ButlerBulldog Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 23 hours ago, NJDevs4978 said: I was worried when I heard this was immediate, figured it had to be health related but if it was he certainly acted like it wasn’t on Tiki and Evan, seems he was legit just tired of the grind and wanted to enjoy life. Yes, it seems that he was still enjoying calling games but had tired of the other aspects of being a broadcaster. Meanwhile, the Yankees have come back to Earth, losing three close games in a row, including two to the Blue Jays. They now lead the AL East by half a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 11 hours ago, ButlerBulldog said: Yes, it seems that he was still enjoying calling games but had tired of the other aspects of being a broadcaster. Meanwhile, the Yankees have come back to Earth, losing three close games in a row, including two to the Blue Jays. They now lead the AL East by half a game. They weren’t going to keep winning at an .800 clip. They’re still on pace for 108 wins, and they probably won’t win that many either. As long as the Yankees stay healthy they’ll get their 95 wins or so. Judge hasn’t even really started to hit yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 4 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said: They weren’t going to keep winning at an .800 clip. They’re still on pace for 108 wins, and they probably won’t win that many either. As long as the Yankees stay healthy they’ll get their 95 wins or so. Judge hasn’t even really started to hit yet. Not only that, but they’re missing their top starting pitcher, a key role player, and their number-one prospect, who surely would be on the roster had he not needed Tommy John surgery at the end of last season. A lot of fans are out on a ledge today, but I’m happy with how they’ve started and agree that they should win around 95 games if everyone’s healthy the remainder of season and plays to the back of their baseball cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 3 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said: Not only that, but they’re missing their top starting pitcher, a key role player, and their number-one prospect, who surely would be on the roster had he not needed Tommy John surgery at the end of last season. A lot of fans are out on a ledge today, but I’m happy with how they’ve started and agree that they should win around 95 games if everyone’s healthy the remainder of season and plays to the back of their baseball cards. Heh heh one thing a lot of Yankee fans really suck at is handling any kind of adversity. Did the “on the ledge” gang really think the Yankees weren’t ever going to lose a few in a row? They want everything to be easy, and at the first sign of “trouble”, they want to trade a bunch of meh-ish guys for whatever star they think they’re entitled to. Because snagging Soto somehow wasn’t enough. Not saying YOU’RE like that, just a lot of Yankee fans that I’ve seen and heard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 30 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said: Heh heh one thing a lot of Yankee fans really suck at is handling any kind of adversity. Did the “on the ledge” gang really think the Yankees weren’t ever going to lose a few in a row? They want everything to be easy, and at the first sign of “trouble”, they want to trade a bunch of meh-ish guys for whatever star they think they’re entitled to. Because snagging Soto somehow wasn’t enough. Not saying YOU’RE like that, just a lot of Yankee fans that I’ve seen and heard. I agree with that, and I think the majority of fans who default to “the sky is falling” at the first sign of trouble are people under forty years old, who don’t remember a time when the Yankees weren’t winning or weren’t at least expected to win. I’m old enough to recall how bleak things seemed from 1989-92, when the Yankees were legitimately bad, and nothing I’ve seen from this team over the past few seasons even approaches that level of ineptitude. Three losses in a row is disappointing, but it happens to every team. People need to chill. As for Soto, I’ve always been a fan, so I knew he was good, but I didn’t realize he was this good. I’m enjoying every at-bat, as I obviously don’t what his future plans entail. That he’s hitting over .300 and is near the top of the American League in several statistical categories hasn’t stopped some fans from complaining about him, however—yet another reason why other fanbases find Yankees fans annoying. It’s as if some folks think every player needs to mash 45-50 home runs to be effective, and that’s not Soto’s game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Ah the Stump Merrill and Bucky Dent years. And who could forget Mel Hall? Don’t know if you remember Star Ledger Yankee beat reporter Moss Klein, but back then he was constantly ripping what the Yankees had become. Steinbrenner being suspended was the best thing to happen to that franchise. Allowed Stick to build and retain a nice nucleus. And George could still be George when he came back, but no longer to such an insanely destructive degree. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 3 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said: Ah the Stump Merrill and Bucky Dent years. And who could forget Mel Hall? Don’t know if you remember Star Ledger Yankee beat reporter Moss Klein, but back then he was constantly ripping what the Yankees had become. Steinbrenner being suspended was the best thing to happen to that franchise. Allowed Stick to build and retain a nice nucleus. And George could still be George when he came back, but no longer to such an insanely destructive degree. I vaguely remember Klein, but I’ll never forget Mel Hall, who turned out to be a complete scumbag, both on and off the field. From his unremitting harassment of Bernie Williams to his affair with an underage high school student, he was an absolutely disgusting human being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 6 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said: I vaguely remember Klein, but I’ll never forget Mel Hall, who turned out to be a complete scumbag, both on and off the field. From his unremitting harassment of Bernie Williams to his affair with an underage high school student, he was an absolutely disgusting human being. Oh no doubt, the Yankees had some really sh!tty people playing for them back then, or guys who simply weren't worth what they were being paid. Remember Danny Tartabull, who went for Ruben Sierra in what was more or less an a$$hole-for-a$$hole trade? I remember Suzyn basically saying the Yankee clubhouse pretty much ignored him his first time around, but he did come back many years later, apparently a changed man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 13 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said: Oh no doubt, the Yankees had some really sh!tty people playing for them back then, or guys who simply weren't worth what they were being paid. Remember Danny Tartabull, who went for Ruben Sierra in what was more or less an a$$hole-for-a$$hole trade? I remember Suzyn basically saying the Yankee clubhouse pretty much ignored him his first time around, but he did come back many years later, apparently a changed man. Danny Tartabull was another guy who should never have been a Yankee, but I think his acquisition was necessitated in part by the Mets making a big splash by signing Bobby Bonilla and Eddie Murray and trading for Brett Saberhagen in ‘92 offseason. I was happy when he was finally shipped out of town three years later. Ruben Sierra was someone I liked, as he had a lot of big hits for the Yankees during their late-season run to the playoffs in ‘95, but I agree that his personality didn’t fit in the team’s clubhouse during his first tour in the Bronx. After the Yankees traded him for Cecil Fielder, he bounced around a lot and was actually out of baseball for a while before resurrecting his career by returning to the Texas Rangers in 2001. I think the limbo period humbled Ruben and made him realize that being a Major League player isn’t justification for being an a$$hole, no matter how good you are (or think you are). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 (edited) Funny thing about Soto...he's obviously off to a ridiculous start AND the guy can get on base like no one else... BUT, I get the feeling once the BA drops a bit (he's a .286 career hitter), as good of a pure throwback hitter as he is, he's going to draw some criticism at times for almost being TOO scientific at the plate, for leaving things up to Judge (who does whiff a LOT) instead of occasionally breaking out of his "draw walks" MO. But man, I do loooooove the guys who live on the basepaths. Especially since when they're slumping, it's not like they're completely invisible, the way guys like Javier Baez are...he has a .296 OB% for his career, and since signing for nice money with Detroit, he's slashed .226/.268/.353...he doesn't even get ON BASE 27% of the time. Baez is basically Rey Ordonez at the plate with more power and a lot less contact...that's really fvcking terrible. And of course when the low-walk, low-OB% guys start to decline, it gets very ugly very quickly; by contrast, even though Mickey Mantle's final two seasons were rough compared to the rest of his career, he still got on base almost 39% of the time. Check out a former player named Gene Tenace. He's the true "Greek God of Walks". He was only a .241 career hitter, but owned a career .388 OB%, as well as a .817 OPS (he hit 201 HR for his career) and 136 OPS+. Probably among the best .241 hitters ever to play the game. Edited April 18 by Colorado Rockies 1976 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 4 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said: Funny thing about Soto...he's obviously off to a ridiculous start AND the guy can get on base like no one else... BUT, I get the feeling once the BA drops a bit (he's a .286 career hitter), as good of a pure throwback hitter as he is, he's going to draw some criticism at times for almost being TOO scientific at the plate, for leaving things up to Judge (who does whiff a LOT) instead of occasionally breaking out of his "draw walks" MO. But man, I do loooooove the guys who live on the basepaths. Especially since when they're slumping, it's not like they're completely invisible, the way guys like Javier Baez are...he has a .296 OB% for his career, and since signing for nice money with Detroit, he's slashed .226/.268/.353...he doesn't even get ON BASE 27% of the time. Baez is basically Rey Ordonez at the plate with more power and a lot less contact...that's really fvcking terrible. And of course when the low-walk, low-OB% guys start to decline, it gets