We at IIH waste a lotta gas, whining to the cosmos about Anthony Volpe's inability to replace Derek Jeter. God, do we look look like blubbering coots. We might as well complain about whether AOL can become the next CompuServe. Pathetic.
Frankly, there's not much worse than fans who insist on comparing a modern Yankee to a Hall of Fame star, especially one whose legacy is so deeply woven into the team's lore.
Jeter was/is the greatest Yankee of the last 30 years (though that mantle will soon shift to Aaron Judge.) The worst thing you could do would be to compare Volp to Jeet, right? On the blog level, it's almost criminal, eh?
So, strap in, and let's go!
Before we start, Fun Fact: Volpe leads all AL shortstops in RBIs. That includes the almighty future Hall of Famer Bobby Witt. (In the NL, almighty future Hall of Famer Elly De La Cruz has 40.)I invite you to graze on Volpe's totals through his first two-and-a-third years...
What stands out? Well, this season, Volpe is on a course to a) hit 18 HRs, b) drive in 92 runs, c) steal 21 bases and d) flirt with .250. That's not nuthin.
But he's not Jeter... Take a gander...
Look, there's no way to spin this: By his third season, Jeter had exploded into a certifiable star. (At first, he was being negatively compared to Nomar Garciaparra and ARod.) In late May of his third year - right around now - he was hitting .334 with 7 HRs, on his way to a fucking great season. (In fact, his career years came at age 25.)
So, in a nutshell, this is the year that Volpe either breaks out - an AL all-star - or becomes sort of a Brett Gardner Yankee: Loved by fans, respected by teammates, not ticketed for Cooperstown. You can compare the three: Always hustling, always going all-out, playing almost every game. Never to grow a beard. Yankees, through and through. Volpe is a little like Jeter - a lot like Gardner.
Soon, Volpe might start looking over his shoulder at George Lombard Jr., the 19-year-old SS at Double A Somerset. He's the future golden child. (In 58 ABs, he's hitting .207 ; small sample.) Still, I cannot imagine the Yankees trading Volpe or letting him walk. About a month ago, there was a grounder to his right, when Volpe went down in a heap, clutching his knee, and looking like a guy we wouldn't see for a while. In that moment, the entire Yankiverse shuddered. It was much like the scene when Jeter went down in the playoffs.
Volpe has the air of a lifetime Yankee, and there aren't many. Keep fingers crossed, everybody. He's holding his own. And we could use a new Gardy.
Posts
20 comments:
He won't be the next Gardy until he starts pummeling the dugout roof with his bat. And he may not ever be a Jeter, but he can still give out gift baskets to deserving young women, though he doesn't seem the type. At least for now.
Maybe he can be the next Roger Peckinpaugh, but with more power--a lock there, given the lively ball compared to Peck's time.
Will you take a Kubek? How about a Bucky Dent? Time will tell.
I have to disagree about Volpe. I don't think his lifetime batting average will reach .250. While he may have 32 RBIs, that stat is a function of how well batters in front of him hit/reach base. If his batting average and contact rate were higher, he'd likely have 10-20% more RBIs. In short, he has been the beneficiary of his position in the batting order and the presence of better hitters in the lineup.
Concerning stolen bases, while he projects 21 at this exact 1/3 mark of the season, he also projects being caught 12 times. That percentage is not good enough. Decent base stealers are successful at least 80% of the time. Should Lombard, Jr., surpass Volpe, it will be due to his supposed understanding of the game. Adjusting to the situation and hitting with a plan. I believe he has a higher upside than Volpe as an all-around player.
By 2028 Volpe will be Brian Cashman's Son-In-Law. You heard it here first. The wedding will take place on a Very Special "Story of My Number"
You have the inside info, Doug? Hedda Hopper and Page Six have nothing on you!
He can give out chicken parmigiana heros in a to-go bag to all the deserving young ladies and maybe, MAYBE he can instead become the next Sam Peckinpaugh because he occasionally tossed us all a fun old time in the cinemas…
EEEEEEEEEK !!! (x109)
Hmm. There is precedent. Joe Cronin became the son-in-law of Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith, who then traded him to the Red Sox for former Yankee, Broadway Lyn Lary, and $225,000. Another reason why the Senators were the Senators—but Cronin did very well for himself in Boston.
O Peerless One, I would never compare Anthony Volpe to Derek Jeter. What annoys me is that his future father-in-law does.
Cashie expects Volpe to finally be the Jeets he develops on his own, and made sure to clear the way for that, refusing to sign the likes of Corey Seager or Francisco Lindor as free agents...
...And incidentally, wasn't it Volpe's shoulder, not his knee, that he was clutching after that miserable Mark Leiter, Jr., meltdown? Just how did the MRI on that go, anyway? Last we were told, there was "too much other junk" in his shoulder to get a clear picture.
