It's significant that many of us had the same thought after Phil Hughes gave up on two runs in eight innings (and still lost) yesterday:
"I wonder if this increases his trade value."
With the trade deadline 33 days away, and the fading Yankees closer to last place than first--albeit not by much, and only two games in the loss column from the Red Sox--we have to wonder if this might be the year we've been dreading, the one that those of us over the age of 40 have suspected was on its way since Derek Jeter was a pup.
This might be the year the deadline hits and the Yankees are sellers.
Now, that's not as awful a thing as you might think. In fact, any series of events that gets Joba Chamberlain off this team sooner can't be seen as a complete negative. But the idea that there's cause to consider giving up on a Yankee season should rightly inspire some consternation. This is, after all, a team that has (it could be argued) missed the postseason a grand total of once since 1993. (That's 20 years ago, math phobics.) There was a strike in 1994, then the team hit the playoffs in 1995 and has failed to reach them only in 2008 since then.
That's quite a record of achievement, and it has always been clear it wouldn't last forever, although for a while it seemed so easy, we forgot about the laws of probability.
This season, a combination of age (Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia haven't been Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia much), subpar performances (I'm looking at you, Robinson Cano) and a ridiculous number of injuries (Jeter, Mr. Rod, Granderson--twice, Teixeira--twice and now for the year, Cervelli, Nunez (twice? three times?) Nova, Youkilis (remember him?). The list goes on. Brian Cashman broke his leg, and then his decorum, finally letting out his pent-up frustration toward Mr. Rod.
The best-case scenario has Nunez and Cervelli returning first, which adds a boost of--what?--to the lineup. Jeter is progressing, we're told. He'll be back after the All-Star break, which means it could be July or it could be 2026. Granderson had a pin taken out of his hand (no wonder it hurt!).
Mr. Rod? I won't begin to speculate. Because I have even less patience than Brian Cashman.
There's no quick fix, and one is needed. Maybe it's not time to pack up the tents and unfurl the "wait-'til-next-year" banner, but it's getting closer. Lyle Overbay seems like a nice guy, and Vernon Wells is thrilled to be a Yankee, but they're not hitting 40 home runs this year. Pettitte is a gritty Yankee legend and incredibly competitive at 41, but age catches up with everyone except Mariano Rivera.
So maybe it's time to send some of our less crucial pieces elsewhere and bolster a farm system that so far has produced David Adams and Austin Romine, both hitting roughly as well as I would, and that's not a compliment. The jury's still out on Zoillo Almonte, but the last couple of games indicate he's not Superman, either. And even if he is, he can't play five positions on the field.
Travis Hafner? He can't play ONE position on the field, and he's not hitting.
Who could go? From a greedy Yankee fan standpoint, Hughes and Chamberlain, once the golden boys of the farm system, are the best candidates. They've been, to be polite, inconsistent, and might benefit from a home ballpark whose fences are a little farther away from home plate. Romine? Not sure there's much value there. Nova, maybe, although going forward, a rotation that includes Sabathia, Nova, Phelps, and the almost-there Michael Pineda might not be a terrible thing.
Who could come back on any of those deals? Prospects. At best, good prospects. Hughes and Chamberlain (and Granderson, for those keeping score at home) are in their walk years, so they don't possess huge value; they'll be rentals for any team that takes them. You don't get Chase Headley for that. You don't get Hedley Lamarr for that.
There's still hope for 2013; don't get me wrong. Wells and Overbay (and Hafner) could suddenly remember how they were hitting in April. Jeter and Mr. Rod (and Granderson) could come back and not lose a step in their transition. Pettitte could grit his teeth so hard his eyeballs open wide and he sees the plate better. It's all possible.
But ALL those things need to happen for this team to do much more than contend for a wild card spot with six other clubs. Brian Cashman is too smart to think all those pieces will calmly and easily fall into place. You know he has a plan.
Right now, he's probably trying to think up ways to trade Mr. Rod, but that's an emotional response, and he'll get over it. There's no way it could happen.
Changes are coming. In five weeks, we'll know what they are.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Not-So-Walking Wounded
So let's recap, shall we?
When the season began, the Yankees were missing their starting shortstop, their starting third baseman, their starting first baseman, their starting centerfielder and one of their starting pitchers (Andy Pettitte started late). But we were told not to worry--the replacements were a scrappy bunch who would show us that their best days were not behind them.
That was indeed true for a while. Players like Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay seemed rejuvenated by the atmosphere in the Bronx, and the Yankees had a share--at least--of first place until Memorial Day.
Then they met... the Mets?
Four games against one of the sorriest teams in the National League, two of them in the home ballpark, all of them without any traveling. Sleeping each night in their own beds. And the Yankees are a terrific interleague team--the best record against Other Leaguers in the sport. Things looked good.
But. Overbay, Wells, Ichiro Suzuki and Travis Hafner started coming back to earth. (To be fair, Suzuki wasn't all the far off it, and has been streaky).
And some crazy shit started to happen. Curtis Granderson, who had been hit on the arm in his FIRST SPRING TRAINING AT-BAT came back, fully healed and ready to start contributing some of those 40-something home runs he hits every year. And a week into his season, he was hit AGAIN, in the hand, and back to the disabled list he went.
