tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39322851598512043352024-03-19T06:30:48.315-04:00IT IS HIGH! IT IS FAR! IT IS... caught."The feds can kiss my ass."--Darryl Strawberry
Stanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17758839786688249648noreply@blogger.comBlogger21803125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-71462358757822823552024-03-18T17:29:00.001-04:002024-03-18T17:29:11.769-04:00Does Josh Still Have His Glove?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDdqSBBgqWNNlGsXUHrpZfPisZfVflFjkUuHB2yLDqSiXA8er_npBZKEb0VgxyIO-vOGM3wCaHC-dA_kbJ9T4A1DyHJ0zJtAYlM-IapoV50A7_vHiVwYOPnxFM64ZgGQ3k7-MRmnufwUUdDEC2BxvCpEtv9fFqafu9Auj8Xg0VWQ3xU6NENxrArlLqPk/s800/black-swan-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="800" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDdqSBBgqWNNlGsXUHrpZfPisZfVflFjkUuHB2yLDqSiXA8er_npBZKEb0VgxyIO-vOGM3wCaHC-dA_kbJ9T4A1DyHJ0zJtAYlM-IapoV50A7_vHiVwYOPnxFM64ZgGQ3k7-MRmnufwUUdDEC2BxvCpEtv9fFqafu9Auj8Xg0VWQ3xU6NENxrArlLqPk/s320/black-swan-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p> You guys are already wearing me out. </p><p>Here is what circling the pond three times has yielded:</p><p>1. Cole has a nasty that will require a lot of rest.</p><p>2. Judge has a nasty that no one discusses</p><p>3. DJ has a bruise on his foot that will keep him out beyond opening day. (Did he drop a stone crab on it?)</p><p>We only have players left for third whose names begin with Oswaldo ( although " meat sauce " does play third). </p><p> And what just became of our back-up first baseman? Maybe Ben Rvtvltbnktd ( Swans can't spell Dutch names ) can hang on as third catcher, and second first baseman. Making him the number one substitute. </p><p>And we are not into the season yet. </p><p>Good thing Hal and Brian have made contingency plans. </p><p>Time for a cool one. </p>Alphonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294726065596642068noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-71828990209113759912024-03-18T07:38:00.002-04:002024-03-18T07:38:11.960-04:00By now, Old George would have blown a few gaskets <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBFXuPwZ9l8QCzuXUPT6ax7D9hLtRlGLqC3C0UVWQkzsYcO_8BhH5HpBq5NIoLyQYItVp7BLnXq3xZBeLFAb253zhMbVfDQHN63OJEJ50vCuClGwPLDV1NcRobZ-X1Di_lyz4n3VWZI6g7hTLJwcHViUTMXz7CZKaFUfvz7t8-3uM7g6IbhKY-LSEYg_U" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="394" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBFXuPwZ9l8QCzuXUPT6ax7D9hLtRlGLqC3C0UVWQkzsYcO_8BhH5HpBq5NIoLyQYItVp7BLnXq3xZBeLFAb253zhMbVfDQHN63OJEJ50vCuClGwPLDV1NcRobZ-X1Di_lyz4n3VWZI6g7hTLJwcHViUTMXz7CZKaFUfvz7t8-3uM7g6IbhKY-LSEYg_U=w400-h246" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Greetings from Florida! Did you know that...</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">The Yankees have the 4th worst spring training record in baseball!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Their pitching staff has given up 52 runs in the last six games - an average of slightly more than 8!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Their best pitcher won't even touch a ball for at least four weeks. And their best hitter has mystery pains!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Yesterday, their two top pitching prospects gave up 9 runs! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Their lineup featured four batters hitting .200 or less!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Even the team's cultural footprint is shrinking: No Yankees have a) dated a pop star, b) appeared with Joe Rogan, c) hosted SNL or d) been mentioned as Robert Kennedy Jr.'s VP. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Yes, it's a pissing match shit show train wreck on a three-ring circus dumpster fire in a hot mess clown car, warts and all.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">I know what you're thinking: I'm exaggerating, again. The '24 regular season is nine days off, and the prideful power of our shaven Yankee stallions has yet to be tasted in a meaningful mouthful. Let's not stress the warts. One week from today, nobody will give a hoot about the Death Barge's Grapefruit League record.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Okay, yeah, but listen... something here isn't right. Do you feel it, too? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">When you look at these Yankees, you see:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">1. A team clearly lacking in pitchers.<br />2. An aging lineup ripe for injuries.<br />3. A farm system depleted by trades.<br />4. A propaganda machine that overhypes everything.<br />5. A front office without a plan.<br />6. An owner in complete denial about the above. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Are we really expecting to win the AL East by a flurry of 10-9 scores? Are we really going to let Blake Snell and/or Jordan Montgomery sign with our rivals? Is all of this pure nonsense... or are we getting a glimpse of what is to come? </span></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-49382530132254055312024-03-17T13:45:00.003-04:002024-03-17T13:45:25.045-04:00Not Positive<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuesCvevBvrDpfO1y_64XMNc5S9RZw0zvCgI89tSD3ygkYhsRcMM7Yl9D_IYc6S7uFbITXd-Ca0eM6-wR1lMtEbDGDTyZOLIj6rKyfFWDHxFWHfPTvOs0qCY11bpwrO2ch6QXaHBkXdJLOlgpQfjoAUZVmtQw-_Ie6W-4Vi6Yms-eBeM7qsz-CQPJ400M/s790/scared.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="790" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuesCvevBvrDpfO1y_64XMNc5S9RZw0zvCgI89tSD3ygkYhsRcMM7Yl9D_IYc6S7uFbITXd-Ca0eM6-wR1lMtEbDGDTyZOLIj6rKyfFWDHxFWHfPTvOs0qCY11bpwrO2ch6QXaHBkXdJLOlgpQfjoAUZVmtQw-_Ie6W-4Vi6Yms-eBeM7qsz-CQPJ400M/s320/scared.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>At the end of the First inning;<p></p><p>Boston 9 Yanks 0</p>Alphonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294726065596642068noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-87122620021742722702024-03-17T08:52:00.002-04:002024-03-17T08:52:49.435-04:00After a 10-9 victory, one question emerges: Where did all that Yankee pitching depth go?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCStwbd0pu8b5XvS28FqkMyYvsabyE58kb5I3AMLVro2QYS78SUebi0tIjC_BEMYeOO50mhwhpeKiaAyDgEpVtB21tDrepggjT8sXBSxZtbIv_vDhNgRIY9lc3DAFmBp7roca3qCf-OiBbyBVf0MG85rg6kFay0Y-6lzPVwXcTfSjHQ85hgO_zGXF4tZM" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><img alt="" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="393" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCStwbd0pu8b5XvS28FqkMyYvsabyE58kb5I3AMLVro2QYS78SUebi0tIjC_BEMYeOO50mhwhpeKiaAyDgEpVtB21tDrepggjT8sXBSxZtbIv_vDhNgRIY9lc3DAFmBp7roca3qCf-OiBbyBVf0MG85rg6kFay0Y-6lzPVwXcTfSjHQ85hgO_zGXF4tZM" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">The Yankees yesterday finally beat somebody - our pals from 'Ronto - in a 10-9 score more suited for lacrosse. When 19 runs are tallied, you start thinking of them as "points." Most of the carnage came in the late innings, with the arrival of no-name pitchers. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Still, a 10-9 win is hard to process. It means an overworked bullpen and a lineup continually stressed. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Such wins are not sustainable, and we must ask, where did all that vaunted Yankee pitching depth go? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Out the door, that's where. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">This winter, the Yankees gave up 10 young pitchers in trades and roster moves. We won't know until July whether the losses outweigh the gains, but here's a snapshot of where things stand.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">We traded four pitchers for Juan Soto:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>Jhony Brito:</b> He's thrown 13 innings, given up 2 ERs with 16 strikeouts. The Padres love him. He might be their best pitcher in camp. He's 26. Someday, the Soto trade might be remembered as "the Brito trade."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>Randy Vasquez:</b> Nine innings, six earned runs, nine strikeouts, five walks. Meh. Not so impressive. The Padres are working him, hoping he'll make the rotation. He's 25.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>Drew Thorpe:</b> Seven shutout innings, 3 hits, 6 Ks, before being part of the package dealt for Dylan Cease. Not sure what it means when a guy is traded twice in a winter, but if you figure the Padres converted Thorpe into a front line pitcher, not a bad return on the investment. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>Michael King:</b> The main cog in the deal. He's thrown just 5 innings and given up 2 hits, 4 strikeouts. Not sure why the light load. But if King were still a Yankee, he might be our opening day starter, in lieu of Gerrit Cole's barking elbow. San Diego wants King to be their ace. If he succeeds - (a big "if," obviously) - they might have three aces to show for the Soto deal. That would sting. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">We also sent them <b>Kyle Higashioka</b>, who hasn't hit much this spring, but - hey - Higgy is Higgy, right? One year he led us in spring HRs, then went dead through May. The Higmeister does what the Higman desires.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">We traded three pitchers for Alex Verdugo:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>Greg Weissert:</b> He's thrown six innings, given up a run, 8 strikeouts. Big sweeping curve. He's 28, no chicken of spring. He'd be competing for the back end of our bullpen.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>Richard Fitts and Nicolas Judice:</b> Neither has thrown for Boston this spring. Fitts is considered the most promising of the three. Sorta surprised he hasn't been showcased, at least as a sop to critics of the trade. