I'm not even saying a closer is particularly difficult to replace. The Yankees never missed a beat with Rafael Soriano, David Robertson, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman.
What I dispute is the notion that this fixes everything and Yankee players should start measuring their ring fingers.
"Closer to their next title" doesn't really say much, does it? If you climb a step ladder, you're closer to the sun.
Every team in baseball and every fan in every sport would tank the 2016 season for a Championship in 2018.
We don't know yet, but the Yankees might have tanked 2016 for 77 wins in 2018 ... and these future all stars may put too much of a strain on their starters and setup men.
The psychological relief Yankee fans feel (and, universally, all Yankee columnists) is the acknowledgement that they were right about this team. But Cashman isn't stupid. Only the PR people were hyping this team. Cashman knew the whole time this team is mediocre.
As for the horror of rooting for a mediocre team with an outside chance of making the wild card, I'd advise Yankee fans to get used to it.
The damage has already been done ... look at your team's starting lineup .... and there's no easy way out ... nor should there be.
Refsnyder is my man, but he's hitting .250 with 0 HRs. I'll gladly wait through the growing pains, but it shouldn't be a shock if the Yankees just acquired 8 players who never grow into anything at all.
Sunday, July 31, 2016
No Run BC
I suppose the Yankees got more for Chapman than I anticipated and less for Miller. I heard one commentator compare AA star Frazier to Mike Trout. So you'll forgive my skepticism. If Frazier's as good as the best player in baseball, then, yeah, it's a good trade regardless of the Yankees' record and regardless of who the Yankees traded.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Yankees got more than I thought they would ...
... and they may re-sign Chapman after this season.
Still, it sure seems like a lot of paperwork to move minor leaguers around and get Adam Warren back.
Still, it sure seems like a lot of paperwork to move minor leaguers around and get Adam Warren back.
Saturday, July 23, 2016
No, it is not complicated.
Moral Crusader in Chief Mike Lupica finally takes down Mike Piazza:
"Has it gotten complicated since he retired, because of the rumors and whispers about steroids? Sure it has. You know it has. It is an inescapable sign of the times in baseball, in Piazza's time, and surely is why it took him as long to make it to Cooperstown as it did. Piazza was being asked about baseball drugs as recently as a conference call just the other day. In the end, those rumors and those whispers couldn't keep him out of the Hall of Fame the way baseball pitchers certainly could not."
I think Piazza's 427 career HRs were the most career HRs by any 62nd round draft pick. I also think he set the record by 427.
If you care about PEDs, then his career is a fraud.
If you don't care about PEDs, then put ARod and Bonds in the HOF.
The rhetorical cover you provide for yourself is pathetic.
"Has it gotten complicated since he retired, because of the rumors and whispers about steroids? Sure it has. You know it has. It is an inescapable sign of the times in baseball, in Piazza's time, and surely is why it took him as long to make it to Cooperstown as it did. Piazza was being asked about baseball drugs as recently as a conference call just the other day. In the end, those rumors and those whispers couldn't keep him out of the Hall of Fame the way baseball pitchers certainly could not."
I think Piazza's 427 career HRs were the most career HRs by any 62nd round draft pick. I also think he set the record by 427.
If you care about PEDs, then his career is a fraud.
If you don't care about PEDs, then put ARod and Bonds in the HOF.
The rhetorical cover you provide for yourself is pathetic.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Don't get optimistic, no matter what you do.
"If you’re looking for a reason to believe in the Yankees, the past three
days have been a good start. But let’s all take a deep breath. It
doesn’t mean anything. At least not yet."
Don't get all existential on us.
"If they can build on it with two more wins over the Orioles, I’ll start to consider the Yankees to be true contenders. If not, then not much has changed."
The next two games are very monumental in Yankee history.
They will determine whether or not Anthony McCarron will start to consider the Yankees to be true contenders.
If that doesn't motivate the whole team, nothing else will.
"So while there are plenty of encouraging signs from the past couple days, how many times are we going to fall for the same trick? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Who gets shamed when it happens three, four or five times?"
I think your entire way of experiencing life is different than mine.
Try living in the present more often.
"If the Yankees only manage a split of the next two games, they’ll still be 6½ games out of first and have a deficit close to that large in the wild card race. Anything short of a sweep should leave the Yankees as eventual sellers. That’s what happens when you’re a .500 team after almost 100 games."
