From scolding to scorching: Gary’s on fire
DETROIT — Was it the benching?
The embarrassment of it? The rest it afforded Gary Sanchez? The time it gave him to work on his defense in a private setting?
Maybe The Kraken will let us know his true feelings in his post-career memoirs. For now, all that can be said is he’s surging at a perfect time for the Yankees, and at a quite interesting time for himself.
“It’s hard to say, because there was only one day off that I had over there in Cleveland,” Sanchez said Wednesday, through an interpreter, before he homered again and drove home three more runs in the Yankees’ 10-2 mauling of the Tigers, their second straight blowout victory. “It was a rough series, but I think it has to do with the combination of the work that I’ve been doing and just feeling good overall.”
In his past 15 games, the 24year-old has compiled a .333/ .394/.825 slash line, with nine home runs and 20 RBIs. That time frame follows Sanchez’s weekend of shame in Cleveland, when he 1) earned a public scolding from Joe Girardi for his poor defense behind the plate on Aug. 4; 2) started at designated hitter on Aug. 5, with public assurances from Girardi he would return to catch the subsequent day; and 3) rode the bench on Aug. 6 after Girardi said he changed his mind and stuck with backup receiver Austin Romine. Before the latter two of those games, Sanchez drilled extensively on his ability to block pitches.
In his previous 14 starts prior to his Aug. 6 day off, Sanchez slashed .222/.283/.481, with three homers and six RBI. While we are talking about small sample sizes, it’s hard to overlook the timing of it all.
(Let’s also give a shout-out to Sanchez’s Aug. 11 Manhattan lunch with Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez, since Sanchez himself has credited A-Rod with lending some wisdom. Since that meeting, reported first by The Post, Sanchez has put up a .340/ .377/.872 line with eight homers and 19 RBI in 12 games.)
“Maybe the rest [helped],” Girardi said before Wednesday’s game. “You never know what triggers something in a person. There’s a lot of responsibility thrown on some of these young kids’ shoulders. You’re not ever sure how they’re going to handle it, and they’re going to have their ups and downs.
“I also feel like, when you’re younger, you’re going to have your ups and downs, maybe people pay more attention to them because you’re younger and if you’re on a high note, they say, ‘Well, can they sustain it? Because there’s not a track record.’ If you’re on a low note, ‘Is that who he really is?’ So I think until they get a track record, they’re probably judged a lot more.”
Eh. In these days of social media, folks tend to freak out over veterans just as easily as they do over youngsters. Yet the Sanchez case stood out as different because it entailed more than a slump. Girardi wouldn’t have erupted (for him) as he did if he thought Sanchez simply was hitting a “low note.”
And just as Girardi, as a former catcher, might be more inclined to criticize Sanchez, the manager appreciates Sanchez’s August rise despite playing the most demanding position on the field.
“So far, August has been a good month for him. And September,” Girardi said, referring to Sanchez’s tremendous twomonth debut last year. “It really is amazing this time of year. You almost feel like a catcher gets stronger. There aren’t too many catchers that have that ability, but you saw it last year. You’ve seen it somewhat this year. It’s a great trait to have.”
“I feel pretty good right now,” Sanchez said. “I don’t think I have gotten to that point where you feel tired.” Or maybe he got there and escaped it, thanks to an unexpected and unwanted weekend respite. If it’s not the prescription you would recommend for most guys, it might have worked on this subject.