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">We lost three pitchers in the Rule 5 draft. (Selecting teams must keep them all year, or they'll return to the Yankees:)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>Mitch Spence: </b>The first player selected in the December draft, by Oakland. He's thrown 13 innings, given up 6 ERs and struck out 14. Obviously, they want him to succeed. Not sure if he's doing it. He's 25. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>Matt Sauer: </b>Hyped former high Yankee draft pick - grabbed by the Royals - has thrown 8 innings, given up 2 ERs, 10 strikeouts. Looks like he could stick. This would hurt.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>Carson Coleman:</b> Taken by the Rangers, hasn't thrown a pitch this spring. Assign him a parking spot. He's probably coming home. </span></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-33072161393221828262024-03-16T07:35:00.002-04:002024-03-16T10:01:12.280-04:00Yanks solve their opening day starter problem. If only they could solve their opening three months problem<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhTLmLAdN_DxwunvgRu5eSft61LYpd18KpzeasyiaEEAEbZrdHEc0-yRjakG1L3zLUBIgjm58v2sCpIh-lWpPDNL0V8zZ8ESoy-1kXYkwyAsWbC6hXPFmM_cDO-Hsmb75x1p5ueWcLlIo-_E9emfS-mYwsPurkVUFMujpfj8lHrSR4Dg0THo5lLvQZMKg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="394" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhTLmLAdN_DxwunvgRu5eSft61LYpd18KpzeasyiaEEAEbZrdHEc0-yRjakG1L3zLUBIgjm58v2sCpIh-lWpPDNL0V8zZ8ESoy-1kXYkwyAsWbC6hXPFmM_cDO-Hsmb75x1p5ueWcLlIo-_E9emfS-mYwsPurkVUFMujpfj8lHrSR4Dg0THo5lLvQZMKg=w298-h400" width="298" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Yesterday, the Yankees announced that - due to the frazzled elbow of Gerrit Cole- their opening day pitcher will now be none other than the breakout all-star of 2022, Nasty Nestor Cortes.</span><p></p><p></p><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">So ends the first full scale crisis of 2024: finding somebody who can navigate the inaugural five innings on Thursday, March 28, in Helltown Houston. Problem solved. Hopefully, Nestor can supply a tight five, holding the Astros to less than four runs. If so, his job will be done.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Thus far this spring, Nestor - a walk-on celebrity at a winter Trump rally - has thrown 10 innings and given up 9 (nine) earned runs. Hopefully, he will improve on this. He must keep the cheaters in check until the game can be turned over to the <i>Aaron Boone Yankee Bullpen Elite Coterie of Trust</i>: Luke Weaver (6th inning), Ian Hamilton (7th), Jonathan Loaisiga (8th)and Clay Holmes (closer.) </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">By then, it's possible that Nick Burdi or one of the Codys - Poteet or Morris - will have joined this manly, august clique. Tanner Tully, anyone?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">The Yankees will play four games in Houston - Thursday through Sunday - then decamp for Arizona: Seven games in seven days, before their first day off, April 4, the eve of their home opener against Toronto.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">I won't speculate on where the Yankees will be in the standings on April 5, but for shits and giggles, here are a few predictions. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">By our home opener...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">The bullpen </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">will have thrown 27 innings, the equivalent of three full games.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">The names "Clayton Beeter" and "Will Warren" will regularly pop up in YES conversations. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Anybody who pitches well in Scranton will be viewed as a major source of hope in the Yankee organization.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">The shuttle bus to Scranton will be running daily, supplying fresh arms for the bullpen.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Somebody on the staff will be experiencing pain after a particularly stressful outing, though the Yankees will assure us there is no concern.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">A pitching rotation is like the offensive line in football. Without a strong one, everything else will eventually crumble. Without Gerrit Cole, the Yankees have a weak one.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Certainly, the Yankees can celebrate the news that Cole apparently will avoid Tommy John surgery. <i>(There are no guarantees here; if his arm doesn't respond to the rest, he could be on an irretrievable path.)</i> But by NYC opening day, unless they acquire help, the bullpen will be already starting to crack under the volume of innings. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">This barge will not float.</span></div>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-91785548646417656042024-03-15T15:41:00.000-04:002024-03-15T15:41:05.061-04:00Is Aaron Judge Our Roger Maris?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilQum93jRgxbjZjCi_IVNYiBSZ-EBQWPNP_Excx0KFXHwMhxqiTcPVMwvbrjPyHdnSXCcUCHpI81sa9qX0A0DYRE8SsG4gKJh197ceE_bXGt8zYMlNVmoXSxy-MVKNGxi7e2Ik0iyesyoB0OGKMISYdbwPIoU737c1KfU1QBX9h-PjagmD2WqthSyZpUA" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1812" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilQum93jRgxbjZjCi_IVNYiBSZ-EBQWPNP_Excx0KFXHwMhxqiTcPVMwvbrjPyHdnSXCcUCHpI81sa9qX0A0DYRE8SsG4gKJh197ceE_bXGt8zYMlNVmoXSxy-MVKNGxi7e2Ik0iyesyoB0OGKMISYdbwPIoU737c1KfU1QBX9h-PjagmD2WqthSyZpUA" width="320" /></a></div>Hate to add to the Niagara Falls of bad news that this spring training has poured down upon our little pointy heads. But I think the question has to be asked:<p></p><p>Has Aaron Judge become our new Roger Maris? When we were hoping that, just maybe, he was our new Mickey Mantle?</p><p>An awful lot to put on a fella, I know. Judge has played and behaved splendidly in his time with the Yankees. Rookie of the Year, an MVP (should be two, were it not for the giggling cheater down in Houston), three Silver Sluggers, great fielder.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgQc_Ty8EbMk5WkbB3PJn3FIIyd2YdFkCsO6X5g5TOWlWscKwbe8Yokoyc7B-WM40u9r6KG58I16-uCwCZtqJSdxOLbFh_b8DZoVRLnd4POzQdNt3W2UUyAaGUb6Z2JOgBHKVrXuMJfahxLIHaYXO4OwzOFy7cQcN5uESqAJybjISy5GK6JmrGyuUEFao" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="684" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgQc_Ty8EbMk5WkbB3PJn3FIIyd2YdFkCsO6X5g5TOWlWscKwbe8Yokoyc7B-WM40u9r6KG58I16-uCwCZtqJSdxOLbFh_b8DZoVRLnd4POzQdNt3W2UUyAaGUb6Z2JOgBHKVrXuMJfahxLIHaYXO4OwzOFy7cQcN5uESqAJybjISy5GK6JmrGyuUEFao=w320-h320" width="320" /></a></div>It was Judge, after all, who became the first player ever to (legitimately) break Maris' home-run record, and to (legitimately) tie Babe Ruth's. Judge who has always played with a smile and a wink, and a Bunyanesque flair in the outfield. <p></p><p>When was the last time that something resembling's Judge's court in right field ever found its way into Yankee Stadium?</p><p>(Don't say those Sheff's toques—though the Coneheads and the Freddie Sez frying pan will be acceptable responses.)</p><p>Roger Maris was, in many ways, a very comparable ballplayer. </p><p>Sure, I'd rank Judge a little higher. A .283 BA and .982 OPS, compared to .265 and .822 for the Rajah (in the 7 years he was with the Yankees). Judge has struck out much more (1,038 to 417) and stolen more bases (43-21), but both of those stats can be put down to changing styles of play. Maris had Mickey Mantle hitting behind him, and one of the great Yankee lineups all around him. Judge, not so much, unless you count Gimpy Stanton and Dazzy Gleyber.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4oJRGu_1lzQjSI_gAbXhd0-C6D2iTIkw88xwSkCm45aSmOYiFwV2aFwAa6A4Fe_RKPXyDPvc9SYeLqsmVFBSbHYGD96iBrYL9yG8fePFOpt68hxjpWuPs8SyV1m4VzkOGtV54mZXbkM1_pY_wTymZpKQo_Bp85G9_yZ-dZ0NSRfn4rD9XBirUwGZwPUg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="1980" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4oJRGu_1lzQjSI_gAbXhd0-C6D2iTIkw88xwSkCm45aSmOYiFwV2aFwAa6A4Fe_RKPXyDPvc9SYeLqsmVFBSbHYGD96iBrYL9yG8fePFOpt68hxjpWuPs8SyV1m4VzkOGtV54mZXbkM1_pY_wTymZpKQo_Bp85G9_yZ-dZ0NSRfn4rD9XBirUwGZwPUg=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div>But when Maris came to the Yankees he, too, almost instantly blossomed into an outstanding ballplayer. A total of 100 home runs in his first two years, and two MVPs (Both of which should've gone to The Mick, but never mind!).<p></p><p>Even after his traumatic, 1961 chase of Ruth, Maris came back in 1962 to hit 33 dingers—despite the fact that MLB, in all its wisdom, decided that there was too much hitting in the game, and adjusted the strike zone accordingly. </p><p>A Gold Glove outfielder, he saved the World Series that year, with a strong throw from right field that kept Matty Alou on third base, in the ninth inning of Game Seven.</p><p>Pretty impressive—and Maris had just turned 28. And then...it was all but over.</p><p>Roger hit well in 1963, but missed 72 games and most of the World Series with bad back pulls. He had what would prove to be his last truly good year in 1964, hitting 26 homers and batting .281—but that was it. In 1965, Maris broke his hand—possibly by hitting a male model at a bar, in an ugly incident in spring training—and tore a couple of ligaments in his fingers, in a freak collision at home plate, where he got his hand tangled in the spikes of an ump who was standing too close.