well i beat the drum, and hold the phone

 The sun came out today

We're born again, there's new grass on the field (Fogerty)

i have been listening to Boomer & Gio all week to the callers complaining about the yankees and specifically Brian Cashman...i have tried unsuccessfully to call into the show....i will instead share my thoughts here.

I think Cashman was brilliant in his handling of the Judge situation.....he made a fair offer before the season and Judge refused....so Cashman leaked the offer to the media so the fans know that the team made a decent attempt to keep their star player... i think somewhere in the Yankee brain trust meetings there was a fair suspicion of Judge's ability to stay healthy for an entire season...I think they surmised that if Judge could not stay on the field for 155 plus games while in a WALK contract year, well then he just will never be able to stay on the field. I think they also considered that a contract motivated Judge would not only stay on the field but would be incredibly focused throughout the season since there were Hundreds of Millions of dollars on the line.....i'm not saying they thought he would hit 62 HR's but i think they were hoping he would tear the leather off the ball all year and lead the team to the World Series.

now from a financial standpoint....Judge's historic season made the Yankees a lot of Mullah.....increased attendance, TV Ratings and of course Jersey Sales all contributed to a big year for the Steingrabbers.......side note....if Judge walks...all those people will eventually have to find a new favorite Yankee and replace their #99 jerseys. (unlike when a player retires, it's NOT OK to wear the jersey of a player who leaves the team in free agency)

Is he worth it?  the money, Maybe....the extended years, NO......but two things you must consider....when faced with a white hot spotlight and increased pressure at two times....the pursuit of Maris in the last 3 weeks and the postseason.....MR. Judge crawled inside a shell and disappeared......i looked it up....in 44 career playoff games he has hit 13 homers with 66K's and a .211 average.....i know that is probably in line with most of today's players....but it tells me he is not worth the cash.

speaking of Cash(man).....if he keeps his job, that should tell you one thing....he is doing exactly what the owners are asking him to do.....sure everybody wants to win the World Series , but i suspect his marching orders are first and foremost, to keep us relevant without breaking the bank...and he does that.

now, why didn't this team win the WS ? i tie it back to the early season altercation between Josh Donaldson and Tim Anderson of the White Sox.....nobody on the Yankees came to his defense.... the Yanks have ZERO chemistry and a lot of it goes back to Donaldson...he is not liked, i think the black players view him as a racist and the white players just think he is a jerk.... i think that locker room is fractured...they are not a TEAM and they certainly didn't seem to be having fun.....all you have to do is look at the Phillies and see that Chemistry is priceless.....but hey, what do i know...i'm a met fan.

Well, I spent some time in the Mudville Nine
Watching it from the bench
You know I took some lumps
When the Mighty Casey struck out