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NFT: What has happened to the Yankees?

section125 : 9/16/2020 7:24 am
About two weeks ago I started a similar thread when they were in the midst of an ugly 3 weeks of baseball. Now in the last week, the starters are untouchable, the relievers are getting it done again and the lineup has started to hit. The weirdness of baseball.

So, it starts with the starting pitching. If the opponent cannot score, you have a good chance of winning. Garcia's 3 runs last night were the most by a started in over a week. Even Happ has looked competent.

The bullpen after pooping the bed in Buffalo has been stifling(sans King's 9th last night), although there is something wrong with Ottavino.

The lineup has started to hit, beyond Voit and DJLM. Frazier has been good and before his demotion Andujar finally was hitting. Probably getting Wade, Tauchman and Estrada out of the lineup helps(along with Gardy who actually started to make some contact this week).

So going forward(keeping fingers crossed) what will the lineup be?:

DJLM (2B)
Judge (RF)
Voit (1B) - They may flip Voit and Torres
Stanton (DH)
Torres (SS)
Frazier (LF)
Hicks (CF) - You could swap with Urshela
Urshela(3B)
Sanchez (C) - I am tempted to put Kratz here

What do you think Cashman/Boone come up with?

That’s baseball Suzyn!  
DC Gmen Fan : 9/16/2020 7:55 am : link
You just can’t predict it!
I was luckily out of town during the down swing  
Mike from SI : 9/16/2020 8:22 am : link
and was stunned when I got back and saw what had happened. I'm glad the ship has been righted. I still believe in trotting Gary out there for now, but I know I'm in the minority there.
.  
Del Shofner : 9/16/2020 8:22 am : link
"DJLM (2B)
Judge (RF)
Voit (1B) - They may flip Voit and Torres
Stanton (DH)
Torres (SS)
Frazier (LF)
Hicks (CF) - You could swap with Urshela
Urshela(3B)
Sanchez (C) - I am tempted to put Kratz here"

Hicks will bat higher because he's the only LH bat in that lineup. Whether we like that or not.

Sanchez won't bat 9th because they like a higher OBP/speed guy there - a poor man's leadoff batter to have a restart on the batting order from the 9 spot. My guess is Urshela or even Torres there.

That said, if everyone's hitting your lineup will work just fine.
the two biggest changes in the last two weeks  
Giantsfan79 : 9/16/2020 8:47 am : link
Cashman gave a closed locker room speech to the team and they put Deivi García into the rotation.
.  
BigBlue2112 : 9/16/2020 8:51 am : link
Stanton should hit 6th or 7th until he proves he can hit a baseball
RE: .  
Greg from LI : 9/16/2020 9:01 am : link
In comment 14974061 BigBlue2112 said:
Quote:
Stanton should hit 6th or 7th until he proves he can hit a baseball


He scorched one 113 mph last night, just happened to be right at someone. Don't be silly.
Playing the O's  
Beer Man : 9/16/2020 9:05 am : link
Can cure a lot of ills. Lets hope they can keep it going.

Beyond that Devi, has really helped to stabilize the starting pitching. Hopefully he can continue his success (its a lot to put on a rookie)
Anyway, part of it is simply getting healthy  
Greg from LI : 9/16/2020 9:16 am : link
The lineups they were forced to use for a while were brutal, with Wade and Estrada making a lot of appearances.

Part of it is that the bullpen wasn't going to suck forever. They had a few lousy weeks, now they're pitching more like themselves.

And yeah, Deivi Garcia has given them a big boost. He's been great, and Happ has been surprisingly effective.

Finally, I think they got way too complacent. It was obvious that, with the expanded playoffs, that they really were treating this as a sort of long-term spring training. When they dropped down to .500, I think it was a bit of a kick in the ass for them.
When they..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 9/16/2020 9:27 am : link
had the full healthy lineup, they were on a roll. It really is no surprise that when various guys went out that they had to field a AAA lineup and losses mounted.

Now that players have returned from injury, they are rolling again.

The reason why they went on a losing streak and have now stabilized isn't that tough to figure out.
on top of what has been said  
PaulBlakeTSU : 9/16/2020 9:43 am : link
baseball is a streaky sport
they are a great team  
djm : 9/16/2020 9:47 am : link
that had a bad month. It happens a lot.

RE: I was luckily out of town during the down swing  
djm : 9/16/2020 9:49 am : link
In comment 14974037 Mike from SI said:
Quote:
and was stunned when I got back and saw what had happened. I'm glad the ship has been righted. I still believe in trotting Gary out there for now, but I know I'm in the minority there.


