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- What is it with the Yanks and unknown pitchers?:
In three of the last four games, the Yankees have been squelched by starters who they had never faced. John Lannan allowed two runs in eight and a third innings in powering the Washington Nationals to a 3-2 victory on Wednesday. Shairon Martis permitted one run in six innings as the Yankees halted Washington, 4-3, on Tuesday. And, on Saturday, Fernando Nieve surrendered two runs in six and two-third innings to help the Mets stop the Yankees, 6-2.
The only time that the Yankees opposed a familiar pitcher in the last four games, they destroyed Johan Santana for a career-worst nine runs. So how can the Yankees batter Santana and get baffled by pitchers with lesser pedigrees?
“I don’t really have any concrete theories,” Girardi said. “We talk about it as a staff. I think everyone loves to see something that they’ve seen before because they’re used to it, in a sense, no matter what walk of life you’re in.”
- Leaving Wang where he is:
After review, Joe Girardi’s ruling from the field stands. Chien-Ming Wang will remain in the Yankees rotation.
Girardi caught a television re-broadcast of the right-hander’s start following his five-inning outing on Wednesday, confirming what the manager believed he had witnessed from his vantage point in New York’s dugout.
“I thought he threw some really good sinkers,” Girardi said. “His slider was really good last night. He mixed his pitches well. I thought he threw the ball pretty well. I just wanted to watch it on video to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing.”
[My take: Having been at the game, I’m left to wonder if Wang’s extremely slow pace leaves his defense a bit “back on their heels”. If Wang pitched as quickly as his opponent that night (John Lannan), maybe his defense might be a bit more alert.]
- Slumping A-Rod bothered by hip?:
Rodriguez has seen his average dip to .219 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs, and he has looked progressively worse during the past few weeks. He has clearly been favoring his hip while running the bases and playing third base lately, and he has been seen limping around the clubhouse after games.
Rodriguez has not had more than one hit in a game since May 25, when he went 5-for-5 in Texas. Since then, he is 13-for-70 (.186) with two homers and nine RBIs.
“I’m seeing the ball well. The big issue is the body and responding,” Rodriguez said on Wednesday. “I can hit. I’m always going to be able to hit, I know that. … There are some days where your body’s just not bouncing back the way I like it to.”
The injury may have affected the Yankees’ strategy in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Nationals. Rodriguez was on first with one out when second baseman Robinson Cano bounced into a game-ending double play. It seemed that it might have made sense for Rodriguez to try to steal second in that situation to try to stay out of the twin-killing.
- The Star-Ledger’s Steve Politi didn’t appreciate the playing of Thursday’s game after an all-day rain:
Despite a forecast that showed no signs of letting up during the afternoon, the team kept its fans waiting. At least they could say they were almost part of something historic: The delay apparently was the second longest in baseball history, behind only the 5 hours, 47 minutes on Oct 3, 1999, for a Reds-Brewers game.
That was the final game of the season to force a one-game playoff for the National League wild card. This was a mid-June interleague game that has absolutely no significance, and the Yankees fell back on the excuse that the two teams did not have mutual off days the rest of the year.
- The Yanks will be watching Pedro Martinez:
The Cubs and Rays are not the only teams in contact with free-agent right-hander Pedro Martinez.
Those clubs, plus the Yankees and Angels, will watch Martinez throw on Friday in the Dominican Republic, according to major-league sources.
. . . (however) The Yankees, too, would benefit more from the addition of a reliever. They believe Chien-Ming Wang made progress in his start against the Nationals on Wednesday night, and currently have an extra starter, righty Phil Hughes, pitching out of the bullpen.
- Fangraphs examines Mariano Rivera’s declining stats:
Rivera’s 7.5% swinging strike rate is the lowest on record for him. There has been a sizable dip in the number of pitches thrown within the strike zone and hitters are not chasing these extra balls out of the zone.
