Very interesting that Brian Cashman, GM of the Yankees, did multiple media interviews yesterday and used the word “horrific” to describe the team’s April performance. While Cashman has become much more candid and direct over the years, this is pretty extreme even for him. He particularly singled out Chase Headley – SU non-fave. I am telling you his days are numbered. Even defensively, they altered his throwing motion in the off-season and he literally cannot complete a double play now – takes him so long to gather himself and throw to 2nd base. He is going to be the fall guy. Unfortunately, Rob Refsnyder is not taking advantage down in Scranton – batting .213 and who knows how many errors at 3rd base.
SU caught WFAN’s Mike Francesa for a few minutes yesterday doing a rundown on some surprises in the early MLB season. The great thing about the Imperious One is that you can listen, run inside for something, and then resume listening and not miss a beat. By saying everything in triplicate, it allows the listener to come and go and stay current. Here is SU’s take on some early season stats:
- Francisco Cervelli – now everyday catcher for the Pirates: .309 and 12 rbis.
- Eduardo Nunez – getting more playing time for the Twins all over the field: .371 – he has earned the extra starts. Good for him. SU misses him in NY
- Stephen Drew – .111 for the Nationals. Shocking!
- John Ryan Murphy – back up catcher for the Twins: .083. Of course, the guy the Yankees traded for him, Hicks, is also hitting sub-.100
- Robinson Cano (remember him?): 8 HRs, 24 rbis.
Cashman says Girardi and the coaches’ jobs are not in jeopardy. I agree about Girardi – not his fault. It’s the roster he’s been dealt. But one of the batting coaches will be gone by June. Not their fault either. Never is. And is Kevin Long now a genius with the Mets? They are raking now – Cespedes is a lot of fun when he’s hot. You just have to ride out the bad times.
The Yankees now face Baltimore, Boston and KC. The next 9 games will be very telling. Watch for Hicks to play every day in the outfield – Cashman is going to force that one. Headley will be benched for the utility infielder. And Jacoby Ellsbury is due for an injury – he has played too many weeks in a row. And A-Rod is going to go off now that he has a new girlfriend (Silicon Valley CEO).
Sports Update Intergalactic 
And the White Sox after KC.
The Yankees never liked Cervelli or Nunez and it was hard to understand why. Cano needs to hit better than that to make up for a bad start and what will likely be a bad end to his contract.
I would imagine that Girardi is on notice. Much of the problem is the roster but managers have been fired with lesser rosters than this one. That he has resorted to blaming defensive shifts for his team’s failures is pathetic. The real failure is his own: with all the data and history, how has he not been able to convince Texiera to go the other way with a pitch? Managers don’t do much to impact play on the field but getting players in a frame of mind to make the best of the opportunities they have is one of the things they can do. Instead he takes the side of his stubborn players who continue to hit into the shift.
Seth, I think Girardi has done a great job with A-Rod and has avoided what could have been a bad situation the last couple of years. They have a good relationship. Texeiria is a selfish player who is only looking to hit homeruns left-handed. The term “situational hitting” is not in his vocabulary. Ellsbury is another one who plays mindlessly. Cashman put the roster together and this is all on him. Sure, Girardi can overstay his welcome – heck, even Joe Torre got fired here. But until they fix the roster to something that resembles a baseball team, I give him a pass. The big, guranteed contracts in baseball are just like in the NBA. Is Carmelo going to change how he plays for any coach? Nope. If Melo was a baseball player, he would hit into the shift. No question.
When the number of underperforming veterans exceeds the number of quality young players, then you have a lousy team, which the Yankees are. As for Girardi, he has to be dragged kicking and screaming into playing a young position player. They must be All-Stars defensively or else they don’t play, which is why Nunez didn’t play, Refsnyder didn’t play and why Sanchez is not up yet. Girardi prefers players who are decent defensively and can’t hit to players who are mediocre defensively and can hit. Sort of like him when he played.