I just don't think that's true.
The Yankees are one nice winning streak away from legitimately contending for a wild card.
Don't get all existential on us.
"If they can build on it with two more wins over the Orioles, I’ll start to consider the Yankees to be true contenders. If not, then not much has changed."
The next two games are very monumental in Yankee history.
They will determine whether or not Anthony McCarron will start to consider the Yankees to be true contenders.
If that doesn't motivate the whole team, nothing else will.
"So while there are plenty of encouraging signs from the past couple days, how many times are we going to fall for the same trick? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Who gets shamed when it happens three, four or five times?"
I think your entire way of experiencing life is different than mine.
Try living in the present more often.
"If the Yankees only manage a split of the next two games, they’ll still be 6½ games out of first and have a deficit close to that large in the wild card race. Anything short of a sweep should leave the Yankees as eventual sellers. That’s what happens when you’re a .500 team after almost 100 games."
I just don't think that's true.
The Yankees are one nice winning streak away from legitimately contending for a wild card.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
I must be crazy. I enjoy following baseball.
"Suzyn (Ma Pinstripe) Waldman waited until the seventh inning Saturday, as the Yankees were going down to Boston, to inquire.
'Wonder how many questions will go by before someone asks Joe Girardi if it’s time to sell?' She asked her radio partner John (Pa Pinstripe) Sterling.
'Suzyn, you’ve got to admit if it keeps going like this (for the Yankees), it’s going to be time to sell,' Pa said.
Say what?
It’s telling these two voices, known for their optimism and sunnyside stylings, appear to be resigned to Yankees brass ultimately pulling the plug on the season. The ramifications of the Yankees becoming sellers have been over-dissected and re-regurgitated."
So Al Yanzeera agents Ma and Pa Pinstripe might not be as unbiased as you think.
"Will newspapers and websites still invest what it takes to cover every alleged game? Outside of providing scores, do Valley of the Stupid Gasbags bother talking Yankees? Face it, those Bombers ticket giveaways on FAN will take on new meaning. How many 'loyalists' will actually want free tickets to exhibition tilts disguised as real games?"
Does the New York Daily News current invest resources to cover the Mets and the Yankees? That's news to me. I'm on your website right now and I don't see it.
"If Hal Steinbrenner throws in the towel, the Mets voices won’t be the only ones enjoying the Bombers’ irrelevance. Much harder to predict is how Ma and Pa will handle it. Accustomed to — at least — contending from wire to wire, this will be uncharted territory for them. And while they may have visions of white flags on the horizon, their retreat has not started."
The Yankees are not that bad. Sorry, but it's true. The reason people will still pay attention is because they are baseball fans. The media who can't do their jobs should find another job. The animus predicted by Raissman is standard for the Daily News and Raissman.
'Wonder how many questions will go by before someone asks Joe Girardi if it’s time to sell?' She asked her radio partner John (Pa Pinstripe) Sterling.
'Suzyn, you’ve got to admit if it keeps going like this (for the Yankees), it’s going to be time to sell,' Pa said.
Say what?
It’s telling these two voices, known for their optimism and sunnyside stylings, appear to be resigned to Yankees brass ultimately pulling the plug on the season. The ramifications of the Yankees becoming sellers have been over-dissected and re-regurgitated."
So Al Yanzeera agents Ma and Pa Pinstripe might not be as unbiased as you think.
"Will newspapers and websites still invest what it takes to cover every alleged game? Outside of providing scores, do Valley of the Stupid Gasbags bother talking Yankees? Face it, those Bombers ticket giveaways on FAN will take on new meaning. How many 'loyalists' will actually want free tickets to exhibition tilts disguised as real games?"
Does the New York Daily News current invest resources to cover the Mets and the Yankees? That's news to me. I'm on your website right now and I don't see it.
"If Hal Steinbrenner throws in the towel, the Mets voices won’t be the only ones enjoying the Bombers’ irrelevance. Much harder to predict is how Ma and Pa will handle it. Accustomed to — at least — contending from wire to wire, this will be uncharted territory for them. And while they may have visions of white flags on the horizon, their retreat has not started."
The Yankees are not that bad. Sorry, but it's true. The reason people will still pay attention is because they are baseball fans. The media who can't do their jobs should find another job. The animus predicted by Raissman is standard for the Daily News and Raissman.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
ARod is selfish.
