The Anthony Volpe Experience was perfectly summed up in Yankees' loss to Tigers

Here's the thing. Everybody can argue until they are blue in the face about whether or not Anthony Volpe is a viable MLB player. It's the most discussed Yankees topic of the last 10 years. Wherever you land, the reality is that they need more stability at shortstop, arguably the most important position on the field.

Volpe Truthers will point to his last 11 games and talk endlessly about his .382/.474/.500 line as if it's a sign of things to come. Volpe Haters will point to any one moment of malfeasance and tell you this is the worst thing you've ever watched.

And of course, as always, it's somewhere in the middle. We know Volpe is not somebody who is going to bat .275 with an .800 OPS. If you believe that, then you're living in the year 2021 when he was at High-A. We also know Volpe is not a .200 hitter with .600 OPS. The Yankees have turned him into that because he's been run into the ground and wasn't afforded the proper development after reaching Triple-A.

At this rate, Volpe is a part-time player, it's as simple as that. He should be deployed for certain matchups, and that's it. But the Yankees can't quit him, and his start on Monday night showed exactly why this is the most insufferable conversation the fanbase continues to engage in.

Volpe was great and awful in the Yankees' 5-3 loss to the Tigers. The common theme? His positive contributions hardly translate to wins while his struggles are eye-popping. It started with two incidents in the first inning.

First came his at-bat against Framber Valdez, who quickly got two outs to begin the inning, but then surrendered a single and walk to Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger. Volpe, who was batting fifth for some reason, then stepped to the plate after Valdez threw four straight balls to Bellinger.

Volpe swung at the first pitch, hit the ball one inch in front of himself, and weakly grounded out to end the threat.

In the bottom half, he tried to field a manageable grounder that deflected off Gerrit Cole's foot, but he took an incredibly poor angle, tripped over himself, and watched the ball trickle into center field for a "single."

Anthony Volpe giveth, Anthony Volpe taketh away for the New York Yankees

And then came the sixth inning with the Yankees down 5-1. They had one challenge remaining after Ali Sanchez lost one earlier. Volpe worked a 3-2 count against Valdez, who threw a looping curveball directly over the plate. Volpe challenged and lost, leaving the Yankees empty-handed for later in the game, when the home plate umpire made an egregious strike three call on Amed Rosario to secure the Tigers' win.

And yet, everybody continues to miss the point, comparing Volpe to Caballero without any context. It's the dumbest possible way to put this into perspective for anybody not watching 162 Yankees games per year.

Volpe is "mildly" out-hitting Caballero because Aaron Boone arbitrarily took playing time away from Caballero and has played him at all three outfield spots, where he is the least familiar defensively. Before the switch was made, Caballero was one of the most productive shortstops in the league. He might not be a franchise shortstop, but he's a better option than Volpe when he's getting the appropriate run.

The reality is this: if you force feed any player 155 games per year, you will see them have promising moments from time to time. It means nothing. A good player harnesses consistency, not flash-in-the-pan occurrences that die off after two weeks.

So, yeah, Volpe going 2-for-4 with one spectacular defensive play just doesn't cut it in this situation. His two singles didn't contribute to anything, and one of them featured weak contact on the infield. His web gem came with the Yankees already down 5-3 heading into the ninth. His egregious challenge cost the Yankees a chance to rally. As you can see, it all canceled itself out.

OAA certainly matters, but in what context? Volpe fielded a routine grounder on Saturday against the Reds and had all the time in the world to throw the ball to first. He bounced it to Ben Rice, who couldn't haul it in. The Reds went on to score four runs because the inning was extended.

Caballero is not a great shortstop. He's not a great hitter. But he's an all-around good baseball player who provides athleticism and energy. Volpe is a middling (at best) baseball player who makes you forget about any of his positive contributions at the snap of a finger.

So while the box score told you 2-for-4 for Volpe with an error charged to Caballero, that couldn't be more misleading, which pretty much sums up why we keep talking in circles.

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