Do the Yankee infielders practice double plays?

I can cut (fraudulent) Gold Glover Volpe some slack for botching the GIDP ... but is anyone going to take action when we're putting the worst-fielding second baseman in the league out there every night?

"Just bobbled it" Girardi says.

"Torres said that his first instinct was to try to look Naylor back to third, which contributed to the bobble.

'I missed it for a couple seconds, and when I got the ball, it was too late,' Torres said."

Quite the history of clutch defense, am I right? 

Instinct is not an actual thing. Practice is a thing. When people seem to have a "natural" ability, it's because they practice a lot. When people seem to have instinctual abilities to make the correct decision, it's because they have the poise which is a result of preparation. A lot of preparation.

Gleyber was a bad-fielding shortstop. He hit 38 home runs one season, so it was a worthwhile tradeoff. When he moved to second base, the idea was that he would be more comfortable in the field (I see no evidence of this) and also more comfortable at the plate (I see no evidence of this).

The errors he makes aren't just physical errors. He throws the ball wildly on double plays because he's rushing when he doesn't have to rush. On this game-changing play where he was trying to look Naylor back to third base prior to fielding the ball, a good professional ballplayer would have cut his losses and gotten the out at first base.

I'm serious.

The Yankees might still win this game if Gleyber just allows the run to score and gets the sure out at first base. It's a tough pill to swallow, allowing the tying run to score. Then you'd have to play an eleventh inning. We want to win right now. But playing an eleventh inning is better than losing in ten.

 

Also, my man has zero home runs this season.

Hitting home runs is the only thing he's good for.

So what's his function on this team?

Defending DJ LeMahieu seems like an odd thing to do, doesn't it?

Oswaldo has obviously been fantastic and fun in the first two weeks of 2024. It is encouraging that he may be a keeper.

But Yankee fans are worried if there's a spot for DJ LeMahieu?

I know!

How about second base?

Maybe put a player out there who can turn a double play once in a while.

It's crazy to constantly hear all the wishcast theories about why Gleyber is going to get his act together. He's moving to second base instead of shortstop. It's a contract year. Proximity to Juan Soto. Inspiration from his teammates at the World Baseball Classic. A new approach to hit the ball to the opposite field rather than endless warning track fly balls.

It isn't happening.

He isn't very good.

2019 was a mirage.

DJ LeMahieu is better.

Lots of players are better.

Mike Lupica is behind a firewall nowadays.

So I can't (won't pay money) to read this article.

But I know it's the same article he has written for 40 years.

Mookie Wilson, Mookie Wilson, Mookie Wilson.

The Mets run the city (how is that working out, by the way?), Alex Rodriguez is a steroid fraud but Robinson Cano is a great guy, Jason Giambi is a steroid fraud but Josh Hamilton's home run derby at Yankee Stadium was a greater moment than Lou Gehrig's speech, and the Yankees' GM is a perennial stupid dum dum head.

 

There's not much to add about Gooden at this point.

The Mets' ownership disowned him for a long time because he was a drug addict.

Uniform numbers mean something to players and fans, and the Mets gave #16 to some real slobs in the post-Gooden era.

I'm happy for him to get his number retired. He deserves it.

Which reminds me: The Yankees should do the same for Winfield, so this doesn't happen. Look at the record, simple as that.

 

Against the slumping Marlins.

"On Tuesday against the Marlins, in his first home start of the season, the 31-year-old hurler showed the Yankees what they paid for. For six innings, Rodón breezed through Miami’s overmatched lineup, punching out six without allowing an earned run. He commanded his trademark, high-spin heater to the arm-side part of the plate, back-footed the slider to right-handed hitters, mixed in his changeup to tally whiffs and induced early-count weak contact with his new cutter."

Against the slumping Marlins.

 

"But perhaps more important than the final line was how Rodón looked atop the hill: loose, easy, free. A year ago, pitching looked like a laborious chore. He rarely appeared comfortable in his new surroundings, the pitching version of trying to sleep on a bad hotel mattress. His starts were a struggle to endure, not an opportunity to shine.

It’s early days, but that dynamic feels different now. On Tuesday, Rodón was floating, flowing. Granted, not every start will be this easy — the worst-record-in-baseball 2024 Marlins are a pitcher’s best friend — but six scoreless is far better than eight runs and no outs."

I agree.

It is better than eight runs with no outs.

I also think his body language might slip the next time he gets slammed.

Not "dope."

The Mets taught him how to stop tipping his pitches.

Severino's first inning ERA last year was an impossibly bad 11.50.

So far in 2024, his first inning ERA is 27.00.

Reactions to one game.

I agree that Stanton is shot.

I don't agree that Holmes needs to be replaced as the closer.

Not against the Yankees. Against the "Yankees."

I disagree with the take in general, but I also don't have confidence that Bauer would be a particularly successful major league pitcher in 2024. I could be wrong about that.

What I know for sure is that three shutout innings in a split squad Spring Training game is not a big deal.

Most observers have "big concerns" about the Yankee rotation. Yet Rodon threw half a no-hitter last week and Schmidt blew away the Mets yesterday.

Why would the Mets even need to sign Bauer when they already have Sean Manaea?

I never considered myself a pessimist ...

... but the bar for "good news" is quite low when "avoiding Tommy John surgery" is considered good news.

Save him for October.

The conundrum is that the Yankees may not even make the wild card without him. It's a conundrum, I tell you. Such a conundrum.

I don't usually pay attention to Spring Training games ...

... but Rodon has not earned the benefit of the doubt.

Please don't call him "Doogy."

The more I hear about Stroman's optimism ...

 ... the more I'm convinced he's going to be a bust.

I like Girardi well enough.

I think he got a raw deal when he was dismissed. I also think he was largely proven correct. In the sense that Boone's supposed ability to manage the young players was proven incorrect. Notable exception, of course, being Judge.

I think the Mets will have one of the worst bullpens.

That's all I've got for you.

Never heard of him.