For the 1,000th article in a row, Lupica attacks ARod:
"Alex Rodriguez doesn’t care about what’s best for the Yankees.
He just cares about getting to 700 home runs, then maybe even getting to 715 and passing Babe Ruth.
And, of course, getting paid.
Now he’s going to be a first baseman.
Right.
Then an astronaut."
1) ARod is a dead horse. Beating him relentlessly is not just bad form, it's redundant and boring.
2) Did you see the nice scoop by Foul Territory on Headley's throw in yesterday's game? The sweet RISP GIDP? When you fixate on one problem (ARod) at the exclusion of all others (the first baseman who is the worst player in baseball), you present an invalid picture of the state of the Yankees.
In other words, you're not doing your job.
3) So who cares, anyway? It's just a baseball player, right?
He's overpaid, he's a cheater, he's ... he's selfish ... he's the pro athlete who's selfish ... I was googling that over and over the past few days trying to figure it out.
Lupica is not a sports columnist, he's a gossip columnist. He uses his newspaper articles to dole out rewards and punishments. Big Papi tested positive, but we love Big Papi. The Mets who cheat or beat their wives get a rudimentary finger-wagging, but Lupica's heart is not in it. Not compared to the Evil ARod who has the audacity to take ground balls at first base in an attempt to get more playing time so he can catch Babe Ruth's HR total.
It's stupid, it's bad journalism, it presents a skewed view of the NY sports world.
Here is where the hypocrisy gets downright offensive:
"And by the way? After Goodell thought he had the right to ask for Brady’s cell phone, at least in America, Brady should have done just one thing differently before stomping it flat: He should have told Goodell to take it and shove it."
I agree totally.
The NFL has no subpoena authority.
But neither does MLB.
If a cell phone is private information which is protected by the Constitution ... then surely the blood coursing through one's body is also protected by the Constitution.
Lupica doesn't care about the Fourth Amendment when it comes to baseball players.
Specifically, baseball players who took steroids.
More specifically, baseball players who took steroids and hit lots of HRs.
More specifically than that, baseball players who took steroids and hit lots of HRs and whom Lupica simply doesn't like.
God Bless America.
There is a victim. The victim is Lupica's credibility ... and what is a man without credibility?
"Alex Rodriguez doesn’t care about what’s best for the Yankees.
He just cares about getting to 700 home runs, then maybe even getting to 715 and passing Babe Ruth.
And, of course, getting paid.
Now he’s going to be a first baseman.
Right.
Then an astronaut."
1) ARod is a dead horse. Beating him relentlessly is not just bad form, it's redundant and boring.
2) Did you see the nice scoop by Foul Territory on Headley's throw in yesterday's game? The sweet RISP GIDP? When you fixate on one problem (ARod) at the exclusion of all others (the first baseman who is the worst player in baseball), you present an invalid picture of the state of the Yankees.
In other words, you're not doing your job.
3) So who cares, anyway? It's just a baseball player, right?
He's overpaid, he's a cheater, he's ... he's selfish ... he's the pro athlete who's selfish ... I was googling that over and over the past few days trying to figure it out.
Lupica is not a sports columnist, he's a gossip columnist. He uses his newspaper articles to dole out rewards and punishments. Big Papi tested positive, but we love Big Papi. The Mets who cheat or beat their wives get a rudimentary finger-wagging, but Lupica's heart is not in it. Not compared to the Evil ARod who has the audacity to take ground balls at first base in an attempt to get more playing time so he can catch Babe Ruth's HR total.
It's stupid, it's bad journalism, it presents a skewed view of the NY sports world.
Here is where the hypocrisy gets downright offensive:
"And by the way? After Goodell thought he had the right to ask for Brady’s cell phone, at least in America, Brady should have done just one thing differently before stomping it flat: He should have told Goodell to take it and shove it."
I agree totally.
The NFL has no subpoena authority.
But neither does MLB.
If a cell phone is private information which is protected by the Constitution ... then surely the blood coursing through one's body is also protected by the Constitution.
Lupica doesn't care about the Fourth Amendment when it comes to baseball players.
Specifically, baseball players who took steroids.
More specifically, baseball players who took steroids and hit lots of HRs.
