[ad_1]
BOSTON – “If that’s true, if you don’t know who I am, then maybe your best solution would be to tread lightly.”
– Walter White (to Hank), “Breaking Bad”
Do the Yankees know who Giancarlo Stanton is, four years after their 10-year engagement? Do they have a firm enough grip on the puncher’s strengths and weaknesses? Do they know how to get the most out of their huge investment in it?
They put that knowledge to the test, and they had better not fail if they are to continue their recent rise to relevance.
Aaron Boone said on Thursday, before his Yankees opened a critical streak with the Red Sox at Fenway Park, that there was a “good chance” that Stanton would start in left field on Saturday or Sunday, which would be his first. times to wear a glove in a game since Game 1 of the 2019 American League Championship Series.
Look, if you’re going to play against the often injured Stanton anywhere in defense, left field here is about as risk-free as it gets. The Green Monster’s proximity to home plate (310 feet) will limit Stanton’s workload, and Yankee Stadium’s right field (314) is only slightly more difficult. Mickey Rivers, 72 and still full of energy, could probably handle both of these fields with relative ease.
Beyond that, especially with eight interleague games in National League parks? They should tread lightly with one of their larger poles, given Stanton’s history of injury.
“Hopefully we will get him out maybe one day this weekend. One or two days in Miami [July 30-Aug. 1]. Obviously when we’re going to play other National League series in a National League park, have that available to us, ”said Boone. “And if it goes well, especially when we have Aaron [Judge] back, maybe pick places at home in the right field where I can give Judgie a DH day and things like that. So I hope this is something we can do at least sparingly to have in play. “
“Sparingly” is a critical term when it comes to Stanton’s time as the Yankee. He played sparingly in 2019, 18 of 162 regular season games and five of nine in October, then sparingly last year, 23 of 60 in the regular season before he understood things enough to start all seven games during the playoffs. playoffs.
I expressed similar concerns earlier this season when the Yankees started playing the injury-prone Judge down center, and to date those concerns have been of no use; The judge is currently not active due to a positive COVID-19 test. While Stanton and Judge have attached themselves in recent years as much for their frequent visits to the casualty list as for their massive exit speeds, Judge has distinguished himself from his giant companion in that some of his illnesses were the result of aberrant events ( blow-by-blow, attempt to dive for a catch) rather than a standard game going awry.
Stanton was memorably and chilled out by Mike Fiers of the Brewers in 2014, suffering serious injuries and missing a lot of time with the Marlins. In his four years with the Yankees, however, Stanton’s six problems – four stints in IL, one missed playoff time in 2019 and one missed spring training time in 2020 before the shutdown – resulted from a standard work, whether running, swinging or lining up.
A modified protocol with Eric Cressey, the Yankees’ sophomore director of player health and performance, appears to have paid off. Thursday marked Stanton’s 75th game against the Yankees’ 95. While he’s still exceptionally sequenced, the .260 / .349 / .469 slash he brought to work gave him a significant overpayment without calling it a disaster in a vacuum. The biggest problem is, he looks too much like other free swinging Yankees and right handed hitters too much, but you already knew that.
It would be a bad development for Stanton to get injured due to a defensive change, especially at the Marlins’ ridiculously spelled LoanDepot Park, the Braves’ Truist Park or the Mets’ Citi Field. How confident are the Yankees that he managed to avoid such a fate? We will find out, the stakes are quite high.
[ad_2]
Source link