This blog will focus on the DH spot and the next will be about the trade of Melky
However, because this blog is a tribute to The Genius Maker, it would be appropriate for me to congratulate our savior, who was named the Sporting News 2009 Pro Athlete of the Year! I have to admit, I have no idea what this award was for, but I am sure it had something to do with being the greatest closer this world has ever seen! Congratulations Mo, you deserve every award out there.
I still miss Matsui and I am convinced the Yankees messed up their negotiations or lack thereof with him. I said it before, he pays for himself with the Japanese income and the cheap contract was well worth it. I know he had his knee drained 3 times last year and it probably won’t get any better, but the guy can still rake.
My belief is that the Yanks focused on getting Lackey and when that fell through, by the time they switched to Matsui he had already taken care of his own business. That is a shame. Boston is a better team this year than last. Even losing Bay, they should pick up a few wins which makes them a mid to high 90 win ball club. That is pretty darn good, although we should be approaching 100 ourselves.
The Yanks signed Nick Johnson and the messages from fellow blog readers I received were clearly not positive. That being said, I do think this was an excellent signing (that was only needed because of the Matsui debacle). Johnson will replace the Damon spot and I would put Granderson in the Matsui spot (5th). Johnson is an on base machine and in front of Texiera and ARod this should be very valuable.
Johnson will give you an OBP over .400 and I think will show more power in the Yankees lineup with more threats behind him. Over his last 2 years (he missed all of 2007) his OBP was .424 and his slug was .410 for a total of .834. I think his OBP will probably drop some to perhaps around .400 but his slug will move up to make up the difference, let’s say .434, although if he can stay healthy I see his slug and OPS moving higher. My feeling is based on Nick playing on weak offenses in the past made walking him more appetizing and having Tex and ARod behind will make it much less attractive. Therefore, less walks and possibly better pitches to hit should increase his slug. The real question is whether or not he can stay healthy. Some of his injuries were fluky types of things, a broken leg after a bad collision and a broken cheek bone after getting hit by the pitch. But, he has also had numerous wrist injuries over the years that have sapped some of his power. The Yankees probably feel that putting him at DH will limit the opportunities for injuries and I hope they are right; because when he is at the plate he is a valuable hitter. He hits both sides identical so he never has to be replaced.
I like Nick Johnson (NJ) and think he will add another guy who works the count to get into the bullpen faster. Texiera and ARod have to love having him in front of them. His contract is only for one year and is reasonable at 5 mil so he was a good signing with the DH spot opened up.
I do want to close with the comments that were made by Girardi and even Cashman. If you remember, after Matsui left or was about to leave they made comments about how they wanted the DH spot to be a rotating one because Girardi likes that to give players a rest once ion awhile. At that time, I said it was baloney and the logic was misguided, especially when you need a deeper bench with guys like Granderson on your team (platoon). Obviously, Girardi's comments were just a "cover up" because they went out and correctly signed NJ. That being said, I dislike the false comments they make. I have no issue with misleading other teams in trying to fill your roster correctly (part of the game), but those comments hit me the wrong way. Hard to explain but I took it as, how stupid do you think we are? That is the fake part of Girardi I don't like. Just shut up rather than blatantly lie to us.
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
2010 off season #5
Merry Christmas everyone!
Once again it is good to see the responses I am getting from some of you. It seems we are all pretty excited after last year and more important, we are situated for a very good run if we play this right.
Before I get into the King of Clutch vs. the Kin of Crutches (or Matsui vs. Nick Johnson), I wanted to follow-up my comment I left you with in my last blog about Gardner.
I think Gardner is much better than many of us think…
Gardner had an OPS of .724 last year and was stronger the first half of the year when he had an opportunity to play more regularly. But even if he was able to maintain this .724 OPS, I say he should be our 3dr starting OF’r. Then again I thought he should have started over Melky and after reviewing this in further detail, there is no question he should have been.