More specifically than that, baseball players who took steroids and hit lots of HRs and whom Lupica simply doesn't like.
God Bless America.
There is a victim. The victim is Lupica's credibility ... and what is a man without credibility?
Friday, July 15, 2016
I guess I will be the contrarian again.
Let's say the Yankees win their next ten games in a row.
Let's say the Yankees can trade Carlos Beltran for a future superstar.
What do you do?
You trade Beltran:
"The stakes are simple this week as the Yankees open the second half at home against the Red Sox, Orioles and Giants.
Get back in the race or get taken apart."
They'll never get in the race, they'll never be out of the race. That's the modern-day Selig horror show.
"The deficits are hardly insurmountable. After all, the Yankees themselves held a seven-game lead in the division on July 28 last season before watching the Blue Jays storm back to win the AL East by six games.
But for a team that hasn’t been able to gain any traction through the first 88 games, they’ll have to play much better to put a scare into any of the three teams ahead of them in the division."
I am not optimistic, but I think this assessment is somewhat inaccurate.
With Chapman, they've played around .550 ball for 2 months. Keep it up and it's 83 - 84 wins. Not enough for a wild card, but not too far off. So it's keep it up and go on one nice streak.
The most likely outcome?
They tread water for the rest of the season and trade a couple of veterans for useless draft picks.
But the long-term strategy should not waver based on the outcome of the next ten games. In the unlikely event you can get significant value for some of these guys, go for it. In the likely event that you can't get significant value, your only way out is to build a time machine, travel back in time, and then refuse to sign them.
Let's say the Yankees can trade Carlos Beltran for a future superstar.
What do you do?
You trade Beltran:
"The stakes are simple this week as the Yankees open the second half at home against the Red Sox, Orioles and Giants.
Get back in the race or get taken apart."
They'll never get in the race, they'll never be out of the race. That's the modern-day Selig horror show.
"The deficits are hardly insurmountable. After all, the Yankees themselves held a seven-game lead in the division on July 28 last season before watching the Blue Jays storm back to win the AL East by six games.
But for a team that hasn’t been able to gain any traction through the first 88 games, they’ll have to play much better to put a scare into any of the three teams ahead of them in the division."
I am not optimistic, but I think this assessment is somewhat inaccurate.
With Chapman, they've played around .550 ball for 2 months. Keep it up and it's 83 - 84 wins. Not enough for a wild card, but not too far off. So it's keep it up and go on one nice streak.
The most likely outcome?
They tread water for the rest of the season and trade a couple of veterans for useless draft picks.
But the long-term strategy should not waver based on the outcome of the next ten games. In the unlikely event you can get significant value for some of these guys, go for it. In the likely event that you can't get significant value, your only way out is to build a time machine, travel back in time, and then refuse to sign them.
Monday, July 11, 2016
The White Sox are buyers and that is not ridiculous.
The White Sox are one game ahead of the Yankees in the standings:
"On July 11, Carlos Beltran is the Yankees MVP. By August 1, the 39-year-old could be wearing a different uniform."
I don't think any intelligent observer believes Beltran is the Yankees MVP so far this season. It may not be an important opinion, but it level-sets for the rest of the article.
"With the Yankees entering the All-Star break at a perfectly mediocre 44-44, the next few weeks will likely signal to general manager Brian Cashman (and ownership) whether to buy, sell or stand pat at the trade deadline. If New York does decide to sell off parts, Beltran will garner interest across the sport."
Across the whole sport ... besides one half of the sport known as the National League.
"A potential sleeper for the switch-hitting October legend? The Chicago White Sox—if their current reclamation project falls through.
Chicago signed former MVP Justin Morneau with an eye on second-half production. With a rehab assignment almost complete, the former Twins star could be in the White Sox lineup when the second half opens. If he produces, Chicago's abysmal DH production issues could be solved. If not, cue the Beltran rumors, per George King of the New York Post:"
Jeez, the Ledger referencing the Post. I should have just gone to the Post.
"Heading into the break, the White Sox designated hitters own a .703 OPS. That's good for 12th in the AL and well below the .771 league average. The White Sox hit the All-Star break at 45-43, one game better than the Yankees."
Riiight ...
"On July 11, Carlos Beltran is the Yankees MVP. By August 1, the 39-year-old could be wearing a different uniform."
