00:00Anthony Volpe has become a touchstone, a big talking point, etc. I've written about this. I've talked about it. I just don't know how you could continue to play him. He's failing at every aspect. It seems clearly to have gotten to him.
00:15If I just have to put a finer point, I mean, the whole season isn't good. A .268 on-base percentage, a .206 batting average, the most errors in the American League. And just over the last 21 games, 125 batting average, one stolen base, 29 strikeouts, one walk. I mean, it's not been good, John.
00:34I think that we saw Aaron Boone say, Gary Sanchez is our catcher. Gary Sanchez is our catcher. And then start Kyle Higoshioka in the playoffs a couple of years. He did the same thing defending IKF, Kina Falefa. And then Kina Falefa started about half the games at shortstop in that postseason.
00:53I just don't know how you could keep going forward with a player who is this, seems mentally beat up and production-wise is just giving you, when you have to hold your breath on every ground ball to shortstop and every two-strike count you just assume is surrender, I don't know how you go forward with this.
01:13Caballero's not a star, but he's better than that.
01:16Yeah, I mean, I hear what you're saying. I got a little bit different take on it. I mean, we have seen Volpe for three years now.
01:22This is obviously the worst of the three years. I just don't think the alternative is there.
01:27I mean, I think they needed to make that decision at the deadline and really get a shortstop if that's the way they were going.
01:35I think it's too late for that decision. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe Caballero is a starting shortstop.
01:40I think he's a fine utility man. At least that's what's been proven to me.
01:45Look, Volpe was outstanding last year in the postseason. Maybe he will turn it on in the postseason.
01:54I don't think they win without a decent Volpe. Are we going to get a decent Volpe? I'm not sure, but I just don't see the alternative as being better.
02:05John, can I make the case at all that Caballero is an Agacioka-level backup player in the middle of the diamond and that Sanchez was supposed to be a star and it kind of fell apart?
02:17And at some point you owe it to the team that even if it's a backup player, if the backup player is going to outperform the starter, I get you.
02:24The Yankees' chances of winning X number of games and getting to a parade go considerably down if Caballero is their shortstop and he gives what he does.
02:33But I think that every ground ball hit to Volpe is an elimination if you're in a best two out of three early in this.
02:42At least I think Caballero fields all the balls. If he's on first base, he's a stolen base threat.
02:47He's a better hitter than Volpe right now.
02:50Am I hoping that Anthony Volpe remembers that you could hit the ball to right field again like he did during the postseason last year?
02:57When I agree with you, he was terrific for three weeks and helped get the Yankees to the World Series.
03:03Man, that feels a long way. This feels like we've seen a lot of the downside of the roller coaster.
03:08This feels as down as it's been in the three years and he seems, to me, John, it's reading body language and who knows with these things.
03:16I can barely speak English. Now I'm reading body language. But I mean, he seems defeated right now.
03:22I mean, I think certainly he's down at this moment and I don't think the fans are helping.
03:28I mean, it's it's a little too much for exactly what he's done. Has he been good? No, he has not been good.
03:34I mean, the catching position to me is different. You know, that affects every play.
03:38You're talking about a few grounders in a game. And, you know, he he's had more errors.
03:45He had 19 errors. He's had more probably than anybody. But it's not crazy.
03:49You know, he's not there isn't at 40 errors or 50 errors. We've seen him at his best.
03:55And he does have pretty good potential. He does have power. He does have speed.
04:01I understand IKF was a shortstop, too, but I didn't think the upside was really there with IKF compared to Volpe.
04:08Volpe, you know, can hit the ball over the fence. Right. Volpe has good speed.
04:14You know, he has. Caballero has great speed. Right. Like, like, like he brings that part of it.
04:21But he's not a proven shortstop. You can roll the dice. To me, that's a gamble.
04:26I'm willing to take, you know, the maybe an extra error that we're going to get at shortstop for the upside that Volpe brings.
04:32I just think that decision needed to be made at the deadline.
04:35He was struggling worse at that point than he is now, I think.
04:40And they didn't go out and get a starting a guy who could be a starting shortstop, in my opinion.
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