very ugly very quickly; by contrast, even though Mickey Mantle's final two seasons were rough compared to the rest of his career, he still got on base almost 39% of the time. Check out a former player named Gene Tenace. He's the true "Greek God of Walks". He was only a .241 career hitter, but owned a career .388 OB%, as well as a .817 OPS (he hit 201 HR for his career) and 136 OPS+. Probably among the best .241 hitters ever to play the game. Funny you mention this, as he was ripped by Sal Licata—whom I find extremely obnoxious—for this very reason just last week. For Soto to solidify himself as an MVP candidate, he needs to recognize the instances in which he should be more aggressive as opposed to taking a walk because he doesn’t see a pitch he likes. That he has such a well-defined approach at the plate is great, but the Yankees didn’t trade for him to walk with men on base. They traded for him to drive in men on base. I’ll be interested to see if he varies his tactics as the season goes on. I don’t know what to make of his batting average fluctuations, as he’s capable of hitting over .300 but hasn’t done so consistently. I don’t think his struggles in past seasons are shift-related, as he generally uses the entire field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 (edited) 2 hours ago, ButlerBulldog said: Funny you mention this, as he was ripped by Sal Licata—whom I find extremely obnoxious—for this very reason just last week. For Soto to solidify himself as an MVP candidate, he needs to recognize the instances in which he should be more aggressive as opposed to taking a walk because he doesn’t see a pitch he likes. That he has such a well-defined approach at the plate is great, but the Yankees didn’t trade for him to walk with men on base. They traded for him to drive in men on base. I’ll be interested to see if he varies his tactics as the season goes on. I don’t know what to make of his batting average fluctuations, as he’s capable of hitting over .300 but hasn’t done so consistently. I don’t think his struggles in past seasons are shift-related, as he generally uses the entire field. Yeah I'm not a Licata guy...when I think "obnoxious Noo Yawk blowhard", he comes to mind for sure. But I think he does have a point re: Soto. Soto's not exactly impossible to strike out but he definitely has a better chance of putting the ball in play than Judge. Judge has whiffed in 28.5% of his plate appearances for his career...Soto's at 17.1%. If I'm as good at the plate as Soto is, I'm not leaving it up to a guy who's not as good of a hitter as I am (even though Judge obviously has more power). Soto has the ability to do more than leave it up to the next guy in certain key spots. Edited April 18 by Colorado Rockies 1976 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 On 4/18/2024 at 2:57 PM, Colorado Rockies 1976 said: Yeah I'm not a Licata guy...when I think "obnoxious Noo Yawk blowhard", he comes to mind for sure. But I think he does have a point re: Soto. Soto's not exactly impossible to strike out but he definitely has a better chance of putting the ball in play than Judge. Judge has whiffed in 28.5% of his plate appearances for his career...Soto's at 17.1%. If I'm as good at the plate as Soto is, I'm not leaving it up to a guy who's not as good of a hitter as I am (even though Judge obviously has more power). Soto has the ability to do more than leave it up to the next guy in certain key spots. He didn’t leave it up to Judge tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 The Yankees are playing a rare Monday day game against the A’s, and Aaron Boone was ejected by homeplate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt two batters in because… he didn’t say anything. After initially questioning a hit batter, Boone was warned by Wendelstedt not to say anything further. A fan sitting above the Yankees’ dugout subsequently yelled something at the veteran umpire, who reacted by tossing Boone. When the Yankees’ dugout protested, indicating that Hunter had heard a fan, Wendelstedt said, “I don’t care!” Major League Baseball needs to do something about these egomaniacal a$$holes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 (edited) Jesus that’s as blatant a targeting as I can ever remember. That’s like Billy Crystal in the movie Forget Paris the scene he snaps lol If this guy doesn’t get punished than the umpires union is clearly more powerful than the police union. Edited April 22 by NJDevs4978 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 4 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said: Jesus that’s as blatant a targeting as I can ever remember. That’s like Billy Crystal in the movie Forget Paris the scene he snaps lol If this guy doesn’t get punished than the umpires union is clearly more powerful than the police union. I don’t know if Wendelstedt was already in a bad mood for another reason, but nothing justifies an ejection like this, especially by an umpire whose employment is likely tied to his father having the same job for so many years. If nothing else, he should have to apologize to Boone for throwing him out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 7 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said: Jesus that’s as blatant a targeting as I can ever remember. That’s like Billy Crystal in the movie Forget Paris the scene he snaps lol If this guy doesn’t get punished than the umpires union is clearly more powerful than the police union. I know it will never happen, and I'm not one to advocate for assault, but just once I would like to see a player or manager snap and pop an umpire right in the face. Why? Because many of them are flat-out ASKING for it. They blow calls and get that smug little "You can't touch me! You can't touch me" smirk. At times they've been caught trying to bait players and managers and at other times are clearly going out of their way to be confrontational. News to you fvckers: NO ONE ever paid for a ticket to see umpires get in the fvcking way of a baseball game. Be fvcking better already! 