I don't think any intelligent observer believes Beltran is the Yankees MVP so far this season. It may not be an important opinion, but it level-sets for the rest of the article.
"With the Yankees entering the All-Star break at a perfectly mediocre 44-44, the next few weeks will likely signal to general manager Brian Cashman (and ownership) whether to buy, sell or stand pat at the trade deadline. If New York does decide to sell off parts, Beltran will garner interest across the sport."
Across the whole sport ... besides one half of the sport known as the National League.
"A potential sleeper for the switch-hitting October legend? The Chicago White Sox—if their current reclamation project falls through.
Chicago signed former MVP Justin Morneau with an eye on second-half production. With a rehab assignment almost complete, the former Twins star could be in the White Sox lineup when the second half opens. If he produces, Chicago's abysmal DH production issues could be solved. If not, cue the Beltran rumors, per George King of the New York Post:"
Jeez, the Ledger referencing the Post. I should have just gone to the Post.
"Heading into the break, the White Sox designated hitters own a .703 OPS. That's good for 12th in the AL and well below the .771 league average. The White Sox hit the All-Star break at 45-43, one game better than the Yankees."
Riiight ...
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Yankee fans complaining about taking 3 out of 4 from Cleveland and staying in the playoff race.
Because, I guess, a 39-year-old DH and a rental closer would otherwise be traded for Mike Trumbo and Jake Arietta.
The Yankees are not delusional.
Delusional would be trading Refsnyder and Severino for Puig.
Sorry if the team isn't playing as bad as Yankee fans and NY sportswriters had hoped.
The Yankees are supposed to give up on the season.
The Mets are World Series or bust.
The Yankees are a whole 3 games worse than the Mets (though in worse playoff position).
So should the Mets trade all their veterans?
The Yankees are not delusional.
Delusional would be trading Refsnyder and Severino for Puig.
Sorry if the team isn't playing as bad as Yankee fans and NY sportswriters had hoped.
The Yankees are supposed to give up on the season.
The Mets are World Series or bust.
The Yankees are a whole 3 games worse than the Mets (though in worse playoff position).
So should the Mets trade all their veterans?
Matt Harvey is 4-10 this season and 29-28 in his career.
Can the Mets replace Matt Harvey?
Ummm, yeah.
It might be hard to replace the Matt Harvey Hype, but it's not hard to replace the on-field production:
"So this is how the season ends for Matt Harvey and maybe the best of it for him ends, with surgery for a shoulder condition that most of us didn’t even know existed until this week. This is how it ends for the guy who looked like the new Seaver when he came along, who became the biggest pitching star for the Mets since Dwight Gooden."
Harvey didn't live up to the hype which I helped perpetuate.
"Harvey was a star, the ace of his staff and the ace of his city, and was the most exciting starting pitcher, for either New York baseball team, since Doc. Then he got hurt the first time. He came back, but then Jacob deGrom, who is not the same pitcher he was last season, was the ace of the staff. Then Syndergaard. Now Harvey is gone again. He says he will be as good as new when he gets back. We’ll all see about that."
An oddly-structured (were we talking about Jacob deGrom?) and long-winded way to say he's the second coming of Joba Chamberlain.
"Mets fans, of course, remember the Generation K pitchers of 20 years ago, Paul Wilson and Bill Pulsipher and Jason Isringhausen, and how they were going to be the young arms and young guns that pitched the Mets into the World Series the way Harvey and deGrom and Syndergaard and Matz did last season"
Generation K?
"Only Isringhausen really lasted, ultimately having his greatest success as a relief pitcher. The best season Wilson ever had in the big leagues was with the Cincinnati Reds in 2004. He was 11-6."
Thank you, baseball-reference.com.
"As good as Gooden and Darling and Fernandez were in the 80s, this group of pitchers is the best the Mets have had in nearly 50 years. It has been big fun watching them. Now we’ll see how long the fun lasts."
I don't blame you for believing the hype. The problem is, you also generated the hype.
I don't know why (I have some idea) nobody cared about Chien-Ming Wang or paid attention when Ivan Nova won 15 in a row ... I guess he didn't strike out enough players or cultivated a suitable online presence/Batman-related nickname.
(By the way, Harvey would have to go 23-10 ... win the Cy Young Award, basically ... to match Nova's career record.)
