Yankees top prospects butt heads after Giants’ gritty win over Commanders

The New York Yankees have placed immense pressure upon Anthony Volpe’s shoulders, installing him as the shortstop of the future by default after passing on long-term deals for seemingly every All-Star in the league.

Now, the New York Giants have doubled that pressure, installing Volpe as their No. 1 advocate in the team’s minor-league system.

Nearly dead in the water ahead of Sunday Night Football, the undermanned Giants rose from the grave in Washington thanks to a breakout performance from Kayvon Thibodeaux that should give Volpe hope for his own continued growth, even if he treads water for a few more weeks at Triple-A.

Thibodeaux posted pedestrian numbers for a bit, but all observers could tell he was this close to busting down the door, which occurred on Sunday when he strip-sacked Taylor Heinicke, recovered the fumble in the end zone, racked up 12 tackles, and shook Heinicke out of the end zone on the final drive, helping the G-Men hold on.

That’s what Volpe — a Giants fan — saw, anyway. Fellow top prospect slugger Austin Wells saw this game differently, leading Yankees fans to all wonder in unison, “Oh, God, did we draft a *Washington* fan?!”

Yankees top prospect Anthony Volpe is happy the Giants beat the Commanders in a “rigged game”

Sorry, Austin, but Anthony’s take is probably going over a little smoother in the tri-state area.

Sunday night’s Giants win was not without controversy, and salty fans focused on and screenshotted DB Darnay Holmes’ fourth-down grab on Washington wide receiver Curtis Samuel to end the game without a flag. Terry McLaurin nodding at the referee, lining up improperly, then getting angry at himself was also a point of contention.

But what of the Giants being flagged for an improperly-called offsides on their game-sealing field goal disruption last September in Washington, only for the kick to be moved five yards closer instead of the game being over? What about a Washington defender being lined up offsides two weeks ago, stealing five yards from a Graham Gano end-of-game-kick?

Volpe can copy-paste any of that text and send it on over to Wells, if he’d like to.

But Wells might not respond, considering he’s not a Washington fan with a grudge to hold and an encyclopedic knowledge of his team’s recent battles with the Giants. In fact, he’s a Bills fan!

Why not just root for Coach Daboll anyway Sunday night and swallow your whistle?!

We get it. Wells was just being objective. He saw a poorly-executed judgment call and a weird technicality unfold in the final seconds, and he spoke his mind.

But, quoth Volpe, “GMEN.” Advantage, Volpe.