Thursday, October 18, 2018
Sunday, October 14, 2018
I take back what I said about Gerrit Cole and Chris Sale ...
... and what I said about Yu Darvish, Chris Archer, Matt Harvey, David Price, and James Shields ... it was Verlander.
The Yankees should have acquired Verlander the whole time.
I knew it.
This is not to say that Lupica Himself endorsed the above-named pitchers ... I wasn't paying attention ... though I could surely find a Sonny Gray endorsement if I looked for it.
To answer the stupid question, of course Verlander-to-the-Astros isn't the greatest trade ever.
The Yankees should have acquired Verlander the whole time.
I knew it.
This is not to say that Lupica Himself endorsed the above-named pitchers ... I wasn't paying attention ... though I could surely find a Sonny Gray endorsement if I looked for it.
To answer the stupid question, of course Verlander-to-the-Astros isn't the greatest trade ever.
Don't be lazy.
Whatever "total payroll" is, the Red Sox's in 2018 is $50M more than the Yankees'.
It is time to flip the boring narrative.
It is time to flip the boring narrative.
Saturday, October 13, 2018
Yankees might get Machado.
Heck, I saw Machado bloop an RBI single to left field with two strikes and I was amazed. After watching the Yankees play a full season in 2018, I thought it was illegal to get a hit with two strikes.
Acquiring Machado will require, say, a 10-year contract worth $300 million.
With that in mind, there are two things that have zero effect on this important decision:
1) Machado's performance in the playoffs.
2) Gregorius's injury.
Gregorius will miss a couple of months in 2019. So will a lot of other players, maybe even Machado. The Machado contract is a lot bigger than that.
Acquiring Machado will require, say, a 10-year contract worth $300 million.
With that in mind, there are two things that have zero effect on this important decision:
1) Machado's performance in the playoffs.
2) Gregorius's injury.
Gregorius will miss a couple of months in 2019. So will a lot of other players, maybe even Machado. The Machado contract is a lot bigger than that.
Friday, October 12, 2018
Yes. I would trade Gary Sanchez for two front line starters.
Trade to the team which has two front line starters to trade.
Maybe the 1973 A's?
Your guess is as good as mine:
"So do they have trade value? Do you, dare I say, go out there and shop (Greg) Bird? Or shop (Miguel) Andujar? Or even shop (Gary) Sanchez? See what you could get for those guys. I'm not advocating for any one of those guys to move, but if I'm Brian Cashman and I know my defense needs to get better and I need to balance out a heavy right-handed lineup that hits a lot of home runs ... Cash always has a trick up his sleeve. He's one of the best GMs in baseball. He might look moving some of those guys and moving two birds with one stone."
Greg Bird (.199/11/38, -0.6 WAR) and Gary Sanchez (.186/18/53, 1.2 WAR) for what?
It's been a while since I studied for the SATs, but let me get out my calculator ... yep, I was right ... nothin' plus nothin' equals nothin'.
Let me put it this way, just to offer some perspective: In 2018, Sonny Gray's WAR was equal to the combined WARs of Bird and Sanchez.
So just say "Andujar," because the other two are worthless at this time.
"See if you can trade Andujar for two front line starters."
Good luck with that.
Maybe the 1973 A's?
Your guess is as good as mine:
"So do they have trade value? Do you, dare I say, go out there and shop (Greg) Bird? Or shop (Miguel) Andujar? Or even shop (Gary) Sanchez? See what you could get for those guys. I'm not advocating for any one of those guys to move, but if I'm Brian Cashman and I know my defense needs to get better and I need to balance out a heavy right-handed lineup that hits a lot of home runs ... Cash always has a trick up his sleeve. He's one of the best GMs in baseball. He might look moving some of those guys and moving two birds with one stone."
Greg Bird (.199/11/38, -0.6 WAR) and Gary Sanchez (.186/18/53, 1.2 WAR) for what?
It's been a while since I studied for the SATs, but let me get out my calculator ... yep, I was right ... nothin' plus nothin' equals nothin'.
Let me put it this way, just to offer some perspective: In 2018, Sonny Gray's WAR was equal to the combined WARs of Bird and Sanchez.
So just say "Andujar," because the other two are worthless at this time.
"See if you can trade Andujar for two front line starters."
Good luck with that.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
I don't think Boone made a mistake.
I thought CC had a better chance of getting the ninth out than any other pitcher on the Yankees.
Just to go back and explain what happened:
In the first inning, the Red Sox loaded the bases.If you thought Sabathia should come out after 2 2/3, then why not 2/3? Since David Robertson is the invincible savior, why not go to Robertson in the first inning? So Gardner makes the catch in the first inning and ... Boone must be a genius?
The general take is that as soon as Sabathia hit the leadoff batter in the top of the third ... Heaven Forfend! ... it's the biggest mistake by a pitcher in baseball history! ... Boone should have instantly given him the hook.
Of course, this makes perfect sense in retrospect.
He gave up two more runs, duh! The Yankees lost by one run! So there you go!
What's the overall strategy then?
Go to the Infinite Bullpen of Excellence every time a pitcher allows a baserunner?
CC has guts and he's plenty battle-tested. He didn't get the ninth out, but I sure thought he would. (Actually, he did get the ninth out ... but it took him three tries to do it.)
You know what else? The Yankee bullpen is like the Yankee lineup: Lots of strikeouts and overrated.
As if to disprove his own thesis, these are actual back-to-back sentences by Feinsand:
"Sabathia allowed three runs on five hits and two walks, striking out one batter and hitting another. With their season on the line, the Yankees went to their bullpen to open the fourth, but some will surely wonder whether Boone should have had a quicker hook in an elimination game.
Zach Britton, who began warming up when the top of the third ended, took over for the Yankees in the top of the fourth, promptly allowing a solo home run by Vazquez that proved to be the decisive run."
Maybe Sabathia would have "settled down" and breezed through the fourth and the fifth.
Maybe Boone took him out too soon.
Just to go back and explain what happened:
In the first inning, the Red Sox loaded the bases.If you thought Sabathia should come out after 2 2/3, then why not 2/3? Since David Robertson is the invincible savior, why not go to Robertson in the first inning? So Gardner makes the catch in the first inning and ... Boone must be a genius?
The general take is that as soon as Sabathia hit the leadoff batter in the top of the third ... Heaven Forfend! ... it's the biggest mistake by a pitcher in baseball history! ... Boone should have instantly given him the hook.
Of course, this makes perfect sense in retrospect.
He gave up two more runs, duh! The Yankees lost by one run! So there you go!
What's the overall strategy then?
Go to the Infinite Bullpen of Excellence every time a pitcher allows a baserunner?
CC has guts and he's plenty battle-tested. He didn't get the ninth out, but I sure thought he would. (Actually, he did get the ninth out ... but it took him three tries to do it.)
You know what else? The Yankee bullpen is like the Yankee lineup: Lots of strikeouts and overrated.
As if to disprove his own thesis, these are actual back-to-back sentences by Feinsand:
"Sabathia allowed three runs on five hits and two walks, striking out one batter and hitting another. With their season on the line, the Yankees went to their bullpen to open the fourth, but some will surely wonder whether Boone should have had a quicker hook in an elimination game.
Zach Britton, who began warming up when the top of the third ended, took over for the Yankees in the top of the fourth, promptly allowing a solo home run by Vazquez that proved to be the decisive run."
Maybe Sabathia would have "settled down" and breezed through the fourth and the fifth.
Maybe Boone took him out too soon.
Chris Sale is great.
But in the playoffs against the Yankees, he wasn't as good as Porcello ... or Eovaldi ... or Lance McCullers Jr.
So the Yankees didn't even need to acquire a shutdown ace like Jacob deGrom.
The Yankees should have acquired Rick Porcello, Nathan Eovaldi (oh, didn't they have him? Never mind.), and Lance McCullers Jr. (didn't they have him, too? That was his father?).
What was Cashman thinking going with Severino, Tanaka, Happ, Sabathia?
He should have gone with deGrom, Blake Snell, Madison Bumgarner, and then deGrom on three days' rest. Just like my World Series Winning Strat-O-Matic team.
So the Yankees didn't even need to acquire a shutdown ace like Jacob deGrom.
The Yankees should have acquired Rick Porcello, Nathan Eovaldi (oh, didn't they have him? Never mind.), and Lance McCullers Jr. (didn't they have him, too? That was his father?).
What was Cashman thinking going with Severino, Tanaka, Happ, Sabathia?
He should have gone with deGrom, Blake Snell, Madison Bumgarner, and then deGrom on three days' rest. Just like my World Series Winning Strat-O-Matic team.
The Mets were totally about to trade deGrom to the Yankees.
"All it might have taken was a package of Torres, at the time a legitimate AL Rookie of the Year candidate, Justus Sheffield, the highest-rated pitcher in the Yankees farm system, and perhaps Clint Frazier, who couldn’t crack the Yankees outfield but on many big-league teams would be an everyday player."
All it "might have taken" to trade the Cy Young Award winner to the Yankees.
By the way, "at that time," Severino was the Cy Young Award front runner in the American League.
The Yankees went all in with Severino ... of course they did ... and he came up short.
It's just too funny.
The Yankees avoided free agent busts Yu Darvish, David Price, Matt Harvey, Chris Archer, James Shields, and dozens of others.
By resisting, they quickly built a 100-win team with a ton of young players and more young players in the pipeline. The homegrown foundation for a future dynasty ... knock on wood.
But what they really should have done in hindsight is pick up Gerrit Cole. Or Justin Verlander. Or traded 100 players for Jacob deGrom.
The Yankees "should have" picked up all the pitchers who won and traded all the pitchers who lost.
Very impressive post-series analysis.
"As for the Mets, trading deGrom, who is 30 years old and will be a free agent they will neither want or be able to afford in 2021, for a package of young players would have sent a signal to their long-suffering fan base that they were serious about rebuilding their wreckage of a franchise."
If the Yankees had actually acquired deGrom from the Mets, the Yankees and Mets would basically switch teams, with deGrom pitching for a AAA lineup.
"Aside from the 16-1 Game 3 blowout, their two other losses were one-run games. A lights-out starter at the top of their rotation might have reversed those two.
Stupid.
Aside from the 16-1 Game 3 blowout, the Yankees did not allow a lot of runs to the Red Sox ... maybe the Yankees should have traded all their starters, beefed up the bullpen even more, and added a couple of bats who could hit in the clutch.
Then they'd be playing Thursday.