Rivera’s ground ball rate is also at its lowest point on record, though that is over a smaller sample than his individual pitch results. It is no surprise then that the home run rate has increased, though the rate by which is has increased is surprising and not likely to continue. Rivera has allowed five home runs already this season through 26.2 innings. The last time he allowed more than five home runs was 1995 when he was a starter.
Interestingly, Rivera’s strikeout and walk rates have not moved much despite the drastic change in his individual pitch outcomes. 32 strikeouts to just two unintentional walks, and no hit batters, gives Rivera an even better ratio than last year. Given his extreme drop in missed bats and overall strikes thrown however, I would not expect that to continue. It will be interesting to see which regression, the strikeout and walk rates or the home run rate, influences Rivera’s final line the most.
- Rob Neyer has some possibly surprising news regarding Pastadiving Jeter:
DEREK JETER IS NOT SUCH A BAD DEFENDER ANYMORE.
That’s right, he’s not. In fact, at the age of 34 (35 in 9 days, don’t forget to send a card), Jeter is putting together his finest defensive season since they’ve been keeping advanced defensive metrics.
Looking at two fielding stats, range runs and UZR, Jeter has improved immensely since 2005, when he contributed to one of the worst defensive teams to ever make the playoffs.
The improvement clearly started last season, when Jeter rededicated himself to defense, employing “exercises designed to improve his lateral quickness and first-step explosiveness.”
- John Perrotto shares a scout’s take on the recent performance of Jorge Posada:
“He can still hit, but his skills behind the plate are deteriorating rapidly. He is reaching the point where he is going to have to get most of his at-bats as a DH.”
- Kevin Goldstein examines the Yankees draft:
1: (29) Slade Heathcott, OF, Texas HS (TX)
2: (76) J.R. Murphy, C, Pendleton School (FL)Quick Take: The Yankees zeroed in on Heathcott very early, and they were leaning towards still taking him even if some of the expensive arms fell to them at the bottom of the first round. He combines speed and power with an infectious maximum-effort style of play, and many of the concerns about his makeup were overstated. Murphy is a compact catcher with impressive power and pure hitting skills, but reviews of his defense are mixed.
Final Summary: It wasn’t a traditional Yankee draft filled with big-money selections in the later rounds, with the organization seemingly focused more on depth this year, especially on the mound; after their first two picks, 11 of their next 14 selections were pitchers.
- Doug Mientkiewicz turns 35 today. “Minky” compiled a line of .277/.349/.440 in 192 PAs for the ’07 team before breaking his wrist in a collision with Mike Lowell.
- Lou Gehrig was born on this date in 1903.
- On this date in 1961, Roger Maris hit a ninth-inning home run off Kansas City’s Jim Archer, his 25th of the year, putting him seven games ahead of Babe Ruth’s pace in 1927.
- On this date in 1977, Carl Yastrzemski (2), Bernie Carbo (2), and George Scott (1) hit five home runs in a Red Sox 11 – 1 triumph over the Yankees at Fenway Park. The five home runs gave the Sox a major league record 16 in three games. Boston hit six homers on June 17th and five on June 18, also against the Yankees. The Yankees had no homers in the three-game series.
- On this date in 1979, at Yankee Stadium, 36,211 fans showed up to witness the return of Billy Martin as Yankees manager in a 5 – 4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Martin had been named to replace Bob Lemon the previous day, and began his second stint as Yankee skipper a season earlier than previously announced.
See you Monday!
Do the advanced scoutshave to take some of the blame for the team's continual inability to hit pitchers they've never seen before?
[1] Before anyone takes any blame, shouldn't someone actually do a more thorough study (i.e., the plural of anecdote is not data) on whether a) the Yankees actually do perform measurably worse against pitchers they have not seen before, and more importantly b) whether they do any worse than other teams?
