00:00George Lombard Jr. couldn't have scripted a much better Major League debut.
00:04The 21-year-old shortstop he homered flashed the defensive ability that has made him one of the Yankees' top
00:09prospects
00:09and immediately gave the Bronx a new reason for excitement.
00:14But Lombard's arrival also comes with a complicated backdrop.
00:17Anthony Volpe, once viewed as the long-term answer at shortstop, has been sent back to the minors
00:22after failing to establish themselves as the player the Yankees envisioned.
00:26So how much should we take from one dazzling debut?
00:29What lessons should the Yankees learn from the Volpe experience?
00:32And how much of an impact can Lombard realistically make on a team with championship expectations?
00:38Joining me now to discuss all of that is New York Post sports columnist, the one and only Mike Vaccaro,
00:44here with me now.
00:45Mike, how you doing, my friend?
00:47Thanks, Joe. I'm good. How's your summer been?
00:49It's been good, man. It's been good. It's been a good summer.
00:51It hasn't been too crazy in terms of humidity.
00:54Been able to get around again. You and I were talking about that before.
00:57So, no, it's been good. How about yours? It's been good?
01:00Yeah, no complaints. Going too fast, as always. But that's the common complaint the older you get, right?
01:05You know what? The summers never feel as long as they used to be. I say that all the time.
01:09I try to tell my daughter that. She doesn't understand it now.
01:11But the summers never as long as they used to be when you were younger.
01:14Let's talk a little bit about Mike, hear Mike about George Lombard Jr.
01:18Because he homered, played tremendous defense. We saw that. He looked completely comfortable in his Major League debut.
01:26What part of that performance felt most sustainable to you?
01:29And what part do we have to be careful to not overreact to after one night?
01:34Well, the defense for sure looks sustainable because he just looked so smooth out there.
01:39He looked like he'd been there for five years. That's what you want to see in a shortstop.
01:44You want to see in a shortstop that making the job look easier than it's supposed to be.
01:49And that's certainly, you know, he's had some difficulties this year with Francisco Lindor for most of his time in
01:54the Mets.
01:54He makes that position look effortless. It's not always about making the spectacular play.
01:59It's making the routine play every time.
02:01I think that was part of the problem that Anthony Volpe had as his career progressed.
02:07And so he projects an image where he can keep that level of defense up day after day, night after
02:14night.
02:15And that's going to be the important thing. That's what you want from your shortstop.
02:19Obviously, the home run's a wonderful capstone to the night.
02:22I don't know that you're necessarily going to look at him as a 35 to 40 home run guy.
02:26And I don't think you want to necessarily. You want a guy who's a steady offensive player.
02:30I think part of, I think, people's frustrations with Volpe is that he never developed into a situational hitter
02:36or even a situational base stealer.
02:38And his offense was always very disjointed, whether it was the way he was coached,
02:42whether it was the other people in his ear, whether it was his own wanting to take advantage of Yankee
02:47Stadium's dimensions.
02:48I don't think he ever adapted to being, you know, the kind of all weapons offensive player that they really
02:55needed
02:55as opposed to a guy just swinging for the fences.
02:58So, look, I wouldn't look at Lombard, you know, repeating that.
03:01And, of course, I'll say that and he'll do it tonight, right?
03:03But that's the way baseball is.
03:05But I think what's important is not to get caught into the trap of trying to swing from the fences
03:10every time,
03:10especially when you've got those inviting porches at Yankee Stadium.
03:14Yeah, we know the history of that, how inviting it can be.
03:16And you just mentioned it with Anthony Volpe because we've already seen how quickly
03:21a homegrown Yankee shortstop can go from being celebrated as the future of this team
03:26to carrying impossible expectations.
03:28So, after what happened with Anthony Volpe, how should the organization, the media, and the fan base
03:34handle the excitement around Lombard differently?
03:38Look, I just think it's okay to be excited about a player, you know.
03:42And I think that there was nothing wrong with people being excited about Anthony Volpe
03:45when he was first starting out.
03:47There was a lot of excitement around him opening day.
03:49I wrote about that.
03:50I mean, he was the second most cheered player behind Aaron Judge.
03:54And all Aaron Judge had done was hit 62 home runs the year before.
03:57So, there's nothing wrong with that.
03:59There's nothing wrong with having expectations.
04:01I think it's managing those expectations.
04:03And, you know, by the same token, the player has to cooperate there also.
04:09Look, I mean, I understand the Yankee fans got frustrated with Anthony Volpe after a while.
04:13That's what fans do.
04:14They only see what they see.
04:16You know, they're not going to boo you because of something you do well.
04:19They're going to boo you because, you know, you're starting to frustrate them with your performance.
04:23And that's kind of the deal.
04:25You know, you get paid in the first to the 15th pretty handsomely as a professional athlete.
04:29And part of the responsibility for that is answering to the fans who pay your salary.
04:33Yeah, that is part of the responsibility for sure.
04:37Stay with Volpe for a second here because you just wrote a great column about him.
04:40And when you look back at Volpe's time as an everyday shortstop, how much of his failure to solidify the
04:47position falls on his performance?
04:48And then how much falls on the Yankees for asking him to develop under the pressure of a pennant race
04:53without ever really pulling back?
04:56Well, look, I never thought in real time that they were doing him any favors by insisting to us that
05:01he was playing well when, in fact, he was playing poorly.