1 minute ago, ButlerBulldog said: I don’t know if Wendelstedt was already in a bad mood for another reason, but nothing justifies an ejection like this, especially by an umpire whose employment is likely tied to his father having the same job for so many years. If nothing else, he should have to apologize to Boone for throwing him out. Seriously, fvck that guy, he should absolutely be suspended for this. He is flat-out WRONG here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 And on a side note, though I know things aren't as bad as they were in the Eric Gregg days, can some of these fat fvck umpires get themselves in reasonable shape? Like YOU Hunter? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 I know it's early as fvck but damn WTF is going on with Judge so far? Oof. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 11 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said: I know it's early as fvck but damn WTF is going on with Judge so far? Oof. Judge’s Spring Training at-bats were limited due to injury, so I’m not surprised that he’s rusty, but what’s concerning is that he’s chasing pitches low and out of the zone, something I thought was behind him. A few folks from the chicken little crowd have suggested that his being moved out of the two-hole is affecting him, but I don’t buy that at all, as he asked to hit third, and I wouldn’t mess with Soto given the way he’s swinging the bat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 5 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said: Judge’s Spring Training at-bats were limited due to injury, so I’m not surprised that he’s rusty, but what’s concerning is that he’s chasing pitches low and out of the zone, something I thought was behind him. A few folks from the chicken little crowd have suggested that his being moved out of the two-hole is affecting him, but I don’t buy that at all, as he asked to hit third, and I wouldn’t mess with Soto given the way he’s swinging the bat. As long as he stays healthy (of course that's always a considerable "if" with him), hard to imagine that he won't pick it up at some point...unless he's on a Chris Davis kind of decline. And it's way too early to even think that could possibly be the case. He's no longer a kid (will soon be 32), but also far from old. That being said, man I know that Judge breaking the AL record for HRs and his popularity put the Yankees in an impossible spot, but man, whenever you sign up a guy to a pricey long-term contract and it's basically his Age 31 and beyond years...that tends not to go well. Angels saw that first-hand with Albert Pujols...and unlike Judge, that was a guy who rarely missed games to boot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Yanks down 2-0 but with Volpe, Soto, and Judge coming up. Man if Soto and/or Volpe are on base and Judge either Ks, pops out, or even worse, grounds into a DP...can't imagine the crowd isn't all over him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 3 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said: As long as he stays healthy (of course that's always a considerable "if" with him), hard to imagine that he won't pick it up at some point...unless he's on a Chris Davis kind of decline. And it's way too early to even think that could possibly be the case. He's no longer a kid (will soon be 32), but also far from old. That being said, man I know that Judge breaking the AL record for HRs and his popularity put the Yankees in an impossible spot, but man, whenever you sign up a guy to a pricey long-term contract and it's basically his Age 31 and beyond years...that tends not to go well. Angels saw that first-hand with Albert Pujols...and unlike Judge, that was a guy who rarely missed games to boot. Yes, bringing Judge back after 2022 was definitely a risk, and it’s also a decision that might cost the Yankees Soto if his asking price ends up being more than they want to pay him given their long-term commitments to other players. In any event, I think Judge will figure things out and wind up with close to his usual numbers. People tend to overanalyze statistics skewed by small sample size, but the swings and misses Judge is having now will likely even out before season’s end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said: Yanks down 2-0 but with Volpe, Soto, and Judge coming up. Man if Soto and/or Volpe are on base and Judge either Ks, pops out, or even worse, grounds into a DP...can't imagine the crowd isn't all over him. He was hearing boos over the weekend, so I’m sure the fans will be all over him if he doesn’t make it happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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