For one night, we recalled the generational magic of the Yankees - a team of great players and forever moments. For one game, all was right across the Yankiverse.
A star has been born.
Of course, you know his name: George Alexander Lombard Jr., raised in a baseball family and a Florida sports academy. He recently turned 21. Last night, he not only homered but flashed excellent glovework. Surely, he will be a Yankee great. It's ordained by the juju gods. There can be no doubt, right?
Trouble is, we're like those lost Blair Witch hikers, continually circling back to where they've been. Four years ago, on "Volpening Day," the Yankees unveiled Anthony Volpe as the next Jeter. He was 21, coming home to fulfill his dream of playing Yankee SS. In his first game, Volpe went 0-2 with a walk and stolen base, prompting John and Suzyn to declare a new era. Volpe was the future of the Yankees, the surest next big thing since - well - Clint Frazier.
Remember Clint? His moment came on June 1, 2017, at age 22. That night, against Houston, in his first taste of MLB, he went 2-4 with a HR and a double, bringing fans to their feet. A week later, he hit his second HR, and nobody could doubt his future stardom.
He'd finish the season with 4 HR and a .231 average. We told ourselves he would surely improve next year, but we didn't know that COVID was coming. Frazier ended up with 29 career HRs, a lifetime .235 and some of the shakiest outfield ever played in Yankee Stadium. Today, he has a lively X account, where he opines on - well - card collecting?
I don't rouse these ghosts to undercut Lombard; he looks like the Real Deal. But let's acknowledge what we all know: We've been here before.
The modern Yankees, as a marketing scheme, routinely lavish otherworldly praise on young players before they've done anything.
Once upon a time, rookies arrived with an opportunity to blend in and establish their own reputations. Nowadays, with the Mother Ship starving for homegrown talent, the Yankees sell tickets on the backs of what few prospects they don't trade away. Remember Gleyber Day? The Kraken? Bye-Bye Birdie? The Martian?
Last night, it worked. The Yankees sold 41,000 tickets. George Lombard Jr. hit his HR. If this was a world of happily-ever-after, we wouldn't worry.
Trouble is, it's a long hard slog to Yankee greatness.
This season looks darker with each passing week. Boston is closing, now just one game behind in the loss column. At this pace, we won't last the weekend in 2nd. (And Volpe will be in Scranton, learning 2B.)
Last night's excitement was wondrous! Perfect! For the ages! Now comes the hard part.
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Whether or not last night was a Wally Pipp moment or not - and I pray that it is, although I think that, back in the day, they would have sent Gehrig back to the farm after Pipp recovered - whether or not this is that moment, here is what we need to focus on: WHY did we tolerate Volpe and do an "Emperor's New Clothes" act for so long? There needs to be accountability. It's the same with a certain politician. One day, many will try to sweep this time under the rug, but why has he been abetted and enabled for for so long. Let's remember everything that Brian and Boone have said about Volpe for these past few years and think about the damage done.
and what I meant to say was that, if Cashman were in charge back in 1925, he would have sent Lou packing after Pipp's headache cleared.
I wish that we could Volpify Boone.
Demote/Option him to the minors so that he could, like . . .you know learn a new position. Such as how to launder and maintain the team’s uniforms. Then bring in someone to manage this team down the stretch.
Just think of how many shitass relievers & first basemen Ca$h will get for this guy at the trade deadline next year. By then Volpe will rightfully reclaim his shortstop roll by hitting .215 at Scranton.
I sincerely wish young Mr. Lombard all the success in the world, as I sit here waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Meanwhile, the entire offense last night consisted of 2 solo homers. Not exactly a path to consistent success.
Goldie pinch hit and grounded into a double play.
Just saying.
That new position would fit BaBoone well because I hear that he loves to smell the players' jock straps.
The same as all year.
Interesting article from MSN. I guess many teams like to put more money in their pocket than into fielding a better team.
Dodgers receiving over $50M advantage from antiquated TV deal
Following the Los Angeles Dodgers’ recent acquisition of two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, backlash is continuing over a bankruptcy-era agreement that allows the Dodgers to shield a portion of their local television revenue from MLB’s revenue-sharing system. Now, new details are emerging over exactly how much they, and other big-market MLB teams, could be saving.
After the Dodgers were purchased out of bankruptcy in 2012, the bankruptcy court, which was involved in the Dodgers’ then-ongoing TV rights negotiations, ordered that only a portion of that money would be subject to MLB’s revenue-sharing system.
According to a new report from Sportico, that will result in the Los Angeles Dodgers saving between $50 million and $55 million in 2026. The Dodgers will receive about $320 million this year as part of their local TV deal with SportsNet LA, with about $100 million of that being exempt from revenue sharing under their bankruptcy exception.
The Dodgers’ bankruptcy exception has been cited by many as a major factor behind the Dodgers’ ability to acquire and keep so many All-Star-caliber MLB players. Many expect Skubal to sign an extension with the Dodgers.
The roughly $50 million in savings revealed by Sportico is certainly significant, especially given that the exception reportedly continues through 2039. Currently, only three MLB players make more than $50 million per season, and two already play for the Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, and Juan Soto.
Sportico also noted that the Dodgers are not the only club benefiting from media-related quirks in MLB’s financial system. Teams including the Yankees and Red Sox own large stakes in their regional sports networks, allowing revenues earned from those RSNs to fall outside MLB’s revenue-sharing formula. Clubs with large ownership stakes in their RSNs can artificially suppress their local media rights fees to avoid paying more into the revenue-sharing pool, instead profiting from the RSN that is not subject to the league’s revenue-sharing arrangement.
