On that note, I apologize.
The Yankees just enjoyed the most pleasurable 24-hour stretch in memory, beating up on the hapless, itinerant San Francisco Giants in a laugher victory that started Wednesday night in the second inning. Thanks to opening day schedules, we've had a full day to gloat, to imagine Cy Young awards and breakout seasons, and to bestride the planet like the colossi of truth and wisdom that Yank fans are known to be.
It's all downhill from here.
That said, let's enjoy this. The Yankees clobbered SF, even if Netflix was more self-absorbed with celebrities eating hotdogs than with the actual game. (I'm still wondering: No Sydney Sweeney?) And yesterday, that one game was being used to validate an entire winter of standing still, a front office strategy that remains only partially cooked.
But, of course, that's only a fragment of the Yankee narrative. The larger, easier and more slow-moving plot line involves Aaron Judge. By now, even those self-isolating natives on that North Sentinel Island, off in the Pacific, the ones who kill Christian missionaries on contact - even they know that Judge, in the opener, went 0-5 with four strikeouts.
It's a development that had to be reheated on every cultural burner because, well, Judge is Judge and the Yankees used to be the Yankees.
So, Stephen A. Smith - who is running for president, they say - went on a 90-second bender about Judge failing in big moments. This is the world according to anecdote - to the reality of podcasts. We all remember when Judge swings and misses. When he uncorks that massive lunge, when he swings through fastball, he is the Babe, he is Mickey, he is Roger, he is Reggie and he is A-Rod, because you don't get to fully appreciate the greatness of a player unless you also tag along when he fails.
Two weeks from now, when Judge leads the league in every slugging category known to mathematics, Stephen A. Smith - who is running for president, they say - won't issue a retraction. And nobody will care. He'll be onto something else, creating flames from broken wind.
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7 comments:
A talentless body with zero talent in his entire body criticizing one of the best (and maybe best ever ) right handed home run hitter.
He is a bigger bum than two arses and should be ignored and pointed at and ridiculed.
I don't bet but if I did I would put money on Judge hitting one or even two home runs in today's game
The A is for Ass. Pronounced /aes/. From the Latin word "asinus", meaning ass. Scientific name Equus asinus, a descendent of the African wild ass.
His specialty is pyroflatulence, which is why he always carries a Bic lighter.
The world we live in. The Dawn of Idiocracy.
Smith is a bigmouthed jerk. Proven as many times as Cashman has proved incompetent. Or Boone has confirmed he's an idiot.
I can't stand that blowhard, Smith. You'd think that for all the money ESPN showers on him, he'd have some special insight, or at least an above-average knowledge of the 4 major sports. Alas, he does not. Honestly, like Trump, I can't stand to even see his face on TV. However, there might be some generational perception of this guy. My son, 35, loves this guy. So do his buddies. They probably like his "in your face" persona and don't realize his sports acumen is severely lacking.
Regarding Judge, two things:
First, while his reputation is that of a choker under pressure, the reality seems very different. Last week, Michael Kay provided stats that seem to contradict this perception. I don't remember the exact stats, but it had to do with hits, RBIs, average, and HR from the 7th inning through "bonus cantos", as he likes to say. He's number 1 or 2 in these categories. I will try to find the video clip and post the link.
Secondly, while everyone has the right to express their opinion on any topic, I am particularly turned off when athletes invoke God for their successes. Oddly, they don't mention this deity when they totally fail and look clueless, as Judge did on opening day. Until last year's postseason, I had never seen him mention anything about Jesus or God influencing his baseball accomplishments.
I don't have the video of Kay, but here is the transcript:
“I got numbers to throw at you, baby...” Kay said. “You’re wrong. You can’t tell me he’s not a good clutch player. I’ll give you numbers that prove it.”
The Yankees voice proceeds to provide Judge’s splits beginning in 2017.
In one-run or tied games beyond the seventh inning, Judge bats .344 with a .578 slugging with runners in scoring position.
Judge ranks 21st all time in WRC+ in the playoffs with a 125 WRC+ — “Higher than Acuña, Lindor, Bregman, Betts, Tucker, Yelich, Will Smith, Turner,” Kay points out.
Since 2017, Judge ranks fifth in MLB with a 143 WRC+ in high-leverage situations, according to Kay.
“Since 2017, no one has had more tying or go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later,” Kay said. “No one more than Judge.”
As Mark Twain famously said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Yet, these numbers seem to corroborate Judge's proficiency in clutch situations, rather than the notion that he whiffs when the pressure is on.
Statistics are used much like a drunk uses a lamp post: for support, not illumination. -Vin Scully
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