Oy. But I know, I know, I should have more trust. The Yankees' trainer is one of the best witch doctors in the business. Just can't wait until after Volpe's game goes completely south in August and September, and afterwards we're told, "He was playing almost the whole season" with a torn whateveritis.
Beyond all that, though, I would also say that Volpe, like all young Yankees, is the victim not just of the team's awful medical staff, but it's rotten instruction.
He seems to have no real feel for the game, his enthusiasm notwithstanding. Last night was indicative. That ball in the 9th really should have been Peraza's. He was moving to his left, and in a better position to get off a good throw to LeMahieu at second.
Instead, Volpe cuts him off, and has to whirl and throw back toward second. The result was nearly a replay of his awful decision in That World Series Game We Don't Talk About. Save for LeMahieu's miracle stretch, while keeping a toe on the bag, that ball is into centerfield, and we lose it all.
"Nobody get better, everybody gets hurt."
Carl -
I could only stand to watch three minutes of Volpe's "Story Of My Number" interview and she seemed smitten. The interview had a different quality than the other three minutes that I could stand from previous attempts to watch the show.
Nothing wrong with the show per se, it just makes me question all of my life choices. Apparently a three minute process.
The biggest thing wrong with Volpe is the unfortunate tendency to make terrible errors with the game on the line. I remember the moment when I decided Volpe is not "The One". It was that game against the Orioles when he made that horrible error in the 9th inning with Holmes struggling and capped off by the Verdugo face plant in the outfield grass. The inconsistency and terrible at-bats could all be forgiven if he played solid defense. That is, if he played solid defense when the game is on the line. Every time the ball is hit to Volpe with the game on the line, I cringe and hold my breath, anticipating another atrocious error. There are some plays that you just have to make. They mark the line between a winner and a loser.
After that terrible Orioles game, if ya'll remember, I said that the only way Volpe can exorcise the demon from that loss is to win the damned World Series. Well, incredibly enough, the 2024 Yankees made it to the World Series. But we all know the rest. Another Volpe error in the 5th inning of that last game. This time it was combined with a Rizzo error that was not an error and it sealed their doom. They failed to exorcise the demon. It is still alive and well, waiting for the right moment to rear its ugly head in 2025.
Volpe has hit #5 for most of the year. In this lineup, he comes up with runners on base a lot. Hell, he might have more bases loaded at-bats than Aaron Judge. If he put the ball in play a little more consistently, he'd have at least 10 more RBI.
It's not right to compare Volpe to Jeter, a Hall of Fame player. And I don't compare them because they are completely different players. They even have different body types. Jeter was 6'3" and lanky, a very tall SS. Volpe, about 5'9", and I would not describe him as lanky. Jeter, with a very short, quick swing made for hitting the ball to right and right-center field. Volpe, a longer swing, constantly battling the urge to unload for the fences, and highly susceptible to off-speed down and away.
For what it's worth, Volpe has been more consistent with the bat in the last few weeks. You wonder if he's turned the corner offensively. But as I said, it's not the bat that worries me, it's the timing of his errors.
Who knew Carlos Rodon is the best shortstop on this team? That was an incredible play that he made. Might be the highlight reel play of the entire season. I've never seen a pitcher do that before.
BTW, Rodon is now pitching like the guy that Cashman went out of his way to sign. That's the pitcher who can help a contending team turn into a World Series Champ. I've said it before that, if I was another team's GM, I would've given three prospects for Rodon, even when he was struggling, because I'd take the chance that my pitching coach can get him right. Well, if anyone out there wanted him, it's too late now. Cashman will never unload Rodon now. There never was much chance of Cashman trading Rodon, but probability is now absolute zero. We just have to hope that Rodon carries this wave a long time.
Any assertion that Volpe is comparable to Jeter in any way, shape, or form is laughable and must be a failed exercise in satire.
I haven't seen that interview. Will have to check it out to see what all the noise is about. Is she really lovesick for Volpe?
Love Sam Peckinpah style gunfight scenes with the slow motion captures of bloody violence. All the interested combatants unknowingly converging in the lead up to the all-hell-breaks-loose gunfights, an unmistakable Sam Peckinpah stylistic marker. "The Getaway" and "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia".
So why does Cashman’s daughter rate her own show? The stench of nepotism fills the room.
Thanksgiving dinner during contract negotiations must be interesting.
Fun fact, I had cousins spend years in jail because the daughter-in-law wore a wire to Thanksgiving dinner before the divorce.
They were 'public servants' in the land of the carmines. Safe from the state investigators, but not the feds.
I am quite sick of him.
Post a Comment