</p><p>He missed another 116 games, and then in 1966 the hand never seemed to heal. Maris was sure he had a bone sliver loose in his hand. The Yankees' crack medical staff, with a long record of torturing ballplayers even then, couldn't find it, and the brass decided to gaslight Roger, making out to the fans that he was a head case. </p><p>It was the final straw for Maris, whose aptitude for rage was always at a level that we've never seen in Judge. He demanded a trade, and the Bombers obliged, sending him to St. Louis for Charlie Smith, perhaps the worst single player in Yankees history. The Cardinals went on to win two pennants and a World Series with him, but Roger missed almost 100 more games in those two seasons, and hit a combined total of 14 homers.</p><p>Maris retired at 33, but he was really done at 30. Judge is about to turn 32, of course—but one wonders how many productive years he really has left. </p><p>Much like Maris, injuries seem to seek the Judge out, and multiply upon themselves. The crash through the Dodgers' crappy wall was apparently what led to him over-training in the off-season, taking so many swings that he may have torn a rib. </p><p>Don't be surprised if he has. Judge has already averaged more than 30 games out with injuries every year since his first, full season in the majors—and that's with the Covid season probably saving him a good deal more time on the DL. There is no reason why we should expect him to continue healthy and productive as he ages—especially with Yankeecare.</p><p>Greatness in baseball is like quicksilver. It comes awfully quickly and can vanish just like that, with a freak injury on a sunny afternoon field, or a stupid moment in a barroom. I wish Aaron Judge nothing but the best in the years ahead. But the Yankees should have made sure to get him into a World Series already.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /> <br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>HoraceClarke66http://www.blogger.com/profile/16965472730239358589noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-57447971991299875342024-03-15T12:06:00.003-04:002024-03-15T12:06:10.904-04:00Of course, this will be the year that Luis Severino goes injury-free and shines<p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFMcBhYaNlUZq6rfvXxDvvcpA3VJhyphenhyphenEDVgL1r2BeWpH_Wuk475lkh51SHwxAzGYFCsHuPI-ouNkbIpP9KP10BXKmJcDRBq9TKqsmIUSOBzU2oBsnoc4OfYKAYRxhmX54vxNnsr5qC53W2DUv6s323wenhXNE_wgbT7F7DQr4uuJga3X_MWzsdmUsJuaY/s383/_images_news_maoam_lemon%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="139" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFMcBhYaNlUZq6rfvXxDvvcpA3VJhyphenhyphenEDVgL1r2BeWpH_Wuk475lkh51SHwxAzGYFCsHuPI-ouNkbIpP9KP10BXKmJcDRBq9TKqsmIUSOBzU2oBsnoc4OfYKAYRxhmX54vxNnsr5qC53W2DUv6s323wenhXNE_wgbT7F7DQr4uuJga3X_MWzsdmUsJuaY/s320/_images_news_maoam_lemon%201.jpg" width="116" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Dear Juju Gods,</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Thank you, thank you, <i>thank you! </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">You have outdone yourselves. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Almost lost amid the impending Yankee pitching collapse <i>(aka: Gerrit Cole's elbow)</i> is Luis Severino's apparent resurgence as -<i>of course!</i> - a Met.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Sevy has pitched in 3 games, thrown 9 innings, given up one earned run - which, using the artificial intelligent chatbot that you surely employ - equals a 1.00 ERA.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">That would have made him the leading candidate to pitch on Opening Day for the Yankees, but you knew that already, didn't you? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">At least Frankie Montas has shown the courtesy of yielding 8 earned runs in 7.2 innings this spring. And Drew Thorp got himself traded as part of the package for Dylan Cease.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">But you <i>had </i>to have Sevy comeback, didn't you?</span></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-9783333120426475152024-03-15T08:07:00.000-04:002024-03-15T08:07:01.880-04:00As they await the verdict on Gerrit Cole, the Yankees perform their own version of a solar eclipse<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiigu79o9GpcHkQgsDukdWI-W9p5tuQXg3zhYyI05XJv-KXLSwPFAtNlxvdRGGBNl4OENGpSdsX_9xraNUT7ZK-qaBTpvmJm0l48T53hZw3U-O8SmYL4LtM2sqAf5dhFdVmiq-BMNjujLygpy2PxfWp9LIuwFNInutyPjqnKbzx6UL-3F6jO2sgnPvSH7o" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="433" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiigu79o9GpcHkQgsDukdWI-W9p5tuQXg3zhYyI05XJv-KXLSwPFAtNlxvdRGGBNl4OENGpSdsX_9xraNUT7ZK-qaBTpvmJm0l48T53hZw3U-O8SmYL4LtM2sqAf5dhFdVmiq-BMNjujLygpy2PxfWp9LIuwFNInutyPjqnKbzx6UL-3F6jO2sgnPvSH7o=w400-h246" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">I keep reminding myself not to panic, not to hyperventilate, not to overreact to the Death Barge's 8-12 record - among the worst to be found in Florida, Arizona and/or Timbuktu. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">These games don't matter. Everybody knows this. Just last year, the Yanks went 13-18 in the meaningless Grapefruit League, and look how they rebounded - a whopping 82 regular season wins!</span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Nope, zero concern here. Move along, there's nothing to see. Have another <i>Angel's Envy. </i>Yesterday, our<strike> zeros </strike>heroes scrounged up three (3) hits (by Verdugo, Grisham, & Cabrera), against the famed Tigers' pitching staff of <strike>Koufax, Drysdale, Podres</strike> Mize, Chafin, Lange, et al. They scored no runs (0) en route to a 7-0 spanking, their 3rd straight loss and 7th in the last 10 games. They are in a spring slump.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">So I keep repeating the gibberish: <i>It just doesn't matter.</i> Trouble is, the things that DO matter - injuries - are tumbling in like ballots from the outer parishes of Louisiana. What's especially troubling is how the Yankees are dealing with them - singing "LALALA" and grabbing the Calgon Bath Oil Beads.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Three days ago, there was a obvious path to dealing with the chance that Gerrit Cole will miss much, if not most, of 2024: Sign Jordan Montgomery. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Let's recognize that they've irreparably pissed off Blake Snell - he'll hate us forever -by simultaneously badmouthing and poormouthing the guy. But Montgomery is still out there, waiting for some team to pay him what he's worth, and it's sad that Hal Steinbrenner is home, refusing to answer the phone. They have one move: Sign Montgomery - now, as they should have done in December - and save themselves from having to desperately secure another JA Happ/Frankie Montas/Andrew Heaney in July. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">But the weirdest issue is Aaron Judge. Two days after he has an MRI on his abdomen - <i>abdomen, WTF? is he constipated?</i> - the Yankees are poo-pooing the matter and assuring us that all his fine - that Timmy merely ate the wrong berries, that Lassie has come home, that Uncle Joe merely has gout, and that Aaron will suit up this weekend. Uh huh. Judge was supposedly feeling "beat up," so - along with some Tums for the Tummy, they sent him for an MRI? Is that how we deal with farting? A body scan? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Listen: Somebody feared something much worse than the runs, and even though it happened at the absolute worst day possible - <i>Gerrit Cole Injury Day</i> - they sent Judge to get bombarded by gamma rays, or sonic beams, or whatever it is they do in those infernal machines. Apparently, the MRI didn't show anything, so they're rubbing dirt on his gut and sending him back to play his regular three innings. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Something weird here. Something is very wrong. But take heart, everybody. It just doesn't matter. </span></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-27513538730037305982024-03-14T13:43:00.001-04:002024-03-14T13:43:27.486-04:00"Stacked."<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiwhCrKWzB6TfCBJDcaTE2InQS_IPxodTitqucIhRTlBDmwqZAj97a4uxraj1iaU3Q9FUKNzuMbVkXTS_0rft_PbgE95WlxOOOAU73x5mX_GumAnGWgezRKhV9ab0aQqP5e_0xbhvkc1SaHvu4GRdZWiMn2LlwLRB5w7bZS91D3QWf1upvdLLnF6-EqL0" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2940" data-original-width="1903" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiwhCrKWzB6TfCBJDcaTE2InQS_IPxodTitqucIhRTlBDmwqZAj97a4uxraj1iaU3Q9FUKNzuMbVkXTS_0rft_PbgE95WlxOOOAU73x5mX_GumAnGWgezRKhV9ab0aQqP5e_0xbhvkc1SaHvu4GRdZWiMn2LlwLRB5w7bZS91D3QWf1upvdLLnF6-EqL0=w259-h400" width="259" /></a></div>Early in spring training, 1977, your New York Yankees took a terrible hit. The promising young rookie who was all set to take over at shortstop for the defending, AL champion Yanks, suffered a horrible leg break. A favorite of manager Billy Martin, Mickey Klutts was just 22. He had been co-MVP of the International League in 1976, hitting .319 with 24 home runs and a .922 OPS.<p></p><p>After that break, he would never play a full season again.</p><p>Klutts' injury capped a costly off-season for the Yanks. They had lost two other top, minor-league prospects, 1B-OFs Otto Velez and Willie Upshaw to Toronto, in the AL expansion. Grant Jackson, the Yanks' leading set-up man in 1976, after going 6-0 with a 1.69 ERA for the team, was snatched from the roster by Seattle. </p><p>The Yankees' top starter, Doyle Alexander, absconded to Texas, after the Bombers refused to pony up the outrageous sum of $450,000 over three years for Alexander (A few seasons later, the Yanks would shell out $1.5 million for Doyle's very worst two years, and exactly 1 win. But I digress.)