[2] Now why would anyone wanna do anything as rational as that, MP? >;)
If that data supports the idea that advanced scouting in these situations is nominal across the board, then the Yankees as an organization is guilty of sloth and wasteful spending. If it shows that it's an anomaly with this team, then you have to wonder if management or the players themselves are the problem; even so you have to hold both accountable for either not heeding or discerning the information (like Joba constantly shaking off Jorge), or not being capable of implementing it (2008 Melky). Either way, Girardi seems like he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't, which doesn't necessarily absolve him from accountability because what he's apparently losing from an objective point of view is credibility as a leader.
I'll say this, managing veteran players when you were one of them not long ago has to be tough, especially when you were not a standout. That's where personality becomes important. Don't know Girardi enough to make a firm statement about that, but something ain't right and the team is reflecting that.
[1] I am not sure why you need a scouting report to tell you that when a pitcher can't throw strikes, like Nieve and Martis, you let him put you in a hitter's count. I also don't understand why you'd need a scout to tell you that the way to beat the Nats is make the starters throw pitches, so, even if they do perform well, you get lots of ABs versus the bullpen. Someone needs to be held accountable, but I don't think advance scouts are the answer.
[2] I think YES had a stat showing that the Yankees did very well against Rookie pitchers. That doesn't include all first-timers, but probably does include most. The bottom line is this is another EXCUSE by Girardi and his staff. Their job is to have the team prepared and that most certainly has not been the case these past 10 games.
[0] Goofy's game was more exciting than last night's game. He's good for eight, right?
That reminds me, on the day Uncle Woodrow was going back home, I saw a man wearing a throwback baseball jersey with Bugs Bunny's name and number on the back. I asked him where he got it, but he said his son got it for him and he didn't know where. At any rate, I need to find and get one...
The Politi article also completely ignored the fact that on a last time-in, the game is in the hands of MLB (in contact with the umpire crew). How he could miss that is both incredible, but not unexpected from the modern sportswriter.
So Alex is limping around the clubhouse, but the manager never rests him for a game or two.
Yet another reason why Girardi is making me look like an idiot for thinking he would be a smart, sabr-savvy manager.
Lombardi @ WW has something on Yanks vs URP's
[8] There is no dispute that the Yankees used to have great advance scouts. I want to see a breakdown of how well the Yankees have fared against "URP's" year by year since 2004.
[8] [9] Breaking down Steve's idea by 5 year periods before Girardi and then from 2008-2009 yields:
1998-2002: Total - 139; Game Score >=50 - 58 (42%); Score =50 - 45 (35%); Score =50 - 17 (37%); Score =50 - 592 (45%); Score =50 - 8 (19%); Score =50 - 52 (39%); Score <50 - 80 (61%).
[10] That had alot more data, but Word Press really sucks and just lopped it off. Because I didn't save it, I'll summarize.
The Girardi Yankees are pretty much in line with the 2003-2007 Yankees, and a little better than the 1998-2002 Yankees and all of MLB from 2008-2009.
The 2008-2009 Red Sox, however, have a very impressive 19%/81% split, but the 2003-2007 Sox were actually more in line with the current Yankees.
[11] Let's see if this works:
Team Over 50 Under 50
Yankees
2008-2009 17 (37%) 29 (63%)
2003-2007 45 (35%) 82 (65%)
1998-2002 58 (42%) 81 (58%)
Red Sox
2008-2009 8 (19%) 34 (81%)
2003-2007 52 (39%) 80 (61%)
MLB
2008-2009 592 (45%) 713 (55%)
One final split: When a Yankee starter with 30 or fewer games faces a team.
2008-2009
Total: 45
Over 50: 20 (44%)
Under 50: 25 (56%)
Hughes and IPK account for 16 (8 and 8) of the 25 game scores below 50. Hughes also has 7 game scores above 50.
Adanced scouting? Maybe they should invent something called 'video tape'. Then... somehow... convince MLB to collect video on every single game (sounds impossible). Then invent a person know as a 'video technician'.... and invent the idea of taking all the innings a pitcher has been videoed, and splice together a new video showing his unique pitches, his location patterns, tendencies against LH vs RH batters, sluggers vs black holes, etc.