Tuesday, October 09, 2018
Babe Ruth isn't walking through that door.
"After the New York Yankees tied the series with a win in Game 2, being back home with their ace on the mound should have been their recipe for a lead in the American League Division Series."
"Should have been."
"That wasn't all Severino's fault. Some of it was Lance Lynn's and Chad Green's.
But above all, it was Aaron Boone's."
Above all, it was Aaron Boone's fault.
I can instantly think of 52 people I'd blame/credit for this loss before I'd get to Aaron Boone:
OK, to be fair, he's talking about the 4th inning only ... but he's not talking about the 4th inning only.
"It didn't take a strong pair of glasses to see that Severino wasn't fooling Red Sox hitters in the first three innings. He'd given up three runs, and the amount of hard contact indicated that the 24-year-old was lucky it wasn't worse.
Even with the bottom of Boston's order due up in the top of the fourth, Boone was thus taking a chance simply in allowing Severino to return to the mound. After he allowed a leadoff single to Brock Holt—his first step toward the first cycle in postseason history—the hook should have come out immediately."
Sure, I guess.
In retrospect, Severino should have been pulled a little earlier, I suppose.
It would have been nice if the "ace" could show some guts. If he can't beat the Red Sox, trade him to an NL team.
"By the time Boone called on Green, Lynn had allowed another hit to put two runners on with only one out. Despite Green's best efforts, three more runs scored, and whatever hope the Yankees had of mounting a comeback was all but gone."
Right.
So Green was ineffective (despite his best efforts) ... just like all five Yankee pitchers and one Yankee backup catcher/pitcher ... but Green would have been Pedro Martinez if he had just been brought in earlier.
Was Chad Green going to pitch six shutout innings and also pinch hit for Andujar and belt a couple of home runs?
As for "high leverage" situations, Green has a pretty noticeable track record of playing poorly in the highest leverage situations.
"The long leash he put on Severino might have made sense if this was the same Severino who dominated throughout all of 2017 and most of 2018. But everyone is aware Severino struggled (5.57 ERA in 12 starts) in the second half. And while he refused to break, he definitely bent in his four innings in the Wild Card Game.
Boone's decision to make Lynn the first man out of the bullpen is equally baffling. If he was going to bring in Lynn, it should have been with clean bases at the start of the inning. Once that ship sailed, Boone's first move should have been for a pitcher accustomed to dominating in high leverage."
You know what?
The only thing Boone could have done wrong was waste his top pitchers instead of saving them for Games Four and Five.
The Red Sox schooled the Yankees by playing smart professional baseball. The Yankee All-Or-Nothing Heroes can learn a lesson by watching how the Red Sox approach their at-bats against a hard-throwing strikeout pitcher.
Is it just me, or is there a pattern where people stretch all credibility to blame the Yankee manager whenever the Yankees lose in the playoffs?
The Yankees aren't a great team. They're a good team, but not a great team. They may even turn it around and win the World Series, but that would be a very surprising outcome.
The Red Sox are better than the Yankees and have been all season.
Maybe this is difficult for people to acknowledge because they fall for the marketing campaign?
I really don't know.
It just seems to happen a lot that everybody is ready with the excuses (abbreviated warmup session?) instead of just acknowledging the relative lack of talent.
A team loses 16-1 and you think a fourth-inning pitching change was the difference in the game?
This is utter nonsense and I think it lets the players off the hook.
"Should have been."
"That wasn't all Severino's fault. Some of it was Lance Lynn's and Chad Green's.
But above all, it was Aaron Boone's."
Above all, it was Aaron Boone's fault.
I can instantly think of 52 people I'd blame/credit for this loss before I'd get to Aaron Boone:
- All 25 players on the Yankees roster
- All 25 players on the Red Sox roster
- The GM who got rid of Eovaldi
- The GM who acquired Eovaldi
OK, to be fair, he's talking about the 4th inning only ... but he's not talking about the 4th inning only.
"It didn't take a strong pair of glasses to see that Severino wasn't fooling Red Sox hitters in the first three innings. He'd given up three runs, and the amount of hard contact indicated that the 24-year-old was lucky it wasn't worse.
Even with the bottom of Boston's order due up in the top of the fourth, Boone was thus taking a chance simply in allowing Severino to return to the mound. After he allowed a leadoff single to Brock Holt—his first step toward the first cycle in postseason history—the hook should have come out immediately."
Sure, I guess.
In retrospect, Severino should have been pulled a little earlier, I suppose.
It would have been nice if the "ace" could show some guts. If he can't beat the Red Sox, trade him to an NL team.
"By the time Boone called on Green, Lynn had allowed another hit to put two runners on with only one out. Despite Green's best efforts, three more runs scored, and whatever hope the Yankees had of mounting a comeback was all but gone."
Right.
So Green was ineffective (despite his best efforts) ... just like all five Yankee pitchers and one Yankee backup catcher/pitcher ... but Green would have been Pedro Martinez if he had just been brought in earlier.
Was Chad Green going to pitch six shutout innings and also pinch hit for Andujar and belt a couple of home runs?
As for "high leverage" situations, Green has a pretty noticeable track record of playing poorly in the highest leverage situations.
"The long leash he put on Severino might have made sense if this was the same Severino who dominated throughout all of 2017 and most of 2018. But everyone is aware Severino struggled (5.57 ERA in 12 starts) in the second half. And while he refused to break, he definitely bent in his four innings in the Wild Card Game.
Boone's decision to make Lynn the first man out of the bullpen is equally baffling. If he was going to bring in Lynn, it should have been with clean bases at the start of the inning. Once that ship sailed, Boone's first move should have been for a pitcher accustomed to dominating in high leverage."
You know what?
The only thing Boone could have done wrong was waste his top pitchers instead of saving them for Games Four and Five.
The Red Sox schooled the Yankees by playing smart professional baseball. The Yankee All-Or-Nothing Heroes can learn a lesson by watching how the Red Sox approach their at-bats against a hard-throwing strikeout pitcher.
Is it just me, or is there a pattern where people stretch all credibility to blame the Yankee manager whenever the Yankees lose in the playoffs?
The Yankees aren't a great team. They're a good team, but not a great team. They may even turn it around and win the World Series, but that would be a very surprising outcome.
The Red Sox are better than the Yankees and have been all season.
Maybe this is difficult for people to acknowledge because they fall for the marketing campaign?
I really don't know.
It just seems to happen a lot that everybody is ready with the excuses (abbreviated warmup session?) instead of just acknowledging the relative lack of talent.
A team loses 16-1 and you think a fourth-inning pitching change was the difference in the game?
This is utter nonsense and I think it lets the players off the hook.
Totally the manager's fault.
They should have hit-and-run or bunted. Small ball always works when you need to push across a run or two ... or fifteen.
If Boone had removed Severino an inning earlier, the Yankees would have lost by thirteen runs instead of fifteen runs.
If Boone had removed Severino an inning earlier, the Yankees would have lost by thirteen runs instead of fifteen runs.
Saturday, October 06, 2018
He strikes out way too much.
A lot of hit at-bats are feeble giveaway at-bats.
I can't say it was a mistake to sign him, but he did not have a great year.
"For all their emphasis on cutting-edge analytics and their professed desire to get younger, more athletic, and yes, more economical, the Yankees still are susceptible to the seduction of the bright, shiny object.
Case in point: Giancarlo Stanton."
Come on.
He's a good player, he hit right around 40/100, he's young and probably about to hit his prime.
He stayed healthy, he played good in he outfield, and he was good with the press.
He just strikes out way too much.
"The 2017 Yankees came within one victory of going to the World Series, and if there was one area of their game that didn’t need shoring up, it was offense.
Last year’s team led the major leagues in home runs with 241. They were second in runs scored with 858, second in on-base percentage (.339) and third in OPS. (.858).
Still, confronted by a need to improve their starting pitching, the Yankees found they could not resist adding Stanton to their already high-powered offense when it became obvious that the Marlins, and their frugal CEO, Derek Jeter, were looking to dump the remaining 10 years of Stanton’s 13-year, $325 million contract despite his winning the N.L. MVP last season with a whopping 59 home runs."
Starting pitching?
For improved starting pitching, you need starting pitchers.
Who was available?
"In fairness, the 2018 free agent crop for starters was not a strong one. The biggest-ticket item, Yu Darvish, had a disastrous, injury-ridden season for the Chicago Cubs, making just eight starts and going 1-3. Most of the others — Tyler Chatwood, Alex Cobb, Andrew Cashner — had seasons of similar futility without being injured. Only Jake Arrieta had a decent season for the Phillies. The Yankees were probably wise to avoid investing in that market."
Right ...
"But about a month after the Yankees parted with Starlin Castro and two minor leaguers for Stanton, the Houston Astros were prying Gerrit Cole away from the Pirates for a minor league outfielder (Jason Martin), two mediocre relievers in Michael Feliz and Joe Musgrove, and a decent third baseman, Colin Moran.
Cole, for the record, pitched seven brilliant innings of three-hit ball, allowing just one run in Game 2 of the ALDS between the Astros and Indians Saturday afternoon.
Certainly, the Yankees, with their re-stocked farm system, could have put together a comparable package."
Oh, what a bunch of baloney.
After the games are played, it's real easy to proclaim that Gerritt Cole is better than J.A. Happ. Gerritt Cole was the answer to a World Series title the whole time. If only the Yankees had stayed focused on Gerritt Cole and not been distracted by the shiny HR-hitting object.
Why don't you let this play out?
Over this season and actually the next ten seasons?
Stanton could light Price up tonight and lead the Yankees to a World Series title.
Maybe he'll hit four in one WS game and six overall, shattering every WS HR record.
But it doesn't even matter. Stanton's performance of lack thereof has nothing to do with Gerritt Cole.
The Yankees could have traded for both Stanton and Cole. It wasn't an either/or decision. They demonstrated that with the acquisitions of McCutchen and Happ.
They just decided Cole wasn't worth the price.
We'll never know if that was the right call.
Maybe Cole would have shut down the Red Sox in Game One of the ALDS. Maybe Cole would have gotten shelled at Fenway.
I can't say it was a mistake to sign him, but he did not have a great year.
"For all their emphasis on cutting-edge analytics and their professed desire to get younger, more athletic, and yes, more economical, the Yankees still are susceptible to the seduction of the bright, shiny object.
Case in point: Giancarlo Stanton."
Come on.
He's a good player, he hit right around 40/100, he's young and probably about to hit his prime.
