Yankees Twitter Reacts Feb. 23 - Mar. 1
Welcome back to Yankees Twitter Reacts, my column filled with the best and worst takes, funniest tweets, reactions to Yankees news, and everything in between from our beloved Yankees Twitter. I want this to be as fan interactive as possible, so remember to hashtag #BPYankeesTwitter or tag me at @T_Danks_to join the conversation and submit the best and worst tweets of the week!
Happy March, Yanks fans! By the end of the month, we'll be watching Yankees games that matter - and that's something to be excited about. Yankees Twitter can certainly feel that excitement, between Aaron Hicks' extension and Bryce Harper's record-breaking contract with the Phillies, here is this week's edition of Yankees Twitter Reacts.
Check out last week's breakdown in case you missed it.
NEWS OF THE WEEK - AARON HICKS SIGNS EXTENSION
Less than two weeks removed from the Luis Severino extension, the Yankees locked up Aaron Hicks by signing him to a 7-year, $70 million extension. The seven year contract will start this year for Hicks, meaning he will be in pinstripes through 2025.
Hicks was an integral part of the Yankees last season, appearing in 137 games and batting .248 with 27 home runs and 79 RBI's (both career highs). Over the past two seasons, Hicks boasted an impressive 8.2 fWAR, which ranked third among AL centerfielders (behind Mike Trout and Tommy Pham). It was certainly a good value signing for the Yankees, as $10 million per year is cheap for a player of Hicks' caliber. And as Brian Cashman said, the Yankees are betting on Hicks for the long term.
https://twitter.com/JackCurryYES/status/1100015881881567233
YANKEES TWITTER REACTS TO HICKS' EXTENSION
https://twitter.com/13anonpsycho/status/1100066708692353025
https://twitter.com/Sports_Talker1/status/1100241301642059776
https://twitter.com/joe_manniello/status/1100035038878552064
https://twitter.com/JJFromTheBronx/status/1100046140697952256
https://twitter.com/Andrew_Rotondi/status/1100493782217302016
BRYCE HARPER SIGNS RECORD-BREAKING DEAL WITH PHILLIES
On Thursday, Twitter erupted after Bryce Harper (finally) signed a massive 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies, passing our very own Giancarlo Stanton as the biggest guaranteed contract in MLB history. This comes a little over a week after Machado signed his massive 10-year, $300 million deal. As it turns out, despite the wait, both guys got PAID.
Here's how Yankees Twitter reacted to the deal:
https://twitter.com/YankeesPodcast/status/1101211741772492802
https://twitter.com/JasonA525/status/1101212331256745985
https://twitter.com/yankeesguy93/status/1101213505762586624
https://twitter.com/twalt2468/status/1101276093431119872
https://twitter.com/yankegrl22/status/1101223300435456000
https://twitter.com/Tweets_n_Gravy/status/1101223049658023943
https://twitter.com/FulginitiGreg/status/1101273854805229568
https://twitter.com/Kevinsworld3/status/1101299798018351104
https://twitter.com/_nickjohnson_34/status/1101212398067900418
TULO-MADNESS
Unless you've been living under a rock the past few days, you know that Troy Tulowitzki is off to a hot start this spring. In his first at bat in pinstripes, Tulo went yard for an opposite field solo shot in the first inning. Three days later, Tulo hit another first inning bomb, this time a three-run dinger.
This sent Yankees Twitter into a frenzy. It is impossible not to root for Tulo, who missed the entire 2018 season due to injury and was discarded by the Blue Jays. Tulo has a chance to revive his career in pinstripes, and the Yankees could sure use it. With Didi Gregorius out for at least a few months, Tulo can play a pivotal role.
Here's how Yankees Twitter reacted to the Tulo-madness.
https://twitter.com/gmuller2112/status/1100098937086795776
https://twitter.com/JakeM0NTGOMERY/status/1101191868883312641
https://twitter.com/melmastro18/status/1101187650730582016
https://twitter.com/BarstoolHubbs/status/1101188072623013891
https://twitter.com/PinstripEmpire/status/1101186712221466625
https://twitter.com/JulienTorres8/status/1101190679450042368
https://twitter.com/Wonkabar3000/status/1101195105170526208
https://twitter.com/MikeBeauvais/status/1100098232766644232
WORST TAKE OF THE WEEK
https://twitter.com/justinddiamond/status/1100457108594671619
If you follow me on Twitter, you saw this one coming. Just want to make it clear: it is Colin Cowherd with the bad take, not Justin. Listening to this upset me because I have always been a huge Cowherd fan. To paraphrase the clip, Cowherd says the Yankees lack "complementary players" and don't have "the guy that sacrifices."
This was either a softball question to ARod that he whiffed on, or it proves Cowherd knows nothing about the Yankees. Sure, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge are big-time stars, but what about Gleyber Torres? Didi Gregorius? Miguel Andujar? DJ LeMahieu? Are those not complementary players? And has anyone sacrificed more over the past few years than Brett Gardner? It's silly to say the Yankees lack those pieces, because quite frankly they are full of them - even a Red Sox fan would admit that.
BEST TAKE OF THE WEEK
https://twitter.com/yankeesguy93/status/1101237697300058114
Before I go any further, I am not saying Aaron Hicks is better than Bryce Harper. Harper is a world class talent and I would have LOVED to see him in pinstripes. What I want to discuss here is value.
As aforementioned in this blog, Hicks had a 8.2 fWAR over the past two seasons. In the same time frame, Bryce Harper had 8.3. In 2018 alone, Hicks had 4.9 fWAR while Harper had 3.5. Of course there are stats out there to support Harper's case, but the notion is: paying 7/$70M for Hicks is far more valuable than 13/$330M for Harper.
FUNNIEST TWEET OF THE WEEK
https://twitter.com/mrevandaniel/status/1100867881871511552
Thanks for reading this week's edition of Yankees Twitter Reacts! Remember, if you see something that you think deserves to be in the column next week, be sure to hashtag #BPYankeesTwitter or tag me on Twitter @T_Danks_ ! And be sure to listen to the most recent episode of The Bronx Pinstripes Show: http://smarturl.it/YankeesPodcast