I am with you on Sanchez. If Cashman and Boone believe in him, I believe in him too. Call me crazy. Yankee scouts and execs know a shit ton more than yankee fans. They rarely get shit wrong.
I've been as big a Gary Sanchez booster as anyone here  
Greg from LI : 9/16/2020 10:04 am : link
But I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't deeply concerned. I don't know why he can't hit anymore, but I don't think it's unreasonable to question whether he will ever be a plus hitter again, or just a modern version of Rob Deer.
those threads last week were fun, weren't they?  
UConn4523 : 9/16/2020 10:08 am : link
I have no idea how this well end but there's a large group of softass Yankee fans that can't handle a losing streak.

We were able to deal with the injuries last year because the backups stepped up. Well, that's a tall order for this length of time. What did you expect, to keep losing players to the DL and still win?
I'd like to think it's my game threads  
Jints in Carolina : 9/16/2020 10:10 am : link
.
Anyime a ton of your best players get injured  
Dave in Hoboken : 9/16/2020 10:11 am : link
at the same time, it's gonna happen. Actually, maybe not. Last year, they still managed to win despite having the most IL trips in MLB history. But that's not happen every year. These guys have to stay healthy. These past two seasons have been pretty insane as far as injuries go.
That’s why they have a 162 game season  
Jim in Fairfax : 9/16/2020 10:16 am : link
There’s a lot more luck involved in winning in baseball vs. football or basketball. The long season helps evens it out. Not this year obviously.
.  
arcarsenal : 9/16/2020 10:17 am : link
I love Torres in the 3 hole and Voit in the 5 hole. I think you could flip them, but ideally, that's where I think they fit best.

Judge should stay in the 2 - I like that spot for him.

Hicks profiles best to me as a 9 hole hitter. I like him leadoff, too - but nowhere near as much as LeMahieu, so DJ has to stay there.

Sanchez is just confounding. I feel like he's maybe shown some tiny signs of life recently. But, if it's me, I'm probably hitting him 8th at this point.
The offense started to come around as soon as  
mfsd : 9/16/2020 10:18 am : link
DJ returned and got going. He is this team’s Paul O’Neill

Of course, Luke Voit has been off the charts and the pitching flipped the switch too recently
.  
arcarsenal : 9/16/2020 10:51 am : link
Yup. I think DJ will age well, so I am one million percent comfortable giving him another 3 year deal with a year 4 option.

I'm sure the FO will be, too. DJ wants to be here, and I know the org wants to keep him. They'll get it done.
Don't think I've ever been as wrong about a player as I was about DJ  
Greg from LI : 9/16/2020 10:55 am : link
I thought it was a terrible pickup - if a guy isn't a great hitter in Colorado, how is he going to be much of anything away from Coors?

Always happy to eat crow when it's because I thought a move would backfire and it instead was enormously positive.
RE: .  
bigbluehoya : 9/16/2020 11:01 am : link
In comment 14974178 arcarsenal said:
Quote:
I love Torres in the 3 hole and Voit in the 5 hole. I think you could flip them, but ideally, that's where I think they fit best.

Judge should stay in the 2 - I like that spot for him.

Hicks profiles best to me as a 9 hole hitter. I like him leadoff, too - but nowhere near as much as LeMahieu, so DJ has to stay there.

Sanchez is just confounding. I feel like he's maybe shown some tiny signs of life recently. But, if it's me, I'm probably hitting him 8th at this point.


Going to be really hard to take Hicks out of the leadoff spot with a .370+ OBP. He's been really effective already, and to my eye, the underlying metrics would seem to suggest that he could go on a tear really soon. His walk rate is light-years ahead of his already good career average (admittedly, at an unsustainable level) but he's also not had any luck on the pitches he's put in play in spite of hitting the ball as hard as he ever has in his career.

Just my opinion -- I like him right where he is.

RE: Don't think I've ever been as wrong about a player as I was about DJ  
mfsd : 9/16/2020 11:01 am : link
In comment 14974262 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
I thought it was a terrible pickup - if a guy isn't a great hitter in Colorado, how is he going to be much of anything away from Coors?

Always happy to eat crow when it's because I thought a move would backfire and it instead was enormously positive.


They didn’t even have a full time position open for him when they signed him. Full credit to Cashman for that one. DJ has as slump proof a swing and approach at the plate as anyone I can recall
RE: Don't think I've ever been as wrong about a player as I was about DJ  
arcarsenal : 9/16/2020 11:05 am : link
In comment 14974262 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
I thought it was a terrible pickup - if a guy isn't a great hitter in Colorado, how is he going to be much of anything away from Coors?

Always happy to eat crow when it's because I thought a move would backfire and it instead was enormously positive.


I thought Luke Voit was going to suck after his first 5-6 games here. Hah.

He was a 27 year old and his 2017 season in StL, though abbreviated, was really nothing to write home about - he started slow in 2018, too - and his first handful of games here, he really didn't do anything. I was like.. alright, so Shreve is gone and that's great, but...

