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?
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