Gardner will make 2 plays a week over Melky in CF, I am pretty confident that this number is conservative. While most of those plays would be extra base hits (doubles and triples, of course some would be singles. To be conservative, I will eliminate all triples and say that he would save one double and one single a week over Melky. That is 3 bases a week. Saving 3 bases a week is about 75 bases over the course of a year. In 600 AB’s this would add about 125 points to your OPS. When you add in the SB threat he is, he stole 26 last year getting caught only 5 times in 248 AB’s, this was the equivalent of 16 extra bases (26-10). You count each CS twice to “remove” each SB from a value standpoint. I think it would be very fair to assume that if Gardner played every day he would steal 50 bases and let’s say he would get caught more and use 13 times caught. This would lead to a (50-26) 24 extra bases or based on 600 AB’s or 40 OPS points. So comparing Gardner to Melky:
Melky’s adjusted OPS for his SB’s was .752 + .012 = .764
Gardner’s adjusted OPS is .724 + .040 (SB’s) + .125 (fielding) = .916.
Interestingly, based on last years numbers they were pretty equal offensively and Gardner is worth a ton more defensively per the above. Of course we are not even taking into account any advantage a SB threat gives for the batters on deck by taking some of the pitchers attention away and possibly causing more fastballs to be thrown. But, we are also not taking into account Melky’s stronger arm, although I would argue he takes so long to get rid of the ball that the difference is not worth a lot. Melky had 4 assists last year and his arm should be worth something in the equation, but in less time you may be surprised that Gardner had 3 assists as well. I think me using only 3 bases a week from the fielding standpoint makes up for any arm discrepancy as it is probably more.
OK, so I “proved” Gardner was better than Melky…that doesn’t mean much; we now have Granderson in CF.
Well, I think that Granderson should be platooned, I have said this before and I strongly believe it. Based on how poorly Granderson hits lefties, Gardner hit better against lefties than Granderson did. Whether the Yanks do the right thing or not from a platoon standpoint, I say Gardner deserved to play if his offense is roughly the same as Melky’s and his defense is excellent.
Therefore, Gardner should be our CF’r!
Yes, I would play Granderson is LF. Why wouldn’t we? Don’t we all think that Gardner can cover more ground than Granderson? While Granderson is better than Melky out there, how many guys can cover the ground Gardner can? If he is playing, why would you play Gardner is LF? Especially when Granderson is getting platooned why move Gardner to CF each time?
I am fine with Gardner in CF. We just won a World Series with a weaker CF’r. Granderson will hit righties and field much better than Damon is LF so even with a platoon it is an upgrade (Right handed pitchers represent roughly 2/3 of the starters). Overall while we need to juggle more, our overall production out of LF should be better.
Sure Holliday is a really good player, but I would rather hold my money back for the possible chance at C JoeMauer or the pitcher Cliff Lee and also give us one more year to see what we really have in Gardner. Maybe he is only a great defensive replacement or a great pinch runner, but it makes sense to find out.
Next blog I will move to the DH and then Vazquez.
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
Once again it is good to see the responses I am getting from some of you. It seems we are all pretty excited after last year and more important, we are situated for a very good run if we play this right.
Before I get into the King of Clutch vs. the Kin of Crutches (or Matsui vs. Nick Johnson), I wanted to follow-up my comment I left you with in my last blog about Gardner.
I think Gardner is much better than many of us think…
Gardner had an OPS of .724 last year and was stronger the first half of the year when he had an opportunity to play more regularly. But even if he was able to maintain this .724 OPS, I say he should be our 3dr starting OF’r. Then again I thought he should have started over Melky and after reviewing this in further detail, there is no question he should have been.
Gardner will make 2 plays a week over Melky in CF, I am pretty confident that this number is conservative. While most of those plays would be extra base hits (doubles and triples, of course some would be singles. To be conservative, I will eliminate all triples and say that he would save one double and one single a week over Melky. That is 3 bases a week. Saving 3 bases a week is about 75 bases over the course of a year. In 600 AB’s this would add about 125 points to your OPS. When you add in the SB threat he is, he stole 26 last year getting caught only 5 times in 248 AB’s, this was the equivalent of 16 extra bases (26-10). You count each CS twice to “remove” each SB from a value standpoint. I think it would be very fair to assume that if Gardner played every day he would steal 50 bases and let’s say he would get caught more and use 13 times caught. This would lead to a (50-26) 24 extra bases or based on 600 AB’s or 40 OPS points. So comparing Gardner to Melky:
Melky’s adjusted OPS for his SB’s was .752 + .012 = .764
Gardner’s adjusted OPS is .724 + .040 (SB’s) + .125 (fielding) = .916.