</p><p>To cap it all off, on Opening Day, Catfish Hunter was hit in the toe by a line drive, while breezing to a shutout over the Brewers. Catfish hurt his arm trying to adjust his pitching style, and would never be the same pitcher again. Gil Patterson, another highly touted rookie, rushed into the rotation...blew out his arm and was finished. Permanently.</p><p>Jim Wynn, a free-agent pick-up intended to become the DH, belted a tape-measure home run in that same Opening Day contest...then hit .143 in 30 games, and was released.</p><p>Pretty awful, right? I guess the Yankees were done for 1977.</p><p>Instead, despite all these injuries and, shall we say, some clubhouse rancor, they won 100 games, took the pennant again, and smoked the Dodgers in the World Series.</p><p>The very next year, the injury bug struck again! </p><p>In 1978, the shortstop who had taken over for Klutts, a guy named Bucky Dent, missed 39 games with his own injuries. Willie Randolph, the team's all-star second baseman, missed 28 games and the playoffs. Centerfielder Mickey Rivers missed 21 games, and saw his batting average drop from .326 to .265. </p><p>Thurman Munson played 154 games with a bad shoulder, but his home runs dropped from 18 to 6, his OPS from .813 to .705. Cliff Johnson, the back-up catcher and DH, went from 12 homers, .296, 1.010, to 6 homers, .184, .658. </p><p>Mike Torrez, the World Series pitching star in 1977, had taken off for Boston. Another key piece of the rotation, Don Gullett, tore up his arm on July 9th, and never pitched again. Ever. New acquisitions Andy Messersmith and Rawley Eastwick faltered, and were quickly discarded. </p><p>And there was, still, some lingering, um, <i>ill-will</i> in the clubhouse.</p><p>Well, that's that, right? What team could come back from that?</p><p>As we all know, the 1978 Yankees won 100 games again (in an incredibly tough division), took the pennant again, smoked the Dodgers again in the World Series. </p><p>How could this possibly be? </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_MtgxnKpWqguwxnsSFZA-zCk3YHc5q26aSLP5y7-mvHGrZfxOiEHJ_FvS7L4S3yCoYCtbGx-4RuceDpHGqz_7Qvui4DyaiRQZ0gdGJjDWJo4fII5AhoW_-ldEHOhmjfv9xJmesa5yApUvm3bNYaQuFXJQ-LghEd0zWGIkKI9JUk_QuvM54d0xiaZ0HaU" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1370" data-original-width="1141" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_MtgxnKpWqguwxnsSFZA-zCk3YHc5q26aSLP5y7-mvHGrZfxOiEHJ_FvS7L4S3yCoYCtbGx-4RuceDpHGqz_7Qvui4DyaiRQZ0gdGJjDWJo4fII5AhoW_-ldEHOhmjfv9xJmesa5yApUvm3bNYaQuFXJQ-LghEd0zWGIkKI9JUk_QuvM54d0xiaZ0HaU=w267-h320" width="267" /></a></div>Well, the Yankees then had a general manager named Gabe Paul, a.k.a., the Man in the Checkered Sports Coat. If he wasn't a fashion maven, he was very good at keeping the Yankees' farm system and roster so crowded with talent that the team could take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.<p></p><p>Modern baseball is full of devastating injuries, even to young players in good shape. In fact, that's how the game always was. </p><p>The legendary, 1939 Yankees had a starting infield that—no doubt keeping an eye on the Great Depression still raging outside the Stadium walls—missed a total of 8 games all year. But that excluded Lou Gehrig, The Iron Horse himself, the most durable player in sports history to that point, who went down with a wasting disease nobody had ever heard of.</p><p>It's always something, as The Bard wrote. Even for the Greatest Team Ever, imho, the 1998 Yankees. </p><p>After a tough loss in the 1997 playoffs, the Yanks lost both guys playing third base—including Hall-of-Famer to be, Wade Boggs—and three of their four second basemen. Power-hitting DH Cecil Fielder left the team, as did starter Dwight Gooden, while big Japanese acquisition Hideki Irabu was already disappointing. A revivified Daryl Strawberry went down with a nearly fatal cancer, and hit none of his 24 home runs after August. (And a shout-out to Daryl today, after his heart attack. Get better, big guy.)</p><p>The Yankees barely blinked an eye. One-hundred-twenty-five wins and a World Series sweep later, they were the best team what ever was. Still are.</p><p>Why?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGfPwXywCJt9ArFJBtgPOQtlvPc3jKErQvZI8X05FDg7cEtNUj3hu_TAVgmUv9BgyfWy0D6XROTZPbN2cAFoVsOx7WRYcNiyF-ufvvTgvMxq4jWerSXw82nlD1W6RRCITEk7Zn3IKSmKet9LAFEYZe8Jc5gb7CP6Vx03YoK2EXrQqD9-tOrs_bCTXGmx0" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="1023" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGfPwXywCJt9ArFJBtgPOQtlvPc3jKErQvZI8X05FDg7cEtNUj3hu_TAVgmUv9BgyfWy0D6XROTZPbN2cAFoVsOx7WRYcNiyF-ufvvTgvMxq4jWerSXw82nlD1W6RRCITEk7Zn3IKSmKet9LAFEYZe8Jc5gb7CP6Vx03YoK2EXrQqD9-tOrs_bCTXGmx0" width="320" /></a></div>A certain individual I like to call, Stick Michael, made sure that that team could withstand anything, and still prosper. <p></p><p>This spring, even before the Yanks' two best players went down, a couple different friends told me how "stacked" the Yankees were this year. I wanted to ask them what they were buying at our ubiquitous new buzzshops. </p><p>Halle Berry is stacked (All right, I know: a long way to go for that reference. Still, it's Hall Berry, am I right?).</p><p>The 2024 New York Yankees were never stacked, even before Judge and Cole went to the MRI. They were short on depth, short on bullpen, short on starters. Now they are even shorter, and I will be stunned if they continue their 31-year, winning-season streak.</p><p>Why? </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLnmihMsSDJFMV6wW3QSTnUuIpdR2m2kUtE0_U6QZ_GdAss5rIVER0s_HwYVtnss9pbPPMP3SI2TKbTpPZi0TC8SdTae1Adlz-sIa789BVzgHCgvHp-kK-QTwL7s2eZ1sQhHJjHVLRU77Lh8Mj3MtnrPSCFh_wb7fmDWy7MxLyccFzHMjFazHMhkXxU-Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLnmihMsSDJFMV6wW3QSTnUuIpdR2m2kUtE0_U6QZ_GdAss5rIVER0s_HwYVtnss9pbPPMP3SI2TKbTpPZi0TC8SdTae1Adlz-sIa789BVzgHCgvHp-kK-QTwL7s2eZ1sQhHJjHVLRU77Lh8Mj3MtnrPSCFh_wb7fmDWy7MxLyccFzHMjFazHMhkXxU-Q=w247-h320" width="247" /></a></div><br />Because their current GM-for-Life, Brian "What, me worry?" Cashman is incapable of stacking so much as a couple of dinner plates, and his boss, Nepo Baby Hal, doesn't care. And the question remains: If he doesn't, why should we?<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgf3SctP5FVuHSpBeQFDnrt2GK_Ino4fjgXi8NNA5fwouRm2ltWXXwIq06QkMoHVZsdANKOJviGEfDh9AzLaAuLMCBB-0f-FSlT9lRJGaTsdalX-CbJQrXhzsvI-LdN-uYO2j08LardFAe-IV9ZZHKVY679f3m1PPMBvm0BEyWIqsQVuNa17w8fusu23_g" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1812" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgf3SctP5FVuHSpBeQFDnrt2GK_Ino4fjgXi8NNA5fwouRm2ltWXXwIq06QkMoHVZsdANKOJviGEfDh9AzLaAuLMCBB-0f-FSlT9lRJGaTsdalX-CbJQrXhzsvI-LdN-uYO2j08LardFAe-IV9ZZHKVY679f3m1PPMBvm0BEyWIqsQVuNa17w8fusu23_g=w200-h125" width="200" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p><p> </p>HoraceClarke66http://www.blogger.com/profile/16965472730239358589noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-59645295127551065592024-03-14T07:42:00.004-04:002024-03-14T07:42:58.499-04:00As they await the diagnosis on Gerrit Cole, Yankee fans foresee the darkness<p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Across global online message boards - the telephone party line of modern civilizations - Yank fans yesterday were pondering the unponderable: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">What could Juan Soto bring at the August 1 trade deadline?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">By then, the Death Barge could be a stagnant, malfunctioning floater - its front office debating whether to reflexively chase the final wild card berth, or to mercifully put down this cancerous beagle.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">By then, </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Soto could be a fuming, three-month rental - maybe even a headcase - frustrated by the lack of support by an organization that vowed to contend. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">By then, the Yankees could be contemplating a July 31 extinction event - the selloff of not only Soto, but Gleyber Torres, Alex Verdugo, Tommy Kahnle and Insert-Name-Here, who will become free agents next winter. If they love NY and hate the Yankees, they could simply skip across town and join the Mets, who could become New York's premier team. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">By then, we could be facing a disastrous quarter century, an ongoing diminishment of what was once America's greatest sports icon, strangled by hubris, infinite amounts of money, and a sad, nepo baby owner who probably never wanted the job in the first place.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYLWmUofPCVCQ4xKa8oX8mL3e8Xs0jDVW9r0h6JzFTz66NJ72D6IhlZRpFMYS_6jLYUvKCAPv9bQCZQoPj5BlT1r3KL4E6iXOz_Yn4-z6jc-0-X3mIe5iaUnxQTJgctobPHgI5kAyNmPhkQiCVy2GM5F84KSHRr-vkSPGqbLi9rHf5Aa5wj2XWcYdPtKQ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="564" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYLWmUofPCVCQ4xKa8oX8mL3e8Xs0jDVW9r0h6JzFTz66NJ72D6IhlZRpFMYS_6jLYUvKCAPv9bQCZQoPj5BlT1r3KL4E6iXOz_Yn4-z6jc-0-X3mIe5iaUnxQTJgctobPHgI5kAyNmPhkQiCVy2GM5F84KSHRr-vkSPGqbLi9rHf5Aa5wj2XWcYdPtKQ" width="303" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">By then, the Yankees could be starting over. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">What rouses such pessimism, exceptional even from a website known for invoking gloom and doom as a means to shame gods that - frankly - may not exist? <i>(Yeah, juju gods, I'm talking to you... if you exist. If this pessimism doesn't rouse you, you're just a dickless figment of our imaginations, a nothingness POS, and the hell with you. Go rule over Division III women's cornhole.)</i> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Wanna know why I'm so desperate? Check out the stat box to the right. The difference between Gerrit Cole and the rest of the last year's Yankee rotation is the difference between champagne and bong water. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnMYUapMOSMonaic-hR_XmCy442LBDxKuyMLFY4leiRnl5s-0uhkDeqswwpg2UGlhbitMDmi5CnLL5pWxVTtpnsxv2itRFg5mXuAmF_b0zVbHQ3gDmYa43X5mS17qTDAfhea2IqBDums8gZEt2bR4JAGbRw8-9LZZWA0be0s-Nme_VZCI4ISgOrjKk9h4" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="394" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnMYUapMOSMonaic-hR_XmCy442LBDxKuyMLFY4leiRnl5s-0uhkDeqswwpg2UGlhbitMDmi5CnLL5pWxVTtpnsxv2itRFg5mXuAmF_b0zVbHQ3gDmYa43X5mS17qTDAfhea2IqBDums8gZEt2bR4JAGbRw8-9LZZWA0be0s-Nme_VZCI4ISgOrjKk9h4=w312-h400" width="312" /></a></div>Today, Cole will learn what's causing the pain in his elbow. The Yankees claim it's relatively minor: He'll maybe miss two months. Generally, the rule about Yankee public statements is to take whatever time they expect to be missed - and double it. Moreover, if Cole needs surgery, he's gone for the season, and that little chart is all you need to know about our state of being, come midnight on July 31. <p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">So, the barge lost again yesterday. It's still too early to assign meaning to any of these games, but the Yankees are not looking good. DJ LeMahieu is still sinking slowly into oblivion, and Alex Vertigo continues to spin helplessly. A few days ago, Anthony Volpe was hitting .400. That's March for you. But we all must ponder: It's barely half done, and what else does this wretched month have in store? </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><br /><p></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-25852819663589072852024-03-13T16:24:00.000-04:002024-03-13T16:24:01.034-04:00Unlacerated<p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"> But out until June, and on his way to see Dr. Tommy John.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiO7jenqJbG1HpWgw5oiZ9_hA4InoaXo89jwN7xde37hbeyRatvN2Ewnc6DHBOHsTM784JJV6eansd20aGwnU4bEYMJ1BMvvbCbzxMtvOCgWMdb6yHsHGahw9Opbv4GaZzqEguV7biS43k5_RmYYtpcU_DXM3D0gOOqHV2gLoYuby9aRIFT7a19MFXEUow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="285" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiO7jenqJbG1HpWgw5oiZ9_hA4InoaXo89jwN7xde37hbeyRatvN2Ewnc6DHBOHsTM784JJV6eansd20aGwnU4bEYMJ1BMvvbCbzxMtvOCgWMdb6yHsHGahw9Opbv4GaZzqEguV7biS43k5_RmYYtpcU_DXM3D0gOOqHV2gLoYuby9aRIFT7a19MFXEUow" width="216" /></a></div><br /><p></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-40214558829212776102024-03-13T13:56:00.002-04:002024-03-13T13:56:24.663-04:00One Dilemma Solved<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy02NyY7MeqN1xMjVfvQSIp_ki5LAtrw_qFmeEZQxWZGDCkTZKb_KMbfb8gkzOrfQ5BJpQXI0uN8IrhS173UvqkAUdb0uhYFalOOZksQVwVFV1NQEYmZfIddML-BYxS7oNK3Yim9lDPjMBzwczAgnIfqOOofyO6g0hkeitBvvpBhhtQiRT99V-5ExOxts/s800/black-swan-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="800" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy02NyY7MeqN1xMjVfvQSIp_ki5LAtrw_qFmeEZQxWZGDCkTZKb_KMbfb8gkzOrfQ5BJpQXI0uN8IrhS173UvqkAUdb0uhYFalOOZksQVwVFV1NQEYmZfIddML-BYxS7oNK3Yim9lDPjMBzwczAgnIfqOOofyO6g0hkeitBvvpBhhtQiRT99V-5ExOxts/s320/black-swan-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />At least there is not going to be a concern, or conflict, about who Gerrit Cole's personal catcher is this year. <p></p><p>Have a lovely day. </p><p>March Madness has arrived. </p>Alphonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294726065596642068noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-55236509902224210522024-03-13T12:11:00.001-04:002024-03-13T12:50:20.904-04:00Pre-Season Comics<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCEgCq46rNht-wtIG6_Lpy6Mi2U645C8DHyF6HNe21wcp5XVyQFpzqnz3o_VENdv7btzVkkzO4j1sgfQfQA0IlAAAt6ceOJp4Sb4dsHugqxrzDZBDDrLEnogM869ilPIe9PGTFNOevDJAHTW0kIc65yIeS5puuG_OnAVzXJTFvBI5nmg0PNcafNkN2BwV/s896/Bazooka%20Joe1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="896" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCEgCq46rNht-wtIG6_Lpy6Mi2U645C8DHyF6HNe21wcp5XVyQFpzqnz3o_VENdv7btzVkkzO4j1sgfQfQA0IlAAAt6ceOJp4Sb4dsHugqxrzDZBDDrLEnogM869ilPIe9PGTFNOevDJAHTW0kIc65yIeS5puuG_OnAVzXJTFvBI5nmg0PNcafNkN2BwV/w433-h374/Bazooka%20Joe1.jpg" width="433" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2neNnrgOUc-ihdTVflLC9pOBo9zvfDDwKC4vm6cNGFWvd-f89MeQ0yJ4zEiF5qmdC5x7Is2UwT0GHURrWZLGGEirINISbMeqhIAOBbVRrnodJBu0HXr_UyrQ5K38fNrFDDgktzztyy7JFlrzKB7RfrShgmfdRZO1emikk6ie3gCdh4eL7MV6SRrcSbow/s2010/Josie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2010" data-original-width="1291" height="405" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2neNnrgOUc-ihdTVflLC9pOBo9zvfDDwKC4vm6cNGFWvd-f89MeQ0yJ4zEiF5qmdC5x7Is2UwT0GHURrWZLGGEirINISbMeqhIAOBbVRrnodJBu0HXr_UyrQ5K38fNrFDDgktzztyy7JFlrzKB7RfrShgmfdRZO1emikk6ie3gCdh4eL7MV6SRrcSbow/w261-h405/Josie.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhO5qgLljy1dO_bb-XTWdrt79HqWTVkA2CriObpW_oES_Pc2NoFS2f7gfB4FtuazTG7FrkKH7OsdfiIgYm-8-F15Ykd4ScVJ8Kvf9ejVnsgTBus9_MMMDzHNrWUYP8nKNUsRgE-Eal8qmUttK2PaDBcy2_F_RnQ0on7cnNP6ch_pQTN1iZJBFhiPK9Kmq/s661/Garfield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="661" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhO5qgLljy1dO_bb-XTWdrt79HqWTVkA2CriObpW_oES_Pc2NoFS2f7gfB4FtuazTG7FrkKH7OsdfiIgYm-8-F15Ykd4ScVJ8Kvf9ejVnsgTBus9_MMMDzHNrWUYP8nKNUsRgE-Eal8qmUttK2PaDBcy2_F_RnQ0on7cnNP6ch_pQTN1iZJBFhiPK9Kmq/w442-h290/Garfield.jpg" width="442" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Doug K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/18127860664631924576noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-87049119869692451222024-03-13T10:57:00.000-04:002024-03-13T10:57:40.659-04:00Mid-Spring Beat Up<p>Can our boy Judge come out to play?<br />At noon our foursome tees up.<br />Sorry, fellas, not today,<br />He's sorta mid-spring beat up.</p><p>That man Aaron is one hunk of thirst,<br />The girls at the club wanna meet up.<br />No no, ladies, training comes first,<br />He's a bit mid-spring beat up.</p><p>At the hotel, the maids are asking,<br />Can Judge ever put the seat up?<br />Bending over? That's multitasking<br />For someone mid-spring beat up.</p><p>Should I renew my season seats,<br />Watch my savings get eat up?<br />Baseball gives your pains surcease<br />'Til you get mid-spring beat up.</p>Alibi Ikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01611720130124275127noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-81723877930883175642024-03-13T08:04:00.005-04:002024-03-13T09:30:17.140-04:00On MRI Day, the Yankiverse seethes over and bewails the ghastly schemes of Destiny<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeIs9P2008QjG2Xym7YB3opwTLUFbsGGAM_qzh7gND1wWN4Kjyp9hofbogDR33rAKe2FuOltf4vgg04RhAONGOeF2IKL_ZmAfl_FOE2NF4vJhDimHdzfvrRV6INyq20wuQLRFq56GC7g2N03MeL0gIcz1UXroaLk3wwBTIZ1_mcnTXmAUHnx3ggtElyYo" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="328" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeIs9P2008QjG2Xym7YB3opwTLUFbsGGAM_qzh7gND1wWN4Kjyp9hofbogDR33rAKe2FuOltf4vgg04RhAONGOeF2IKL_ZmAfl_FOE2NF4vJhDimHdzfvrRV6INyq20wuQLRFq56GC7g2N03MeL0gIcz1UXroaLk3wwBTIZ1_mcnTXmAUHnx3ggtElyYo=w273-h400" width="273" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Sunday, as everyone knows, the Death Barge dispatched Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge to get MRIs on various barking body parts - signaling the chance that 2024 will be the biggest bed-crapping year in modern history.<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Seriously, look around. We're heading for a Presidential race that is, in essence, a matchup between Dorian Gray and Mr. Hyde. Half the country is parched in drought, and half is underwater. Upstate NY just experienced a North Carolina winter. Taylor Swift has a cough. Al Pacino couldn't even read the Oscar nominees list. Who the fuck is this Finneas guy? Who moved the remote? Where is my <i>TV Guide?</i> Is the cafeteria serving creamed corn <i>again</i>? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Seriously, why <i>wouldn't</i> we expect the '24 Yankees to fall apart like a Boeing 747 over Anchorage? Somehow, they assembled a roster of broken glass, concocted by a GM who hasn't made a winning trade since Covid arrived, from an owner who simply wants to breed horses and sip Scotch at the club, with a Venus de Milo pitching staff and a batting order with more bats in twilight than the entire <i>Twilight</i> movie trifecta. And you expect the Yankees to win? Dear God, why?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Oh, and here's the kicker: We're supposed to believe what the Yankees say? As if they ever tell the truth about anything? When they assure us that all is well, that Cole's scan is merely "a precaution" and Judge will be ready, though he<i> might miss opening day? Oh, of course, lah-tee-dah...</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">You know what else might be missing opening day? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Hope. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">By now, the notion that the Yankees could have signed Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery - boosting their rotation - is a Vaudeville punch line. Either pitcher looked like the missing link between a pennant contender and 4th place gristle. The Yankees never opened their wallet, never budged. It wasn't the money. It was the <i>principle</i> of it all, old chum, t'wouldn't be sporting to look so, well, desperate. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">So, now, we're supposed to think the Yankees can trade more prospects, more seed corn for - um - Dylan Cease? Dear God, his name itself has become a Yankee fan mantra: "DYLAN...? CEASE!"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">People, get underground. We're riding directly into the storm. Can somebody check Al Pacino's First Alert batteries? It's getting dark. And - gulp - it's mid-March.