Yankees should avoid Machado after “hustle” comments

The old phrase “it takes a village” is supposed to symbolize teamwork, continuity, and good communication throughout.  If Manny Machado and Gary Sanchez were part of that village, it would fall apart faster than M. Night Shyamalan’s.

Machado’s comments last week were eye opening after not hustling out a ground ball to short that he could have easily beaten out, in Game 3 of the NLCS no less.  It was eerily similar to the ball in Tampa Bay that Sanchez hit, only Sanchez’s was worse as it ended the game with an embarrassing double play.  Regardless of which play was worse, Machado shouldn’t be anywhere on the Yankees’ radar, strictly because he is the exact opposite kind of player they need right now.

To quote Machado during the pregame of Game 4 with Ken Rosenthal, he stated:

“Obviously I’m not going to change, I’m not the type of player that’s going to be ‘Johnny Hustle,’ and run down the line and slide to first base and … you know, whatever can happen,” Machado said in the interview, “That’s just not my personality, that’s not my cup of tea, that’s not who I am.

“Should I have run on that pitch? Yeah … but I didn’t and I gotta pay the consequences for it. It does look bad. It looks terrible. I look back at the video and I’m like, ‘Whoa, what was I doing?'”

Machado repented for his sin, but that doesn’t change that he flat out stated he isn’t a ‘Johnny Hustle’ kind of guy.  The last thing the Yankees need is an overpaid, lazy shortstop who is already a superstar and got paid big time.  If this isn’t the biggest red flag in the world for Brian Cashman, he must be blind.

Once again, Manny Machado is a damn fine player.  He’s an All-Star and if he stays healthy a borderline Hall of Famer.  However, his poor attitude will be the worst thing for the Yankees, as they already have an uber-talented headache behind the plate.

Having Machado and Sanchez on the same team would be a death sentence for the Yankees.  Clearly the biggest issue with the Yankees this season (sans reliance on home runs) was their absolutely horrific infield defense.  Some of that is youth (Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres) but a lot of that is just laziness and lack of concentration.  Imagine if Mookie Betts sneaks a ball through the infield because it wasn’t Manny Machado’s cup of tea?  He would be burned at the stake.

For the sake of everyone Manny, thanks but no thanks.  The Yankees and for that matter their fans have enough to worry about.  One early meltdown in the field or on the basepath and the Yankees’ issues will be blown more out of proportion than the Giants’.  The media will have a field day with it and it will be a lost season, I assure you.

There are plenty of other options to go with, and Manny Machado just isn’t worth the headache.  Hopefully he ends up somewhere we can boo him for eight years.  Just not the Bronx.