He stayed healthy, he played good in he outfield, and he was good with the press.
He just strikes out way too much.
"The 2017 Yankees came within one victory of going to the World Series, and if there was one area of their game that didn’t need shoring up, it was offense.
Last year’s team led the major leagues in home runs with 241. They were second in runs scored with 858, second in on-base percentage (.339) and third in OPS. (.858).
Still, confronted by a need to improve their starting pitching, the Yankees found they could not resist adding Stanton to their already high-powered offense when it became obvious that the Marlins, and their frugal CEO, Derek Jeter, were looking to dump the remaining 10 years of Stanton’s 13-year, $325 million contract despite his winning the N.L. MVP last season with a whopping 59 home runs."
Starting pitching?
For improved starting pitching, you need starting pitchers.
Who was available?
"In fairness, the 2018 free agent crop for starters was not a strong one. The biggest-ticket item, Yu Darvish, had a disastrous, injury-ridden season for the Chicago Cubs, making just eight starts and going 1-3. Most of the others — Tyler Chatwood, Alex Cobb, Andrew Cashner — had seasons of similar futility without being injured. Only Jake Arrieta had a decent season for the Phillies. The Yankees were probably wise to avoid investing in that market."
Right ...
"But about a month after the Yankees parted with Starlin Castro and two minor leaguers for Stanton, the Houston Astros were prying Gerrit Cole away from the Pirates for a minor league outfielder (Jason Martin), two mediocre relievers in Michael Feliz and Joe Musgrove, and a decent third baseman, Colin Moran.
Cole, for the record, pitched seven brilliant innings of three-hit ball, allowing just one run in Game 2 of the ALDS between the Astros and Indians Saturday afternoon.
Certainly, the Yankees, with their re-stocked farm system, could have put together a comparable package."
Oh, what a bunch of baloney.
After the games are played, it's real easy to proclaim that Gerritt Cole is better than J.A. Happ. Gerritt Cole was the answer to a World Series title the whole time. If only the Yankees had stayed focused on Gerritt Cole and not been distracted by the shiny HR-hitting object.
Why don't you let this play out?
Over this season and actually the next ten seasons?
Stanton could light Price up tonight and lead the Yankees to a World Series title.
Maybe he'll hit four in one WS game and six overall, shattering every WS HR record.
But it doesn't even matter. Stanton's performance of lack thereof has nothing to do with Gerritt Cole.
The Yankees could have traded for both Stanton and Cole. It wasn't an either/or decision. They demonstrated that with the acquisitions of McCutchen and Happ.
They just decided Cole wasn't worth the price.
We'll never know if that was the right call.
Maybe Cole would have shut down the Red Sox in Game One of the ALDS. Maybe Cole would have gotten shelled at Fenway.
Thursday, October 04, 2018
Ha, I was at this game.
11. Yankees rally after kid runs on the field
Sept. 18, 1993
Neither team qualified for the postseason in '93, but they did provide a memorable September moment nonetheless. The Red Sox held a 3-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Boston pitcher Greg Harris hit Mike Gallego with a pitch to put a man on first. Mike Stanley followed with what appeared to be the game-ending flyout to left, but timeout was called after a kid ran onto the Yankee Stadium field.
Stanley, given another crack, singled to left. Wade Boggs followed with a two-strike RBI single that cut the lead to one, and Dion James followed with a walk. And then it was the Yankees' hero, Don Mattingly, who walked off the Red Sox with a two-run single through the right side. New York, much to the Red Sox's dismay, scored a most improbable win -- with a little help from the home faithful.
Sept. 18, 1993
Neither team qualified for the postseason in '93, but they did provide a memorable September moment nonetheless. The Red Sox held a 3-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Boston pitcher Greg Harris hit Mike Gallego with a pitch to put a man on first. Mike Stanley followed with what appeared to be the game-ending flyout to left, but timeout was called after a kid ran onto the Yankee Stadium field.
Stanley, given another crack, singled to left. Wade Boggs followed with a two-strike RBI single that cut the lead to one, and Dion James followed with a walk. And then it was the Yankees' hero, Don Mattingly, who walked off the Red Sox with a two-run single through the right side. New York, much to the Red Sox's dismay, scored a most improbable win -- with a little help from the home faithful.
Tuesday, October 02, 2018
Boone gave a good press conference. What else do you want?
"In his rookie season as a manager, Aaron Boone's Yankees won 100 games.
And we still don't know if he can really manage."
That's an attention-grabber.
"But we do know this: He’s got guts. Either that, or the people making his decisions for him do."
That's what I was thinking.
The rather absurd notion that Boone made this decision.
This sentence kind of puts the brakes on the rest of the article.
The only interesting insight that could be provided by a sports journalist is whether or not Boone made this decision himself.
"Because by choosing Luis Severino to start Wednesday’s one-and-done Wild Card game against the Oakland Athletics, Boone has put himself directly in the crosshairs in what will essentially be the first important game he has ever managed."
1. But we don't know if he chose Severino in the first place.
2. You just dismissed the entire regular season as unimportant.
"But
of all the rookies and second-year players on the Yankee roster, none
will be under a more unforgiving microscope than the first-year manager.
And if the Yankees fail to get past Oakland, Boone will be easy to
convict in the court of public opinion.
Ridiculous.
Yet, the central theme of my column.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
David Wright can't play baseball at a professional level anymore. Last night's appearance was symbolic.
"Understand
this right off the bat: The fact that the Mets are so bad is what made
David Wright Night possible in the first place.
Had the Mets not been mired in fourth-place in the NL East, headed for a second straight sub-.500 season and the 12th
in their last 14 without October baseball, and playing the even more
pathetic Miami Marlins, there’s no way they would have penciled David
Wright into the three-hole in their lineup or entrusted him with playing
third base, even for a couple of innings."
Seems reasonable to me.
Seems reasonable to me.
"The
sad fact is that after the cruel tease of an 11-1 start, a cameo
appearance by a once-great player in an inconsequential game is what
will be remembered as the highlight of the Mets’ 2018 season. And, what
passes for meaningful September baseball in Flushing these days.
The
Mets could pile on all the sentiment they like, but the truth is that
over the past six years, they failed David Wright even more egregiously
than they have failed their masochistic fan base."
The Mets failed David Wright?
"After the 2012 season, when Wright batted .306 and finished sixth in the NL MVP voting, the Wilpons and GM Sandy Alderson convinced Wright to sign a seven-year, $138 million contract extension based on the contention that the future was bright for the Mets."
You could probably stop reading the article right now as 7-year/$138M is irrefutable proof that the Mets did not fail Wright.
"All Wright had to do, of course, was wait one more season and he might have scored $200 million as a free agent, perhaps with a team that truly had a future."
Or Wright could have gotten hurt and been unable to play baseball, leaving $138M on the table.
Also, the Mets made the World Series in 2015.
So it sounds like the Mets upheld their part of the bargain.
"In return, he became saddled on a team that has gone 475-495 since then, seen at least one of those promising arms, that of Matt Harvey, flame out due to injury and overindulgence, and most poignantly, unexpectedly reached a World Series only after Wright had already developed the spinal stenosis that would prematurely end his career."
By "on a team," you must mean "on the disabled list of a team."
The
fact that the promise was broken was not David Wright’s fault. Turns
out the Mets’ commitment to winning was never as strong as David
Wright’s commitment to the Mets."
This narrative is untrue.
The Mets spent a lot of money on a lot of good players, they made the World Series three years ago, and they have stuck with most of their talented young arms to this day. Some of these investments haven't worked out, but that's how it always works.
I think insurance has covered most of Wright's salary due to injury ... but have you seen Wright's stats since his big free agent signing?
It's not Wright's fault that he got hurt, but he gave the Mets about one year's worth of cumulative production over the last six years.
The Mets failed David Wright?
"After the 2012 season, when Wright batted .306 and finished sixth in the NL MVP voting, the Wilpons and GM Sandy Alderson convinced Wright to sign a seven-year, $138 million contract extension based on the contention that the future was bright for the Mets."
You could probably stop reading the article right now as 7-year/$138M is irrefutable proof that the Mets did not fail Wright.
"All Wright had to do, of course, was wait one more season and he might have scored $200 million as a free agent, perhaps with a team that truly had a future."
Or Wright could have gotten hurt and been unable to play baseball, leaving $138M on the table.
Also, the Mets made the World Series in 2015.
So it sounds like the Mets upheld their part of the bargain.
"In return, he became saddled on a team that has gone 475-495 since then, seen at least one of those promising arms, that of Matt Harvey, flame out due to injury and overindulgence, and most poignantly, unexpectedly reached a World Series only after Wright had already developed the spinal stenosis that would prematurely end his career."
By "on a team," you must mean "on the disabled list of a team."
"They were cheering what David Wright promised them when he committed himself to the Mets back in 2012.
This narrative is untrue.
The Mets spent a lot of money on a lot of good players, they made the World Series three years ago, and they have stuck with most of their talented young arms to this day. Some of these investments haven't worked out, but that's how it always works.
I think insurance has covered most of Wright's salary due to injury ... but have you seen Wright's stats since his big free agent signing?
It's not Wright's fault that he got hurt, but he gave the Mets about one year's worth of cumulative production over the last six years.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Overrated, in my opinion.
"The answer begins with Gary. Ron calls Gary 'the greatest docent of Mets
history,' but encyclopedic knowledge isn’t necessarily a virtue. What
really matters is that he gets the difference between a perceptive
detail and a useless piece of trivia.
...
Before most weeknight games, Gary arrives at the park between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. and sequesters himself in the booth, poring over piles of stats and scouting reports, none of which he really needs because he remembers everything. His voice is a classic broadcaster baritone, with far more range and texture and glee than your standard Fox Sports 1 drone. His home-run call — a simple unfussy 'It’s outta here!' — has this tingling rise to it; in big moments it soars up a note or two higher than you expect. In one tidy little aria before a Nats game in July, he marveled to me over the sweeping impact of 'the shift,' the game’s current bête noire, a tiny tweak in baseball’s pH — one middle infielder moving just 50 feet to the right or left, overloading one side with three gloves — that has disrupted a century of balance."
OK, I'm not going to pick apart the whole article ... but Gary Cohen is a constant stream of useless information ... and I'm not sure what the gripe is with Yankee announcers, who could not possible be more boring and mechanical than Gary Cohen.
...