Basically, make a 1/2 hour video of everything a pitcher has, and highlight both strengths and weaknesses, and analyze any patterns found (in terms of location and pitches used).
I mean... every team does this, right?
I mean... it would be insane (or incompetant) not to, right?
I mean... why discuss what a pitcher has when you can see it.. at any speed, as often as you like.
Of course, the Yankees do this.... right?
Bleh, annoying game, annoying threads. Raises Grumbling Hoss Factor a lot.
What worries me most, amid all the once more around the park Joba stuff, is Rodriguez. If our clean-up hitter MVP masher is going to spend the year scuffling because the hip surgery didn't quite take (remember there was talk of a 2nd needed) or he needs a LONG time to get it together, if he is actually limping (hence no steal attempt two nights ago) we are simply not the team we thought we might be in early spring.
Fine-tunings such as 23/24/25th players, or making close calls among starters relievers all matter, and can even be said to matter MORE when the team needs to struggle to be good enough for playoffs, but A Rod is major, massive, huge as a determining factor.
OK, I lied. Here's the last one and I think we can put the URP myth to rest.
1954-2009
Total: 1303
Over 50: 567 (44%)
Under 50: 736 (56%)
All-time best URP performance against the Yankees since 1954:
David Bush: GS: 91( 9 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 BBs, 11 Ks) - 10/1/2004
All-time worst:
Mark Mulder: GS: -4 ( 3.1 innings, 11 hits, 10 runs, 3 BBs, 1 Ks) - 8/10/2000
[15] Isn't Arod allowed a slump though? Everyone else has had one...most of greater magnitude.
[17] I think the suggestion is that the team is ****ed if this is more than your typical slump, and there's reason to worry that it may be more than your typical slump.
[18] Fair enough...it's really interesting that how Arod goes, so goes the team. I really wish people would recognize just how valuable he is. The way Yankee fans have treated him is an even greater embarassment than the way this team has played over the past 9 games.
[19] I think that's part of the problem. The team is overly dependent on him, and unnecessarily.
The team is overly dependent on him, and unnecessarily.
I don't think that's the case. I think it becomes an issue when a team struggles. Teix normally has lousy Aprils, that he started heating up wasn't because Rodriguez came back, but probably more because that's what he normally does, gets better as the season goes on.
Also, while Arod has definitely struggled, he is probably the only guy to come up with a "really clutch" hit over the past 9 games (2 run double against Delcarmen in Fenway). Had Girardi just managed that 8th inning better, maybe the residual impact would have been prevented and Arod would have had a "hero" moment.
Alas, I agree with too much of what follows my own A Rod comment. Of course everyone can slump, the comment was triggered by the main post about him limping in the clubhouse and the linked suggestion that's why Girardi didn't run him two nights ago in the 9th. A slump is fine, an injury not yet healed or recovered from, especially when there were pre-surgery suggestions he might miss the year (should miss the year?) is different.
Hmm, I guess I do disagree with [19] a bit Hawk ... why is it 'unnecessarily' when you are talking a clean-up hitting MVP? Would St Louis not be in trouble if Pujols were hitting .220? Minny without Morneau or Mauer? Are they even at .500? And The Dodgers would not be where they are if playing in the AL East! You have your stars, your key players ... what is 'unnecessary' about that?
I do agree with william that the contempt, disdain, the media/fan nutbar treatment of Rodriguez is appallijng AND (as I have said before) part of the problem. The fanbase hurts itself sometimes, by hurting the team, raising stakes too high.
We are in a pennant race and a wild card race. We missed A Rod for a month, had a shell of Teixeira for the same month. Sabathia WILL be stronger as the season goes on (betting farm on it), Wang might be (no farm, no way). I say enjoy baseball as summer starts. The team is interesting, if nothing else, and it might be more.