The Yankees bore you. The Yankees are old news. You hate the Yankees.
The rest of the article just proves the point ... anti-ARod, anti-Gardner, anti-Hicks, pro-Reyes, pro-Flores. A lengthy takedown of ARod, which isn't beating a dead horse so much as beating a boring horse.
Wilmer Flores is the most popular Met of his generation. Uh huh. Even more popular than Mike Baxter? Even more popular than Josh Satin?
You're not really writing about sports, are you? You're just writing fictional biographies of the players.
Ummm, yeah.
It might be hard to replace the Matt Harvey Hype, but it's not hard to replace the on-field production:
"So this is how the season ends for Matt Harvey and maybe the best of it for him ends, with surgery for a shoulder condition that most of us didn’t even know existed until this week. This is how it ends for the guy who looked like the new Seaver when he came along, who became the biggest pitching star for the Mets since Dwight Gooden."
Harvey didn't live up to the hype which I helped perpetuate.
"Harvey was a star, the ace of his staff and the ace of his city, and was the most exciting starting pitcher, for either New York baseball team, since Doc. Then he got hurt the first time. He came back, but then Jacob deGrom, who is not the same pitcher he was last season, was the ace of the staff. Then Syndergaard. Now Harvey is gone again. He says he will be as good as new when he gets back. We’ll all see about that."
An oddly-structured (were we talking about Jacob deGrom?) and long-winded way to say he's the second coming of Joba Chamberlain.
"Mets fans, of course, remember the Generation K pitchers of 20 years ago, Paul Wilson and Bill Pulsipher and Jason Isringhausen, and how they were going to be the young arms and young guns that pitched the Mets into the World Series the way Harvey and deGrom and Syndergaard and Matz did last season"
Generation K?
"Only Isringhausen really lasted, ultimately having his greatest success as a relief pitcher. The best season Wilson ever had in the big leagues was with the Cincinnati Reds in 2004. He was 11-6."
Thank you, baseball-reference.com.
"As good as Gooden and Darling and Fernandez were in the 80s, this group of pitchers is the best the Mets have had in nearly 50 years. It has been big fun watching them. Now we’ll see how long the fun lasts."
I don't blame you for believing the hype. The problem is, you also generated the hype.
I don't know why (I have some idea) nobody cared about Chien-Ming Wang or paid attention when Ivan Nova won 15 in a row ... I guess he didn't strike out enough players or cultivated a suitable online presence/Batman-related nickname.
(By the way, Harvey would have to go 23-10 ... win the Cy Young Award, basically ... to match Nova's career record.)
The Yankees bore you. The Yankees are old news. You hate the Yankees.
The rest of the article just proves the point ... anti-ARod, anti-Gardner, anti-Hicks, pro-Reyes, pro-Flores. A lengthy takedown of ARod, which isn't beating a dead horse so much as beating a boring horse.
Wilmer Flores is the most popular Met of his generation. Uh huh. Even more popular than Mike Baxter? Even more popular than Josh Satin?
You're not really writing about sports, are you? You're just writing fictional biographies of the players.
Saturday, July 09, 2016
The attendance numbers are largely bogus, anyway.
But the attendance numbers so far show the Mets' success is not hurting the Yankees:
"It appears as if more and more New Yorkers are taking the 7 train as opposed to the 4, B or D train on game day.
After last year's surprising run to the NL pennant, Mets fans are showing up at Citi Field at the second highest rate in all of baseball and the highest in the National League."
Mets are 9th in attendance per game and the Yankees are 6th.
The Mets have increased their attendance (compared to 2015) at the second highest rate, but the fans are not showing up at the second highest rate.
"For the struggling Bronx Bombers, the attendance numbers are slightly down when compared to last year.
At this point last season the Yankees had seen 1,633,165 fans come through the turnstiles. That number has dipped to 1,562,688 this season (through 41 home games), a 70,477 decrease. It's an average of 1,719 fewer fans per game at the Stadium."
Slightly down is correct, and there is no reason to think that these people are going to Citi Field.
Funny that the click bait headline says Yankees see "big decline."
"It appears as if more and more New Yorkers are taking the 7 train as opposed to the 4, B or D train on game day.
After last year's surprising run to the NL pennant, Mets fans are showing up at Citi Field at the second highest rate in all of baseball and the highest in the National League."