Interestingly, based on last years numbers they were pretty equal offensively and Gardner is worth a ton more defensively per the above. Of course we are not even taking into account any advantage a SB threat gives for the batters on deck by taking some of the pitchers attention away and possibly causing more fastballs to be thrown. But, we are also not taking into account Melky’s stronger arm, although I would argue he takes so long to get rid of the ball that the difference is not worth a lot. Melky had 4 assists last year and his arm should be worth something in the equation, but in less time you may be surprised that Gardner had 3 assists as well. I think me using only 3 bases a week from the fielding standpoint makes up for any arm discrepancy as it is probably more.
OK, so I “proved” Gardner was better than Melky…that doesn’t mean much; we now have Granderson in CF.
Well, I think that Granderson should be platooned, I have said this before and I strongly believe it. Based on how poorly Granderson hits lefties, Gardner hit better against lefties than Granderson did. Whether the Yanks do the right thing or not from a platoon standpoint, I say Gardner deserved to play if his offense is roughly the same as Melky’s and his defense is excellent.
Therefore, Gardner should be our CF’r!
Yes, I would play Granderson is LF. Why wouldn’t we? Don’t we all think that Gardner can cover more ground than Granderson? While Granderson is better than Melky out there, how many guys can cover the ground Gardner can? If he is playing, why would you play Gardner is LF? Especially when Granderson is getting platooned why move Gardner to CF each time?
I am fine with Gardner in CF. We just won a World Series with a weaker CF’r. Granderson will hit righties and field much better than Damon is LF so even with a platoon it is an upgrade (Right handed pitchers represent roughly 2/3 of the starters). Overall while we need to juggle more, our overall production out of LF should be better.
Sure Holliday is a really good player, but I would rather hold my money back for the possible chance at C JoeMauer or the pitcher Cliff Lee and also give us one more year to see what we really have in Gardner. Maybe he is only a great defensive replacement or a great pinch runner, but it makes sense to find out.
Next blog I will move to the DH and then Vazquez.
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
Thursday, December 17, 2009
2010 off season #4
Bonus Blog!...Sometimes I just want to throw down what I think. Thank you for all the emails from you folks who sometimes help me crystallize my thoughts better...talking it through sometimes allows me to better understand how I really feel...here goes.
I understand we can’t get so many big players every year and what you don’t want to do is spend money on the best that is available. The Yankees did it right last year with CC and Texiera. Burnett was OK, but you can’t have too many like him as they are huge investments for good, not great players. I kind of feel that Jason Bay and Holliday are very good players, but they are not studs. You don’t necessarily want to settle if you are the Yanks because you are paying that player a lot of money for a lot of years.
My point is that I would have been OK with signing just Matsui and make the Granderson trade and hope the Rule 5 kid Jamie Hoffman would handle some of the platoon duties (as he has to stay on our roster or be offered back). I like Lackey and feel is a very solid pitcher, but I am fine with the Yanks giving another year to Melky and Gardner to see what they have. Gardner has struggled at each step of his career but after adapting to each level he has performed well. He is doing the same in the major leagues:
2008 his OPS was .582 and in 2009 it was a not so horrible .724. Surprisingly Gardner had an OPS of .781 against lefties and a .708 against righties. When he was playing more in the first half (when Melky struggled) Gardner had an OPS of .756 before the All Star break. This may fly in the face of what I just said about adapting because his 2nd half numbers were not as good, but he only received 60 AB’s in the 2nd half and 188 in the first half. I also think his defense is worth a lot more than people think. I am actually good with Gardner starting in CF for us. ((I will explain soon))
Supposedly the Yanks are talking to Mark Derosa and Nick Johnson:
Mark Derosa over last 3 years has an OPS of .800 which is .853 against lefties and .780 against righties. Last year he was much better against lefties and struggled against righties. He is much better than Hairston and is mostly a 2nd baseman and 3rd baseman but has played a lot in the corner OF spots as well. The fit might be an inexpensive option, but I surely wouldn’t spend a lot on him.
