Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Junkees' Youth Movement: Jealous of Mets?

Before we discuss the latest bizarre move by the Yanks, let's make one thing clear. This isn't Snorre's idea, or Cashman's. It's all King George.

I guess George has had a midlife crisis or something, because the lineup is getting young again. Perhaps seeing the latest injuries to his ancient #1 Starter and CF freaked him out. Perhaps George is so desperate to win against his arch-rival Naimoli in Tampa Bay (talk about a one-sided rivalry) that he's going to these extremes to try to get this team to score. Or conversely, maybe he thinks breaking these kids in against a AAA team will help them make him look good. ("You see, Cano got two hits off Waechter! I must be a genius!")

My take: George is looking at his cross-town rivals, as usual. The Mets aren't doing great this year, hovering around the .500 mark most of the time, but they've become a fun team to watch, and heck, they're doing better than the Yanks! Their team is a mix of established veterans like Pedro, Glavine, and Clifford Floyd (who's off to a sizzling start) along with energetic youth in Reyes (who makes Alfonso Soriano look like a patient hitter), David Wright, and Victor Diaz. And the spike in attendance this year shows that the Mets aren't just New York's glorified AAA team anymore. (And even though veterans like Beltran and Pedro are mostly responsible for that, the younger players are definitely a factor.)

Seeing the energetic kids help put fannies in the seats, George has gotta be worrying about an exciting team right nearby. So, in come Phillips and now Cano. Difference is, Wright and Reyes were touted as being future stars, and so far have looked promising. But as for Cano and Phillips, most fans must be wondering, "who are these guys?"

So far, Phillips had one good game and is currently batting .160. He tied Bernie Williams' record with 5 K's last night. Not a great start for this kid.

Even when the Yanks stink, they sure are interesting.

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After getting beat by Mussina last night, the D-Rays should be excited over the next 3 guys they'll be facing: Brown, Henn, and Wang. Heck, I'm excited too.

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