Any chance. Even a cup of coffee.
But no. Rumfield was left to cool his heels in Scranton for two long years, without getting so much as a swing at that sweet Stadium porch.
Instead, Brain Cashman, The Man Who Bested Scott Boras, Mano-a-Mano—as his press courtiers are now proclaiming him—decided instead to squeeze the last dregs from two, once-great pros, Anthony Rizzo and Paul Goldschmidt, at first base.
It sez here that the 2024 World Series, at least, would've been up for grabs if Cashie had Rumfield out a first. Even had Rummy proved that he couldn't hit a lick, no doubt he charges Mookie Betts' groundball and makes the play that keeps the Fifth Inning Fiasco from being anything but a footnote.
Oh, well—who knows?
Here one is tempted to make assorted Rummy jokes about known knowns and unknown knowns. But it's just too damned annoying.
What we DO know is that Brian Cashman simply wasted two years of Rumfield's life and two years of the Judge Window. All gone now. The question that remains is WHY? Why not give the kid so much as an at-bat at the Big House?
The answer is the predictable one: like most poseurs in positions they are not qualified to hold, Cashman clings to credentials above all else.
T.J. Rumfield was drafted in the lowly 12th round by the Phillies, a 21-year-old who looked like a big tall geek and had only begun to start in his senior year in college. He wasn't expected to do much, and for his first three years in pro ball, he didn't.
Then he did, suddenly starting to hit and hit well, and field well, in 2024.
In Brian Cashman's world, this is the equivalent of the moment in the 1960s sci-fi shows when someone asks the evil, omniscient robot the question, "Why?" It just did not compute. But rather than letting his head explode, Cashie did what he usually does when some minor leaguer or another shows unexpected skill: he buried him.
He was a singles and doubles guy, who didn't walk all that much, and had no speed. The Yankees didn't really know what to do with him, and as they were just moving into "King George: The Mad Years," it's almost miraculous that they didn't deal him for one of the nonentities they did deal away the future for back then—another Ken Phelps or Bob Sykes or Dale Murray.
Instead, even after The Hit Man batted a meh .283 with only 4 homers in 91 games in his rookie year, they traded his main rival for the job, Steve "Bye-Bye" Balboni, to Kansas City, for a mediocre middle reliever named Mike Armstrong.
Balboni proved to be nothing to write home about, but he had a nice little career for himself, hitting 36 homers to help KC win the World Series in 1985. (The Yanks, of course, signed him back on when he was near the end. Some organizational bad habits precede even Cashman.)
Mattingly, meanwhile, somehow, almost overnight, turned himself into one of the best hitters in the American League, winning a batting title, and an MVP, and lining shot after shot into the right field stands and all over the big ballpark.
"You made the right call," as that baseball ad used to say.
In retrospect, it's easy enough to see why. Mattingly was a lefthanded hitter in Yankee Stadium, Balboni a righty. Donnie hit for a much higher average, was a Gold Glove fielder at his position, and could play left field.
If the Balboni trade was a poor one, the Yankees, at least, had cleared a spot for a true superstar to emerge.
Neevvver woulda happened with Cashman.
Why? Because Balboni was drafted in the second round. Mattingly? Just the 19th round of the 1979 June amateur draft.
In the mind of Brian Cashman, a credential is forever. It's why he picks up so many of those former, high-draft picks who have since proven to be busts, or broken down from injury. Somebody else once thought they were can't-miss, right?
If Cashman were in charge then—and sometimes it feels like he was—Mattingly stays in Columbus until he's rusted away. Or he's the one who would've gone to Kansas City, for the great Mike Armstrong.
What Cashie has picked up for Rumfield, of course, is Angel Chivilli, a guy who wasn't drafted at all...which to Cashman lends him only a greater aura and mystique. Plus he comes loaded with all sorts of "what-if" scouting assessments and sabremetrics.
He "avoids bats" (always a good idea). He throws hard (97, which is pretty normal these days). He has all kinds of potential. All unrealized.
Hey, I wish the guy well. Who wouldn't, with a name like Angel Chivilli? But essentially, he's a great big string bean, who in six years of pro ball has an 8-20 record in the minors, and 3-8 in the NL. Plus an ERA of 7.60. (But wait! Only 5.03 out of the Rockies! Woo-hoo!)
I hope he becomes our bullpen ace. I hope he's the successor to Mariano we've all been waiting for. I hope he is everything Brian Cashman wishes for and more. But there's no indication that he will be—just more wishin' an' hopin' an' prayin'. While yet another perfectly good ballplayer is sent on his way.