Before most weeknight games, Gary arrives at the park between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. and sequesters himself in the booth, poring over piles of stats and scouting reports, none of which he really needs because he remembers everything. His voice is a classic broadcaster baritone, with far more range and texture and glee than your standard Fox Sports 1 drone. His home-run call — a simple unfussy 'It’s outta here!' — has this tingling rise to it; in big moments it soars up a note or two higher than you expect. In one tidy little aria before a Nats game in July, he marveled to me over the sweeping impact of 'the shift,' the game’s current bête noire, a tiny tweak in baseball’s pH — one middle infielder moving just 50 feet to the right or left, overloading one side with three gloves — that has disrupted a century of balance."
OK, I'm not going to pick apart the whole article ... but Gary Cohen is a constant stream of useless information ... and I'm not sure what the gripe is with Yankee announcers, who could not possible be more boring and mechanical than Gary Cohen.
Monday, September 24, 2018
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Monday, September 17, 2018
It's going to happen and I don't care.
The Yankees are not going to sweep the Red Sox anytime soon. Even if they do, they're not catching the Red Sox.
The Yankees are going to play the A's in the Wild Card game and I don't even care if it's a home game.
Like it or not, the reamining games are exhibition games where the goal is to get players sharp for the playoffs.
Expect to see a lot of Sonny Gray and Stephen Tarpley.
The Yankees are going to play the A's in the Wild Card game and I don't even care if it's a home game.
Like it or not, the reamining games are exhibition games where the goal is to get players sharp for the playoffs.
Expect to see a lot of Sonny Gray and Stephen Tarpley.
Saturday, September 15, 2018
My opinion is their opinion.
"'That pennant race led to the manifestation of the wild-card system, which has been so great for baseball,' said Bud Selig, Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. 'When you win 103 games, you should be rewarded.'
Now, 25 years later, playing in their second new ballpark since that year, the Braves are poised to return to the postseason after a four-year absence with a 7 1/2 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. The Giants will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Maybe one day, they’ll meet again in the postseason, as they did in 2010, but never again will they have the feeling of the summer of ’93.
'Unfortunately, we won’t have that because of the fail-safe of the wild card scenario,’ Smoltz said. 'Every (team) in the league played the same schedule back then. Now, I personally don’t understand it? How can how you have a sport play 162 games and the schedules are not the same? It’s just mind-boggling to me.'
Says McGriff: 'Life ain’t fair now. The Rays have to play the Red Sox and Yankees 19 times, while Oakland plays them six times. So Oakland goes to the playoffs instead of Tampa because of the schedule? It’s not right.'"
I disagree with the, ahem, "Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball."
I agree with Smoltz and Mc Griff. Not that baseball has to be "fair," but the Wild Card has ruined pennant races.
Sluggish team wins 11-0.
"Sluggish" may be overstating it.
They had a full Stadium against Toronto in mid-September.
They also got their 91st win.
They are "sluggish" in the sense that their offense is almost entirely station-to-station, HR-or-K, all-or-nothing. It's fun when it works and "sluggish" when it doesn't.
The buzz will be strong in October if they advance. It's not hard to imagine with the return of Chapman and Judge, contributions from Didi and Sanchez, and peak performances by Happ and Tanaka.
They had a full Stadium against Toronto in mid-September.
They also got their 91st win.
They are "sluggish" in the sense that their offense is almost entirely station-to-station, HR-or-K, all-or-nothing. It's fun when it works and "sluggish" when it doesn't.
The buzz will be strong in October if they advance. It's not hard to imagine with the return of Chapman and Judge, contributions from Didi and Sanchez, and peak performances by Happ and Tanaka.
Friday, September 14, 2018
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Tanaka's home/road splits.
Home: 4-5, 4.03 ERA.
Road: 7-0, 3.31 ERA.
My conclusion is that the Yankees' best chance in the Wild Card game is to start Tanaka on the road in Oakland.
Road: 7-0, 3.31 ERA.
My conclusion is that the Yankees' best chance in the Wild Card game is to start Tanaka on the road in Oakland.
Monday, September 10, 2018
There's an Abbott and Costello routine in there somewhere.
Who's in left?
Field.
Yes, left field.
I already told you.
Field.
Yes, left field.
I already told you.
Saturday, September 08, 2018
It's a fluid situation.
At some point, if the Yankees are going to advance in the playoffs, all of the pitchers in the starting rotation are going to have to start games.
All of these games are important, and the starting pitchers are going have to pitch well.
All of these games are important, and the starting pitchers are going have to pitch well.
Friday, September 07, 2018
It's amazing that we're still talking about this.
Even more amazing that Girardi is still talking about this.
Thursday, September 06, 2018
Hey catcher, a little more catch and a little less err.
Look at the bright side ...
"It’s not the first time Sanchez’s defense has been questioned. With the two passed balls Wednesday night, the 25-year-old has 13 passed balls on the season, tied for the most in the major leagues with Martin Maldonado. The Astros’ catcher has 13 in 102 games this season, Sanchez has the same in 59 games.
"It’s not the first time Sanchez’s defense has been questioned. With the two passed balls Wednesday night, the 25-year-old has 13 passed balls on the season, tied for the most in the major leagues with Martin Maldonado. The Astros’ catcher has 13 in 102 games this season, Sanchez has the same in 59 games.
With the two wild pitches, Yankees pitchers have thrown 37 wild pitches with Sanchez behind the plate."
If he was an NHL goalie, he would have a very good save percentage.
If he was an NHL goalie, he would have a very good save percentage.
Friday, August 31, 2018
There is no reason to completely give up on Bird.
He's young, cheap, and actually has good power numbers for his career.
But I'm ready to give up on him for the remainder of 2018.
But I'm ready to give up on him for the remainder of 2018.
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Sonny Gray isn't bragging nor is he delusional.
He is explaining the hyper-positive mindset which he is trying to maintain as he attempts to rebuild his career.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Hi, Mike.
If you want to talk about a player on the Mets, then talk about a player on the Mets. You don't write for any New York newspapers anymore, so there's no reason to talk about the Yankees:
"The ace of the Yankees staff, Luis Severio, threw 100 pitches on Saturday, didn't make it to the sixth inning and got his 16th win anyway."
You make it sound like a bad thing.
"Because of the lousy month Severino just had, it was treated as if Severino was back on the road to Monument Park."
"It was treated" this way by whom? Where?
Nobody did this anywhere except in Mike Lupica's head.
"By the way, it's worth noting that before Severino hit the skids around the All-Star break, a lot was being made of the fact that Pedro Martinez had helped Severino become a better pitcher -- helped him out with 'stuff.' "
If this is "worth noting," then you either don't understand the meaning of the word "worth" or you don't understand the meaning of the word "noting."
"On the same Saturday, the ace of the Mets and the whole sport right now, Jacob deGrom, pitched a complete game against the Phillies, struck out nine and lowered his ERA to 1.71 while picking up just his eighth win of the season to go with seven losses. Forget about the won-loss record. deGrom isn't working on his 'stuff' with Martinez. He's been pitching like Martinez all season."
This is accurate.
Everyone knows that deGrom is the best pitcher in the whole sport right now.
I don't have any idea why this obvious observation presents an opportunity to disparage Luis Severino. I surely don't know what Pedro Martinez has to do with anything.
I also don't know why the word "stuff" is in quotation marks.
"Even if deGrom ends up winning just 10 or 12 games this season -- Felix Hernandez once won the AL Cy Young Award at 13-12 in 2010 -- he is producing one of the great pitching seasons in Mets history. deGrom has pitched like an heir to Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden."
R.A. Dickey, how soon they forget.
Also, when a last name begins with a lower-case letter, that letter should be capitalized when the name is the first word in a sentence.
This is not good "writing."
Then the rest of the article makes a bland Cy Young case for deGrom ... a rather interesting debate only in the sense that it's an extreme test of the importance of wins in the minds of the voters ... but no further mention of Severino.
So what was the point of ripping Luis Severino?
You really just can't help yourself?
"The ace of the Yankees staff, Luis Severio, threw 100 pitches on Saturday, didn't make it to the sixth inning and got his 16th win anyway."
You make it sound like a bad thing.
"Because of the lousy month Severino just had, it was treated as if Severino was back on the road to Monument Park."
"It was treated" this way by whom? Where?
Nobody did this anywhere except in Mike Lupica's head.
"By the way, it's worth noting that before Severino hit the skids around the All-Star break, a lot was being made of the fact that Pedro Martinez had helped Severino become a better pitcher -- helped him out with 'stuff.' "
If this is "worth noting," then you either don't understand the meaning of the word "worth" or you don't understand the meaning of the word "noting."
"On the same Saturday, the ace of the Mets and the whole sport right now, Jacob deGrom, pitched a complete game against the Phillies, struck out nine and lowered his ERA to 1.71 while picking up just his eighth win of the season to go with seven losses. Forget about the won-loss record. deGrom isn't working on his 'stuff' with Martinez. He's been pitching like Martinez all season."
This is accurate.
Everyone knows that deGrom is the best pitcher in the whole sport right now.
I don't have any idea why this obvious observation presents an opportunity to disparage Luis Severino. I surely don't know what Pedro Martinez has to do with anything.
I also don't know why the word "stuff" is in quotation marks.
"Even if deGrom ends up winning just 10 or 12 games this season -- Felix Hernandez once won the AL Cy Young Award at 13-12 in 2010 -- he is producing one of the great pitching seasons in Mets history. deGrom has pitched like an heir to Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden."
R.A. Dickey, how soon they forget.
Also, when a last name begins with a lower-case letter, that letter should be capitalized when the name is the first word in a sentence.
This is not good "writing."
Then the rest of the article makes a bland Cy Young case for deGrom ... a rather interesting debate only in the sense that it's an extreme test of the importance of wins in the minds of the voters ... but no further mention of Severino.
So what was the point of ripping Luis Severino?
You really just can't help yourself?
Monday, August 20, 2018
I think the all-or-nothing game has gone a bit overboard, but I also think baseball will be fine.
Baseball is always in trouble ... and the players are always paid too much ... and there is never enough pitching.
I also don't think hit-and-runs are going to save the game, nor bunting, nor eliminating the shift, nor the effective marketing of Mike Trout.
If kids don't like baseball, then they don't like baseball.
It's not an action sport. It's potential energy, not kinetic energy. I'm into each pitch because it sets up the next pitch and builds the tension or breaks the tension.
I agree that the Three True Outcomes have gotten out of hand and made the game more boring, but if you read this in-depth article, a lot of it is old men yelling at the kids to keep their skateboards off the sidewalk.
