Trust, though he hasn't yet slotted in as a character on the Yankee Bullpen Episode of Taxi chart, which goes...
Luke Weaver as Judd Hersh, the thoughtful and sober voice of reason.
Mark Leiter as Danny Devito, the vengeful - anything can go wrong - mentor.
Fernando Cruz as Elaine, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Tim Hill as Christopher Lloyd, the nutcase visionary.
And Ian Hamilton as Andy Kaufman, the crazy-eyed project that nobody can quite figure out.
Into this hilarity lands not only Williams but Jonathan Loaisiga and the population of Scranton, from which - to hear the YES team - is a Lucy chocolates assembly line of young arms heading for NY.
Lately - ever since the Phillies last week lost their closer to drug tests - there's been a buzz around the idea of trading Williams for 3B Alec Bohm (3 HR, .260). This would follow the Brian Cashman Theory of Cutting Yourself Thin. Still... I dunno. We've gone through the worst of Williams. Would it be wise to trade him, when his value is low?
As for 3B? I think I speak for the Yankiverse in stating that Oswald Peraza is not the answer. Maybe somewhere out there, some Triple A vet is nearing an escape clause in his contract. Or does DJ LeMahieu have a month in him? Against the Mets, he looked like the old D.J. - (key word being "old.") If he can plug the hole from Jazz Chisholm's injury, one of the two can play 3B.
I saw Williams strike out the side in game one of the Subway Series. If he's suffering from Welcome to NY Syndrome, so be it. The thing about bullpens is that they're always in a Call FEMA state of disaster. At any moment, somebody can tweak something.
It's interesting that Boone used Loaisiga twice in a high-leverage moments. This means a) they have great confidence in him or b) they want to get what they can before he gets hurt again. (Or, c, all of the above.)
The only thing worse than Williams is the output of the two players we traded to get him. Nestor Cortes hasn't pitched since game two of 2025. (He hopes to return in June.) In 86 at bats, mighty mite Caleb Durbin has 1 HR and is hitting .171, The bar is low for rating that trade. And Taxi, as a cultural reference, is ancient history. Maybe we should let it rest?
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11 comments:
Hear, hear, Duque! Williams has now put in five straight outings without allowing a run. If the Airbender is not the closer he was supposed to be, he could at least be a valuable lug nut still—and he's not going to bring in some incredible catch.
Maybe the idea is to work him like a rented donkey right into October? And much as I love Johnny Lasagna, it's hard to imagine him lasting so much as a month without landing back on the DL.
Trade Volpe, let Peraza take over, and see how he does with consistent at bats. He's shown some flashes at the plate, is fast on the bases, and great defensively. So he's even with Volpe on the first and better than Volpe regarding the rest. Actually, I don't think Peraza would have put in such incredibly stupid at bats as Volpe did on Sunday. Aside from being a p.r. dream, he doesn't deserve to be out there, day after day. It's just stupid, and I can't even blame the idiot for his continuing playing time. That's coming from Cashman.
If this organization was interested in winning games instead of a "great story," he'd be gone already. He's the guy we should be trading, even for a bag of beans.
The key word here seems to be stupid.
I smell something cooking in the Haiku oven . . .
Oh, right. It's Tuesday.
Tomorrow is Prince spaghetti day.
George Lombard Jr. is the heir apparent. Volpe will get jettisoned eventually unless he turns it around...
The key to Williams is he needs a clean inning to start. No Ghost Runners or men on base because he has to walk or hit guys before he warms up.
Also, and here's why they should trade him. Bad in cold weather.
Match April no biggie
October VERY biggie.
So now he'll be good up to the trade deadline. Build value. Trade,
March
Hey, 30 years ago a glove first shortstop was the norm so I’m not concerned about Volpe. I concerned about second and third where we’re getting even less production. As far as the bullpen, how about getting rid of Leiter before Williams. I think Williams has started to adjust. Leiter has been a shit show since last season
Agreed Ranger; Lombard can be cast as the new Volpe, or what Volpe was supposed to be. Volpe is under team control through 2028, by that time Lombard should be ready to play at MLB level. Volpe can then be, well for want of a better term, “Gleyber-ized”
Volpe is glove first, but he chokes under pressure. It happens often enough that it's a concern.
It's also a concern that Judge does that at the plate. But when you hit like him the rest of the time, you get a pass.
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