</span></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-45758240667056160342024-03-12T16:33:00.001-04:002024-03-12T16:33:11.125-04:00It is Spring Training for me, as well.........<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJf5UkBP2LFijK0ETBJJLiigQsDhBXUzt9jdjstuK1LviYZDdVKfuSiG9tzZNwJYDHTCkqLg5YaqrOQOd0-hC_2RJOVpqieQaFJkheDA-cKKBFbtHXTpJKzsNejAAyizJ15sHyHCL6PWJgammPvRxGIRfWICdWboUPR4oN5-mbXkU-9oro3Jvwv5B530/s800/black-swan-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="800" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJf5UkBP2LFijK0ETBJJLiigQsDhBXUzt9jdjstuK1LviYZDdVKfuSiG9tzZNwJYDHTCkqLg5YaqrOQOd0-hC_2RJOVpqieQaFJkheDA-cKKBFbtHXTpJKzsNejAAyizJ15sHyHCL6PWJgammPvRxGIRfWICdWboUPR4oN5-mbXkU-9oro3Jvwv5B530/s320/black-swan-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><br /> Let's just begin with the good news.</b><p></p><p>Trevino is working his way back to good health.</p><p>No one has plantar fasciitis.</p><p><b>Now for the alarming news:</b></p><p>- MRI for Judge. No structural damage observed. But they will sit him down for a week( or two) and then re-evaluate</p><p>- MRI for Cole. He won't start opening day. We already heard that. </p><p>I have been asked to pass along a question for you fans; how do you think the Yankee season will be impacted if neither judge nor Cole can play?</p><p>At least, the games don't count yet ( see 8-1 loss today ). </p>Alphonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294726065596642068noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-13259633284570401142024-03-12T13:41:00.006-04:002024-03-12T13:41:50.018-04:00A Menagerie of Mythical Beasts.<p> Bigfoot:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5-EASR3xpz_kYe6Rsv64Q4lUe9UWlSe0iPhYEtVuecGXPrrSjRLyNMnCzDU5vX0rCx4sLYEqIQBl3vEX0c1pZJCSiZModFXIYKW6784GMJByPdG-hpISZTLXOxhj-VD9sQnAu8GYAS9WEO0p9CQT3UH5SnLlhYbLrfbI-Y2qbuSXd00WJvk4vE1z-Dg0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="994" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5-EASR3xpz_kYe6Rsv64Q4lUe9UWlSe0iPhYEtVuecGXPrrSjRLyNMnCzDU5vX0rCx4sLYEqIQBl3vEX0c1pZJCSiZModFXIYKW6784GMJByPdG-hpISZTLXOxhj-VD9sQnAu8GYAS9WEO0p9CQT3UH5SnLlhYbLrfbI-Y2qbuSXd00WJvk4vE1z-Dg0" width="320" /></a></div><br />The yeti:<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixbMPZO_dO3sEcadlFf4NT3Gz1YBkl9NED3owCYas9sTlVsziNiR8HcRuIH7DnETlEeZkzL4DAAeDEanLOKOW6sOjekLO4tKXQpTiyNk0mb_hqrB2iwoNeWKunbrr6-_1hPdX8yUjSWyrdhbX6hVj04fagaHrFgpSU8ILkUDznTLKDA0s0oOhar-o-f8Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="864" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixbMPZO_dO3sEcadlFf4NT3Gz1YBkl9NED3owCYas9sTlVsziNiR8HcRuIH7DnETlEeZkzL4DAAeDEanLOKOW6sOjekLO4tKXQpTiyNk0mb_hqrB2iwoNeWKunbrr6-_1hPdX8yUjSWyrdhbX6hVj04fagaHrFgpSU8ILkUDznTLKDA0s0oOhar-o-f8Q" width="320" /></a></div><br />The unicorn:<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSX1mmjDdIZWF84-FWx0HpZjR4XcRwUOpTmo0p22dKmG5b2NvZRvbB6YDiO7meE8n7q-11o1M2-Efvpz5YohivwsC8vWf1mtOchAqHkXCnawNwSNidlzadtIre_Vl3AIYwT1GFelbzbQzUbOkMfMoLcFuKspUWZ62iNCcMZy8W6O773Z9M9E24LqYX01o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="598" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSX1mmjDdIZWF84-FWx0HpZjR4XcRwUOpTmo0p22dKmG5b2NvZRvbB6YDiO7meE8n7q-11o1M2-Efvpz5YohivwsC8vWf1mtOchAqHkXCnawNwSNidlzadtIre_Vl3AIYwT1GFelbzbQzUbOkMfMoLcFuKspUWZ62iNCcMZy8W6O773Z9M9E24LqYX01o" width="320" /></a></div><br />Enoughpitching:<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgihA7gr2kRLx0v1cAGXxcGJ_3zAqPopQbYmeHylQN7I6v1Wdi9spJUuxy6z404SfYLxadOm0xksBxrREOqjJW2t440mCLmwrNZSL5BPTrll7L-7Ef67aFjv2iIVokDl1bc9-KeQHTWxgxwdmOFq3WyGXhEgiBETQqVREcG55TAbOndhrcFkO81N4Ex8Aw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="540" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgihA7gr2kRLx0v1cAGXxcGJ_3zAqPopQbYmeHylQN7I6v1Wdi9spJUuxy6z404SfYLxadOm0xksBxrREOqjJW2t440mCLmwrNZSL5BPTrll7L-7Ef67aFjv2iIVokDl1bc9-KeQHTWxgxwdmOFq3WyGXhEgiBETQqVREcG55TAbOndhrcFkO81N4Ex8Aw" width="320" /></a></div><br />Some day, somewhere, Brian Cashman will admit that this last one just doesn't exist...<p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8Bd491ou6HRkQzPM-xSorMihpGCFkc0CbA5OCo99RgnymVqLDCOrS08TWMTcwl0tc53wJJEBuQsJdhRuCyzopLAjzI43UCTU5dljFNUyrLb2mXCYAHAHLsMNeHoorR3CEoob7FjJEyYVv3_k-56tnBOWbP_Ph36Da2feg6X2bvlWSI-b0syijyqLwVvA" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1812" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8Bd491ou6HRkQzPM-xSorMihpGCFkc0CbA5OCo99RgnymVqLDCOrS08TWMTcwl0tc53wJJEBuQsJdhRuCyzopLAjzI43UCTU5dljFNUyrLb2mXCYAHAHLsMNeHoorR3CEoob7FjJEyYVv3_k-56tnBOWbP_Ph36Da2feg6X2bvlWSI-b0syijyqLwVvA=w200-h125" width="200" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>HoraceClarke66http://www.blogger.com/profile/16965472730239358589noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-36468519492895493432024-03-12T13:37:00.001-04:002024-03-12T13:37:16.165-04:00The Dynasty What Never Was: New York Yankees, 2017-2024<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfg6tOx8xYk-X273S4ioa1VYRxJjpUAIiM-j2i-BjvbQt6X6OQekf1iaoI9S-u7hrlQsUEvf8N5g6upn1j1XuWtQYMlBPUV4ykHZQehcoeuMnklfWzRIfZwyI8NZIZOZVcxVtNLhHiMaYx-RSWJIbfQPoIVJjtrHDtC1lCoA50EUtyNhYDTZNll7X4g5I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfg6tOx8xYk-X273S4ioa1VYRxJjpUAIiM-j2i-BjvbQt6X6OQekf1iaoI9S-u7hrlQsUEvf8N5g6upn1j1XuWtQYMlBPUV4ykHZQehcoeuMnklfWzRIfZwyI8NZIZOZVcxVtNLhHiMaYx-RSWJIbfQPoIVJjtrHDtC1lCoA50EUtyNhYDTZNll7X4g5I=w320-h320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>And...the window is now officially shut.</p><p>Yet another year full of major injuries before spring training is even halfway over.</p><p>Yet another year in which we were already short on bullpen, short on bench, short on starting pitching, to begin with.</p><p>Yet another year in which we needed to get through a whole season without injuries to aging players...who were constantly injured even when they weren't so old.</p><p>Yet another year in which every perfectly predictable thing is going wrong. </p><p>Yet another year in which the everlasting constant—Brian Cashman as general manager—is still in place.</p><p>RIP, New York Yankees, 2017-2024, the dynasty what never was. </p><p>Will there be another Yankees' dynasty? Impossible to say. It certainly won't happen in our lifetimes—or in Hal's. Cashman may finally go as the decline continues, but chances are that he will be replaced by someone just like him, an office politician who has no clue about baseball. And even when Hal goes, who's to say he won't be replaced by a Steinbrenner just as clueless.</p><p>It's all right. Nothing lasts forever, and we got to see the best of it—or at least some of the best.</p><p>Slam that window shut and bolt it. The opening is gone, and we surely don't want to see what's going on inside now.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwzyv9MSS0m1hcoCZ9YEo_RBbw8SWyvYYl5Ly8V08vgl_hZfMj7e3WXj4klZFalLEkPoNqa0GKfzpT8N0VciRQCqdxmS8WZm-daoCNKyzuvGmWfAKJxHYR1OZCasIoEboKCCH3eoWJSvLtpcglwbQUB0af7SR62zLuW957DIJblO94pWpINtSHpDFaJO8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1812" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwzyv9MSS0m1hcoCZ9YEo_RBbw8SWyvYYl5Ly8V08vgl_hZfMj7e3WXj4klZFalLEkPoNqa0GKfzpT8N0VciRQCqdxmS8WZm-daoCNKyzuvGmWfAKJxHYR1OZCasIoEboKCCH3eoWJSvLtpcglwbQUB0af7SR62zLuW957DIJblO94pWpINtSHpDFaJO8" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>HoraceClarke66http://www.blogger.com/profile/16965472730239358589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-14343655492470237932024-03-12T08:03:00.004-04:002024-03-12T08:21:28.366-04:00The Yankees say Gerrit Cole's MRI is just "precautionary." Nothing to worry about. Yeah, right.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA9mNQN0lz0S5kTqe_WtZ-Uitx8eu-Eh9Jvq9wsLa74hNjrJYKLghz2QiCAzJuHGGokdIAzTGp_apa0W9PiWq3Esxj8qbTbpkHTof_FLyLbL8YJZjyJ5bhNtggQX_ddW2AI04_DaSbo-62Nivgaxyzr95Fwnwr-U_7nOQdFi4k4JAWuhsrGiEJrYUJ9yU" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="393" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA9mNQN0lz0S5kTqe_WtZ-Uitx8eu-Eh9Jvq9wsLa74hNjrJYKLghz2QiCAzJuHGGokdIAzTGp_apa0W9PiWq3Esxj8qbTbpkHTof_FLyLbL8YJZjyJ5bhNtggQX_ddW2AI04_DaSbo-62Nivgaxyzr95Fwnwr-U_7nOQdFi4k4JAWuhsrGiEJrYUJ9yU" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Yesterday, the </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Gulf Coast breezes halted, Tampa bridge traffic ceased to flow, and the pasty snowbirds of spring break momentarily stopped slathering, as time suspended itself across the Yankiverse.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Tonight, by sunset, the 2024 Yankee season could be effectively neutered, though the promotional home fires of YES will surely continue to flare with hope. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">By tomorrow, all the happy "maybes" that the Yankees collected this winter - <i>maybe</i> Rodon would come back, <i>maybe</i> Giancarlo would hit - will be replaced by a tall, dark Stygian shadow. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Gerrit Cole is having his elbow scanned. If the high resolution imagery shows a tear, an inflammation, a strain - anything - Cole will miss weeks, <i>maybe </i>months - <i>maybe</i> even a year, and <i>maybe</i>, at 33 - well, fukkit, <i>maybe </i>he's never the same. The Yankees say they're just being cautious. They regularly lie about such things. On the matter of injuries, they exhale pure drivel. There is no way to downplay a trip to NYC by their ace in the middle of March. This is bad. This is really bad.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Without Cole, the Yankees would instantly tumble from divisional contender to wild card hopeful - and maybe even to a trade deadline selloff in advance of the 2025 Tankathon. <i>(Was it coincidence that yesterday, they unveiled SS Roderick Arias, who is two years away?)