Mets are 9th in attendance per game and the Yankees are 6th.
The Mets have increased their attendance (compared to 2015) at the second highest rate, but the fans are not showing up at the second highest rate.
"For the struggling Bronx Bombers, the attendance numbers are slightly down when compared to last year.
At this point last season the Yankees had seen 1,633,165 fans come through the turnstiles. That number has dipped to 1,562,688 this season (through 41 home games), a 70,477 decrease. It's an average of 1,719 fewer fans per game at the Stadium."
Slightly down is correct, and there is no reason to think that these people are going to Citi Field.
Funny that the click bait headline says Yankees see "big decline."
AL East Standings
Betcha didn't know that the David Ortiz-less Toronto Blue Jays are ahead of the Red Sox and only one game behind the Baltimore Showalters?
Friday, July 08, 2016
Sunday, July 03, 2016
"Scouts."
"A Fourth of July firecracker lit in California was heard in The Bronx
on Saturday night and signified the latest dagger to the Yankees’
season.
Not only did Melvin Upton Jr.’s towering home run to left leading off the ninth inning carry the lowly Padres to a 2-1 win over the Yankees in front of 42,315 at Petco Park, he hit it off of Andrew Miller’s first pitch of the inning and 20th of the game.
It was the fifth homer allowed by Miller in what has been a sensational season for the lefty reliever, who is a target of the Cubs, Rangers and Nationals as the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaches. All three teams had scouts watching Saturday evening."
What is the purpose of scouts? Anybody can watch the replays on televison. Or the Internet. In fact, it's a challenge to avoid the replay of Upton's HR.
"The scouts on hand also saw Dellin Betances not pitch at his best. With the Yankees ahead 1-0 in the sixth, Betances inherited baserunner Wil Myers from Ivan Nova. Taking advantage of Betances not using a slide step and having a high leg kick, Myers stole second easily. Matt Kemp followed by dumping a check-swing double into right that scored Myers."
For one thing, you're not getting Betances.
For another, was anyone's opinion of Betances diminished? He is coming off back-to-back Mariano-esque seasons and he allowed an inherited baserunner to score on a check-swing double.
He also allowed a stolen base.
He has 72 strikeouts in 40 innings ... this player who isn't even on the market ... and you don't want him anymore because he gave up a whole run?
"Pomeranz and Nova pitched very well. Pomeranz gave up a run and five hits in seven frames. Nova, who had pitched poorly in his previous seven outings, went 5 ¹/₃ innings in which he gave up a run and four hits.
Of course, every run counts no matter when it is scored. However, the one Upton delivered was a lot louder than the first Padres run and was heard 3,000 miles away."
Yeah.
Using King's non-logic, maybe the scouts were impressed with Ivan Nova.
Nova for Heyward and Schwarber. Sign me up.
Not only did Melvin Upton Jr.’s towering home run to left leading off the ninth inning carry the lowly Padres to a 2-1 win over the Yankees in front of 42,315 at Petco Park, he hit it off of Andrew Miller’s first pitch of the inning and 20th of the game.
It was the fifth homer allowed by Miller in what has been a sensational season for the lefty reliever, who is a target of the Cubs, Rangers and Nationals as the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaches. All three teams had scouts watching Saturday evening."
What is the purpose of scouts? Anybody can watch the replays on televison. Or the Internet. In fact, it's a challenge to avoid the replay of Upton's HR.
"The scouts on hand also saw Dellin Betances not pitch at his best. With the Yankees ahead 1-0 in the sixth, Betances inherited baserunner Wil Myers from Ivan Nova. Taking advantage of Betances not using a slide step and having a high leg kick, Myers stole second easily. Matt Kemp followed by dumping a check-swing double into right that scored Myers."
For one thing, you're not getting Betances.
For another, was anyone's opinion of Betances diminished? He is coming off back-to-back Mariano-esque seasons and he allowed an inherited baserunner to score on a check-swing double.
He also allowed a stolen base.
He has 72 strikeouts in 40 innings ... this player who isn't even on the market ... and you don't want him anymore because he gave up a whole run?
"Pomeranz and Nova pitched very well. Pomeranz gave up a run and five hits in seven frames. Nova, who had pitched poorly in his previous seven outings, went 5 ¹/₃ innings in which he gave up a run and four hits.
