Any sports editor worth his salt would stop such a darksider story in its tracks. 1. Nobody (here in NY) wants to read 'darksider' on anything "Yankees" at the moment. 2. Cashman's gone "back-to-back-to-back" with one good move after another that's put a fun, young "best record in baseball" club out on the field and amped fannies in the seats. Or put it this way: if this were a card game, I'd see that writer's "Ellsbury contract" and raise him a "Glayber Torres PLUS getting Chapman back" not to mention: - the trade to get that (lefty-hitting in Yankee Stadium) shortstop Gregorious to replace no less a void than Derek Jeter. - Ellsbury contact aside, the Red Sox have the highest payroll.....the Yankees are down in the 7th spot. And any "youth = cheap contract = 7th highest payroll" argument actually underscores the point about Cashman when you consider how quickly the Yankees overhauled their aging "retired core4/Arod/Texiera" roster and turned it into a "can't wait for tomorrow" contender almost overnight. Right now, the Yankees pass every metric with flying colors both sports and entertainment-wise not to mention their broad cultural appeal as well. If the bored "the game's too slow" hipster who's more into video games ever decides to give baseball a 2nd look, chances are he'll be checking out what the buzz-in-the-Bronx is all about (and not Gary Cohen's hyper-lame "it's outta here!!" call.....razzz). . : ) The New York Yankees: . "the modern team, for modern times" ™joe . . .
Has Cashman been perfect? No, but he has been right more often than not. You could probably find a bad trade or free agent signing made by highly regarded GM's in the game. Theo signing Heyward and Beane trading Donaldson.
Don't overlook the presence of Tim Naehring, the old Red Sox outfielder, in the front office. He is supposedly a top-flight judge of talent, and the drafting and player development have improved significantly as he has moved up the ladder. In this day and age, young talent (i.e., cheap and controllable) is the way to go. I'm hoping Naehring is this generation's Gene Michael. One of the coolest thing about watching Judge, Torres and Adujar is the enthusiasm and the sheer joy they bring to each game. They're living the dream and enjoying every minute of it.
Are you kidding? That's click-bait heaven. Any sports editor in the N.Y. area would run that in a minute because it's all about clicks. They love it even better when it pisses off fans because that generates even more clicks. How many Jet fans read Cimini or Mehta even though they despise them? Lots.
Agreed on Naehring. I wonder how long he'll stay with the organization given that Eppler and Denbo have been poached by the Angels and Marlins. I could see him becoming a GM somewhere. And yes, the game is trending towards younger players. The George way of spending a ton of $$$ on FA's doesn't work as well in today's game.
You're right - I'm not accounting for the portion of the readership who for some weird reason get off on (obvious) troll bait. They're like car accident rubberneckers in real life. .
I'm not a big Sonny Gray fan, but blame the offense for the current mini-slump. Look, it had to happen sooner or later. Torres and Andujar have cooled off, and Sanchez and Bird haven't heated up. The trouble is that too many fans and reporters ramped up expectations by anointing this team as the second coming of the '98 Yankees, and it's way too soon to do that.
I'm most worried about Bird. The guy hasn't played more than half a pro season since 2015 and his MLB track record is a few flashes of good player mixed with a lot of below average play. Those other guys don't have nearly as many injuries during their careers in the minors and majors. IMO, this team is going to win 98-104 games. Not quite as stacked as 1998, but that's ok. Those types of seasons don't happen often.
Sanchez out for a while. I know he's hitting below .200, but he looked like he was having better swings last week. His power won't be easy to replace. Romine's numbers look good now, but let's where they go with more playing time. First base continues to be a black hole. It's not gonna be easy this week against Philly and Boston, but this team has played well against opponents with winning records.
You had a good point earlier about Bird's lack of a major-league track record. How long do you think the Yankees stick with him and what are the alternatives? Cashman is high on Bird, and was saying that health is the the only thing standing in the way of him becoming a long-term fixture at first base. Now, you have to wonder if he's just another Tyler Austin. Romine adds better defense. He's good at blocking balls in the dirt, which Sanchez is lousy at. Blocking those ball is important because the Yankee pitchers throw so many breaking balls. If you're a pitcher who has a batter at 0-2 or 1-2 and you want to get him to chase a pitch in the dirt, whom are you more comfortable throwing to, Sanchez or Romine? Let's see if the pitching picks up with Sanchez out. I'm not saying it will, but it's something to keep an eye on.
If Bird is not hitting by mid July, then it is time to look for an upgrade. This is not a rebuilding team that can afford to wait for him to come around with the bat. Bour, Duda, Moustakas(I think he can do it), and Votto(longshot) are some external possibilities. As for the 2 catchers, Romine might be better at blocking balls in the dirt and he knows the staff well. I'm just weary that his offense will regress to his career norms with more playing time. He's already shown signs of it in June. Sanchez's D hasn't been great, but he's a lot better than what he's shown this year. He's a great pitch framer and has a cannon of an arm that has caught would be base stealers, which has gone down this year. It's way too early to move him to another position now, maybe in a few years that can be considered.
Hopefully, Severino will turn out to be a long-term ace. Over the years, the Yankees have developed surprisingly few aces through their farm system: Lefty Gomez, Whitey Ford, Mel Stottleymyre, Ron Guidy and Andy Pettitte. You could count Lew Burdette, but they traded Burdette (then a young farmhand) for veteran Johnny Sain. They've had a lot more success with position players. I guess pitching has always been a crapshoot.
There's this saying that T(here)I(s)N(o)S(uch)T(hing)A(s)AP(itching)P(rospect). They are so unpredictable with injuries and performance. I try not to get get excited about any prospect until he shows he can handle AA.