If you told me he'd have more HR's than Mike Trout in an abbreviated 2020 season, I'm pretty sure that's not something I'd ever have believed.

Literally the only time Luke hasn't hit since coming over was last year when he had the core injury. He was nowhere near 100%. Hell, he's not even 100% now. He's got a bad foot and he's still crushing the ball.

So, that's one I was definitely happy to be wrong as hell on.
RE: RE: .  
arcarsenal : 9/16/2020 11:07 am : link
In comment 14974279 bigbluehoya said:
Quote:
In comment 14974178 arcarsenal said:


Quote:


I love Torres in the 3 hole and Voit in the 5 hole. I think you could flip them, but ideally, that's where I think they fit best.

Judge should stay in the 2 - I like that spot for him.

Hicks profiles best to me as a 9 hole hitter. I like him leadoff, too - but nowhere near as much as LeMahieu, so DJ has to stay there.

Sanchez is just confounding. I feel like he's maybe shown some tiny signs of life recently. But, if it's me, I'm probably hitting him 8th at this point.



Going to be really hard to take Hicks out of the leadoff spot with a .370+ OBP. He's been really effective already, and to my eye, the underlying metrics would seem to suggest that he could go on a tear really soon. His walk rate is light-years ahead of his already good career average (admittedly, at an unsustainable level) but he's also not had any luck on the pitches he's put in play in spite of hitting the ball as hard as he ever has in his career.

Just my opinion -- I like him right where he is.


He hasn't been hitting leadoff, though. He's been in the 3 hole.
what do we think will happen with Sanchez?  
UConn4523 : 9/16/2020 11:10 am : link
he's a FA after this year. Normally I'd say he's as good as gone but does he sign a 1 year deal to get another shot at a big payday? Do we offer him a 1 year deal?
RE: what do we think will happen with Sanchez?  
Mad Mike : 9/16/2020 11:16 am : link
In comment 14974294 UConn4523 said:
Quote:
he's a FA after this year. Normally I'd say he's as good as gone but does he sign a 1 year deal to get another shot at a big payday? Do we offer him a 1 year deal?

He's not a free agent until after the 2022 season. He's arb eligible the next 2 seasons.
RE: RE: RE: .  
bigbluehoya : 9/16/2020 11:29 am : link
In comment 14974290 arcarsenal said:
Quote:
In comment 14974279 bigbluehoya said:


Quote:


In comment 14974178 arcarsenal said:


Quote:


I love Torres in the 3 hole and Voit in the 5 hole. I think you could flip them, but ideally, that's where I think they fit best.

Judge should stay in the 2 - I like that spot for him.

Hicks profiles best to me as a 9 hole hitter. I like him leadoff, too - but nowhere near as much as LeMahieu, so DJ has to stay there.

Sanchez is just confounding. I feel like he's maybe shown some tiny signs of life recently. But, if it's me, I'm probably hitting him 8th at this point.



Going to be really hard to take Hicks out of the leadoff spot with a .370+ OBP. He's been really effective already, and to my eye, the underlying metrics would seem to suggest that he could go on a tear really soon. His walk rate is light-years ahead of his already good career average (admittedly, at an unsustainable level) but he's also not had any luck on the pitches he's put in play in spite of hitting the ball as hard as he ever has in his career.

Just my opinion -- I like him right where he is.


He hasn't been hitting leadoff, though. He's been in the 3 hole.


I've been thinking of that as a tactical result of the injury ravage, and that a pro forma playoff lineup with Judge/Gleyber/Stanton healthy would naturally have Hicks as leadoff hitter. I could be wrong.

Poor communication on my part -- "where he is" was based on my own assumptions of an obvious full-strength lineup, which was dumb.

Said better - I like him hitting leadoff. I love the idea of stacking on-base guys ahead of DJ. He excels at putting the ball in play, flair for the big hit, and hits to all fields / can't be shifted against.

Hicks
Judge
DJLM
Torres
Voit
Stanton
Frazier
Urshela
Sanchez
RE: RE: what do we think will happen with Sanchez?  
UConn4523 : 9/16/2020 11:37 am : link
In comment 14974297 Mad Mike said:
Quote:
In comment 14974294 UConn4523 said:


Quote:


he's a FA after this year. Normally I'd say he's as good as gone but does he sign a 1 year deal to get another shot at a big payday? Do we offer him a 1 year deal?


He's not a free agent until after the 2022 season. He's arb eligible the next 2 seasons.


Ahh, i didn't realize he had another 2 years. Nevermind then.
.  
arcarsenal : 9/16/2020 11:40 am : link
Gotcha. Yeah, that makes sense. I've always liked Hicks either 1/9 - in the 9 hole, he can still be a table setter for the top of the order.