But not to worry--Mark Teixeira and (replacement) Kevin Youkilis ("you're gonna LOVE Youk" we were told repeatedly) were coming back from the DL to save the day. And for a few days, Tex at least tried to live up to the hype. He didn't get many hits, but the ones he got tended to land in the stands. That was good.
Except that Youk was out every couple of days with another back issue. And Tex, well, people (let's say the hitting coach, although he seems to be in trouble for saying so) saw problems in his swing that indicated that healing wrist wasn't healing all so much, and waddaya know, last weekend, he took himself out of the game and headed back to the DL today.
And Youk? Herniated disc in the back. A minimum--MINIMUM--of 10-12 weeks on the DL. That means the best case scenario brings him back in early September. Don't hold your breath on that, either. You'll likely never see him in a Yankee uniform again.
Maybe we won't love Youk all that much after all. Not his fault, of course, but holy mackerel! In addition to the losses in the first paragraph, of which only one has been alleviated (Pettitte came back), the "starting" catcher Francisco Cervelli, the official backup shortstop and for all I know Ichiro Suzuki's magic bat wrangler have all been absentees.
Captain Clutch has no timetable yet, but is reportedly moving from side to side on a limited basis (which some would say he's been doing for years, but I am not one of them). Mr. Rod is progressing nicely physically, we're told, and could be back "after the All-Star break," which is anytime between July 19 and Infinity. Except that Major League Baseball could very likely suspend him for 100 games for playing in the medicine chest again.
Tex? Probably not that long before he's back, unless he needs surgery, in which case it's 2014. Granderson? If I'm the Yankees, I'm having him come to bat in a full set of armor from now on, and he's only having the pin in his hand removed this week. Not exactly quick back.
Cervelli could be back soon, but frankly, Chris Stewart has been doing pretty much what you'd expect out of Cervelli in his absence, and that's not a ton, but it's okay.
The biggest boost we can hope for right now is from the absent Yankee, Michael Pineda, who from all accounts is soon to come and pitch his first game for the team. And let's face it--starting pitching might be the only area in which the Yankees DON'T desperately need help.
Personally, I blame the Mets.
When the season began, the Yankees were missing their starting shortstop, their starting third baseman, their starting first baseman, their starting centerfielder and one of their starting pitchers (Andy Pettitte started late). But we were told not to worry--the replacements were a scrappy bunch who would show us that their best days were not behind them.
That was indeed true for a while. Players like Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay seemed rejuvenated by the atmosphere in the Bronx, and the Yankees had a share--at least--of first place until Memorial Day.
Then they met... the Mets?
Four games against one of the sorriest teams in the National League, two of them in the home ballpark, all of them without any traveling. Sleeping each night in their own beds. And the Yankees are a terrific interleague team--the best record against Other Leaguers in the sport. Things looked good.
But. Overbay, Wells, Ichiro Suzuki and Travis Hafner started coming back to earth. (To be fair, Suzuki wasn't all the far off it, and has been streaky).
And some crazy shit started to happen. Curtis Granderson, who had been hit on the arm in his FIRST SPRING TRAINING AT-BAT came back, fully healed and ready to start contributing some of those 40-something home runs he hits every year. And a week into his season, he was hit AGAIN, in the hand, and back to the disabled list he went.
But not to worry--Mark Teixeira and (replacement) Kevin Youkilis ("you're gonna LOVE Youk" we were told repeatedly) were coming back from the DL to save the day. And for a few days, Tex at least tried to live up to the hype. He didn't get many hits, but the ones he got tended to land in the stands. That was good.
Except that Youk was out every couple of days with another back issue. And Tex, well, people (let's say the hitting coach, although he seems to be in trouble for saying so) saw problems in his swing that indicated that healing wrist wasn't healing all so much, and waddaya know, last weekend, he took himself out of the game and headed back to the DL today.
And Youk? Herniated disc in the back. A minimum--MINIMUM--of 10-12 weeks on the DL. That means the best case scenario brings him back in early September. Don't hold your breath on that, either. You'll likely never see him in a Yankee uniform again.
Maybe we won't love Youk all that much after all. Not his fault, of course, but holy mackerel! In addition to the losses in the first paragraph, of which only one has been alleviated (Pettitte came back), the "starting" catcher Francisco Cervelli, the official backup shortstop and for all I know Ichiro Suzuki's magic bat wrangler have all been absentees.
Captain Clutch has no timetable yet, but is reportedly moving from side to side on a limited basis (which some would say he's been doing for years, but I am not one of them). Mr. Rod is progressing nicely physically, we're told, and could be back "after the All-Star break," which is anytime between July 19 and Infinity. Except that Major League Baseball could very likely suspend him for 100 games for playing in the medicine chest again.
Tex? Probably not that long before he's back, unless he needs surgery, in which case it's 2014. Granderson? If I'm the Yankees, I'm having him come to bat in a full set of armor from now on, and he's only having the pin in his hand removed this week. Not exactly quick back.
Cervelli could be back soon, but frankly, Chris Stewart has been doing pretty much what you'd expect out of Cervelli in his absence, and that's not a ton, but it's okay.
The biggest boost we can hope for right now is from the absent Yankee, Michael Pineda, who from all accounts is soon to come and pitch his first game for the team. And let's face it--starting pitching might be the only area in which the Yankees DON'T desperately need help.
Personally, I blame the Mets.
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