Yankees should trust their hearts, trade for Bumgarner
Sporting Green // Bruce Jenkins
Bruce Jenkins June 27, 2019 Updated: June 27, 2019 7:27 p.m.
1of5San Francisco Giants' Madison Bumgarner delivers in 2nd inning against San Diego Padres during MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 8, 2019.Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle
2of5San Francisco Giants' Madison Bumgarner stares at manager Bruce Bochy during a 7th inning mound visit during MLB game against San Diego Padres at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 8, 2019.Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle
3of5San Francisco Giants' starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner watches the flight of solo home run by San Diego Padres' Will Myers in 6th inning during MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 8, 2019.Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle
4of5San Francisco Giants' Madison Bumgarner gestures to an umpire while being removed in 7th inning against San Diego Padres during MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 8, 2019.Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle
5of5Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants poses during the Giants Photo Day on February 21, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)Photo: Jamie Schwaberow / Getty Images
The New York Yankees have a chance to trade for Madison Bumgarner, acquire one of the greatest competitors in sports and make a serious run at a World Series title. They'd better take an old-school approach in their evaluations, or they'll be blowing it badly.
It was reported Thursday on the MLB Network that "the team's decision makers like the idea, especially given his past success, but it's the analytics that could wind up pushing the Yankees away from pursuing a trade for Bumgarner."
We're not here to question the value of analytics and the constant flow of valuable information. It's just that with Bumgarner, you set aside the stats and the computer printouts. If you saw him pitch against Colorado's tough lineup Tuesday night, striking out 11 in six innings with full command, that's all you need to know.
Bumgarner believes he's the same pitcher who dominated the 2014 postseason, and that his stuff is the same. Maybe that's a stretch, but he's close enough. The fastball has life. The slider still has a huge break. He may be stubborn when it comes to the ethics of on-field behavior, but he's a whip-smart student of the game and quite willing to make start-by-start adjustments. Give him a big game and he's absolutely the man you want out there.
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None of this is news to Giants fans, who will miss Bumgarner the way people mourn the passing of their family dog. Realize, too, that until a trade goes down, he'll be pitching for one of the worst-hitting Giants teams of the San Francisco era, knowing even a single bad pitch can mean disaster.
If the Yankees back off on Bumgarner because he's too much risk as a rental (eligible for free agency in the winter), that's understandable. Just picture him taking the mound at Yankee Stadium with a lineup anchored by Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Edwin Encarnacion and Gary Sanchez, among a half-dozen other guys joining the home-run parade. It sets the mind spinning.
• In a bit of news both heartwarming and astonishing, Hunter Pence will be starting the All-Star Game. If you watched him intently last season, you had to acknowledge he was through as a Giant. There just wasn't any evidence to the contrary. Goodbye, good luck, and thanks for the priceless memories. But he went to winter ball, worked on his swing, hooked up with his hometown Texas Rangers and, assuming he recovers from his groin injury, will be the American League starter at DH. Richly deserved, too. He's the right choice.
• The fans showed some up-to-date wisdom in voting some lesser-known players into top-three All-Star consideration, such as Austin Meadows, Jorge Polanco, DJ LeMahieu and Ketel Marte (the latter three all will start). But they misfired at third base. With all respect to the Royals' Hunter Dozier and the Yankees' Gio Urshela, the A's Matt Chapman is the American League's second-best third baseman, behind Alex Bregman (who will start), and should have made that top-three cut. It wouldn't be surprising, though, to see Chapman named as a reserve. The level of his talent is no mystery.
• Give the NL a significant edge in showman's-style star power with Javier Baez, Nolan Arenado, Cody Bellinger, Ronald Acuna, Marte and Willson Contreras in the starting lineup. A shame there was no room for Bryce Harper, Yasiel Puig or Manny Machado in the preliminary voting, but the league is just that deep.
• In the era of the dreaded pitch count, complete with rampant paranoia and panicky calls to the bullpen, Trevor Bauer (112) and Max Scherzer (106) are the MLB leaders in pitches thrown per outing. That's good enough for me. Make them the All-Star starters, and give 'em three innings each.
Bruce Jenkins is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: bjenkins@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1
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Bruce Jenkins has written for the San Francisco Chronicle since 1973 and has been a sports columnist since 1989. He has covered 27 World Series, 19 Wimbledons and many other major events, including the Super Bowl, World Cup soccer, NBA Finals, four major golf tournaments and U.S. Open tennis championships.
He graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1966 and UC Berkeley with a B.A. in journalistic studies in 1971.
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