Kccitystar

Shifts are a valid strategy to address hitter tendencies but just like illegal formations on football, the league has to make rule adjustments to avoid "three true outcome" baseball which has been slowly poisoning the sport as more and more teams leverage data for decision making on the field. My hot take on all of these rules changes this year is that I am far more comfortable with a shorter game with more balls put in play than a long 4 hour affair where both teams cumulatively put 10 balls in play, especially attending those long 97 degree scorchers at field level in July.

I'd rather articulate my full thoughts to the thread than tidbits in the chatbox since it's easier to explain context and nuance this way with some takes. Also, I've been listening to a lot of fan podcasts and Michael Kay/Cone/Sabathia commentary on the team's 2022 season and playoff performance and the one common thread I keep hearing among fans and prominent personalities among the team is that the organization is run differently these days, and I've decided to just call the team the Zombie Yankees as I'd rather not taint my fond memories of the 90s teams. Calling them the Zombie Yankees is a lot more fitting considering they keep thumping out that same mission statement every year even though the sport itself has evolved far beyond the traditional method of building out teams and having championship windows. In the past 15 years or so, I've found that a lot of teams that are utilizing an analytical approach are actually investing a LOT into scouting and player development because new age GMs and owners actually came to the understanding that building out a franchise that is sustainable brings far more value and consistent revenue than just riding a hot core for 3 seasons as part of a "championship window", then overhauling your roster with free agents in those declining years as you're pulling off a dog and pony show appealing to nostalgia to keep butts in seats. The Yankees have had an aging front office and with that aging front office comes an echo chamber of old ideas and old approaches that don't fit the modern game. It's kind of why they haven't been as deep into the playoffs as recent as 2017 and internally they've struggled to develop prospects (Past 20 years the only homegrown guys they've built up have been Cano, Gardner, Judge, Severino among others but it's a small handful) and when they do successfully build up guys to call them up, they screw up their confidence by starting/stopping their momentum at the major league level to truly shine (Peraza/Cabrera) A lot of orgs have also come to understand that harvesting talent in perpetuity will keep you in a permanent competitive window forever *regardless* of who leaves through trades or free agency. Look at the Dodgers. The Dodgers are arguably what the Yankees should have been: An organization that can develop guys constantly so even if a SS like Trea Turner leaves this offseason they will almost always have the depth to fill that need internally, and they don't necessarily need to tank either for picks because they already develop homegrown talent well enough to trade current star talent and get prospects in perpetuity.

I really liked the structure of Julio Rodriguez's contract that's likely going to keep him a Mariner for life over these ridiculous deals we would normally toss out for guys. His contract at least has an out for the team if he falls flat, but if he performs up to his potential, he gets paid market value. I mean I know I've been armchair-GM'ing all day but where would we even go this offseason? Signing Judge will be a massive contract. We'd be paying what, $30M/year for Donaldson and IKF? Plus $8M for Montas? Hicks has $30M left on his terrible contract at $10M/year. So effectively, three stupid blunders eat up every bit of the salary the team could have used to lock down Judge and then some. Now they're stuck with three useless roster spots with players nobody even wants. I'm afraid that if Judge comes back, that's the ONLY big move Hal and the front office are going to make. I'm glad we have Peraza and Cabrera because I have a feeling that's our SS and 2B next year, and the rest will pretty much look the same. If I were Judge, I'd look at that and cringe. I'm also pretty certain Judge would invest a serious amount into his conditioning after seeing the benefits for him this season, and he'll keep putting up consistent numbers on a team that's actually constructed well enough for his offense to make the team itself a juggernaut (thus keeping unnecessary pressure away from him having to constantly "deliver") vs having to carry a team and their offense on his back the way that he did this season (which warps the expectations of the fans). I'm just bummed that the organization couldn't figure to build around him and lock him down long term knowing just how talented he was as far back as 2017. I mean, we ALL saw the HR derby in 2017, and knew this kid was the real deal. I'm okay with him walking though, honestly. Seeing how some other contracts are hurting the team, I just don't think that the Yankees can give Judge what he wants. He did an incredible thing this season and got this team into the playoffs, but he won't be hitting 60+ homeruns next season, obviously. If the rest of the team was actually really solid, you absolutely have to pay him, but we have too many bad contracts as it is.

