And the 2017 “Stephen Drew Sucks” Award Goes To….

Every single season there seems to be this one player that Yankees manager Joe Girardi loves no matter how terrible he does. To name a few from years past, in no particular order, we have suffered through Andruw Jones every day in center field, Sergio Mitre far too often in the rotation and in the bullpen, Stephen Drew stinking up the joint for multiple seasons at second base and most recently Chase Headley at third base in 2017. So who will win the now aptly named “Stephen Drew Sucks” Award from us here at The Greedy Pinstripes?

I have a feeling that we will be saying “Jacoby Ellsbury Sucks” a whole lot this season. Now I have to admit that this is all contingent on the health of Ellsbury, which is never a guarantee, and I also have to admit that I have been one of Ellsbury’s biggest fans since his signing but enough is enough. The guy is a speed demon that refuses to steal bases. The guy is a leadoff type hitter that seems more worried about getting a catcher’s interference call than roping a single over the infielder’s heads and getting on base. Ellsbury just seems to be on cruise control after signing that mega seven-year deal worth $153 million and it makes me sick to even think about it.

I know some don’t like these awards and they don’t like the constant “Stephen Drew Sucks” tweets after every out he made at the plate or every error he made in the field but that’s just me being a fan. Just because I’m a fan with a blog doesn’t mean I am not a fan first and cannot express my fandom in a way that I deem fit. Stephen Drew did suck and Jacoby Ellsbury does too so why should I be made to feel bad for saying so just because I am on a platform or held to a higher standard or whatever. I don’t put myself on that platform and I don’t hold myself to a higher standard. I’ll get down and talk baseball with anyone, anytime, anywhere. I’ve always been big on putting the social aspect back in social media and I try to acknowledge and respond to every tweet and comment we get in some way, shape or form unlike those other publications.

So yeah, before I get too far off topic here as I like to ramble from time to time, it’s going to be a long season for Jacoby here at TGP. Fair warning and there’s only one way (well two or three ways I guess as he could get injured or traded) to reverse the Stephen Drew Sucks curse…. By performing! Good luck Jacoby, I’m truly rooting for you. 

It Has Begun, Chase Headley Sucks

Ladies and gentleman it has begun. I thought we could go a whole season without donning a new Stephen Drew, which used to be a Sergio Mitre and used to be a Chris Stewart and used to be an Andruw Jones and used to be a whole plethora of people, but we were not that fortunate. Ladies and gentleman, Chase Headley sucks.

When the New York Yankees acquired him at the trading deadline in 2014 I have to admit that a big part of me was ecstatic. Yangervis Solarte had ridden his hot streak and wave and had been at the low point in the tide for the better part of a month at the time of the trade while Chase brought a clutch switch-hitting bat and some stellar defense with him. His defense was immediately compared to that of the great Graig Nettles and after some research I salivated over his clutch hits and huge seasons he had in an even huger ballpark in San Diego. What New York got in return though was a shell of that man with throwing problems and a bad back.

I’m not making this personal and I’m trying not to be down on the guy but something has got to give. New York gave him a huge contract over four seasons and the first year the Yankees got in return was littered with throwing errors and a total zap of any sort of power. This season, and yes I am still preaching the small sample size, he has somehow found new ways to get worse with the bat. The defense has been solid, maybe even great, but he’s making Stephen Drew look like a .300 hitter right now, hence the honor of my “Chase Headley Sucks” tweets.

I’m rooting for Headley, I truly am and I truly mean that, and I’m borderline hoping that this can be used as motivation to get better or do whatever it is you have to do to get better. I don’t want to tweet four or five times a night that he sucks, I don’t I want Headley to have the monster seasons he had inside Petco Park and I want him to lead the Yankees back to the promised land but as a fan that not only supports the Yankees from afar but a fan that buys the merchandise, purchases tickets when they are close, purchases this television subscription and that television subscription to see them etc. I feel like I have the right to at least say something.

And this is what I say. Chase Headley Sucks. Prove me wrong. I like being wrong.

And the 2016 TGP Andrew Jones Award Goes To….

It seems like every single season I am a little harder on a member of the Yankees than I probably should be. Last season it was Stephen Drew, I can remember being especially hard on Andruw Jones, Esmil Rogers, Sergio Mitre, Chris Stewart and Travis Hafner. I can remember even getting down on Mark Teixeira and I can remember stating that if he stepped on a crack and broke his mother’s back that he would need a day to recover. I’m hard on these guys because it’s my God given right to be as a fan and I’m hard on these guys because I’m passionate. I mean no ill-will in what I say and I try to point that out every chance I get while writing so who will I be doing that to in 2016 and who will win the award that nobody wants to win, the “TGP Andruw Jones Award?? I have a sneaking suspicion that player is going to be Chase Headley.

Even though NJ.com reported that the Yankees “located” the error, yes pun intended, in Headley’s way defensively this spring it may not take long for him to find his way back to throwing the ball where they ain’t in 2016. I hope I’m wrong, truth be told I want to be wrong because I like Chase a lot, but he seems like he is the most likely to take a step back in 2016. His power is seemingly gone, he doesn’t hit for a particularly high average from either side of the plate and if he can’t play defense he may become a problem child for the team in 2016.

Problem child is a term I am using loosely here. He is a great clubhouse presence and I’m sure he is a great person but when you’re not producing sometimes you can be your own worst enemy. You can spend more time in your head than outside of your head, you can lock yourself in the video room watching tape rather than getting advice or help from your teammates and coaching staff. Negativity is contagious and negativity is poison. And no, I don’t have access to the players so no I’m not saying this is going to happen, write it down in stone. I’m simply using my judgement, my opinion and my experiences to determine what could happen.

I’m rooting for you more than anyone Chase because I know you can do it. You have to believe it first.