I also don't think hit-and-runs are going to save the game, nor bunting, nor eliminating the shift, nor the effective marketing of Mike Trout.
If kids don't like baseball, then they don't like baseball.
It's not an action sport. It's potential energy, not kinetic energy. I'm into each pitch because it sets up the next pitch and builds the tension or breaks the tension.
I agree that the Three True Outcomes have gotten out of hand and made the game more boring, but if you read this in-depth article, a lot of it is old men yelling at the kids to keep their skateboards off the sidewalk.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
No mention of Irabu.
I didn't see the ceremony, but I hope the Yankees paid some homage. Irabu is ridiculed and dismissed by a large portion of the fan base, but he won 13 games that season and deserves some recognition at a team reunion.
Saturday, August 18, 2018
The Yankees have a better chance of winning the World Series than they do of winning the division.
This should be plainly obvious, but most analysts don't seem to be able to figure this out.
"Andy Pettitte knows a little bit about how Luis Severino was feeling the last month. The former Yankee ace felt the weight of New York’s expectations on his shoulders before. He has struggled under the brightest spotlight and he has come through.
So the big lefthander who helped carry this organization to four World Series titles and was part of another in 2009 had some empathy for the Yankees current young ace, who is going through the worst month of his young career.
'It’s gonna happen. He’s got great stuff. He’s a No.1,' Pettitte said before the Yankees’ 11-6 win over the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.
'He’s gonna be just fine. Sometimes it builds up and in New York you get an awful lot of attention and a lot of media coverage, so he just has to keep his focus as narrow as he can and things will turn around,' Pettitte added. 'He’ll be fine.' "
"... as long as he takes human growth hormone, he'll be fine."
"And while Pettitie was encouraging, his presence was a reminder of how urgent it is for Severino to get back on track. The Yankees celebrated their 1998 World Series championship team before Saturday’s game. Jorge Posada, Joe Torre and Mariano Rivera reminded everyone that the key to long runs in the playoffs and winning a World Series is good pitching."
Ha ha ha.
Thanks.
Because if it wasn't for the presence of Andy Pettitte at Yankee Stadium on an August afternoon, I would have forgotten about the Yankees' number one crisis at the moment.
I also would have forgotten about the importance of ... good pitching.
"Whatever the main issue is, the Yankees have to get him right. Saturday, they watched as the ’98 team celebrated a reunion. Pettitte, David Cone and David Wells were there on the field to remind everyone that the only way the 2018 Yankees have a long postseason run in them is if they get their pitching in order."
I could say the 1998 Yankees prove you need bench strength to win the World Series ... or a high team on-base percentage ... or a flawless bullpen ... or lots of other things.
We all know the 2018 Yankees are not nearly as good as the 1998 Yankees.
The good news is that they don't have to be as good as the 1998 Yankees to win the World Series.
"... as long as he takes human growth hormone, he'll be fine."
"And while Pettitie was encouraging, his presence was a reminder of how urgent it is for Severino to get back on track. The Yankees celebrated their 1998 World Series championship team before Saturday’s game. Jorge Posada, Joe Torre and Mariano Rivera reminded everyone that the key to long runs in the playoffs and winning a World Series is good pitching."
Ha ha ha.
Thanks.
Because if it wasn't for the presence of Andy Pettitte at Yankee Stadium on an August afternoon, I would have forgotten about the Yankees' number one crisis at the moment.
I also would have forgotten about the importance of ... good pitching.
"Whatever the main issue is, the Yankees have to get him right. Saturday, they watched as the ’98 team celebrated a reunion. Pettitte, David Cone and David Wells were there on the field to remind everyone that the only way the 2018 Yankees have a long postseason run in them is if they get their pitching in order."
I could say the 1998 Yankees prove you need bench strength to win the World Series ... or a high team on-base percentage ... or a flawless bullpen ... or lots of other things.
We all know the 2018 Yankees are not nearly as good as the 1998 Yankees.
The good news is that they don't have to be as good as the 1998 Yankees to win the World Series.
Friday, August 17, 2018
Not too much to argue about in this analysis of Yankee retired numbers ...
... but a glaring omission in the category of "HOFers who are not properly honored."
Dave Winfield.
Dave Winfield.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
The Greg Bird dream is dying.
I used to think he was a right-handed Andy Phillips. Now I think he's a right-handed Chris Carter.
I'm not sure how he'd get fatigued. It sure isn't from running the bases, ha cha cha.
- Bird 2018, still starting: .211/.302/.396, 227 AB, 9 HR, 24 RBI, 67K.
- Carter 2017, run out of town: .201/.287/.370, 184 AB, 8 HR, 26 RBI, 76 K.
I'm not sure how he'd get fatigued. It sure isn't from running the bases, ha cha cha.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Get rid of the Wild Card altogether and see how the Yankees like it.
"Here
goes: Major League Baseball is proceeding with a playoff system that is
just not fair to the New York Yankees. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boys
and girls, and fans of all ages: The system is holding the Yankees down.
This is the seventh year of the current postseason format, but the potential Yank-apocalypse has spawned a wave of East Coast commentary about how the system must be changed. The Yankees could win 100 games, so the argument goes, but their terrific season could come down to one game: the sudden-death, wild-card game. How about some RE2PECT for the Yankees?"
You're protesting too much.
"Oh, it’s not about the Yankees? We did not hear all these insistent cries for reform three years ago, when the Pittsburgh Pirates won 98 games, and their postseason experience was one and done."
Yes.
But no one remembers because no one cares about the Wild Card in the first place.
So the conclusion that the postseason format is unfair to the Yankees is, indeed, "poppycock."
The Yankees, assuming they lose their division, shouldn't be in the playoffs in the first place.
This is the seventh year of the current postseason format, but the potential Yank-apocalypse has spawned a wave of East Coast commentary about how the system must be changed. The Yankees could win 100 games, so the argument goes, but their terrific season could come down to one game: the sudden-death, wild-card game. How about some RE2PECT for the Yankees?"
You're protesting too much.
"Oh, it’s not about the Yankees? We did not hear all these insistent cries for reform three years ago, when the Pittsburgh Pirates won 98 games, and their postseason experience was one and done."
Yes.
But no one remembers because no one cares about the Wild Card in the first place.
So the conclusion that the postseason format is unfair to the Yankees is, indeed, "poppycock."
The Yankees, assuming they lose their division, shouldn't be in the playoffs in the first place.
Panic!
Chapman is slumping, Torres is slumping, Tanaka had a bad game, questions arise! Arise, I say, like a zombie from the grave:
"As the ball left Ronald Guzman’s bat, the Yankees righthander never looked up or turned around to watch the ball. Tanaka’s head dropped, his shoulders drooped as he stared at the ground for a few seconds while the Rangers’ first baseman rounded the bases.
"As the ball left Ronald Guzman’s bat, the Yankees righthander never looked up or turned around to watch the ball. Tanaka’s head dropped, his shoulders drooped as he stared at the ground for a few seconds while the Rangers’ first baseman rounded the bases.
After
being the Yankees’ best pitcher over the last month, Tanaka could not
find it Friday night, getting lit up for six runs on six hits in five
innings. He took his first loss in 15 starts, dating back to April 17,
with the Yankees’ 12-7 loss to the Rangers at the Stadium."
"First loss in 15 starts" sums it up quite nicely.
By the way, Porcello and Eovaldi got rocked back-to-back against the lowly Orioles.
So you know what that means when October rolls around?
It means the Red Sox are in good shape when they score 19 runs.
"First loss in 15 starts" sums it up quite nicely.
By the way, Porcello and Eovaldi got rocked back-to-back against the lowly Orioles.
So you know what that means when October rolls around?
It means the Red Sox are in good shape when they score 19 runs.
Monday, August 06, 2018
The AL will have a Wild Card game. This is true.
I wouldn't say it's inevitable that the Yankees will be one of the participants in the Wild Card gamge:
"Starting Monday, they need to begin finding some answers.
They have the second fewest innings pitched by their starters since the All-Star break, behind the Rays — who purposely don’t use a starter on some days. Miguel Andujar’s two errors on Sunday night and Gleyber Torres’ mindless plays over the last week bring up concerns about the young Yankees’ focus and defense. The lineup was silent for most of the weekend without Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez and it needs to find a way to score while they mend.
Sunday night also had to raise concerns about the bullpen, which has allowed at least a run in 12 of the last 15 games. Aroldis Chapman walked three, and then J.D. Martinez’s single scored two runs before Andujar’s error on Xander Bogaerts’ grounder to third — his second error of the night — allowed the Red Sox to score the tying run.
So right now, the Yankees leave Boston needing to change their focus."
Aside from the emotional turmoil and realization that they're not as good as they thought they were, I don't know what they're going to do differently strategically.
Some of the young players are going through growing pains, but that was one of the objectives of the 2018 season.
"Instead of expending all their energy on chasing the Red Sox, the Yankees need to put their house in order and prepare themselves for a fight in the Wild Card game.
They have time to get themselves ready."
I don't know what this means.
Like, Bird hits another ground ball to second base. Does he jog to first base because the Red Sox are 9.5 games up?
"Before you bemoan the myth that the Yankees cannot beat losing teams, their actual record is 36-19 against teams below .500. They have struggled against the Orioles, going 6-6 and do have seven games remaining against them."
Well, yeah.
Most people understand that the Yankees didn't get to 30 games over .500 by losing to everybody. The observation is that the Red Sox built a divisional lead by playing even better than the Yankees against bad teams.
"Starting Monday, they need to begin finding some answers.
They have the second fewest innings pitched by their starters since the All-Star break, behind the Rays — who purposely don’t use a starter on some days. Miguel Andujar’s two errors on Sunday night and Gleyber Torres’ mindless plays over the last week bring up concerns about the young Yankees’ focus and defense. The lineup was silent for most of the weekend without Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez and it needs to find a way to score while they mend.
Sunday night also had to raise concerns about the bullpen, which has allowed at least a run in 12 of the last 15 games. Aroldis Chapman walked three, and then J.D. Martinez’s single scored two runs before Andujar’s error on Xander Bogaerts’ grounder to third — his second error of the night — allowed the Red Sox to score the tying run.
So right now, the Yankees leave Boston needing to change their focus."
Aside from the emotional turmoil and realization that they're not as good as they thought they were, I don't know what they're going to do differently strategically.
Some of the young players are going through growing pains, but that was one of the objectives of the 2018 season.