Of course, every run counts no matter when it is scored. However, the one Upton delivered was a lot louder than the first Padres run and was heard 3,000 miles away."
Yeah.
Using King's non-logic, maybe the scouts were impressed with Ivan Nova.
Nova for Heyward and Schwarber. Sign me up.
A brief video of a bloated man who seems unconcerned with his .187 batting average.
1-for-20 with two outs and runners in scoring position.
Try eating a cheeseburger and getting a hit.
Try eating a cheeseburger and getting a hit.
Saturday, July 02, 2016
Eovaldi was 14-3 last year.
He's 6-6 this year.
If the Yankees canned every player who slumped, they would have no players.
If the Yankees canned every player who slumped, they would have no players.
Friday, July 01, 2016
A guy who's rooting for the cable company.
Rule of thumb for life: If you're on the cable company's side, you're on the wrong side:
"Then there’s the on-field product. It’s terribly inconsistent, at times unwatchable. It’s hard on even the most loyal pinstriped eyeballs to sit through three innings, let alone nine. And it’s even harder to imagine Joe Girardi’s crew finding a path to the postseason. When the main focus is on the buying and selling angle, or if even making it to the one-game wild-card playoff is worth it, you’ve got problems."
They're a .500 team in the playoff hunt.
Comcast subscribers missed a couple of exciting games the past couple of days.
"Compounding all this is a team lacking sizzle or a must-see player. The closest the Yankees have in that respect is a faded Alex Rodriguez, whose DH role has been reduced. And it’s not like the Yankees are banging the drums to market his pursuit of Babe Ruth’s 714 home runs."
I don't know what a must-see player is. I guess I agree the Yankees don't have one. I also don't care about the pursuit of 714 HRs.
The Yankees' bullpen is exciting to watch. Didi is starting to put up some productive numbers for a shortstop. I'm intrigued by the young players. So even if they're not mush-see, I still try my best to see. I'm a Yankee fan, so that's probably why.
In any case, they're a .500 team in the playoff hunt.
Comcast subscribers missed a couple of exciting games the past couple of days.
"That’s why the second half of the season will be so important for the Yankees. Short of turning things around on the field, the organization must convince its fan base a change is going to come. That there is hope for the future.
For if they can’t even convince their own fans, they won’t be able to convince a cable operator whose only interest is cutting a favorable deal."
Oh.
That's why the Yankees should try to win more baseball games.
By the way, the YES Network is on Sling TV.
If the Yankees surge in the second half, Yankee fans should simply cut the chord.
Or just listen to Suzyn and John. Yes in-Didi.
"Then there’s the on-field product. It’s terribly inconsistent, at times unwatchable. It’s hard on even the most loyal pinstriped eyeballs to sit through three innings, let alone nine. And it’s even harder to imagine Joe Girardi’s crew finding a path to the postseason. When the main focus is on the buying and selling angle, or if even making it to the one-game wild-card playoff is worth it, you’ve got problems."
They're a .500 team in the playoff hunt.
Comcast subscribers missed a couple of exciting games the past couple of days.
"Compounding all this is a team lacking sizzle or a must-see player. The closest the Yankees have in that respect is a faded Alex Rodriguez, whose DH role has been reduced. And it’s not like the Yankees are banging the drums to market his pursuit of Babe Ruth’s 714 home runs."
I don't know what a must-see player is. I guess I agree the Yankees don't have one. I also don't care about the pursuit of 714 HRs.
The Yankees' bullpen is exciting to watch. Didi is starting to put up some productive numbers for a shortstop. I'm intrigued by the young players. So even if they're not mush-see, I still try my best to see. I'm a Yankee fan, so that's probably why.
In any case, they're a .500 team in the playoff hunt.
Comcast subscribers missed a couple of exciting games the past couple of days.
"That’s why the second half of the season will be so important for the Yankees. Short of turning things around on the field, the organization must convince its fan base a change is going to come. That there is hope for the future.
For if they can’t even convince their own fans, they won’t be able to convince a cable operator whose only interest is cutting a favorable deal."
Oh.
That's why the Yankees should try to win more baseball games.
By the way, the YES Network is on Sling TV.
If the Yankees surge in the second half, Yankee fans should simply cut the chord.
Or just listen to Suzyn and John. Yes in-Didi.
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