I am about to rant, so if you want to log off and move on with your social media feed, this is the time to do it. Those that know me and have seen my Tweets know that I have had it with lazy, lackluster, la-la land Aaron Hicks. I really wonder what he is thinking about when he is in the outfield. Like does he know who is up at bat? Does he know how many outs there are? Does he know what he is going to do if the ball is hit to him? These are things I wonder because when I watch him play, he appears completely incapable of playing professional baseball.
And this is just his defense or rather lack of defense. Don't get me started on his offense. So, when Harrison Bader is healthy, I hope that Aaron Hicks sits and doesn't get up again.
“You’re out there trying to do your job and when the results aren’t going your way, they’re hard on you,” Hicks said of the fans’ response to him. “They always want the big hit and they always expect you to play well. If you’re going to be a starter for the New York Yankees, you have to be better than everybody. It’s just tough when you’re hearing the boos. That’s their way of voicing their opinion. It’s a tough fanbase. It definitely doesn’t make it easier,” reported The Athletic.
Is this guy kidding me? If you play hard, the fans will love you, even if you have a tough stint now and then. More than his plate performance is his lack of hustle in the outfield—letting balls dunk in front of him as he trots towards them, bobbling plays off the wall and this Sunday had to be the worst, failing to even try to throw out St. Louis Cardinal Yadier Molina tagging up from third. The veteran catcher basically walked across home plate as Hicks stood dumbfounded holding the ball in the outfield.
"With less than two months of the regular season remaining, Hicks’ future with the organization seems clouded at best with the Yankees making two trades for outfielders before the deadline in Andrew Benintendi, who is a free agent at the end of the season, and Harrison Bader, a Gold Glove center fielder who manager Aaron Boone has said he envisions manning the middle of the outfield in 2023," reported The Athletic. And his position on the postseason roster may disappear if Bader and Benintendi are producing as expected as well.
Hicks tells The Athletic that his hitting has been subpar at best this season but spins it in such a way that it is just part of the game. He also doesn't say a thing about his defense, which is just embarrassing.
“Horrible. Honestly, horrible,” Hicks said of his season. “My on-base percentage has still been high, but there’ve been so many highs and lows. I started off the season good. I was hitting for a high average for a while. I wasn’t really hitting for much power. I then went into a deep slump where I had a lot of loud outs and wasn’t really doing much. I was struggling with guys in scoring position. That’s just the game,” reported The Athletic.
According to NJ.com, the Yankees were interested in cutting ties with Hicks and even tried to shop him at the trade deadline, but got no traction. He is virtually unusable and with Giancarlo Stanton, Bader and hopefully Matt Carpenter (if he recovers from his foot fracture) in the lineup, there is no place for Hicks on the Yankees this September and beyond.
But I have heard this story before—the stars have to align in order for the Yankees to cut ties with a guy like Hicks. It took us years to get rid of Gary Sanchez and look who we have now in Jose Trevino. Bader could be that guy as soon as he comes off the IL. Hicks dug his own grave here in New York. No fan did that for him. He needs to own his deficiencies and get lucky enough to play for another team—or better yet head for the golf course and give up baseball altogether. Maybe he will be happier blaming others for his bad golf game.
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--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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