Igniter

I got my first in-person look last night at Greg Allen. Even though hit seventh for the Yankees, he did what good lead off batters are supposed to -- get on base and provide speed to ignite the attack. Above, the swing that produced his 3rd inning triple, which after Estevan Florial's infield grounder, produced the club's first run of the night. Pure, simple, fundamentally sound baseball.

Through this so-far disappointing Yankee season, the club's lack of speed, lack of batting order diversity and over-emphasis on the home run has made too many of their games boring. Sure, when it works, when Judge or Sanchez or Stanton crush an opposing pitch it's entertaining -- but haven't you sensed something was missing?  A spark, an energy, the "threat" that Mickey Rivers, Chuck Knoblauch or Rickey Henderson once provided?

Last night, Allen contributed a hit, a walk and two runs scored at the Yankees pushed past the Phillies 6-4.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Allen, who spent most of the season in Triple A, has no track record of playing at the Rivers/Knoblauch level for any sustained period. He flashed his speed with the 2018 Indians, but never hit enough to remain a regular. He'll almost certainly come down to earth. But seeing what he contributes, even hitting seventh, makes it clear that speed and small ball still has a place in today's analytics-driven game.