[21] It's true about Teixeira, but I don't mean that way, I mean psychologically, waiting around for a home run, etc.
[23] As I alluded to above, sometimes great players become a crutch and the rest of the team rises and falls with the fortunes of one guy. That's not good. I don't follow those other teams, so I don't know if they fall into the same traps as the Yankees. But I'm pretty sure none of those teams have players that skew the spotlight like A Rod.
And look, right now A Rod is just horrible. So even without the team being overly dependent on him, he is killing the lineup lately.
[25] I do agree with you here. I've played on teams with "superstars" and when they are going well everyone else seems to chip in, but when they struggle (or worse aren't in the lineup), everyone else seems to look over their shoulder. You'd like to think this doesn't happen on the major league level, but they are human beings too.
[0] “What is it with the Yanks and unknown pitchers?”
· Oh, that’s just one more form of adversity the veteran leadership on this team are ill prepared to adjust to. They’ve been incapable of overcoming this form of adversity for years since Torre was there. Why should now be any different with the same veterans on the team for the most part?
· Not only do I agree with your assessment that Wang needs to pick up his pace, I would add he also needs to work on pitching from the stretch with men on base, which has always been a weakness of his as well.
· Whenever A-Rod tries to pull every outside pitch he swings at, that tells me he is struggling at the dish. He’s got to go to right field on those.
· Steve Politi should know that the decision was from MLB to get that game in, and not the Yankees or Nationals. They did not have another day off together for the rest of the season to make it up, which is why they waited the weather out. While the Yankees are usually good about honoring rainouts, they should have opened up the Legends Seats to everybody, so the team could really hear the boos for last night’s debacle before they sneaked out of town on their charter.
· I would argue they already have two too many $5M humps on that team, Pettitte and Swisher. I don’t want to watch Pedro Martinez mail it in wearing pinstripes as well as the others already doing that! Leave the finished mango tree loungin’ schlub alone for Christ’s sakes! He should pay a team $5M to take a chance on him, if he was really still worth anything at all.
· As for Mo, I would like to run his numbers in the following situations:
Entering a tie game in any inning
Entering a save situation to begin the ninth inning with a one run lead
Entering a save situation to begin the ninth inning with a two run lead
Entering a save situation to begin the ninth inning with a three run lead
Entering garbage time (leading or trailing by five or more runs) due to a lack of work
I’d “shock the world” and use him with two and three run lead save situations exclusively, which is where I am guessing he has enjoyed the most success during his great career. I would begin to incorporate kids perhaps Hughes as the eighth inning set up man and Bruney as closer in the one run lead save situations and tie games in order to wean the team off of their over dependence on the declining Mo. It’s going to have to be done sooner or later. At least now they have the talent in place to get that done.
· Ramiro Pena is a better fielding SS than the declining Captain. He has more range, more quickness, faster lateral movement, and an infinitely better arm than his Hall of Fame Yankees Captain predecessor ever had. And he’s a switch hitter to boot. Too bad he’s got to wait on Jeter to get hurt to start at all these days at SS.
· That scout is saying things about Po I’ve been saying here since before he hurt his hamstring. Give me Cervelli behind the dish above the two remaining Yankees Catchers any day. He will learn to hit major league pitching when he regularly faces major league pitching. He has more than proved his prowess as a ML defender, especially considering he has never played above AA ball. Let the kids play!
· Draft schmaft! Wake me when any of those kids make it through the first three levels of the Yankee’s minor league system (Rookie League, A Ball, and AA Ball).
Happy Birthday Lou!
Have a great weekend, Diane! Here’s to no more “horseshit” baseball by the Yankees in these National League Parks on this road trip!
I don’t ask for much, do I?
: )
Whoops! I almost forgot...
The Yankees could learn a lot from Goofy!
At least he never mailed it in!
: )
[28] I beg to differ! >;)