One thing, though: As long as we're self-indulging our Calgon fantasies, why stop there? Let's throw in Chris Sale, George Kirby and some bullpen lug nuts. We'll simply trade Spencer Jones, Cam Schlitter, George Lombardi Jr., Ben Rice, the Martian and whatever prospects are flying under Yankee Doppler hype radar, and - come next July - we'll occupy this same magical commode, swallowing the same insane dollops of crapola that come with being a Yankee fan. It'll be 2026, and - between the wildfires and floods - we'll face the usual dilemma:
We're good enough for Hal... but not to win.
Sherman, set the Wayback for early March 2025: The Yankees have lost Juan Soto, but Hal Steinbrenner has signed Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger - convincing the Gammonites to stop writing Yankee obits.
One problem, though: Third base.
They have nobody. There's talk of Oswaldo/Oswald, and maybe a scrap heaper. Pablo Reyes? Basically, Yankee fans are fed one constant line:
Hal is done spending... for now. By holding the line in March, our crafty owner will have money to score somebody at the July 31 trade deadline.
That said, last March, there are two solutions out there, awaiting a call.
1. Alex Bregman, our long-term Astros nemesis, coming off a lousy year and looking for a short-team contract.
2. Gleyber Torres, who reportedly wants to stay a Yankee. (He'd play 2B, keeping Jazz Chisholm at 3B.)
Both are a phone call away. If Hal dials their number, he writes a check, and the Yankees improve immeasurably. All they need is for Hal to spend beyond his comfort zone - as the Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies, Padres, Angels and other competing billionaire owners increasingly do.
If Hal signs either, the Yankees don't have to drain their system on Aug. 1.
If Hal signs either, he spares us the first half collapse, which sees the Yankees go from AL East leader to - well - claw sounds on the chalkboard - the wild card race.
Bregman - hitting .298 with 11 HRs - is supposedly such a valued clubhouse presence that Boston wants to sign him to a long term deal. Or Gleyber, hitting .281 with 9 HRs, the starting AL all-star, is viewed a leader on the best team in the AL.
Hal could have signed either and not missed one meal - just as, once upon a time, he could have shelled out for Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado. As we doom-scroll, if the Yankees had signed either Harper or Machado, imagine how many rings the team might now have?
Well, it's time to flush. Wanna know the problem with the modern day Yankees? It's simple.
Generally, Yankee players give everything they've got.
But the owner never does.
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4 comments:
Clown Show.
Fuckin’ Clown Show.
Great piece, O Peerless One! And I wouldn't count on us getting some great, trade-deadline pick-ups even if Cashie the Sad-Eyed Clown DOES decide to gut the farm system. For one thing, Cashman is always prone to—and the local media is always willing to let him—wildly exaggerate how highly the Yanks' minor-league are rated.
We are far more likely to get one of his Frankie Say Give Up packages, such as the one from a few year ago: a passel of broken-winged, mediocre pitchers, who Cashie will tell us are the final piece. Or maybe it will be a Lance Berkman special, another overaged slugger, soon to be quickly released (only to revive in another town).
Oh, the possibilities of failure are endless! And never the understanding that things don't work as they used to; that even small-market franchises run by greedy little men—as greedy as Hal, even—will no longer salary-dump stars for a package of pinstriped magic beans.
Most of your general-managing has to be done in the off-season, with a clear plan for making your team better, and a proven development staff. Just as well they don't understand it; it isn't what Hal & Pal do.
Anyone thinking there will be a massive influx of talent at the deadline is guilty of delusional thinking.
. . . what we will likely have is a massive surge of acid reflux mostly, amongst the fans . . . .
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