About The Off Day: Meanderings of My Mind.

June 12th, 2016

By: Tim Kabel

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The Yankees just swept the Cleveland Guardians on the road. They won the season series against the Guardians. The Yankees have now won four games in a row and are 6-4 in their last ten games. They are essentially tied for first place with the Tampa Bay Rays. On top of that, they are playing without the best player in the American League and their team captain, Aaron Judge, and will do so until probably the middle of August. After an off-day, they will open a three-game series in Toronto. Since I don't have a game to recap today, I will now move from topic to topic as if I was judging a chili cook-off, wandering from pot to pot with my trusty spoon.

·      In my game recap yesterday, I asserted that Jose Caballero was a better shortstop than Anthony Volpe. I argued that when Jasson Dominguez is ready to return from the IL, he should become the regular rightfielder until Aaron Judge returns and Jose Caballero should become the everyday shortstop. Max Schuemann could certainly fill in at shortstop if Caballero needs a day off. I argued that the best thing to do with Anthony Volpe would be to send him to the minor leagues so that he could develop positional versatility. He could also work on improving his offense. As part of my argument, I stated that Caballero is a superior shortstop to Volpe. Some people took exception to this statement. I'm not sure why. Jose Caballero is the number one ranked shortstop in Major League Baseball at this point. That means in 2026. He leads all shortstops with 9 defensive runs saved. Volpe tied for the league lead in errors last year.  Of late, Caballero has been playing the outfield or other places because Volpe has entrenched himself or rather Aaron Boone has entrenched Volpe at shortstop like a tick on a hound dog. Although Jose Caballero can play other positions and at this point in his career, Anthony Volpe cannot, that is not a reason to put Volpe at shortstop day after day. Aaron Boone seems intent on proving to the rest of the world that Anthony Volpe is the greatest shortstop ever. He's not. He's not even the best shortstop on the current Yankees team. There is no comparison between Volpe and Caballero. By the way, if Volpe does go to Scranton, which is unlikely, he might not even be the best shortstop on that team. George Lombard, Jr. struggled when he first arrived in Scranton but of late, he has been doing very well offensively and defensively. He is just turning 21 years old. Perhaps the best thing for the Yankees to do with Volpe would be to trade him to another team, perhaps as part of a package for a strong offensive third baseman or catcher. It is clear that if the Yankees want to field the best team possible in Judge’s absence, they should move Jasson Dominguez to rightfield and Jose Caballero to shortstop. Since Anthony Volpe cannot currently play other positions, he is useless as a utility player. In addition, his mere presence on the bench would be an irresistible temptation to Aaron Boone. I'm sure that he would find multiple excuses to get Volpe into the lineup at shortstop. He has already stated that both Caballero and Volpe deserve to play I don't know what batting .190 and playing shaky defense entitles a player to but whatever it is, Volpe has earned it in Boone’s estimation. Now, do I really think that this is going to happen? No. If it does, it will be because Brian Cashman pulls rank on Aaron Boone to send Volpe to Scranton or another team. Boone constantly says how great he thinks Volpe is. I have no idea what Boone bases this opinion on. However, there were Steven Segal fans. People used to pay money to go watch Gallagher. Who knows why these things happen, but they do.

·      I have come to the conclusion that central air conditioning is one of the greatest inventions of mankind. I have never been a big fan of hot weather. My sister on the other hand, is like a snake basking on a hot rock. She could do it all day long every day. I remember as a kid now the heat used to adversely affect my mother's moods. I made a conscious effort to be less annoying from May through October. I was never entirely successful. Her face would begin to redden the moment she woke up. We didn't have air conditioning. We had fans. I remember my mother pulling the window shades down to keep the rooms cool. We also had an above ground pool, which helped. In my room, I had a small electric fan. It was circular. It was made entirely of metal, including the blades. It could double as a woodchipper. I believe it came over on the Mayflower. It had this incredible knack of waiting until the hottest nights of the year. Then it would lock up and make a bizarre humming noise. I could then feel the sweat gathering on my head and the droplets running down my nose. Just when I thought it was never going to work, the fan would suddenly explode into action, sending gusts of lukewarm air in my direction. Now that I'm an adult and live independently, I have enjoyed central air conditioning for many years. I will never go back. I will also keep my apartment or house or wherever it is I'm living cool at all times. My theory is that I worked long and hard for many years. I can afford to be comfortable, so I will do it. I was thinking of having air conditioning installed in my coffin when I pass but since I will probably be cremated, I think I will skip that as I don't wish to become a storm cloud hovering over my neighbor’s yard. Anyway, as we now enter into the hot time of the year, stay cool.

·      Spencer Jones seems to be hitting a lot better in his second call up of the season. He hit a home run the other night that was over 440 feet. He needs to be given a nice run to see what he can really do. As is his wont, Aaron Boone has been jerking him in and out of the lineup. He does that for every young player not named Volpe. As I have stated many times, they are going to need the jaws of life to extract Volpe from the lineup at this point. I think Spencer Jones could develop into a very solid Major Leaguer. He needs to be given that opportunity. I could see the Yankees having an outfield next year of Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones, Aaron Judge, and Jasson Dominguez. Whichever one isn't in the field on a given day could be the designated hitter. The manager, whoever it is, can rotate them in some fashion. This will involve the Yankees finally cutting bait on Giancarlo Stanton. They could choose to keep him on the roster next year and simply wait for the inevitable injury. I think it would be better to simply trade or release Stanton rather than have one more year of his unpredictability and unreliability. This also involves Trent Grisham going elsewhere. Frankly, I'm not fully sold on his recent offensive prowess. I suspect he may regress. I would like to see the Yankees trade him now, while his market is high to get a player in a position where they need an upgrade, such as third base or catcher. In other words, the Yankees don't have any offense at all coming from the catcher position. If they were able to acquire a catcher from another team but had to give up Trent Grisham to do so, I would do that. I would rather go with Spencer Jones and a true offensive catcher over Trent Grisham and Austin Wells and his two backups.

·      I have never been a very big basketball fan, but I am happy to see the Knicks on the cusp of the championship. I don't want to congratulate them prematurely, but it would be a great thing for the team, their fans, and the city.

·       Carlos Lagrange seems to be developing nicely into a relief pitcher. At this point, the Yankees are saying it's a temporary plan. Whether that remains the case will be determined. However, so far, he is doing well. It is a work in progress and I'm sure he will only get better. He regularly throws the ball over 100 miles an hour and could turn into a dominant short relief option for the Major League team. Once Max Fried returns to the starting rotation and Lagrange is fully developed as a relief pitcher, it would be nice to see Ryan Weathers and Carlos Lagrange in the bullpen as opposed to let's say Camilo Doval and either Ryan Yarbrough or Paul Blackburn. Of those two, I think Yarbrough would be the more likely to go because the Yankees already have left-handed options in Brent Headrick and Tim Hill. Although the bullpen has been solid recently, that could be temporary due to the amount of work the various pitchers, particularly Headrick, Hill, and Fernando Cruz have been getting. Rather than making trades and using up valuable assets, the Yankees could simply reallocate pitchers they already have either in the minors or in the Major League rotation.