05:04You know, you're never going to teach a player accountability and the consequences that come with accountability if you're always
05:10enabling them.
05:10And I think that was the Yankees' fault.
05:12I really do.
05:12Now, look, maybe Anthony Volpe will turn out to be a guy who's just a league average player.
05:18And that's fine.
05:19You know, a guy can do worse than to be a league average player for six or seven years.
05:24And look, he's in the minor leagues right now.
05:26I'm completely convinced that he would be a starting player for 20 of the 30 major league teams.
05:32I mean, he just wouldn't be.
05:33He's that level of player.
05:34And maybe he needs to step away from the glare of New York to get there.
05:39I don't know.
05:40But, I mean, I don't think anybody could ever question the fact that he tried, that he cared deeply.
05:48Maybe he cared too much.
05:49You know, he played hurt.
05:51Maybe he shouldn't have played hurt.
05:52You know, we always hear all the time about how soft our players are soft.
05:55You know, last year, Anthony Volpe played with an injury.
05:58It didn't help his case.
05:59It didn't help his play.
06:00And now he's in the minor league.
06:01So I'm not saying there's necessarily a direct line between that and being in Scranton.
06:06But there's certainly a couple of indirect paths, too.
06:08And I think that all comes into how this all played out so far.
06:12And, look, as I wrote today, I don't think his story is over.
06:14I think right now, look, history is littered with great players who went to the minor leagues and found themselves.
06:21You know, starting with Mickey Mantle, right?
06:23And starting with Mickey Mantle and going on to Roy Halladay recently with the Blue Jays.
06:29But, you know, went all the way to Class A to find himself before he could come back.
06:35So, look, I mean, I think he'll be back.
06:37Whether he's back with the Yankees or not is up to question.
06:40If he'll ever play shortstop for the Yankees, I think seems doubtful now.
06:43Not to coronate Lombard after one game, but that just seems to be the way they're going.
06:48But he's got a full career ahead of him.
06:49He's still very young.
06:51Yeah.
06:51And speaking of youth, right, we'll just bring it back to Lombard for a second.
06:55And all the points you just made there are great.
06:57He's only 21, and his minor league history suggests that he's needed time to adjust at a new level every
07:04time he goes up.
07:05How do the Yankees balance giving him room to experience the inevitable struggles with the reality that they are also
07:11trying to win a championship right now?
07:13How do they balance all that, Mike?
07:15Look, as long as he's giving them the defense they gave him last night, I mean, I think most people
07:18will sign up for that, including the Yankees.
07:20You know, if he has offensive struggles, I mean, I think you expect that.
07:23But, you know, defense tends to translate.
07:25And to me, it was very impressive that in his first game, Full House at Yankee Stadium, not only made
07:30all the routine plays, made one really, you know, highlight-worthy double play.
07:35You know, Paul O'Neill said on the telecast, we haven't seen a double play like that all year, and
07:39he's not wrong.
07:40And so that's something that I think can translate pretty easily from one level to the next.
07:45And as long as they just, you know, allow that expectation to be, well, he's a very good defensive player.
07:50Let's see what happens on offense and give him room to breathe.
07:53I think that's probably the best way to go about it with a young player like this.
07:58That's what you want.
07:59So I guess coming off of that, and we can wrap on this, when we reach the end of the
08:02season, because I think there's some talk from some people that this could be the spot that he's coming to,
08:08where the Yankees are in this season.
08:10They obviously have championship aspirations.
08:11What would a successful first two months for Lombard actually look like?
08:16Does he need to become an impact back?
08:17Because we know this offense has struggled.
08:19Or is it just steady defense, athleticism, and competent offense, I'll put it at that, be enough to make the
08:24Yankees a more complete postseason team?
08:27What does a good two months of George Lombard look like here in Pinstripes?
08:31Look, I think what he needs is what the rest of the Yankees need, which is for Aaron Judge to
08:34get healthy, which is for Bellinger to get healthy.
08:36It wouldn't hurt for Stanton to get healthy, because then all of a sudden, you know, you're talking about the
08:42eighth-place hitter in a lineup, and you can get away with your eighth-place hitter in the lineup not
08:46being a high-impact player as long as he's bringing the other parts to his game, the speed, the base
08:51running, and, of course, the defense.
08:52You know, right now, the Yankees' offense is struggling so much.
08:55It was a batter knife in the Yankees last night, and they scored two whole runs.
08:59I mean, that's been an issue for weeks now.
09:01And, you know, as long as that's the case, then everybody in your lineup has the potential to be an
09:05impact player.
09:06You're an eighth-night hitter because you're looking for anywhere to give you runs.
09:10So, if the Yankees' lineup gets stronger and they can worry about him just taking care of the small stuff,
09:15I think the Yankees will be better off, and certainly Lombard will be better off, too.
09:18That's good.
09:19Take care of the small stuff.
09:20Some pretty good advice, and also temper some of those expectations the Yankee fans might have for George Lombard, who
09:26had a fantastic Major League Baseball debut.
09:28We'll see what continues for him in his Yankees career.
09:31Great words here from the fantastic Mike Vaccaro, our sports columnist for the New York Post.
09:36Mike, always a pleasure talking to you.
09:38We'll talk some more soon.
09:40Dexter, have a great rest of the summer.
09:42We'll talk soon.
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