Yesterday, a certain video about a certain Cuban outfielder was released and people went nuts. A guy few people knew existed on Sunday night was a baseball blogosphere and Twitterverse darling by early Monday morning. Over the next few hours, days, weeks, months, etc., there is going to be a lot of digital ink spilled about Yoenis Cespedes…and with good reason. He seems to be massively talented and will probably command a sizable contract. He’s the newest and shiniest thing in a time of new and shiny things.
Yu Darvish falls into this category as well, but again, it’s not undeserved. In fact, his praise is probably more deserved than Cespedes’s. A lot of us are enamored with him, and that includes myself. He’s something new and unknown, and that makes him exciting. Of course there is another layer to it; there is more depth. Darvish fits an immediate need and there is a strong argument to be made that he’s the best free agent fit for the Yankees. Like any free agent, our thoughts about him are driven by anticipation.
Our collective baseball attention span definitely drops during two times of the year when transactions dominate the headlines: the trade deadline and the Hot Stove season. We bounce from player to player, wondering how he’ll fit in. Sometimes, the desire lasts a day. Other times, we stay fixated on a player for weeks and keep dreaming on him until the next, newest best fit comes along. I’ve done this myself; in the past two weeks, I’ve written about at least half a dozen starting pitchers that would fit the Yankees in one way or another. This guy would fit great! No, this guy would be even better! Look, guys! I found another great fit! We “island hop” from free agent to free agent, from trade candidate to trade candidate.
There are times when it can get a bit tiring, but there are also times when I’m okay with it. At its best, this Shiny New Thing Syndrome assures us that we don’t marry ourselves to one player or one idea. It shows me that we can consider multiple options and multiple points of view. But at its worst, SNTS goes against everything we preach during the baseball season. We constantly say that the season is a marathon, not a sprint. Well, the same can be said for the Hot Stove season. When we’re overtaken by SNTS, we forget that and hop on every bandwagon that passes us by.
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5 Responses to Shiny New Thing Syndrome
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TIQ IQ
I’m really skeptical about Yoenis, I see he’s an athletic freak but we literally know nothing else. We have no clue what the equivalent level of the cuban league is, and outside of 30 seconds ago we never knew his name.
I’m a fan of spending on Darvish, although he is technically an unknown, we have a much clearer picture of the level of competition that he’s faced(NPB is basically AAAA) and we have been able to see him play (some more than others) over the years and chart his progress.
Also that dumbass video makes me think this guy might have an ego bigger than Jose Canseco and Arod circa 2001-2003 put together.
From what I understand the Cuban competition is much closer to AAA than Japan. I’ve seen Japan given a moniker of AA+ or AAA-, while Cuban leagues are suppose to be much closer to AAA or AAA+.
I can hear George rustling around, talkIng in his sleep, saying something that sounds like, “Tartabullshit!”
I’m in favor of signing both of these guys (and not in a “chasing the new shiny toy” kind of way). Yu has the highest upside of any pitcher available this year, and he just costs money. The Yankees almost never get a guy like him, unless they spend even MORE money during free agency (yes – CC has worked out, but I’m dreading the end of that contract).
It is true that we know very little about Yoenis, as well as the fact that very few Cuban hitters have done anything in the US. Again, however, he is a high upside guy that the Yankees cannot get through the draft (or have to sign at 16 and hope for the best). He will cost serious money, but he has the possibility of being a replacement for Swisher in 2013, if everything works out perfectly. Frankly, the Yanks do not have a lot of options in the upper minors in terms of hitters (particularly outfielders). This is a great opportunity to go after someone, see if he can play ball as well as he can create promotional videos of him roasting a pig, and possibly strengthen the team in a really useful way over the next 6 years.
The thing we have to remember is that although we (the fans) know very little about Yoenis, I strongly believe that the Yankees have been doing their homework on him. If the Yankees are smart, they would have El Duque on their payroll as their Cuban liaison, working the phones (or whatever passes for communication in Cuba today) to get as much info as humanly possibly.
Hmm – that’s an interesting question in and of itself. Are the Yankees taking advantage of their unique relationships at all? I know the old-timers are connected to the team, and a couple of the reclamation projects pop up from time to time (e.g., Strawberry). But do they have a specific place for El Duque, Bernie, etc in the organization? Guys who have a name, an image, and a connection to a specific population (e.g., Cuba, Puerto Rico, etc). The cost is really low, and the possible upside is really high.
My only real concern with Yoennis would be his age. If he really is 26, and the Yankees like what they see at the private workout then he could end up being a replacement for Swisher in RF next year possibly. But if he ends up being 30 then his upside isn’t nearly worth the hassle.