It is not only the Yankees and Red Sox benefiting from this. The Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers all have ownership stakes in their RSNs.
I didn't even know the fucking Dodgers had been bankrupt and were sold in 2012. It's unbelievable that they have a financial advantage because of that. They should be penalized for it, not congratulated. Hope the fucking assholes go bankrupt again in the very near future. And this time, hope nobody bails them out and they have to fold the damned organization.
The fucking Dodgers lost again last night. Beaten by the Cubbies. Life is so good!
Lovin' it, lovin' it, lovin' it!!!
Divorce
There is no comparison between Lombard and those guys (Volpe & Clint Frazier).
Lombard actually appears to be an excellent defender with a great arm. He made a couple of very difficult double plays last night look easy. We'll see how he is on pop ups and pop flies.
Comparing Lombard's swing to Volpe, I'd say it certainly looks much cleaner. One of the things you have to dislike about Volpe is that he doesn't have a good swing. Not only is Volpe's swing long, but it's also very ugly, got way too much unnecessary crap going on there. Volpe has to clean it up down in the minors. That's on the Yankee management & coaching for failing to see that Volpe should be a line drive singles hitter maximizing contact, batting average, and on base pct. Volpe's base running also was pretty much terrible, getting thrown out stealing at inopportune times, much too aggressive with the leads. Again, these things were a management/coaching failure.
Rufus...I once overheard 2 female friends, upscale women chatting on South Beach. One said to the other, " Yeah, Marvin may not be so good looking, but he's a doctor, makes a ton of money, so he's a great catch." To which the other jewelry-clad woman responded, " Well, I don't intend to become rich through marriage, I intend to become wealthy through divorce."
I will say this for Lombard: even before the game started last night, I felt that the Yankees were a much better team. I guess having a good defender at SS makes that much impact. (We hadn't even seen him play one major league game yet, but the scouting report was that his defense was excellent.) If I felt it as a fan, you better believe the players felt it. Fifty percent of this game is ninety percent mental. Thanks for the greatest quote in baseball, Yogi! May Yogi's soul rest in peace.
If Lombard's defense is anything like he showed last night, we haven't had a shortstop who could play defense like that in a very long time. We know Volpe doesn't make those plays.
Yogi’s soul will rest a lot more peacefully if Boone was replaced.
It’s getting late early.
Reminds me of the Mae West line. Someone commented on a big diamond she was sporting:
"My goodness, that's a big diamond!"
"Goodness had nothing to do with it."
Fking autocorrect DOESN'T work when you need it to.
St. Pete Beach a few years ago. Bar next to the Don Cesar called The Undertow (it's good to be sucked offshore). Several very attractive women looking to meet their next ex-husband.
There's a famous mention of the Dodgers owner's divorce case in Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry recommends his incompetent lawyer, Hiram Katz, to the owner. After the owner loses the team because of Hiram, he punches out Larry in the elevator prompting him to use a tampon to stop the nosse bleed.
https://youtu.be/G76kDUYKEtk?si=ZM-4sQb33Cg71nO-
So…48 games left. If we play.500, win 24 more games, we will win 88 games, which is enough to make the post season in a watered down playoff system with a little room to spare.
Momentum in this game is real. It shows up during at bats, during innings, the overall game, during winning streaks and losing streaks. It's there in all physical contests, duels to the death, even in mental games like chess.
The Red Sox have themselves believin'. Caleb Durbin hit a grand slam. If I had to pick a winner right now, I'd say the Red Sox are going to win the World Series this year.
Courtesy Journey:
Don't stop believing
Hold on to that feeling
George Lombard Jr can field the SS position. That's something VolpE6 could never do.
In 2000, as we all know, the Yankees won the World Series by beating the Mets, 4 games to 1. That year, if I recall, the Yankees only won 86 games. It was 86 or 87, I'm too lazy to look it up. Yankees were a talented team that year, but they never really generated much momentum during the regular season. The defending champion Yankees were coasting, barely made the playoffs, then made it through the playoffs to face the Mets for the first time ever in the finals.
So in that 2000 World Series, Yanks were up 3 games to 1, and the Mets had Al Leiter (a former Yankee) going for them. Leiter was their best pitcher, and it looked like he had vowed to go down fighting. He was pitching his heart out. The game was 0-0, looking like it could go either way. Then Bernie Williams hit a shot into the upper deck in the left field corner. It was only 1-0, and there was a long way to go, but I knew the Yankees were going to win that game. Suddenly, the Yankees had all the momentum.
It's hard to believe that was more than a quarter century ago. Will be 26 years in late October, to be exact.
Im sold on lombard's glove. But he will be hitting .185 soon. If he progresses to ,250 in two years the thats a success.
Volpe will be a journeyman second baseman some day. That's a success too as most of these prospects never pan out
Now that you mention it, I seem to remember something about that. Had forgotten all about that crap. Wasn't our problem back then. But now it is our problem. How the world turns, eh?
If they divorce you, consider yourself lucky. They could have killed you, ya know. Seems the solution is to put all your money in a trust fund, where they can't get at it, come divorce or death. But then they still might take out a humungous life insurance policy on you, unbeknownst to you....
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