It’s tough to defend Gary Sanchez right now, but Mike Francesa, for some reason, is trying to.
Sanchez is effectively useless when he’s not hitting home runs. His defensive, um, “skills” are appalling, he strikes out with the best of them and when he does eventually make contact and it’s not a homer, it’s typically an out.
So, it should come as no surprise that Sanchez has been a black hole in the New York Yankees’ lineup lately, going 2-for-21 this postseason and 1-for-13 in the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, a series the Yankees trail 2-1.
During Francesa’s WFAN show Monday, a caller made the very good point that New York manager Aaron Boone should, at the very least, consider pinch-hitting for Sanchez. Francesa gave an emphatic defense of Sanchez, but his argument was just stupid.
“I’m looking at his at-bats to see if he’s close, and he’s close,” Francesa said. “And if he’s close, he’s always capable of hitting home runs. (Boone’s) not pinch-hitting for Sanchez, because he’s Sanchez.
“He’s not (lost at the plate), he hit 35 home runs this year,” Francesa later noted. “Is (Edwin) Encarnacion 0-for-8 in the series? And if you’re a Yankee fan who thinks they’re going to pinch-hit for Gary Sanchez, I don’t know where you are. The guy had 35 home runs this year, you think they’re pinch-hitting for him? I mean, come on,”
So basically, Francesa believes that because Sanchez hit 35 home runs this season (the last of which was on Sept. 3), Boone should keep trotting him out.
OK then.
