If we hold the attitude that baseball is pure entertainment
then last night’s game was one of the most entertaining we’ve seen in quite a
while.
It had action. (Belli’s 3 run HR’s,) It had suspense. (Multiple comebacks) Great catches from unexpected sources. (Dominguez game saver). New heroes. (McMahon ) Old goats. (Volpe and Williams, a closer whose ERA in is now over five.) And don’t get me started on Wells.
Too late! At one point the YES broadcast showed a shot of
the dugout focused on Volpe and Wells and all I could think of was, “Dumb and
Dumber”.
To get back to Williams for a second, there was a graphic on
YES that said he’s only blown two saves all year. There is no way that’s true
and, if it is, then I don’t know what to believe…
Which takes me to my main point.
In today’s America we are constantly being lied to, gaslit,
fed “facts” that have only the slightest resemblance to the truth and then are
told that that sliver of truth makes the entirety of the statement true.
I’m pretty sure we’re all sick of it.
So when Aaron Boone says that Volpe is “fucking elite” it
goes beyond a manager defending his ballplayer and becomes downright insulting.
Because we all know what we see.
I was texting with my cousin during the game and she really
likes Volpe. Slowly, very slowly, she is starting to understand that she’s
bought into a “set of facts” that while true, (Volpe is 7th in RBI’s
for a shortstop, 6th in HRs. Stuff like that.) it doesn’t change the
real truth. He’s not a good shortstop.
Because here are some other “facts”. His errors cause Yankee
pitchers to work much harder and throw additional pitches to get the extra outs.
This shortens their outings and strains the bullpen, and his
errors, especially at the points in the game when they come, are morale
killers.
Here another one, every time the ball is hit to him we hold
our breath
One thing I texted that resonated is that, in addition to
all the errors, Volpe almost never makes a, “Wow!” play.
Good shortstops make, “Wow!” plays. Great shortstops make “Wow!”
plays regularly, and elite shortstops have highlight reels that go on for twenty
minutes.
When Boone says Volpe is an elite shortstop it pisses us
off. David Cone, who I like, thinks we should go the positive reinforcement
route with Volpe but I can’t.
I am so tired of being fed bullshit. Of hearing or reading
that what we see isn’t true. Of people that lie, and it is a lie, and who lie with
impunity. Appalled that no reporter calls out anyone on anything.
And that’s why it’s hard to forgive.
Look, we all want Volpe
to be elite. At this point I’d settle for good, but I find myself digging in
because sports is one place that is supposed to be a pure meritocracy.
There is no spin that should be able to hide sixteen errors.
There is no spin that hides bad baserunning (I’m looking at you Wells) or a
closer that can’t work a clean inning or has an ERA of OVER FIVE!!!!!
At least there shouldn’t be.
My anger towards Volpe is my anger towards Boone and collective
bullshit in general.
My anger toward Boone is my anger toward Brian who refuses
to fire a manager that can’t fix fundamental flaws and refuses to enforce consequences.
My anger at Brian is my anger at Hal who will not remove a
man who builds three hundred million dollar teams that are riddled with holes. Big
obvious holes.
My anger at all of the above is my anger about being gaslit,
misdirected, and fed dubious facts as gospel.
And so, while I can still root, I can not forgive.
Posts
29 comments:
Excellent post, Doug.
Well said.
100 % in full agreement.
Good? I’d settle for “don’t fuck things up” average at this point
Doesn’t surprise me that we weren't the team that just acquired Miller and Sears from the Athletics.
Shame on you, Brian, Hal, and the Idiot !
Great post, Doug! Hear, hear!
So, looking into some of the points you raise. Specifically, how is it that Devin Williams has only two blown saves on the year?
Statistical chicanery, mostly. But even then, it's hard to figure...
To be fair, when Boone said Volpe was "fucking elite," he was referring to the Elite Escort Agency in midtown.
...There are, for instance, his three losses (though a loss can be a blown save as well), and at least five games when he held onto the lead, but made everything much closer than it needed to be. For instance, on April 9th in Detroit, when he entered the bottom of the 9th with a 4-0 lead, got two outs...then surrendered three runs, and had to be bailed out by Mark Leiter, Jr.
Technically, not a blown save. But still...
The New York Yankees’ pursuit of Mason Miller halted after the Oakland Athletics demanded Jasson Dominguez plus one elite pitching prospect for their All-Star closer, according to Bronx inside sources.
The Athletics’ asking price represented one of the steepest demands for a relief pitcher in recent memory. Industry insiders suggest Oakland wanted Dominguez paired with one of the Yankees’ top young arms, likely including potentially rising stars Carlos Lagrange and Ben Hess.
...On April 19th in TB, he entered the game with an 8-4 lead in the bottom of the 9th, and surrendered 4 runs to tie it. (In fairness, an error by Cabrera kept the inning going.) The Rays won on a walk-off homer against Gomez in the 10th.
And for his efforts, Williams got a big...nothing. Nothing at all. I was gobsmacked: how can that be nothing. Then I thought about it...
...Williams did not get a "Blown Save" on April 19th, because it wasn't a "save situation." He entered the game with a lead of over 4 runs and nobody on base. In other words, he did WORSE than blowing a save. So it becomes a nothing....
Ah, and it's not a blown save because he entered the game with the Yanks up by more than three. Unfuckingbelievable.
A lot of Yankee fans online, including commentators who should know better, are really celebrating that win yesterday as if they watched a completely different game than we did.
...Talk about being gaslit!! We need a name for this sort of awfulness. Something like a "TFBS" for "Thunder Fuck Blown Save." "PBS" for "Pineapple Blown Save"?
Needs work, I know. Guys? Whattaya got?
Correct. Volpe was a hero for the home run, but his error? Forget about it. Williams coughed up a go-ahead homer in the ninth? Oh, that doesn't matter.
It's infuriating.
Thanks, JM. But I can't help but wonder who those "Bronx inside sources" are. I suspect they boil down to a single, sad-eyed clown. I don't think Cashie ever intended to make anymore deals at the trade deadline, so we're going to hear about all kinds of outrageous proposals.
More gaslighting.
Do you ever find yourself down in City Hall Park as it's getting dark when the gaslights come on? Real old-timey vibe.
But, I digress.
Slater in the outfield because we're facing a right hander.
Just about cocktail hour here in Germland.
When I saw the graphic I was stunned. So is he at three now? Or because they won the game it's not a blown save? Either way "Statistical chicanery" it is.
what's on the tasting menu ?
The only good reliver left is Bednar on the Pirates. So what I'm telling you is there's a chance. That's from Dumb and Dumber. There's a lot of that going around.
Clock’s tickin’, but Cashman ain’t clickin’
So I heard a discussion somewhere about how it is more and more difficult for teams to achieve a clean game? It's been awhile for us...
Rye. And rye.
Doug, about Vople's fielding flaws, this quote is apropos: "To err is human, to forgive is divine."
If Cashman doesn't intend to make any more trade deadline deals, GREAT! He can make up as many unreasonable offers as he wants if that's what he's covering for. Yes, a good GM should always be on the lookout for ways to improve the club. But an incompetent GM should give up his car keys before he hurts someone.
Doug, I coached High School Baseball for years and even High School players know how to run the bases and usually know how many outs
there are. No practice for fielding and contact. The Yankees either miss many pitches or take called striked.
JM, you called that save rule first! Congrats. And I apologize for my typo in the next post. Williams had a lead of "more than 3 runs"—so it was not officially a blown save (BS). Instead, it was a TFBS.
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