"Instead of expending all their energy on chasing the Red Sox, the Yankees need to put their house in order and prepare themselves for a fight in the Wild Card game.
They have time to get themselves ready."
I don't know what this means.
Like, Bird hits another ground ball to second base. Does he jog to first base because the Red Sox are 9.5 games up?
"Before you bemoan the myth that the Yankees cannot beat losing teams, their actual record is 36-19 against teams below .500. They have struggled against the Orioles, going 6-6 and do have seven games remaining against them."
Well, yeah.
Most people understand that the Yankees didn't get to 30 games over .500 by losing to everybody. The observation is that the Red Sox built a divisional lead by playing even better than the Yankees against bad teams.
"They
can give their starters extra rest and maybe that will help get Luis
Severino back on target and it would certainly keep CC Sabathia
healthier and sharper down the stretch.
Most
importantly, however, they can start by being cautious with the returns
of Judge, who said Sunday he still had pain in the bone in his right
wrist that he fractured, and Sanchez, who is on the disabled list with a
groin injury for the second time. There is no rush now; it’s most
important to make sure they are ready for September and October."
At least Ackert suggested something concrete, but I still don't see it. The long-term health and effectiveness of their players is a primary objective regardless of the AL East standings.
This was the biggest series of the season, a make-or-break series which broke the Yankees.
The Yankees didn't strain their starting pitchers or rush their players back from the DL.
Maybe it will be good in the long run to knock these guys off their pedestal. Maybe Torres and Andujar need to eat some humble pie and this will all be forgotten as they parade down the Canyon of Heroes in early November. Or maybe they get knocked down and can't get back up.
This team faces some challenges, both mentally and physically.
Everyone can acknowledge that the Red Sox are better ... if that somehow helps the Yankees play better in August and September, then I'm all for it. I fail to see how this realization changes anything.
Field better, work the counts, play some fundamentally strong baseball, get Judge and Sanchez healthy (and Ellsbury ha ha ha), and perhaps the young players need to adjust to the grind of a long season.
The focus and expenditure of energy should be the same as always. Each game and each at-bat is the focus.
At least Ackert suggested something concrete, but I still don't see it. The long-term health and effectiveness of their players is a primary objective regardless of the AL East standings.
This was the biggest series of the season, a make-or-break series which broke the Yankees.
The Yankees didn't strain their starting pitchers or rush their players back from the DL.
Maybe it will be good in the long run to knock these guys off their pedestal. Maybe Torres and Andujar need to eat some humble pie and this will all be forgotten as they parade down the Canyon of Heroes in early November. Or maybe they get knocked down and can't get back up.
This team faces some challenges, both mentally and physically.
Everyone can acknowledge that the Red Sox are better ... if that somehow helps the Yankees play better in August and September, then I'm all for it. I fail to see how this realization changes anything.
Field better, work the counts, play some fundamentally strong baseball, get Judge and Sanchez healthy (and Ellsbury ha ha ha), and perhaps the young players need to adjust to the grind of a long season.
The focus and expenditure of energy should be the same as always. Each game and each at-bat is the focus.
Sunday, August 05, 2018
Of course the Yankees can't concede the division.
I'm not even sure what it means to concede the division.
They're all privately aware of the reality, but there are a lot of games to play, and you may as well try to win them.
Boone went as far as to say Boston is the best team in the AL.
Just how much honesty are you expecting from the Yankee players and manager?
They're all privately aware of the reality, but there are a lot of games to play, and you may as well try to win them.
Boone went as far as to say Boston is the best team in the AL.
Just how much honesty are you expecting from the Yankee players and manager?
Friday, August 03, 2018
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
It won't be difficult to contend in the NL East for the foreseeable future.
I have no idea why Reyes is still on this team, but I understand why the pitchers are still on this team:
"Steven Matz, one of the core four of pitchers the club refused to part with due to delusions of grandeur that they can contend in 2019 with this roster as currently constituted, got lit up by the Nationals. He didn’t make it out of the first inning, allowing eight hits and seven runs and recording just two outs."
Snark is easy enough when a baseball team loses by 21 runs, but the Mets surely don't have delusions of grandeur just because they held onto their pitchers.
1) The 2019 team won't have the roster "as currently constituted." Current is 2018. 2019 is an entirely different year than 2018, also known as the future.
2) The quickest path to contention is good starting pitching, even if Matz stunk it up today.
3) As for contending in the NL East in 2019, what is that going to require? 83 wins or so?
They're only 12.5 games back now.
I'd say 2018 contention is a pipe dream, but this current roster with a productive Cespedes, Bruce, and Conforto? That team would be in contention. If you're a .500 team in the NL East, you're in contention.
"Steven Matz, one of the core four of pitchers the club refused to part with due to delusions of grandeur that they can contend in 2019 with this roster as currently constituted, got lit up by the Nationals. He didn’t make it out of the first inning, allowing eight hits and seven runs and recording just two outs."
Snark is easy enough when a baseball team loses by 21 runs, but the Mets surely don't have delusions of grandeur just because they held onto their pitchers.
1) The 2019 team won't have the roster "as currently constituted." Current is 2018. 2019 is an entirely different year than 2018, also known as the future.
2) The quickest path to contention is good starting pitching, even if Matz stunk it up today.
3) As for contending in the NL East in 2019, what is that going to require? 83 wins or so?
They're only 12.5 games back now.
I'd say 2018 contention is a pipe dream, but this current roster with a productive Cespedes, Bruce, and Conforto? That team would be in contention. If you're a .500 team in the NL East, you're in contention.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Too many armchair GMs.
Makes sense to keep good starting pitching and build around it. It's easier than finding good starting pitching. All these armchair GMs would trade deGrom for prospects and then, in a couple of years, trade the prospects for a starter.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
One of these things is not like the other.
"He was saving games when most of the country was sleeping.
He was becoming one of the greatest closers in baseball history despite his own general manager refusing to watch him.
He was the West Coast version of Mariano Rivera."
Well, no.
The playoffs, and World Series in particular, separated Mariano from Hoffman and all others.
Trevor Hoffman's WS ERA is 9.00 (very limited sample size).
Mariano's WS ERA is 0.99 ... which is worse than his ALDS ERA and ALCS ERA.
He was becoming one of the greatest closers in baseball history despite his own general manager refusing to watch him.
He was the West Coast version of Mariano Rivera."
Well, no.
The playoffs, and World Series in particular, separated Mariano from Hoffman and all others.
Trevor Hoffman's WS ERA is 9.00 (very limited sample size).
Mariano's WS ERA is 0.99 ... which is worse than his ALDS ERA and ALCS ERA.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
I'd take Bumgarner.
Very insightful column.
The reason the Yankees aren't going to acquire Bumgarner is because the Giants aren't going to trade him.
The reason the Yankees aren't going to acquire Bumgarner is because the Giants aren't going to trade him.
Felz Stat of the Day
Andujar has 30 doubles in 336 at-bats.
This is Mattingly territory.
Actually, at this pace, Andujar would crush the Yankee record.
This is Mattingly territory.
Actually, at this pace, Andujar would crush the Yankee record.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
No excuses, but this is what I originally thoght.
Earlier in the game, Sanchez "doubled" down the LF line but stopped at first.
It isn't an excuse.
If you can't play properly, get out of the game.
I also don't think Sanchez has demonstrated a willingness to work hard, to improve his defense, to hustle, or even to get into peak physical condition.
I just think yesterday's performance in particular was a combination of laziness and injury.
It isn't an excuse.
If you can't play properly, get out of the game.
I also don't think Sanchez has demonstrated a willingness to work hard, to improve his defense, to hustle, or even to get into peak physical condition.
I just think yesterday's performance in particular was a combination of laziness and injury.
The Return of the Passed Ball.
I never thought Austin Romine would outplay Gary Sanchez:
"But that wasn’t his only lackadaisical play. The Yankees were trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and two out when Sánchez hit a sharp grounder to Rays second baseman Daniel Robertson, who flipped it to shortstop Willy Adames. Running from first base, Aaron Hicks got to second before Adames could step on the bag. But because Sanchez was jogging to first base, Adames was able to throw him out to end the game."
My initial impression was that Sanchez was jogging because his groin is not 100% and he was following the instructions of his coaches and his trainers. Maybe not.
"For much of the last month, the question shadowing the Yankees was whether they could overtake the surging Boston Red Sox in the American League East and escape the nail-biting proposition of a wild-card playoff game. But as the Red Sox inch further and further ahead, a hint of concern is creeping in about whether the Yankees will be able to hold on to one of the two wild card slots.
Not too long ago, such a question would seem ludicrous. But after Monday night’s loss, the Yankees’ wild-card cushion is down to seven games."
Yeah, it's funny how the whole world spends so much time worrying about the Yankees' playoff rotation when the first step is to make the playoffs.
"There is some reinforcement coming soon for the Yankees, with second baseman Gleyber Torres expected to rejoin the team for Wednesday’s final game of the three-game series. A 21-year-old rookie, Torres has been on the disabled list since July 5 with a right hip strain. Torres was in the vicinity Monday night, playing for the Yankees’ Florida State League team in Tampa.
Outfielder Clint Frazier isn’t expected to be available for the Yankees anytime soon, although the team received encouraging news on him Monday: Frazier received a diagnosis of post-concussive migraines, the team said, and Boone called it a 'better-case scenario.'
But the bigger issue right now is what to do with their catcher who is batting .188, struggling defensively and showing a disconcerting propensity for not hustling."
I'd be hard-pressed to think of a player who improved at this particular disconcerting propensity.
I'm expecting no improvement in defense or attitude, but a lot of talk about how his defense and attitude are improving.
"But that wasn’t his only lackadaisical play. The Yankees were trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and two out when Sánchez hit a sharp grounder to Rays second baseman Daniel Robertson, who flipped it to shortstop Willy Adames. Running from first base, Aaron Hicks got to second before Adames could step on the bag. But because Sanchez was jogging to first base, Adames was able to throw him out to end the game."
My initial impression was that Sanchez was jogging because his groin is not 100% and he was following the instructions of his coaches and his trainers. Maybe not.
"For much of the last month, the question shadowing the Yankees was whether they could overtake the surging Boston Red Sox in the American League East and escape the nail-biting proposition of a wild-card playoff game. But as the Red Sox inch further and further ahead, a hint of concern is creeping in about whether the Yankees will be able to hold on to one of the two wild card slots.
Not too long ago, such a question would seem ludicrous. But after Monday night’s loss, the Yankees’ wild-card cushion is down to seven games."