</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilvguxP2OxafH4iWRh8mWK4OsxteXW3rCzyVbiNHQlZZmR_ePxTKDmb7MmUOe4qjicvNZykASjPJ22Gciy2KyE5Wfr-WSUXQLUg1o1xdNzvwsSgWTV9igAKyBl0f_A6fyZ7KSZB7FHhHcNAo3qfWvPHK8yM_66zbzF0S4RSzYxgYvw9BbV4n-t3h2gg2k" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="396" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilvguxP2OxafH4iWRh8mWK4OsxteXW3rCzyVbiNHQlZZmR_ePxTKDmb7MmUOe4qjicvNZykASjPJ22Gciy2KyE5Wfr-WSUXQLUg1o1xdNzvwsSgWTV9igAKyBl0f_A6fyZ7KSZB7FHhHcNAo3qfWvPHK8yM_66zbzF0S4RSzYxgYvw9BbV4n-t3h2gg2k" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Without Cole, the team must find a way to fill 200 starter innings, and their main lug nut, for now, would be 30-year-old journeyman Luke Weaver. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Damn. This is a potentially catastrophic loss, the kind that could kill multiple seasons. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Yesterday, as if Fate were providing a tease, </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">three semi-young RH pitchers emerged in split-squad outings. For now, this may be what constitutes hope.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Will Warren, 24, streaked through Double A Somerset last year - a 2.45 ERA over 6 starts - then got banged up in Scranton (19 starts, ERA of 3.61.) He's been on the radar for two years, after soaring through Single A in 2022. Yesterday, Warren went three innings, gave up a run, walked three. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Clayton Beeter, 25, came over in the 2022 Joey Gallo trade dump, signifying an end to the worst trade of Brian Cashman's storied career. Last year, Beeter threw well at Somerset (2.25 ERA), then got spanked in Triple A (4.94.) Yesterday, he went 4 scoreless innings, probably moving to the front of the conga line.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Luis Gil, 25, obtained in a trade for Jake Cage (who is still around), streaked through the system in 2018-19, looked like a keeper, then cemented his status as the Second Coming of Luis Severino by having Tommy John surgery in 2022. Last year was basically his rehab. Yesterday, he went three and two thirds, no runs, and struck out eight. Not bad. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Three nice outings. Together, they might replace Jhony Brito and Randy Velasquez. Nobody will replace Cole. Hold your breath, everybody. This could hurt. </span></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-86855355022098108352024-03-11T14:33:00.003-04:002024-03-11T14:33:27.212-04:00Gerrit Cole to have an MRI? <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgb8nb6CmChvMouYFzStNhlyoztmUk5KALH9oAWWS51FHWy9fph2Tb5ReozhU5eCVpbi6DRgs6h-hYgFv5e78aCowKew_9sXYqktoToZblyZaIliR2WEybDyaizMDz0oeMK1mpUK_V2xCJq3Tmpq4klgx1MllMU7PEYzFS5BZwHiWcdKy_R6EXpalzKNPQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="822" height="483" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgb8nb6CmChvMouYFzStNhlyoztmUk5KALH9oAWWS51FHWy9fph2Tb5ReozhU5eCVpbi6DRgs6h-hYgFv5e78aCowKew_9sXYqktoToZblyZaIliR2WEybDyaizMDz0oeMK1mpUK_V2xCJq3Tmpq4klgx1MllMU7PEYzFS5BZwHiWcdKy_R6EXpalzKNPQ=w640-h483" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-2650444997515334682024-03-11T12:12:00.005-04:002024-03-11T14:30:30.889-04:00Kevin Baker's great book on New York baseball is getting rave reviews! <p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxIq1dFhxeJFDtFTGc7s6Up4Ik5cciu7ojac81Jfcx9dskJ48_-cs_2MtJGQ429NCvIdXBNt4BFGvu0QzUroVANFcOMIaXYeB8IWyie-VTRR91mGgPUUym5GEqyaBpfkfm9sEbvLfPrWNyyQx0HUglHR00U_Jfpw486hZ0hzdJyofWgz10He9h1RQxn0/s466/untitled.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="307" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxIq1dFhxeJFDtFTGc7s6Up4Ik5cciu7ojac81Jfcx9dskJ48_-cs_2MtJGQ429NCvIdXBNt4BFGvu0QzUroVANFcOMIaXYeB8IWyie-VTRR91mGgPUUym5GEqyaBpfkfm9sEbvLfPrWNyyQx0HUglHR00U_Jfpw486hZ0hzdJyofWgz10He9h1RQxn0/s320/untitled.jpg" width="211" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">We know him as the great HoraceClarke66. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">The world knows him as Harper's contributing editor, keeper of history and writer of books, the great Kevin Baker. <br /></span><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br />His new book is THE NEW YORK GAME: BASEBALL AND THE RISE OF A NEW CITY, published by Knopf. </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"> It's just out. It's great. </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Order it </span><a href=" https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/7503/the-new-york-game-by-kevin-baker/" style="font-family: Merriweather;">HERE.</a></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Wait a minute. I'm just a lackey, right? Why would you take my word for anything? Remember: I was wrong about Jesus Montero; (I thought he'd be the next big thing.) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">So, dismissing whatever I think, check out just a few reviews...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">"... [a] <span style="background-color: white; color: #474646;">massively impressive book by a talented author who is clearly in love with his subject..."</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"> Kirkus Reviews.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">"... A baseball dream come true..." </span><a href="https://www.upbeacon.com/article/2016/03/a-baseball-dream-come-true-kevin-bakers-journey-from-student-to-starter/" style="font-family: Merriweather;" target="_blank">The Beacon.</a></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">"... Shows how much New York and baseball need each other..." <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-05/a-new-book-shows-how-much-new-york-and-baseball-need-each-other?embedded-checkout=true">Bloomberg</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"> <span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/book-excerpt-kevin-baker-the-new-york-game-baseball.html" target="_blank">Here's the excerpt in New York Magazine. </a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><span style="background-color: white;">Here's the excerpt in <a href="https://www.insidehook.com/sports/baseball-ballparks-old-new-york-excerpt">InsideHook. </a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">I could run more reviews, but I'm insanely jealous. In the meantime, for God's sake, buy this book! </span></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-80325153354828228702024-03-11T08:22:00.004-04:002024-03-11T08:22:35.415-04:00Do the Yankees dare mention their greatest victory this spring? <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgH-qWgGvenNpVydojsWV683ogzq4kyFXXTGDY5oyx2j2hhpR9B5cot5x2gjMZ9q87qgEez3iCC4bRfAzXzHHwIeEuuRI_CHXlwtMBwwDkJ8PwFeAMUtbk33MFx87mYd4dEyt8Crn4jp32aOvEJfqOVG0ePCj5xCILAPHlxN4KDrgcT2sQg1DVT8jxDQ48" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="329" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgH-qWgGvenNpVydojsWV683ogzq4kyFXXTGDY5oyx2j2hhpR9B5cot5x2gjMZ9q87qgEez3iCC4bRfAzXzHHwIeEuuRI_CHXlwtMBwwDkJ8PwFeAMUtbk33MFx87mYd4dEyt8Crn4jp32aOvEJfqOVG0ePCj5xCILAPHlxN4KDrgcT2sQg1DVT8jxDQ48=w397-h640" width="397" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Yesterday, the Yankees showcased their prototype victory strategy for 2024. It goes this way:</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Play all your best hitters <i>(in this case, except for Anthony Volpe).</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Have Juan Soto hit another HR.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Score nine runs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Bang out 17 hits.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Use six pitchers.<br /><br />Hold on for dear life.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">On the hitting side, almost everything worked, even Oswaldo Cabrera, who went 3-3, lifting his spring average to .154. <i>(Not to mention Jose Trevino, who homered in his first at-bats of the spring, and even Giancarlo, with two hits.)</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Opening Day is two and a half weeks away. Right now, the main unresolved issues involve the final bullpen mop-up arms and the roster's 26th man, the utility lug nut. Overall, the Yankees are sitting cozy and warm. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">And, gulp, do we dare mention why?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><i>Editors Note: Before continuing, consider this disclaimer. The following contains implied reverse juju that some readers may consider objectionable, if not completely asinine. Nor does it necessarily project the views and opinions of this website. It should not be read aloud in the presence of children. Nor should it be printed out from its normal ether form.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><i>Okay, I assume you're reading, disregarding your better instincts? </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><i>I'm serious: Maybe you should turn back. You won't like what's coming. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><i>Okay, here goes... </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">The Yankees have not suffered any major injuries this spring.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Aside from Oswald Peraza - a tough loss, especially for Peraza - everybody appears to be healthy. The worst, apparently Tommy Kahnle, might not even keep him from missing opening day. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Basically, we can dismiss the losing record. Not one our starting players is hurt.