Since then, Charlie No-Hustle was caught bald-facedly dogging it against Boston, leading Mets management to have "a talk" with their star Tesla. In NYC, when you're worth $755 million, "a talk" can generate paint-peeling criticism beyond anything Jack Curry, or Howard Stern, or the Barstool guy, will ever conjure.
So here's Jasson Dominguez - just turned 22, still flying under the media radar. He's hitting a rather lame .241, though - thanks to a 3-HR-in-one-game anomaly - still puts him in the upper tier of AL Rookies. (Note: He's competing with two former Yankee farm hands dealt by Cashman. Trey Sweeney got us Jorbit Vivas; Carlos Narveaz brought us Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz. Yikes.)
So, let's ponder the ultimate question...
Where will The Martian be in August, considering the market corrections that loom ahead like icebergs in the Northern Atlantic.
It's hard to imagine Aaron Judge still hitting .400 in August. Already, teams are getting the memo: Don't pitch to him, and take your chances. One of these weeks, Judge will turn cool. He will remain the game's greatest hitter. He just won't bat .400. Deal with it.
Likewise, we have reason to believe Trent Grisham's output will diminish. He'll remain a valuable cog, a defensive CF. But over the last two weeks, he's hitting .225. That's probably where he'll be in September.
At some point, Ben Rice must survive the existential crisis of Giancarlo Stanton, who - for better or worse - will be shoehorned into the Yankee lineup. Stanton brings a dump truck full of baggage, but the glories of last October will guarantee him a 30-day trial, and Rice will either be traded or turned into an afterthought. I'm not saying I want this. But let's face it: Stanton will return, and - barring injuries - Rice will disappear.
But The Martian is here to stay. It's a long season - peaks and valleys - but we have every reason to expect improvements, not only in the field, but at bat. If he can hit - say - 20 HRs and bat .260, we can call the year a building block, with a future all-star in LF.
Trouble is - and I'm not trying to rouse ugly shit here - we've been here before.
His name was Clint Frazier. In 2017, we believed that all the Yankees needed to do was let him play LF. Eventually, he would become a star. That season, he hit .231 over 39 games. We thought it would lead to something great.
Well, Frazier is now 30. He's out of baseball. He last played in 2023, for the White Sox, and batted .197. Back in 2017, that would have been hard to imagine.
Listen: There are no guarantees. But if you don't give young players a chance, you have no chance.
What did The Martian make of Soto's Subway Series? Let's hope he drew one conclusion: There is no greater blessing in sports than to be a New York Yankee. But you better be smart enough to appreciate it. And when it's time to run... fucking run.
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7 comments:
As for Rice, one never knows, do one?
Oh…..we know.
We know…….
Rooting for JD, but so far the results have been…underwhelming. But he needs to play regularly. I fully expect Grisham to regress as the season progresses which should allow ample playing time for JD.
More worried that Stanton will need regular reps in the OF.
I kid, I kid…🤡
Underwhelming? Yeah, so far, but that's because he appears to be way behind from the right side. Hitting .100 is pretty much unheard of, even if it's 50 at bats.
But I got some good news ... if there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now ... just kidding!
He appears to be getting closer from the right side. Which is why sitting yesterday was another dumb move by management. With the off day Monday, sitting on Tuesday, and maybe a rain out on Wednesday, by the time he sees another pitch thrown in anger, there could be a lot of rust. And maybe he faces Jake DeGrom too. That'll be a tall order: sitting for days and then trying to hit DeGrom. If you're trying to develop a kid with bit time potential, he has to be in there. Can't be sitting for half a week straight.
From the left side, he already has shown plenty. Like an over .900 ops! Anyways, his combined ops from both sides of the plate are already better than Volpe or Wells. He's had what, like 5% of the experience those guys have had? What's he going to be when he's had 1,500 at bats like Volpe? We shouldn't lose sight of that.
BIG time potential, sorry
I think Trent is better than we think, but not as good as we hope. Two hits last night and excellent D.
He’s just not a switch hitter. Keep JD lefty and he’ll mash
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