Yeah, it's funny how the whole world spends so much time worrying about the Yankees' playoff rotation when the first step is to make the playoffs.
"There is some reinforcement coming soon for the Yankees, with second baseman Gleyber Torres expected to rejoin the team for Wednesday’s final game of the three-game series. A 21-year-old rookie, Torres has been on the disabled list since July 5 with a right hip strain. Torres was in the vicinity Monday night, playing for the Yankees’ Florida State League team in Tampa.
Outfielder Clint Frazier isn’t expected to be available for the Yankees anytime soon, although the team received encouraging news on him Monday: Frazier received a diagnosis of post-concussive migraines, the team said, and Boone called it a 'better-case scenario.'
But the bigger issue right now is what to do with their catcher who is batting .188, struggling defensively and showing a disconcerting propensity for not hustling."
I'd be hard-pressed to think of a player who improved at this particular disconcerting propensity.
I'm expecting no improvement in defense or attitude, but a lot of talk about how his defense and attitude are improving.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
I've noticed he can't field and he can't run.
Always has demonstrated a lot of power and he will hit a lot of HRs at Yankee Stadium. He strikes out too much, like everybody else. The rather prominent predictions of a batting title seem fairly ridiculous, but so are lots of predictions.
Bird is young and cheap.
He hasn't accomplished nearly as much as several other Baby Bombers and I suspect a 14 at-bat hot streak is just a bad hitter having a good 14 at-bats.
Having said that, Lou Gehrig is not sitting on the bench awaiting his turn.
There is simply no reason for the Yankees to not stick with Bird.
Bird is young and cheap.
He hasn't accomplished nearly as much as several other Baby Bombers and I suspect a 14 at-bat hot streak is just a bad hitter having a good 14 at-bats.
Having said that, Lou Gehrig is not sitting on the bench awaiting his turn.
There is simply no reason for the Yankees to not stick with Bird.
Your weekly David Price Report.
"You have to say that July started out great for the Yankees, a Sunday night game at home, just like the kind of game they will play this Sunday against the Mets, an 11-1 victory over David Price and the Red Sox that made you wonder if Price would ever beat the Yankees in a big game, here or anywhere, on the first night of July or the last weekend of the regular season at Fenway."
Can I get a copy-and-paste job at the Daily News?
"The Yankees and Red Sox were still right there with each other at the top of the American League East, with the Yankees actually two games ahead in the loss column when the Red Sox left town. And since then, the Yankees have played the way they did at the start of the season, when they were 9-9 and then 10-9 at the same time the Red Sox were starting 17-2. Through Friday night, the Red Sox had lost one time since that Sunday night game. The Yankees? They ended up hanging on in the 9th on Saturday against the Mets, or would have been 8-8 since July 1."
"Hanging on in the 9th" is the same thing as "winning."
"Almost losing" is the same thing as "winning."
"Would have been 8-8" is the same thing as "9-7."
The Yankees have been hanging in there with a scorching hot Red Sox team. The Yankees have also done their part by beating the Red Sox head to head.
There is no move that Cashman can make that can prevent the Red Sox from winning.
"So now what does Brian Cashman do as his team moves up on the non-waiver trade deadline? Maybe they really can outscore everybody through October, the way they eventually did against the Mets Saturday afternoon. Or not. A month ago I thought the Yankees were the best team in the league. Not now."
A month ago, Lupica was wrong. The Yankees are not better than Houston or Boston, and I can only imagine Cleveland calmly laughing in their clubhouse at the notion of a 3-team AL Powerhouse.
"We’ll never know for sure how serious the Yankees actually were about adding Manny Machado to the stick they already have in their batting order. It would have been a dramatic and interesting play, of course, we’ve gone over that, and a statement from Cashman that he really did think his team could slug its way past the Red Sox, Astros, Indians."
I think most people with brains never took the notion seriously.
The Orioles trading Machado to the AL East?
The Yankees trading prospects to the AL East?
"The Yankees have a perfect right to think that the past three weeks look a lot differently if Torres and and Sanchez had been healthy. So no one would suggest that they aren’t still on track to win 100 games."
Kewl.
Let's get back to David Price.
"But still: When Price (him again) beat the Tigers 1-0 on Friday night, the Red Sox were 69-30, which sort of means this:
They no longer needed to even play .500 ball the rest of the way just to get to 100 wins."
Let me summarize:
The Yankees are 3 games back on the loss side, but will not catch the Red Sox if the Red Sox continue to win 70% of their games.
David Price.
The Yankees will probably need to add an impact player, but I can't think of who this player would be.
David Price.
Can I get a copy-and-paste job at the Daily News?
"The Yankees and Red Sox were still right there with each other at the top of the American League East, with the Yankees actually two games ahead in the loss column when the Red Sox left town. And since then, the Yankees have played the way they did at the start of the season, when they were 9-9 and then 10-9 at the same time the Red Sox were starting 17-2. Through Friday night, the Red Sox had lost one time since that Sunday night game. The Yankees? They ended up hanging on in the 9th on Saturday against the Mets, or would have been 8-8 since July 1."
"Hanging on in the 9th" is the same thing as "winning."
"Almost losing" is the same thing as "winning."
"Would have been 8-8" is the same thing as "9-7."
The Yankees have been hanging in there with a scorching hot Red Sox team. The Yankees have also done their part by beating the Red Sox head to head.
There is no move that Cashman can make that can prevent the Red Sox from winning.
"So now what does Brian Cashman do as his team moves up on the non-waiver trade deadline? Maybe they really can outscore everybody through October, the way they eventually did against the Mets Saturday afternoon. Or not. A month ago I thought the Yankees were the best team in the league. Not now."
A month ago, Lupica was wrong. The Yankees are not better than Houston or Boston, and I can only imagine Cleveland calmly laughing in their clubhouse at the notion of a 3-team AL Powerhouse.
"We’ll never know for sure how serious the Yankees actually were about adding Manny Machado to the stick they already have in their batting order. It would have been a dramatic and interesting play, of course, we’ve gone over that, and a statement from Cashman that he really did think his team could slug its way past the Red Sox, Astros, Indians."
I think most people with brains never took the notion seriously.
The Orioles trading Machado to the AL East?
The Yankees trading prospects to the AL East?
"The Yankees have a perfect right to think that the past three weeks look a lot differently if Torres and and Sanchez had been healthy. So no one would suggest that they aren’t still on track to win 100 games."
Kewl.
Let's get back to David Price.
"But still: When Price (him again) beat the Tigers 1-0 on Friday night, the Red Sox were 69-30, which sort of means this:
They no longer needed to even play .500 ball the rest of the way just to get to 100 wins."
Let me summarize:
The Yankees are 3 games back on the loss side, but will not catch the Red Sox if the Red Sox continue to win 70% of their games.
David Price.
The Yankees will probably need to add an impact player, but I can't think of who this player would be.
David Price.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Criticizing someone who speeds up the interminable HR Derby.
My idea is to set up a pitching machine that unleashes ten 100-MPH pitches per minute for five minutes.
Hit as many HRs as you can.
Hit as many HRs as you can.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
So no one blames Aaron Hicks.
There is nothing to apologize for here.
Let's set the stage: Two runs down, one out, eighth inning, runner on first, full count. Do you send the runner? Yes.
If you don't send the runner, Hicks will ground into an inning-ending double play.
If the pitch is in the strike zone, Hicks should make contact, even if it's just a foul ball.
If Hicks strikes out on a pitch outside the strike zone, it will most likely be an off-speed pitch in the dirt, and Judge will be safe at second.
"Sitting around and waiting for a HR" seems like the winning strategy if you know 100% that the next batter will hit a HR ... and if you knew 100% when your batters were going to hit HRs, managing a winning baseball team would be very easy.
Also ...
Judge was safe.
We have no idea if Stanton would have hit a game-tying HR in different circumstances.
Let's set the stage: Two runs down, one out, eighth inning, runner on first, full count. Do you send the runner? Yes.
If you don't send the runner, Hicks will ground into an inning-ending double play.
If the pitch is in the strike zone, Hicks should make contact, even if it's just a foul ball.
If Hicks strikes out on a pitch outside the strike zone, it will most likely be an off-speed pitch in the dirt, and Judge will be safe at second.
"Sitting around and waiting for a HR" seems like the winning strategy if you know 100% that the next batter will hit a HR ... and if you knew 100% when your batters were going to hit HRs, managing a winning baseball team would be very easy.
Also ...
Judge was safe.
We have no idea if Stanton would have hit a game-tying HR in different circumstances.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Attention is currency.
If you're wondering how Kylie Jenner can (supposedly) be worth $900 million, look at this nonsense.
A mediocre AA ballplayer goes 1-for-4, and that warrants a newspaper article?:
"Somehow, Tim Tebow keeps finding a way to counter his critics by doing something unexpected."
I'm ready to be wowed.
"The former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback was named to the Class AA Eastern League All-Star team despite a rather unremarkable .270 batting average, five home runs and 33 RBI this season for the Binghamton (N.Y.) Rumble Ponies, a New York Mets affiliate."
Unremarkable, but that doesn't stop me from remarking.
"Tebow, 30, was in the East squad's starting lineup Wednesday night, batting ninth as the designated hitter. In his first at-bat against West starting pitcher Beau Burrows, Tebow hit an opposite-field double."
Waiting to be wowed.
"Tebow grounded out to shortstop in the fifth inning, flied out to left field in the seventh and, representing the go-ahead run in the bottom of the ninth, struck out swinging."
Wow!
"The East pushed a run across in the ninth and the game ended in a 4-4 tie."
WOW!
A mediocre AA ballplayer goes 1-for-4, and that warrants a newspaper article?:
"Somehow, Tim Tebow keeps finding a way to counter his critics by doing something unexpected."
I'm ready to be wowed.
"The former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback was named to the Class AA Eastern League All-Star team despite a rather unremarkable .270 batting average, five home runs and 33 RBI this season for the Binghamton (N.Y.) Rumble Ponies, a New York Mets affiliate."
Unremarkable, but that doesn't stop me from remarking.
"Tebow, 30, was in the East squad's starting lineup Wednesday night, batting ninth as the designated hitter. In his first at-bat against West starting pitcher Beau Burrows, Tebow hit an opposite-field double."
Waiting to be wowed.
"Tebow grounded out to shortstop in the fifth inning, flied out to left field in the seventh and, representing the go-ahead run in the bottom of the ninth, struck out swinging."
