With the invention of Twitter, hot takes are running rampant through the internet. When it comes to the New York Yankees, there were plenty of hot takes that made sense at the time yet now seem ridiculous. Let’s look back at them and have a laugh at our own expense.
They say that wine and cheese are two things that get better with age. Well, sometimes that cheese just gets old, moldy and tasteless. Sometimes that wine gets stale and flavorless. That would describe these hot takes for the New York Yankees.
Before the season begins, fans and media outlets often spew outtakes that make sense. However, when they don’t come true, they have to own up to the fact that they were in fact wrong.
We’ve all done it. Whether it be insisting that the Chris Carter signing was a steal or that Aaron Hicks deserved the starting RF job over Aaron Judge, there has to be at least one suggestion we’ve all made that turned out to be utterly and completely incorrect.
Here are some of the hot takes from 2017 that never came true. And yes, it’s okay to laugh at ourselves sometimes. Luckily this season turned out far better than anyone could have imagined so really, it’s worth it.
Luis Severino belongs in the bullpen:
For this hot take, it wasn’t just fans who insisted this during spring training and even early in the season. No, Sports Illustrated even got into the mix, displaying facts to back up the argument that Severino and the bullpen were a perfect match.
Even one of your favorite Yankees beat writers got into the argument, using his 2016 relief stats as proof that he is better off in the pen. That would be me.
Luis Severino belongs in the bullpen, not in a starting role https://t.co/iKVVtpERS1
— Allison Case (@ThatNYYChick) October 14, 2016
Now, I can laugh at myself. How about the rest of you non-believers? Severino had a half season in the bullpen where he excelled but clearly, that didn’t mean he was destined for that role.
If this hot take came true, Severino wouldn’t have ended the season as the Yankees’ ace and third in the Cy Young award voting. No, he probably would have just been buried behind Aroldis Chapman, never getting a shot to shine.
Thank goodness Yankees universe was wrong with this one.
The Chris Carter signing was amazing
Even former player Mark Teixeira got in on this one. He, like many Yankees fans, hopped on the train that the signing of Chris Carter for one-year, $3 million was the very best thing for the club.
Little did we know that Carter would turn a dream signing into a nightmare for the New York Yankees for quite some time.
The #Yankees signing Chris Carter was "an absolute steal," says @teixeiramark25: https://t.co/dM7aQpR0rn
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) February 9, 2017
But Teix isn’t the only one to fall for the façade. No, we practically all did as fans. We were blinded by the 41 home runs in 2016 to truly look at his stats, specifically his strikeouts.
Well, the excitement regarding the Carter signing faded after about a week into the season and fans began begging for the Yankees to release him.
Boy how times have changed! This is one hot take we wish could’ve come true.
Aaron Judge should start the season in Triple-A
Maybe this is why Joe Girardi is no longer the manager for the New York Yankees. Forget the lack of connection and even greater lack of challenges. It was probably all about the tweet.
Yankees still thinking about having Aaron Judge begin the season in Triple-A. Girardi: "He needs to play, that's the bottom line."
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 29, 2017
Let’s just say this tweet and quote DEFINITELY did not age well. Imagine if Judge had started in Triple-A for 2017. You can’t imagine it because what would the 2017 Yankees be without Aaron Judge?
Girardi wasn’t alone. Many fans echoed this sentiment. Now, it all looks ridiculous because we were able to witness all of the 2017 season.
Oh boy. This one was a doozy.
The Yankees will stink this season
My personal favorite hot take because all of the “experts” predicted the New York Yankees would suck this season.
In SB Nation’s preview, the Yankees were predicted to come in fourth in the AL East. Sports Illustrated didn’t even include them in any playoff picks. USA Today Sports had the Yankees winning 80 games this season.
Well, we all see how that turned out. The Yankees went on to win 91 games and made it within one game of the World Series. Now THAT is exceeding expectations.
“The experts” just proved one thing. You can’t predict baseball. Luckily, they were wrong with this hot take and the Yankees gave us a season to remember.
Now that it’s the offseason, the hot takes are running wild. Don’t believe me? Check Twitter!
With that being said, there will be some ridiculous takes and some that will prove to be accurate. At the end of 2018, we’ll take a look back at those and have ourselves a good laugh at our expense.
