Opinion
All That Jazz, None of That Game
Jazz is not our second baseman, and I know that upsets many. Beyond his image, personality, and fun guy vibe, he is a low to middle level producer who somehow lands the five spot in the batting order, yet everyone fawns over him? I would like to see that same support for a real baller like Fernando Cruz, but he is barely mentioned.
Instead, fans slobber over Jazz’s cartoon character swag, social media posts, and even his habit of wearing other players’ pants. This infatuation with everything but performance will not get the team anywhere.
Yes, he blooped a weak game winning home run earlier this week, and that is part of the problem. Now that will be plastered all over Instagram for the next week. He would be better off with the Savannah Bananas. Don’t get me wrong, I like Jazz, but I am just a Yankee fan who is weary of watching a team that should win a World Series but keeps falling short as we burn away another of Judge’s prime years. Yes Boonie, it really is “right in front of us” if the hard decisions are made in the front office.
This is old school George Steinbrenner thinking: you know, the guy who delivered championships because he did the things that mattered? From 1973 to 1990, he went through 19 managers, 15 pitching coaches, and 13 GMs. That is just the staff; how he shaped rosters is on another level. The acquisitions were made, players were traded, and there was little room for error. So with that, let us play a game of...
"WHAT WOULD GEORGE DO WITH JAZZ?"
1. Jazz bobbles a potential game-saving double play and forgets to tag a runner, allowing the Rays to walk it off. When asked, he says: "I didn't know the rule."
BOSS: Benches Jazz for not knowing a little league rule. Puts him in media time out.
2. Misses several easy outs at second with that slap tag; quickly raising the glove in the air while runners over slide the bag. They would have been out had he kept the tag applied. (Volpe does this well)
BOSS: Benches Jazz for his inexcusable effort. Hires Willie Randolph as a field coach.
3. In April, fields a routine ground ball and lets the runner reach first on a lazy transfer. When asked: "It's cold. It's literally all it is… your body starts to freeze." Multiple near-misses before that with the same lackadaisical effort.
BOSS: Puts Jazz on the IL with "circulation issues".
4. For most of the season, barely batting over .200 with soft contact, a higher-than-average caught-looking rate (19%), and consistently missing hittable pitches with only 69% zone contact. Pitchers are beating him both passively and actively. But sure, keep challenging and try to bring up that 17% ABS challenge success rate.
BOSS: Sends Jazz to Somerset. Puts Boone on the same bus for not moving him to the bottom of the order. Moves Volpe to 2B and brings up Lombard.
5. His 2026 contract is $10 million. When he hits free agency, there is talk of him seeking $300 million over 8 to 10 years.
BOSS: Fires Cashman and Hal.
Volpe is our future second baseman, I dove into that in the previous issue.
Around the Horn
Our Firemen are Misfiring
Two Sundays. Two first-pitch curveballs. Two walk-offs. Bednar's ERA sits at 4.95 and he's already halfway to matching last season's blown save total...in May!. Why do they all follow this pattern; Chappie, Holmes. The deeper problem is that the Yankees don't have a single reliever in the top 50 in K-BB%, meaning there isn't enough swing and miss stuff to survive when starters exit early (which will happen often with Rodon's return). Doval is a disaster in the eighth. Headrick and Hill are solid but aren't closers. Cruz has potential if his control is reigned in. Cashman has been known to build great bullpens, even during the summers, so this is his chance to save the season. Yanks Go Yard
Stop Babying Lagrange and Fix the Bullpen
Carlos Lagrange's fastball averaged 100 and topped out at 103 in his last AAA start. He's towering at 6' 7 so that ball is optically coming in faster once that huge stride is made and arm is extended. He pairs that with a good slider, enough buzz that analysts are now urging the Yanks to call him up to address the bullpen mess. "They lack power pitchers, elite swing-and-miss stuff, and Lagrange provides both," one analyst said. But the plan was always to develop him as a starter so let's see how we shoot ourselves in the foot again with this guy. MLB Trade Rumors
The Bronx Ex-files
A Second Baseman Doing Well?
Former Yankee Oswald Peraza is quietly holding down a utility role for the Angels. He recently went 7 for 18 with two homers over a five-game stretch. Not bad for a guy we essentially pushed out the door because Jazz needed somewhere to stand. He never got a real shot with us like a long laundry list of other prospects we just burned away with sporadic play time. He's getting that chance now, good for him. CBS Sports
Gio Urshela Retires
He posted this on Monday: "Today is the day. The day you never dream about, the day you never imagine, the day you never expect to come." His Yankee years were good. 292 average, 41 HR's, 6.4 WAR over 291 games. Nobody expected any of it from a journeyman the Blue Jays sold us for cash considerations. Although, the trade that sent him to Minnesota for Josh Donaldson is one of the worst in recent franchise history. Anyway, Gio was blameless in all of it. He's only 34, curious to see what he does next. Pinstripes Nation