To be honest, we had a ton of momentum leading into the break so I can understand the comparisons early on. After yesterday's game though, I think Judge understands his time with the team has come to a close and I have no expectations that he would want to return to this sh*tshow. The Baby Bomber era is over and I'm okay with him walking. The Yankees drafted Judge and couldn't get/develop one other guy to fit with him. The rest of the Yankee 1st rounders have been terrible. Even though the Astros tanked for a few seasons to get where they are, the product of those seasons who are still on the team are probably Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker and the team augmented their entire roster to complement those guys. The rest of the Astros were later round picks that were there for anyone, or through trades and international league signings. Correa was gone and they didn't get any return for him, they just decided to roll the dice on Pena (a homegrown shortstop, the irony!) yet here they are in their 4th WS appearance in 6 years. The only revolving door they had all season was CF, while we've had to shuffle around who would play what position on the field and where they'd hit in the batting order almost every series so there was no level of consistency. Imagine pulling up to work not knowing when your shift was every other day or working at that place where you had to on occasion cover a bunch of other duties that you probably couldn't do at 100% competency? Insane. Outside of the Astros, clearly in the last decade there have been other teams across baseball that are doing something right that the Yankees are not as an organization, since a lot of personnel from recent WS winners have moved on to other organizations and some have been outright poached to GM/help other teams in the league. There's no vision, there's no passion, there is no mindset, there's no approach with this organization, at all, man. We can't develop guys properly, we can't set up a solid foundation for the homegrown talent to shine, we can't even spend the ridiculous budget we have on proven quality talent because we need to feel like the smartest guys in the room by searching the bargain bin for AAAA talent every offseason. Apparently the organization has long held this belief that we somehow have the organizational capacity to "fix" players past their prime even though we've struggled to develop our own stars in the past 10 years. I say all that to say this: The Yankees as under Brian Cashman have hit their ceiling, and there is no real sign that they'll be able to break through in the upcoming years. Over the last five years Hal, Cashman, and Boone have successfully been able to transform a team that lost to the Astros in seven games in 2017 into a team that lost to the Astros in four in 2022, and that point is not lost on a vast amount of the fanbase. He's not the worst GM and people will think he is because they're letting out their frustration (even though the guy has never had a losing season under his watch, which is an incredible record), but I feel like he's hit his ceiling. Even if you're solid at your job, when you hit that ceiling, it's really time to strongly consider a new voice.

We also forget that their entire organization and philosphy/approach along with how the lineup was constructed is far different than the 2022 Yankees and their front office

I'll be honest, Brian Cashman is not the worst GM in baseball, but someone needs to tell Hal and the rest of the organization that the biggest team in American sports should not be routinely outclassed by organizations spending far less money. If you don’t think the front offices of the Rays, Astros, Braves, etc. would outperform Cashman with his budget/headroom, you have to be kidding yourself. His complete lack of accountability has also filtered down to the players, too. Boone himself is not a good manager. He isn’t tasked with much because the front office clearly doesn’t believe in delegating responsibilities to the baseball people, but the little he does do he bungles with completely boneheaded decisions (like taking out your ace who literally put the team on his back to get you to this point in the playoffs in favor of what's arguably your third/fourth best reliever with the bases loaded). That said, if you think Boone is the problem, then we have to fault Cashman for continuing to bring him back. At Yankee Stadium, they sell Chicken buckets, basically a mix of chicken tenders and fries, which are a fan favorite because of their price/portion size along with a soda. A vast majority of the fanbase that attend the games (like me) will line up to order those because $15 dollar canned cocktails are where we draw the line, but I and the majority of fans can't come to the stadium and get a deal like that to support an organization that is not serious enough to put themselves in the best position both during the season and during the offseason about putting a championship caliber team on the field.

So what I'm going to do is take my time to rant. So, over 3 games, the team's got 12 hits and 41 Ks. The lineup needs good contact hitters in a bad way. You're not winning in the LCS with a lineup of .230-.250 hitters who strikeout a ton and hit home runs occasionally. Top pitchers will always kill that lineup structure 10 times out of 10. I'm really ready as a fan to put the "Baby Bombers Era" to sleep tomorrow night though. I've come to the conclusion that it's been nothing but a complete dud. It's beginning to slap me in the face that every single rival or contemporary has lapped this team in terms of vision and organizational approach. You have the Astros, who are likely going to their fourth World Series in six years, and they've won* one already. Boston? They retooled and won a title. The Dodgers won a title and two pennants. The Rays won a pennant! In the period since they've won a WS, the Mets across town ALSO won a pennant! The Yankees have TWO division titles in 10 years and have tried to trot the same team out for 5 years now. I guarantee you that they will do this and try to gaslight all of us as fans that letting Judge walk to another team for more money is a good idea while they trot the same team out there next season with Peraza playing SS in AAA over IKF come spring training. Second-rate owner. Second-rate GM. Second-rate roster, a fourth-rate manager and a second-rate organization. I can't wait to see what 14 year old IFA that Cashman will decide to splurge on this off-season, because I sure am glad they didn't break the luxury tax so they didn't lose any of that international money. I can't wait to see him also tear up the minors and then never come-up because our moronic GM ends up blocking him with whatever cheap-ass stopgap he chose to sign instead of the multiple marquee free agents that were available. The fans deserve and expect better from the organization, chicken buckets be damned.

