Is this really happening?
Please, pour water onto my face. Yell into my ear. Wake me from this existential dread.
Suddenly, the Yankiverse is mumbling, grousing, fearing the worst about George Lombard Jr., piling upon him a lifetime of scrutiny, barely three months into his 21st year.
I, for one, hope that he...
a) does not read social media
b) does not listen to talk radio
c) does not read this blog
I'd add that he needs a competent shrink, who never utters the most terrifying phrase this week in the Yankiverse.
The Yips.
Nope. Aint going there. It's too early to sound the Mandatory Evacuation alarm. But Yank fans know an iceberg when they see one, and the Brace for Impact light is flashing.
Lombard arrived on Aug. 4, a century ago?, rousing our most unbridled hopes since The Martian homered thrice in one game, back in May of 2025. He looked like the Second Coming of Jeet, with an extra dab of Ozzie Smith. We penciled him into Monument Park, if not Cooperstown.
Now, suddenly, every grounder is a Stephen King novel. It's been three weeks. It feels like three lifetimes. And now comes a Twilight Zone weekend against Boston. A mistake or two could drop the Yankees behind the Redsocks with a thunder of boos that could grease a slide back to Scranton.
Ah, Scranton. Never has the name of a fine, upstanding city conjured such images of existential torture.
There - down there - Anthony Volpe is playing 2B, demoted from franchise SS to discarded utility lug nut. Last night, he went 1-4 with a HR, his 6th on the brief season. At SS, Oswaldo Cabrera went 1-3 - no errors. I believe Yank fans would love to see Oswaldo again - he's hitting .279 with 17 HRs - but at SS? Nah. He's stuck there for eternity.
Listen: If Lombard continues to struggle defensively, the Yankees might have to blow up their well-hyped future. Another round of Volpe? Or Max Schuemann? I don't see Ryan McMahon shifting to SS, and Amed Rosario is a lost cause. In Scranton, there is ex-prospect Marco Luciano (age 24, with 22 HRs, .297, who mostly plays 2B.) And in Somerset, a formerly hyped prospect, Roderick Arias, is having his best year. (.272, 14 HRs, age 21.) It's a long, steep drop to the next great hope, Dax Kilby, (.280 in 93 ABs at Single A.) Frankly, there's just Volpe.
This might be the most important weekend of Lombard's career. Damn. Why don't I just heap more pressure on him, eh?
Tonight... a clean game. Okay?
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14 comments:
I wonder why he's suddenly making errors when his initial weeks were filled with dazzling defense? Is Boone giving him tips? Is it just rookie nerves? Is it Volpe's girlfriend, who's a witch and cast an evil spell on him?
Just plain strange.
Listen, give him a chance. A lot of greats can sputter early on. The pressure is high on him. AND, if he sucks, as he well may, we reach down into our deep farm system, brimming with talent, assembled, coached and nurtured by the visionary House of Cashman© to contend, destroy and win every fucking year.
Oh wait...
It is the Cashman Cabal.
They have launched their evil plan (code named: Save Face - V-PEEE - the extra E is for extra pee).
Deviously designed to deflect blame off of Cashman over his ignorant arrogance for sticking with the Volpe experiment as long as he did, the plan’s endgame IS to bring Lombard back down to earth in ways that if exposed here in this blog could bring retaliatory harm to each and every one of us.
More to be shared when it becomes safer to do so…….
Yeah, this ^
If Lombard is good enough, he'll make it. Our worrying about it makes no diff.
So, the Battlin' Bronx Bastards finally beat Altuve, Alvarez & the ASS-stros. Figures they'd do it after I tuned out. Switched out soon after the misplay in center by our Ken Griffey Jr. clone, version CX-2. (The "X" stands for reject, and the "2" stands for factory second.) Didn't think they had it in 'em. So congratulations, Bastards!
But that means they'll fuck up royally tonite, eh? Can't you just see Cole blowing a 6 run lead in the 5th? Or pointing to 1st base on an infield dribbler? Maybe today will be the day that six Yankees knock their coconuts together on a popup right in back of the pitcher's mound. Must see t.v.? I think I'll spare me-self the agony and watch a movie tonite.
The comparisons to Jeter never were/are very fair. I mean, Jeets ended up 6th all time in major-league hits, 5 rings, World Series MVP, All-Star Game MVP, SHOULD have had 2 regular-season MVPs.
What's more, Jeets had 22 errors his first full season, 18 the next year, 24 as late as 2000. Back in the minors, he had a jaw-dropping 56 in Single-A.
As with most shortstops, the errors went down as his range shrunk...
Lombard gets to plenty of balls. He's booting a few now? Big deal. Better now than in the playoffs. I'm more concerned by Grisham in CF.
Worse to me from last night was Boone adamantly refusing to bunt Caballero—twice—with men on first and second and nobody out. But hey, a nice win.
I stand by what I wrote yesterday
"Lombard's Errors
Not worried yet. The game is faster than he's used to. The runners are faster and the balls are hit harder. He has the talent and athleticism he should be able to adjust.
Right now he's rushing the transfer to compensate and dropping the ball.
Also, on certain plays, he's throwing the ball in rhythm in time to get the runners he's faced in the past and then mid-way through "realizes" that he's not going to get the MLB guy. and hitches or rushes the throw..
It's just reps.
Plus he's making plays and getting outs that Volpe just dreams about. Give the kid time. It's a big leap for one year. He's now the starting SS for the New York Yankees.."
Speaking of the kids. I read this today in Yanks Go Yard
"But most importantly, Jones has been a catalyst when the Yankees have needed it most. He's hitting .308 with a 1.073 OPS with runners in scoring position, and .400 with a 1.055 OPS with two outs and RISP. In high-leverage situations, he's hitting .343 with a 1.080 OPS, which is a bigger sample size of 38 plate appearances."
Me likey!
and to JM's prior query about why Grisham is the starting CF and may I add continues to lead off... You know why.
I agree 100% Horace and was going to provide similar stats. Obviously, I have no real insight as to why the 5 consecutive game error streak occured, but being an armchair psychiatrist (Yes, I have stayed overnight at a Holiday Inn Express), I think that when he first arrived, he concentrated on doing everything well and now that he feels like he belongs, has made mental errors that he needs to he needs to clean up and realize that at this level, he needs to be in the game 100% of the time. Kind of like the equivalent of knowing thatyou must run hard to first every at bat (Something Jeter did throughout his career). But what the fuck do I know?
Jones is doing very well. Thank God. So is Bellinger . Grisham.... not so much.
I cringe at the knowledge that he'll be in center and batting first during the playoffs. Such a fucking obvious mistake.
When I read your post just above this one, a simple phrase popped into my noggin….
BOONE IS an IDIOT !
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