1. Are we being played? The Information Superhighway is ripe with trade rumors that make no sense. Supposedly, the Yankees are in on Colorado's Gold Glove CF Brenton Doyle, and I'm thinking - great, a Ryan McMahon for the outfield. WTF? They already have a logjam. Acquiring Doyle would kill their imaginary chase of Kyle Tucker and/or Cody Bellinger, as well as clobber plans for The Martian and Spencer Jones. This 4-D chess match is giving me a headache. But this we know: Pull one thread on the Yankee sweater, and the varsity letter falls off. I think they're running a massive psyops campaign. They say anything, knowing that across the Yankiverse, all that matters is pitching, pitching, pitching content, content, content.
2. The Mets will gorge themselves at the free agent buffet. Stevie Cohen has not yet begun to spend, and I imagine him holding two large platters as he goes through the line, loading up on burnt-end cutlets (Bellinger), bang-bang shrimp (Tatsuya Imai) and the prime rib (Bo Bichette). We're going to get the mystery meat leftovers. (Michael King, Jordan Montgomery.) Food Stamps Hal is always looking to collude - remember his talks with Cohen when Aaron Judge went on the market? In today's America, corruption is not just legal, it's preferred. The Mets will spend their money, then leave the store. That's when the Yankees will enter.
3. Are the Yankees really listening to deals for Jazz Chisholm? Or is this just a way of telling players that nobody is safe? This would be a sea change, and it would open a gaping hole at 2B. Chisholm's 31 HRs - and 31 SBs - were nice last year, but he sucked in the postseason, when he tried to hit every ball to Yonkers. Also, I wonder if he can withstand another year of being pummeled at 2B? He's a tough player, and I think the Yankees like him. So, again, in these rumors, are we being played?
4. There remains a huge void at SS, in the rotation and on the truth. A general rule of Yankee fandom is to never believe their target date for a player's return from injury. Doesn't matter who, or where, or when. If the Yankees say he'll be back in May, he'll be back in June. If so, Anthony Volpe and Carlos Rodon will miss major blocks of the regular season. Also, there's no guarantee for either. Volpe has yet to show any stardom, and they're saying that Rodon, at the end of September, could barely lift his arm, due to the chips floating in his elbow.
5. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I cannot shake the feeling that, when the 2027 labor strike ends - maybe in 2028? - Hal will be looking to sell. Massive changes will be coming to MLB's financial structure, and the Yankees are already descending into a mid-upper tier dingus. Meanwhile, the richest men in the world - what comes after trillionaires? - will be coveting cultural versions of penis extensions, and what better way to advertise your manhood than by hanging with celebrities in the owner box? (Something Hal does not do.) Somebody - a Musk, a Bezos, a Trump - will make Hal an insane offer, which he cannot refuse. I'm not sure whether to look forward to this, or to dread it. But the Yankees should be owned by superhuman wealth, with an ego to match. Hal has never filled that role. (Except when performing in the Broadway version of KINKY BOOTS. He was sooo liberated.)
Posts
14 comments:
Everything sucks. We're doomed. The team will not only be unimproved, it will be worse than last year. Cashman is a joke. Boone is an idiot. Hal deserves to get the kinky boot.
Brace yourself for stupid trades, worthless signings, and unforgivable inactions.
Warner
Wolf, you say ?
Must we continue to discuss all the silliness surrounding the Warner/Netflix/Paramount hostilities ?
I. B. ‘ s continues to be a fresh source of fun in this otherwise dead off season SO MORON him from me a little later in day.
Coffee beckons now so I MUST BREW ! ! !
(Please disregard the ‘ s after I. B. as it was never supposed to be there)
Now - mind the closing doors
@ El Duque....Warner will be stunned to read that he's dead. it's just his career.
@ AA...I guess it's the perfect time to unveil the inaugural Netflix Peace Prize.
@ CJW - what’s going on in Branford on this fine Friday morning ?
Any excitement and/or exciting plans for the weekend ?
Brenton Doyle seems right up their alley, .230-.260 hitter for Colorado. A bit of power. Trending down. Last yr OPS somewhere around .650. But since he plays on a mountaintop, you can discount those numbers by 40% or more. Then whatdoyaget? A .150 hitter. WHOOPPPEEEEEE!!!!!
There's another one, a free agent, Austin Hays. Satisfies many of the Yankee requirements: 30 yrs old, another guy named "Austin", .260 ish batting average, but once he gets here, you know he'll hit less than .220.
Between the two of them, I think Austin Hays might be a little too good for Yankees' taste. Our management usually likes guys who hit under .200. So Doyle might be it. Then there's the fascination that Cashman has with the Colorado Rockies. Along with the Pirates & the A's, the Rockies are pretty much our only trading partner in recent times. And then there's the fascination with the name "Doyle". Brings back memories of one of the most disastrous pitching acquisitions of all time: Doyle Alexander. Remember that guy? Ahhhh, good times are gonna be here again!
Hammer,
I did not remember Doyle Alexander as a Yankee, but your comment sent me to the archives. Looks like his acquisition and 1-7 record in 1982 ruined that pennant drive ... if there was such a thing. Later on in 1987, Alexander was a late-season acquisition for the Tigers and went 9-0 as the Yankees faded away. So, you could say he screwed us twice.
Mind the Gap…between Cashman’s ears.
I was reading about Clint Frazier's podcast this AM in the NYP and what he said made sense. That the Yankees are always relying on bounceback years and that's not how you win.
It's nice that he's managing to stay relevant and keep himself in bong juice.
Clint Frazier Crane - Both because he podcasts and because of his stupid batting stance.
Not to further your dread, but Trump will be looking for a new hobby in 2028.
All the stadium concessions will be mickey d's.
Actually, Doyle Alexander first came to us in 1976, as part of a big trade with the Orioles. He was very good for us, going 10-5, 3.29 down the stretch, though the Big Red Machine swatted him about in the World Series (Hey, they swatted around a lot of people.) For some reason, he did not pitch in the ALCS.
That was a nice trade in the short run—but one of Gabe Paul's few bad ones in the long term. We got Alexander, Grant Jackson, Ken Holtzman, and Hot-Rod Hendricks, in exchange for Rudy May, Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, Rick Dempsey, and Dave Pagan.
Both Alexander and Jackson had excellent half-seasons for us. But Doyle moved on a free agent, Jackson went to Seattle, I think, in the expansion draft (maybe it was Toronto), Holtzman was done, and Hot-Rod barely played as a back-up.
I wonder if the deal might have been forced by Billy Martin's loathing of May, one of the many filling his ever-crowded doghouse. Don't know, but of course he then hated on Holtzman even more. Sigh.
Even by his own standards, Cashman is now simply bizarre. Yesterday, he issued a rambling statement in which he damned Jazz with faint praise, calling him at one point, "above average."
None of which makes any sense. You want to keep Chisholm? Make him feel welcome. You want to deal Chisholm, in this, his walk year? Praise him to the skies.
"Above average." Oy. There's only one "Above Average" in Yankeedom, and we're keeping him!
Yes, AA...plenty of excitement this weekend. I'll be clipping my nose hairs!
Excellent ! Do make sure that you have those clipper's blades professionally sharpened first . . .
Post a Comment