I don't even know how to begin with my feelings. To be honest, for the first 9 innings it was a tense, well-played game. If the Mariners had walked it off in the bottom of the 9th I would've obviously been disappointed, but it would've been whatever, there'll be another game tomorrow. This was a stinker, but you know what, the Angels game they played last season where they had fans sit through a rain delay, then give up 7 runs in the 9th inning was probably the worst Yankees loss in recent memory past this one.

Why can't the Yankees have a player like Tatis, period?

I'm telling you dude the entire organization is a death star. They have great scouts, a great farm system, great ownership that has an good eye for evaluating players in the league, etc.

Speaking of, what did I tell you about Taillon! Patience! 👍

Since Luis Gil was called up as a COVID replacement, they can call him back up at anytime. They don’t need to wait the 10 days like they would with a regular call up. He’ll hang around like Wade did when he was “sent down”.

The derby has become a showcase with a LOT of thump participating

I knew Jamo had a game like this in him! That stat line looks beautiful, and yes I know it’s vs the Mariners: 7.0 IP, 4H, 1R, 1BB, 9Ks Sidenote @Gordo rumors say your Phils are looking for a late inning guy? We got some arms. If Chapman doesn't shake out maybe we can ship him down I-95.

Not really. It’s my understanding that this goes further than the Dodgers not wanting to do anything, and that it’s the MLB domestic abuse policy that MLB, and only MLB, can hand down disciplinary action in this case. Even something as simple as the Dodgers skipping Bauer’s next schedule start could be interpreted as “disciplinary”, and would have been grounds for the MLBPA, MLB, or Bauer to take action against the Dodgers. With labor talks looming after the season, a grievance between the union and the league is not something they want to deal with.

Sorry man, I do my best to pivot and talk about other things going on in baseball as much as I can. That said, what will it take for us to get Didi back

Kinda want to try and keep the thread from being continuous talk about the Yankees, but Aaron Judge is going to be 30 next year and will be a free agent when the season ends. The Yankees can try to retain him, but the only way I and I think the fanbase can and should support this move is if he stays healthy both this season and the next one, as that would prove he's worked on his conditioning as that was a problem for him in earlier years. I've been advocating that the team stop trying to find reclamation projects and just let the kids in AAA play who are mashing in Scranton though

Teams are not going to give us anyone of value. Execs in the league say our team is too slow, not as athletic, and the series where we got swept by the Red Sox kind of exposed the type of team we really are. We're not going to be a playoff caliber team for a really long time that a "retooling" can't fix.

They did need someone that wasn't a 37 year old Brett Gardner out in CF though To be honest it gives us some level of depth considering we now have one of the fastest guys in baseball that can cover CF instead of Gardner (see above) and he can go back to platooning in LF with Frazier, and Andujar can go back to playing his natural position (3B). His ability to put the bat on the ball is secondary compared the peace of mind knowing we have one less defensive liability on the field.

Great, so basically RH Tyler Wade.

You underestimate my dedication! I watch games I attend to completion, or at least until I'm out of chicken tenders and fries for the game. In this case, it was way too hot/humid and post-rain delay it was really sticky weather. I figured I'd go through all that to see the team seal a win, but we knew they'd lose considering they only scored 1 run after tagging Ohtani for 7 in the first. It's supposed to rain today so I'm not sure if that 1:05 game will even be played.

Man it is too hot here to formulate an opinion 😰

Just wanted to say that yes, I'm aware of the ongoing allegations against Trevor Bauer. Given the details that will likely come out in the coming days, if he never wears another baseball uniform again, I will not miss seeing him on the mound. An absolute monster outside of the sport.