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><i>There. I've said it. God help us.</i></span></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-4573397853088713682024-03-10T08:28:00.005-04:002024-03-10T08:28:38.575-04:00It's a good thing that these games don't count, because the Yankees just keep losing<div class="separator"><p style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1ZNafUCsWdUz3GhI4Rk6rL-FK-rVOkkiKOUcZh6LT_CQMlTp-IbUXkF3gfl8Qmgy8K2ldE6svXGzQyJZS6GrKhAoODaKTR6AlWsqfiCFFs0bN0UITdNBR78fmMumM7g83jNIEIPiLfC5Z9pu5PLqr5XupYwJ-EzY6FNLOLznqdbscmlY52HNfocSTpHk" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="285" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1ZNafUCsWdUz3GhI4Rk6rL-FK-rVOkkiKOUcZh6LT_CQMlTp-IbUXkF3gfl8Qmgy8K2ldE6svXGzQyJZS6GrKhAoODaKTR6AlWsqfiCFFs0bN0UITdNBR78fmMumM7g83jNIEIPiLfC5Z9pu5PLqr5XupYwJ-EzY6FNLOLznqdbscmlY52HNfocSTpHk=w325-h640" width="325" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><div style="text-align: left;">The best way to tell the story of yesterday's masterful loss is through the indigenous Yankee oral tradition. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The defeat actually began many moons ago, when runway model Nestor Cortes discovered a bold new fashion statement: the denim baseball cleats. This stitch of artistry should someday go into the Hall of Fame next to Bill Veeck's dwarf's jersey and Bud Selig's promotional base logos for Spider-Man 2.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Sashaying with the shoes, Nestor unleashed his inner Kardashian. One problem, though: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They seemed to flap on his feet. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Thus, the experiment was canceled.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In the game, Nestor shone even less brightly - nine hits and six runs - though it must be noted that the long, wind-aided triple that ended Nestor's day, should have been caught. His numbers wouldn't look so bad.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That Nestor's ERA now stands at 8.10 remains one of the vagaries of March baseball, especially when your rotation looks thinner than your starter.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Look, I'm not going to mention Blake Snell and/or Jordan Montgomery, though I feel compelled to note that Montgomery deserves better than having the Yankees - the team that forsook him - now joining a league-wide collusion. Does anyone <i>not </i>think he would help this team? Will the Yankees only wake up when one of our starters clutches his elbow and walks off the field, as if his shoes are flapping? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">The Yankees are now 5-9 on this spring. They have lost five in a row. They find new and creative ways to lose. Only the Rays, Guardians, White Sox and Mariners have worse records. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><img alt="" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="391" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaJ2nCxuNT_2i84spGprjQT8vzNbfenL1rlnDhx4vWO2B-RJFMmY5vqiHQ169Sn3UnL-joS-htkh4bHvl8nohRHMP40dhGDAI8IQi8Nk7HDKaOoK7pijaydr-xSOKChVLQAfKudKWTnLMRjhb6GM6GDRBSL-CBtOA86ynElLc3Mf8wKf8ylvovlFj77F0" width="320" /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">If any of this mattered, they would be already eliminated from the spring training race. Fortunately, in the words of Freddie Mercury, <i>nothing really matters, nothing really matters... to me...</i></span></div></div><p></p></div>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-48921452867889965972024-03-09T11:21:00.003-05:002024-03-09T11:22:55.506-05:00Top Free Agent Signings<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Joel Sherman wrote an article today on his top ten free agent signings going all the way back to Catfish Hunter. He points out that we tend to focus on the really, really, bad ones (cough) Rodon, (hack) Pavano, (hock then spit) Ellsbury, (low rumble then sudden expulsion of...) Igawa. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I'd better stop before I end up in a ward. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLFhxLSen3Bahrj1KNnq1u_Jlm7I270KSTQKJmWz3zxzZwzFxgtTNygcsCo8chyozywqYovGwR5mHTDSatHqQvzvaROkquui-lynFcqJUUCNYvy1AAc5UNDWdfNMVriNULzPTALJ5kGlJg9OdSswVXggSdkRPYqgfEZ6PbabV8W7vKcTcUAJ1OqazOr6IG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="800" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLFhxLSen3Bahrj1KNnq1u_Jlm7I270KSTQKJmWz3zxzZwzFxgtTNygcsCo8chyozywqYovGwR5mHTDSatHqQvzvaROkquui-lynFcqJUUCNYvy1AAc5UNDWdfNMVriNULzPTALJ5kGlJg9OdSswVXggSdkRPYqgfEZ6PbabV8W7vKcTcUAJ1OqazOr6IG=w141-h197" width="141" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It is an interesting list. Congrats to El Duque for being number two. </span></p><p><a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/09/sports/ranking-yankees-best-free-agent-signings-to-date/"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://nypost.com/2024/03/09/sports/ranking-yankees-best-free-agent-signings-to-date/</span></a></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In case you don't want to click:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">1) Reggie</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">2) El Duque</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">3) CC Sabathia </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">4) Gossage</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">5) Winfield </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">6) Hunter </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">7) Cole (Hunter Cole is a great name BTW) </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">8) Matsui</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">9) Wells </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">10) Key</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Mine is a little different but Reggie as Number One seems like a lock. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I move Matsui and Hunter up. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I dump CC to 10th. He makes the list because of the one title and three great years but the next six were pretty bad and not answering the bell when they needed him most (regardless of the validity of the reason - self inflicted) makes him far less in my book. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Anyway... have at it.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Doug K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/18127860664631924576noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-28222666188228605562024-03-09T07:20:00.001-05:002024-03-09T07:20:33.983-05:00On an otherwise dead day at the plate, one positive sign encourages the Yankees<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQq-6FWPc4JHOdS_A0Z6CsOLLDc7n9Hr0ulGpgPzz4FDJQG5DbC-vsGAmsmGD6WLi_eOHGf2G1npl0u5rGS09tgX46Y04eP6stVIXwyvWxPLEL9fQSN0S0TfoBngjHTn40N79-dxNTmYC2xXXWzD5gmCJG2eCGKg97iT1yVganp4EE5WeZKsOFrvEJ-Vw" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><img alt="" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="344" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQq-6FWPc4JHOdS_A0Z6CsOLLDc7n9Hr0ulGpgPzz4FDJQG5DbC-vsGAmsmGD6WLi_eOHGf2G1npl0u5rGS09tgX46Y04eP6stVIXwyvWxPLEL9fQSN0S0TfoBngjHTn40N79-dxNTmYC2xXXWzD5gmCJG2eCGKg97iT1yVganp4EE5WeZKsOFrvEJ-Vw=w413-h640" width="413" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Thankfully, DJ LeMahieu started hitting yesterday.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Not that it matters. It doesn't. Not a whit. Not a molecule. Not a moment. Not nothing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">But it looks good in the box, right? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">In the 1st inning, LeMahieu stroked a single to RF on an 89-mph sinker. He was quickly cut down on a DP grounder by Juan Soto.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">In the 3rd, he lashed an 84-mph changeup into the RF corner, a stand-up double, driving in what would be the only Yankee run of the game. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">In the 6th, he walked on four pitches. FWIW: Soto and Judge fanned, Rizzo popped out, and DJ's day was done.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">Altogether, the Yankee Zone of Totality - Soto, Judge, Rizzo, Torres and Verdugo - went 1-14 with four Ks. </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">A sad, throwback day, not that it matters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">As you know, I am making a concerted effort this spring to celebrate and applaud the new, Viagra-enhanced Yank batting order. Yesterday? Well, the magic didn't pop. The Yankees played their first team, they showcased it live on YES, they gushed about themselves - and then went dead in the tub, cold to the touch - like every meatless Yank lineup of the last five seasons. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">That said, DJ lifted his spring average by about 100 points, hitting to the opposite field and seemingly setting the table for the swinging dipsticks. He did his job. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">With Oswald Peraza looking like a lost cause - not hitting and a bad shoulder - LeMahieu apparently will go north with sole possession of 3B. The Yankee infield looks set, the lone remaining question being, who will be utility man? Don't be surprised if Cashman doesn't snag someone off the waiver wires. I get the feeling Oswaldo Cabrera is destined for Scranton. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">The Yankees are 5-8 on the spring, not that it matters. </span></p>el duquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263977201552650862noreply@blogger.com4