Our Brand Is Crisis

Sucking early in the year is one thing. Sucking early in the year against the Red Sox is an entirely different kind of sucking.

Oh, Phil Hughes. What have you done?

Congratulations to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News for being the first local reporter to take a not-so-subtle, "told ya' so" shot at the Yankees for not pulling the trigger on the Johan Santana deal. Today, Madden writes, "Phil Hughes, the crown prince pitcher that Brian Cashman would not trade under any circumstances for Johan Santana, had his second straight abbreviated and ineffective outing..."

The "crown prince"? Sounds antagonistic to me. I also like the inclusion of the "under any circumstances" clause, just to emphasize how not traded Hughes was; as if Cashman is even dumber for not even having considered the deal.

Congratulations, as well, to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the first local reporter to suggest that Phil Hughes (and Ian Kennedy) be shipped back to Triple A. Sherman writes, bafflingly, “Kei Igawa and Darrell Rasner are the best Triple-A possibilities at the moment, which explains why there will be plenty of leash for Hughes and Kennedy.”

Igawa? Rasner? Are you kidding me? This is embarrassing conjecture. Do you truly believe that there is a single member of the Yankees brain trust that is even thinking about sending Hughes and/or Kennedy down? Can you even comprehend, Joel Sherman, the PR nightmare that would ensue if that happened?

I realize more and more that it’s not the actual baseball games that drive me to the brink of insanity, but the media coverage of the games. These beat writers basically have carte blanche to write whatever emotion-driven, panic-stricken thought comes to their heads and report it as if it’s gospel.

Fact: the Yankees suck right now, and any Yankees fan worth his or her salt is miserable about it. No question. Hughes and Kennedy look awful, and there is a really good chance that they will not develop quickly enough (if at all) to allow the Yankees to contend this year. As a matter of fact, I have openly questioned why the Yankees didn’t make the Santana trade, seeing as how Johan is only 29, and if Phil Hughes ever pans-out, he will likely only ever be “as good” as the new Mets ace and never “better than”; however, this is the bed the team has made. If you ask me (and I’ll assume you did), the Yanks’ hierarchy knew in February, and knows now, that this may not be a playoff team. But the fact that guys like Madden and Sherman get to throw the city into hysterics after game 13 is immensely irritating.

In fact, if I were a good blogger (and our lack of readership indicates that I am not), I’d clip some quotes from the articles about Hughes’ first start against the Blue Jays a mere 10 days ago. Methinks the tone was probably a bit brighter on that glorious morning.

To recap, the Yankees suck. But what also sucks is the New York beat writers casting young and inexperienced pitchers (who the same writers constantly remind us are young and inexperienced) into the fiery reaches of hell for a couple of shitty starts.

Yes, the team is probably in trouble. No, it does not warrant the return of Kei Igawa to the rotation.

Calm down. Leave the unfounded ranting and raving where it belongs…in my living room.