About the Off-Day: Meanderings of My Mind
By Tim Kabel
August 22, 2023
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The last-place Yankees had an off-day yesterday, so they could regain their strength after being humiliated for eight games in a row. They have not had an eight-game losing streak since 1995. Again, that team made the playoffs. This team will not. There are 38 games left in the season. The Yankees have neither the talent nor the time to make up the enormous deficits they have in both the Wild Card race and the division. Not only that, but they are also pretty deep in the line to be worried about first place. This is a lost season. Whether the Yankees admit it or not, they have no chance to make the playoffs and they need to begin acting accordingly. Since they were off yesterday, this is again the perfect time to discuss multiple topics.
The other day, Pedro Martinez compared the Yankees to chihuahuas. The only problem with that comparison is that chihuahuas can be feisty. Is there a breed of dog that is both puny and passive, allowing other dogs, cats, and perhaps even mice to push them around? I think the Teacup Yorkshire Terrier would be a much better representative for the current Yankees' team.
The Yankees gave me a wonderful birthday present yesterday. They were off, sparing me the indignity of watching them play and lose yet another game. Even Aaron Boone has not yet figured out a way to lose on an off-day. Give him time; give him time.
The Yankees called up Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira. They should all begin playing regularly starting tomorrow. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain by this move.
The Yankees have been talking about getting younger and more athletic for a while. Now is the time to actually do it. However, there is no point in bringing these kids up if Aaron Boone is going to be at the helm. He has proven that he can't or won't spend a lot of time and energy developing young players. He seemingly does not communicate with them. To allow him to continue managing while bringing up the prospects almost defeats the purpose of bringing them up. It could also delay their progress on the major league level. It would be better to have one of the current coaches take over the team on an interim basis until a new manager can be hired in the off season.
I would say that now is also the time to replace Brian Cashman, but Hal Steinbrenner has already stated that Cashman will be returning. Therefore, I see little to no point in discussing the scenario of replacing Cashman. He might be replaced in the future if the team does not turn things around, but he will have another chance to fix things.
The fact that Anthony Volpe is tied for the team lead in RBI with 50 is one of the best things about this season. It is also one of the worst things about this season. Anthony Volpe is not here to be a run producer. The fact that he has driven in 50 runs is nice, but it speaks to the ineffectiveness of the rest of the team that he is tied for the lead.
Yesterday, Aaron Boone said after the game, "We've got to be unbelievable the rest of the way." The absurdity of that statement made me of a line from The Green Mile when one of the characters is describing Percy after John Coffey exhaled the parasites into him: "That boy's cheese slid off its cracker."
On Sunday, Austin Wells hit two home runs and drove in seven runs playing for Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Would it hurt to bring him up to the Majors? Other teams do these things, but the Yankees never do. Reminder: the Yankees are in last place and are four games under 500. What they are doing isn't working. When that happens, you try something else.
Jake Bauers has been exposed. He is an adequate bench player but to expect anything more from him is foolish. It was certainly worth a try but, the Yankees do not need to waste regular playing time on him.
For years, my union unsuccessfully tried to get social workers and supervisors hazardous duty pay because we frequently go into very volatile and unsafe situations. I am beginning to think that for the remainder of this season, SSTN writers should be receiving hazardous duty pay.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa does not need to be in the lineup every game for the rest of the season. Yes, he has done a fine job this year but, he most likely will not be back next season and if he is, it will be as a backup. To give him regular playing time at the expense of young players who may be a part of the future for this team is not a good idea. Yet, Aaron Boone continues to throw him out there. I believe the only way to stop this is for one of them to be gone. The Yankees should either release IKF or fire Boone. Firing Boone makes more sense.
The Yankees and Brian Cashman could shock everyone and replace Aaron Boone with Shelley Duncan for the remainder of the season. That would be about as likely as Frasier and Niles Crane going to a barbecue festival and country music concert in Memphis, Tennessee.
If the Yankees begin the process of making changes now by bringing up and playing their young players, they can get an idea of what they need to do in the area of trades and free agency during the off season. If they wait, they will have no idea what they have on their own roster.
The Yankees don't need to make any more moves like signing DJ LeMahieu or trading for Josh Donaldson. They need players who are on the way up, not on the way down.
If the Yankees do sign free agents to round out the roster and improve the team, they should be players who are younger and who will be part of the future for this team.
Aaron Boone is desperately clinging to the idea that this team has playoff chances. That is why he said the team needs to be unbelievable the rest of the way. It also indicates that he has no desire to start playing the youngsters. He will continue to trot out the same tired, unproductive, washed-up lineup on a daily basis. That is why he needs to be gone today.
Since Everson Pereira was called up to the Yankees, Jasson Dominguez needs to be playing regularly for Scranton Wilkes-Barre immediately. Player development needs to have a ripple effect on the organization.
My beautiful and thoughtful new bride surprised me with a "That's Baseball Suzyn" t-shirt for my birthday. Among other things, she combined it with a Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider bobblehead doll and Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volumes One and Two by Julia Child. I am a lucky fellow.