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We could look back on many position players who never would've got much more than a few weeks of playing time under Cashman. Another one that they would've wasted is Bernie Williams. Because he pretty much sucked with the bat from the left side for at least a couple of years. I remember one game where Bernie struck out five times against a K.C. pitcher, might have been Saberhagen. Under Cashman, after that, Bernie would've been sent down and never got another look. He would've been traded to K.C. or Seattle or the Angels and would've helped that team win a World Series.
Of course, it's all different right now, as the organizational goals are all different. They were actually trying to win back then. It's just that they were incompetent, with King George calling the shots. Now, it's a different kind of incompetence. This current regime doesn't even want to win a championship. The goal seems to be all finance related. Some kind of risk management thing going on.
It's like using a telescope to observe the heavens at night. Much of the time, hard to figure out what's going on up there. This is just a feeling I have, but I think that they're afraid of Spencer Jones coming up and hitting a bunch of home runs and becoming like Aaron Judge. The strikeout ratio is just an excuse to keep him down in the minors. Judge struck out a ton in the minors as well. And then struck out a ton in the short look that he got when he first came up to the majors. He had a whopping 50 % strikeout ratio in 84 at-bats. But he hit home runs, which they always like. I don't think they figured on Judge seeking out a hitting guru over that winter who would tweak his swing and his approach and that resulted in an MVP type year the very next season.
After that, I think they've become even more gun-shy about bringing up young players and giving them a lot of playing time. It they develop another Aaron Judge, the payroll would avalanche out of control. They don't want that. They'd rather go with a set amount of money paid to Trent Grisham because they have much greater flexibility to control costs that way. They'd rather waste 22 mill on Grisham than try to develop a kid.
The same thing applies to Jasson Dominguez. They'll never let him develop here. He will rot in the minors this year. They'll make up the usual excuse that they want him to play every day. He might sit on the bench for the first couple of weeks here. They'll make sure that he doesn't hit much by making his playing time very intermittent and by having him stand in left field all day long shagging fly balls during batting practice. They'll tell him that they want him to concentrate on his defense, forget about the hitting, just like they told Austin Wells. Dominguez is Hispanic, that's another strike against him, unfortunately, with this current Yankee regime. Maybe if he was white like Wells, he'd get more playing time. It's probably unconscious racism. They give a white player more of a leash than a non-white player, because they unconsciously see more potential in a white player. Or it might be economic: they think a white player will draw more fannies than a Hispanic player. Who knows the reason, but the effect is the same. Wells will get six years to prove himself. Dominguez got three months.
Now, you might say that Wells brings decent defense and maybe that's why they like him more than Dominguez. It ain't about the offense here. Maybe, but I think if Dominguez was a great defender who hit .200 like Wells, he'd be out of here just the same.
Hoss, they coulda and shoulda played Oswaldo Cabrera at 1B instead of Rizzo. That wasn't the first bad play Rizzo made; he was terrible the whole playoffs. That play woulda been a can of corn for Cabrera.
Plus the bases loaded debacle with Nestor Cortes, and the rest is history. They blew two winnable games. So they did half the Dodgers' work for them! Boone shoulda got a trophy from the Dodgers for all his help.
Amen, Hammer! All around!...
You make some excellent points about Spencer and The Martian. It's all more of the Cashman Conundrum.
We're told that Spencer strikes out too often. The Martian—and especially Rumfield—don't strike out ENOUGH (meaning they don't swing for the fences enough). Nobody is ever "just right" because that means spending money later, if not now...
I think you're right that they never expected Judge to be as great as he is. And when it came down to it, let us never forget, HAL was willing to let him walk. He could be in SF right now, if he didn't just prefer to be here. Even one of Cashie's sycophants, Andy Martino, writes of how stunned and clueless The Brain was when he learned that the Giants offered more...
But not HAL. I'm sure he was ready to let him go, and have his GM talk about how they were 'pivoting" to youth, or something. All of which could make sense...except that they make no, good-faith effort to develop players from the minors, either...
As for Wells' defense—let's not forget that it was his tipped bat that really set up the Dodgers' rally in that awful fifth game, after the Yanks had retaken the lead. I guess that, overall, he's a little above average—but not enough to make up for what he else he is: a .220 hitter who, despite being a lefty, actually hits better on the road...
And yes, having Rizzo out there was just chicken shit. Playing guys after they're done doesn't do them—or us—any favors.
As for the race angle, it's hard to tell with Cashman, because he's always so bent on weird little goals of his own. For instance, his mad scientist quest to Build a Better Jeter. That's the reason for all the years that Volpe will get at shortstop. It just never ends with that guy.
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