Wow!
"The East pushed a run across in the ninth and the game ended in a 4-4 tie."
WOW!
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Wilmer Flores is so good, the Mets should consider starting him ... I mean, trading him.
"Wilmer
Flores has done this enough times now that perhaps it would behoove
some contending team to actually offer the Mets a decent prospect or two
for Walkoff Wilmer ahead of the upcoming trade deadline.
Even if he doesn’t have a true defensive position, it’s hard to argue with his repeated results late in games."
It's easy to argue with.
Maybe a contending team could use Wilmer Flores.
Expecting him to just sit on the bench until it's time for a walkoff HR?Very dumb.
It's just a weird statistical blip and everyone knows it is.
Flores came up as a pinch-hitter in the 10th
inning on Monday and promptly did what he does best, ripping a home run
off the left-field foul pole to end the Mets’ 4-3 win in the opener of a
doubleheader split against the Phillies at Citi Field, while also
establishing the record for the most game-ending RBI in franchise
history.
What
started out as the ultimate feel-good story when Flores had cried on
the field after nearly getting traded to Milwaukee just ahead of the
2015 trade deadline – and then clubbing a game-winning home run two days
later – has developed into something of a cottage industry for the
26-year-old utility man.
Even if he doesn’t have a true defensive position, it’s hard to argue with his repeated results late in games."
It's easy to argue with.
Maybe a contending team could use Wilmer Flores.
Expecting him to just sit on the bench until it's time for a walkoff HR?Very dumb.
It's just a weird statistical blip and everyone knows it is.
Saturday, July 07, 2018
Why did I click on this article?
He fooled me on the MLB website:
"One of the reasons, but not the only one, that the Yankees will be actively seeking a starting pitcher or two before the non-waiver Trade Deadline is because of the way one of the starters they already have, Sonny Gray, has pitched for them so far.
Gray came to the Yankees from Oakland, and always looked pretty good to them out there. Only now he is in New York and Yankees fans act as if he is not only pitching as badly as he has lately, but also vandalizing Monument Park between starts."
For what it's worth ... and it isn't worth much ... Lupica was, like, a HUGE Sonny Gray fan.
"Gray gave up five runs and six hits and threw two wild pitches in the two innings he pitched in the New York's 6-2 loss in Toronto Friday night, after starting a game against the Red Sox last Saturday night that the Yankees ended up losing, 11-1. His record is now 5-7 this season, with an earned run average of 5.85. Gray was 4-7 last season after the Yankees acquired him from the A's, even if he did get two starts in the postseason, one in which he pitched a solid five innings against the Astros in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, a game that Yankees won late."
We all have access to baseball-reference.com, but what does last year's ALCS have to do with ... anything?
In fact, you haven't written anything yet.
Skip the three-paragraph intro if you're going to just repeat things we already know.
"But the problem they have, tied in to Sonny Gray's problems, is that a lot of the starting pitchers who may be available seem to be different versions of the same Sonny Gray the Yankees liked as much as they did when he was pitching for somebody else."
That's the problem in a nutshell, with the Yankees and every team in MLB.
Which is why the Mets should hold on to both deGrom and Synderrggaarrdd.
You can trade them for 10 prospects, 2 of which become MLBers, 0 of which become All Stars, but even if you somehow put together a playoff lineup, you will never be able to replace two top-notch starters.
"Different shades of Gray, basically, if not 50 of them."
His first name is a pun, too. So many decisions to make when you're a professional baseball columnist.
But 50 Shades of Gray is too good to pass up ... and also timely. Lupica sure has his finger on the pulse of pop culture.
"But there is only one starting pitcher out there -- unless the Giants decide to deal Madison Bumgarner -- who could change everything for the Yankees this October the way Justin Verlander changed everything for the Astros last October and that is a guy they don't have to worry about in New York because he's already pitching in New York:
Jacob deGrom."
"There is only one starting pitcher out there ... other than Madison Bumgarner."
I mean, look, I know the target audience on MLB.com is beyond the New York Metropolitan Area, but that was a pretty big buildup to tell us the Sky is Blue.
Will it happen? DeGrom to the Yankees. I doubt it.
But every single caller to WFAN sure has an offer for the Mets. The first thing I heard this morning was deGrom-for-Stanton. That's probably the highest price I've heard, with the lowest being, say, Andujar and Ellsbury.
One thing these moronic callers have that Lupica doesn't have: the guts to put their offer on the airwaves.
This is all we get from the weasel:
"Will the Mets trade deGrom (who is still only 30)? No one knows that."
OK, so what do you know?
Did you try asking Buck Showalter?
"One of the reasons, but not the only one, that the Yankees will be actively seeking a starting pitcher or two before the non-waiver Trade Deadline is because of the way one of the starters they already have, Sonny Gray, has pitched for them so far.
Gray came to the Yankees from Oakland, and always looked pretty good to them out there. Only now he is in New York and Yankees fans act as if he is not only pitching as badly as he has lately, but also vandalizing Monument Park between starts."
For what it's worth ... and it isn't worth much ... Lupica was, like, a HUGE Sonny Gray fan.
"Gray gave up five runs and six hits and threw two wild pitches in the two innings he pitched in the New York's 6-2 loss in Toronto Friday night, after starting a game against the Red Sox last Saturday night that the Yankees ended up losing, 11-1. His record is now 5-7 this season, with an earned run average of 5.85. Gray was 4-7 last season after the Yankees acquired him from the A's, even if he did get two starts in the postseason, one in which he pitched a solid five innings against the Astros in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, a game that Yankees won late."
We all have access to baseball-reference.com, but what does last year's ALCS have to do with ... anything?
In fact, you haven't written anything yet.
Skip the three-paragraph intro if you're going to just repeat things we already know.
"But the problem they have, tied in to Sonny Gray's problems, is that a lot of the starting pitchers who may be available seem to be different versions of the same Sonny Gray the Yankees liked as much as they did when he was pitching for somebody else."
That's the problem in a nutshell, with the Yankees and every team in MLB.
Which is why the Mets should hold on to both deGrom and Synderrggaarrdd.
You can trade them for 10 prospects, 2 of which become MLBers, 0 of which become All Stars, but even if you somehow put together a playoff lineup, you will never be able to replace two top-notch starters.
"Different shades of Gray, basically, if not 50 of them."
His first name is a pun, too. So many decisions to make when you're a professional baseball columnist.
But 50 Shades of Gray is too good to pass up ... and also timely. Lupica sure has his finger on the pulse of pop culture.
"But there is only one starting pitcher out there -- unless the Giants decide to deal Madison Bumgarner -- who could change everything for the Yankees this October the way Justin Verlander changed everything for the Astros last October and that is a guy they don't have to worry about in New York because he's already pitching in New York:
Jacob deGrom."
"There is only one starting pitcher out there ... other than Madison Bumgarner."
I mean, look, I know the target audience on MLB.com is beyond the New York Metropolitan Area, but that was a pretty big buildup to tell us the Sky is Blue.
Will it happen? DeGrom to the Yankees. I doubt it.
But every single caller to WFAN sure has an offer for the Mets. The first thing I heard this morning was deGrom-for-Stanton. That's probably the highest price I've heard, with the lowest being, say, Andujar and Ellsbury.
One thing these moronic callers have that Lupica doesn't have: the guts to put their offer on the airwaves.
This is all we get from the weasel:
"Will the Mets trade deGrom (who is still only 30)? No one knows that."
OK, so what do you know?
Did you try asking Buck Showalter?
Tuesday, July 03, 2018
Bird is still young and has a decent amount of power, I suppose.
This doesn't mention a 3-pitch strikeout with bases loaded and one out with the game on the line.
I don't actually know if an infield shift was on at the time.
I'm the Braves had to play at normal double-play depth, but I guess it doesn't matter when the batter can barely hit a foul ball:
"The
Yankees have to be close to losing their patience with first baseman
Greg Bird, who’s hitting .198 in 31 games since coming off the disabled
list following ankle surgery. After hitting two homers in Saturday’s
win, he’s 1-for-8. He entered Monday hitting .171 (7-for-41) in his
previous 15 games.
'I've just got to do better,' he said late Monday night."
I don't know if they "have to be" losing their patience. They seem to give this guy a lot of slack.
At best, he can platoon with, like, the equally horrible Todd Neil Walker. It's a bit of a shock if either of them even put the ball into play.
Bird is 25 years old, has accumulated 400 career at-bats, and has a career WAR of 1.0.
Judge is a five-tool champ.
Judge almost made a game-saving catch that would have been one of the best catches I've ever seen.
Diverting attention from the error that set it up. An error from the star second baseman maybe needs to grow up a little.
I can't think of one Yankee second baseman Pat Kelly who played fundamentally sound defense.
Charge the ball, glove on the ground, hunch over the ball, get into a position to throw.
Maybe there's a youtube clip of Willie Randolph.
Actually, there probably is not a youtube clip. Because winning fundamentals are routine and boring.
Diverting attention from the error that set it up. An error from the star second baseman maybe needs to grow up a little.
I can't think of one Yankee second baseman Pat Kelly who played fundamentally sound defense.
Charge the ball, glove on the ground, hunch over the ball, get into a position to throw.
Maybe there's a youtube clip of Willie Randolph.
Actually, there probably is not a youtube clip. Because winning fundamentals are routine and boring.
Sunday, July 01, 2018
You can maybe "man up" in Scranton.
"Thus far as a Yankee, he's 9-13 in 27 starts with a 4.68 ERA, including 5-5 with a 5.44 this year as the biggest Achilles on an American League power. The Yanks are 7-9 when Gray starts, 46-18 when anyone else starts.
'I feel like we're the best team in baseball four out of five days,' Gray said. 'To come out and do that ... it just sucks.'"
Congratulations to Sonny Gray for self-flagellating himself in the post game locker room.
My advice to anyone associated with baseball, as you review a season's worth of Sonny Gray excuses:
1. Pay no attention to post game comments.
2. Stop associating baseball ability with willingness to be contrite.
3. Never use the phrase "personal catcher" again.
'I feel like we're the best team in baseball four out of five days,' Gray said. 'To come out and do that ... it just sucks.'"
Congratulations to Sonny Gray for self-flagellating himself in the post game locker room.
My advice to anyone associated with baseball, as you review a season's worth of Sonny Gray excuses:
1. Pay no attention to post game comments.
2. Stop associating baseball ability with willingness to be contrite.
3. Never use the phrase "personal catcher" again.
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