DJ can probably slot in effectively 1, 2 or 3.

I personally really like Gleyber in the 3 hole - I think that's his best spot, but I could see him batting cleanup in some iterations.

There's a lot we can do here - all good problems to have.
Well the starting pitching was actually fine  
Stu11 : 9/16/2020 12:42 pm : link
Even during the bad stretch. It was the pen that literally cost us like 5 games over a 2 week period. Also as previously stated with all the injuries the lineup was shit and there was little to no clutch hitting. The one interesting thing just announced is that come the ALDS and ALCS there will be no off days so if we make it there we'll need a 4th and maybe even 5th starter. So that's where we'll miss Paxton. Right now I'll go to battle in the 1st rd with Cole, Tanaka and Garcia and take my chances against anyone in the AL.
Luke Voit leads the team in HRs  
section125 : 9/16/2020 5:16 pm : link
and RBIs and you are moving him to #5? Eventhough, He'd be great protection for Stanton at #5 or put him at #4 and drop Stanton to #5. I hate seeing those RBI and his high OPB dropped to 5th, but I think he an Torres can be #3 or #5.
Oh, and thanks to all  
section125 : 9/16/2020 5:31 pm : link
who voiced an opinion and thought. Just something to do today.
Put Hicks up last  
torrey : 9/16/2020 6:47 pm : link
so he can use that walk rate to get on in front of guys who can hit
RE: I've been as big a Gary Sanchez booster as anyone here  
djm : 9/16/2020 9:43 pm : link
In comment 14974150 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
But I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't deeply concerned. I don't know why he can't hit anymore, but I don't think it's unreasonable to question whether he will ever be a plus hitter again, or just a modern version of Rob Deer.


Yeah it is concerning hard to argue. If he was hitting 220 or around there like last year you still live with because he’s still knocking in more runs than most catchers. But this 130 shit is crazy.
My lineup  
adamg : 9/16/2020 10:28 pm : link
DJ
Judge
Hicks
Stanton
Voit
Frazier
Torres
Urshela
Sanchez
I know Boone and Cashman  
section125 : 9/17/2020 7:22 am : link
and Thames are working hard to get Gary straightened out, but if this keeps up they may need to start Higgy over Gary come playoffs. Higgy is the better catcher. It is pretty obvious Cole prefers Kyle to Gary. Even batting .220ish he is .100 higher than Gary. Ludicrous at this point to even think of starting Higashioka over Gary, but Gary is an absolute mess right now and has been all season. I might even consider keeping Kratz on the roster over Gary.

Plus, with my history, now that I semi-trashed Gary he will bat .400 the rest of the year......
RE: My lineup  
rich in DC : 9/17/2020 8:04 am : link
In comment 14975086 adamg said:
Quote:
DJ
Judge
Hicks
Stanton
Voit
Frazier
Torres
Urshela
Sanchez


While Sanchez has not hit at all, putting him in the 9 hole isn't wise. Remember that when the lineup flips over during the game, you are effectively putting a guy who makes an out 17 out of 20 times up in front of your best hitters. Don't give away outs right before your best bats.

It sounds counterinuitive, but put him in the 7 or 8 hole, with a high OBP guy in the 9 hole. In the 7/8 slot, you've let your best hitters come to bat, and if he makes the 3rd out, so be it - the best hitters have come up and you still have strong OBP guys coming up before your best hitters.

It sounds odd, but I think Hicks in the 9 hole with his high OBP works well. Urshula's OBP isn't as high, but a better hitter for te 8 hole than Sanchez.

Let's not forget that Higgy has been hitting well of late. The Yanks may even put Sanchez on the bench so they can use him late in any game where they need a power threat as a PH or as the emergency C.
I agree  
UConn4523 : 9/17/2020 8:15 am : link
would rather see Sanchez at 7 than 9. Yankees have had too much success with the "double leadoff" method.
Good points  
adamg : 9/17/2020 9:00 am : link
I like Hicks early to let him get more ABs and work the pitch count, but there is definitely value in him in the 9 hole for the reasons you give.
If you put Hicks 9 I'd put it this way  
adamg : 9/17/2020 9:06 am : link
DJ
Judge
Voit
Stanton
Frazier
Torres
Urshela
Sanchez/Higgy
Hicks

Higgy should be playing more the next couple weeks and see if he can sustain the offense. His average is up to 250. Kratz is batting 321, so he warrants some consideration too. But it's hard to put a guy with Sanchez' potential on the bench.
RE: If you put Hicks 9 I'd put it this way  
Milton : 9/17/2020 9:16 am : link
In comment 14975188 adamg said:
Quote:
it's hard to put a guy with Sanchez' potential on the bench.
The "potential" argument has reached its expiration date.
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