Nick Johnson – Is an on base machine. All of his wrist injuries have sapped him of most of his 20 HR power and he is more of a line drive hitter who you can count on for .420 OBP and about the same Slug. He would be an excellent number 2 hitter getting on before Tex and ARod, but he is slow. He hits both sides equally so there is no need to platoon, but he is always hurt. I think he is worth kicking the tires on because when healthy he has pretty good value. The Yanks are probably expecting Miranda to DH for them, but if nick would sign a deal that has incentives it may be worth it…
Going back to Matsui, we will be saying over and over again why didn’t we just spend 7 mil on Matsui…$&#T!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
I understand we can’t get so many big players every year and what you don’t want to do is spend money on the best that is available. The Yankees did it right last year with CC and Texiera. Burnett was OK, but you can’t have too many like him as they are huge investments for good, not great players. I kind of feel that Jason Bay and Holliday are very good players, but they are not studs. You don’t necessarily want to settle if you are the Yanks because you are paying that player a lot of money for a lot of years.
My point is that I would have been OK with signing just Matsui and make the Granderson trade and hope the Rule 5 kid Jamie Hoffman would handle some of the platoon duties (as he has to stay on our roster or be offered back). I like Lackey and feel is a very solid pitcher, but I am fine with the Yanks giving another year to Melky and Gardner to see what they have. Gardner has struggled at each step of his career but after adapting to each level he has performed well. He is doing the same in the major leagues:
2008 his OPS was .582 and in 2009 it was a not so horrible .724. Surprisingly Gardner had an OPS of .781 against lefties and a .708 against righties. When he was playing more in the first half (when Melky struggled) Gardner had an OPS of .756 before the All Star break. This may fly in the face of what I just said about adapting because his 2nd half numbers were not as good, but he only received 60 AB’s in the 2nd half and 188 in the first half. I also think his defense is worth a lot more than people think. I am actually good with Gardner starting in CF for us. ((I will explain soon))
Supposedly the Yanks are talking to Mark Derosa and Nick Johnson:
Mark Derosa over last 3 years has an OPS of .800 which is .853 against lefties and .780 against righties. Last year he was much better against lefties and struggled against righties. He is much better than Hairston and is mostly a 2nd baseman and 3rd baseman but has played a lot in the corner OF spots as well. The fit might be an inexpensive option, but I surely wouldn’t spend a lot on him.
Nick Johnson – Is an on base machine. All of his wrist injuries have sapped him of most of his 20 HR power and he is more of a line drive hitter who you can count on for .420 OBP and about the same Slug. He would be an excellent number 2 hitter getting on before Tex and ARod, but he is slow. He hits both sides equally so there is no need to platoon, but he is always hurt. I think he is worth kicking the tires on because when healthy he has pretty good value. The Yanks are probably expecting Miranda to DH for them, but if nick would sign a deal that has incentives it may be worth it…
Going back to Matsui, we will be saying over and over again why didn’t we just spend 7 mil on Matsui…$&#T!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
2010 off season #3
Hi folks, I wanted to chime in on some of the latest deals.
I was pleased to see the Yankees rule 5 pick (the player they received for Bruney) was a solid defender who hits lefties very well. From what I gather, he is a big guy who runs well, has a good arm and hits lefties very well. Most likely he doesn’t hit righties well and thus a lower batting average and OPS against 2/3 of the pitchers out there lowered his stock. It looks like Cashman realizes late in the game Granderson is a matchup problem against a lefty specialist…I hope this guy does enough?
I was also pleased with Halladay going out of the AL. I understand the Phillies have a budget, but I don’t get why they wouldn’t go for the win this year and keep lee for one more year to have an amazing 1-2 punch to go along with their offense? It just didn’t make sense to me, but I guess they figure they have enough. Halladay wanted to play there and they signed him for a very reasonable amount of money over the next 4 years (Including this year about 17.5 mil a year as they only signed a 3 year extension)
I was not pleased to see the Red Sox grab the two guys I thought fit the Yankees well. Some people had concerns with lackey’s shoulder as he only logged about 170 innings the last 2 years and if that was a major concern of the Yanks I understand. However, the guy is a very solid pitcher and gives the Red Sox and excellent rotation. Cameron helps their defense and crushes lefties and is not below average against righties. I thought he was a great fit for the Yanks with Granderson.
I am extremely upset that the Yankees let Matsui sign a one year deal for 6.5 mil a year! I don’t get this at all. Supposedly Girardi likes to have the DH spot open to juggle his players around and give them a day off by DH’ng. That is all fine, but I would rather give a guy a full day off so that he can truly rest. If you are the DH you don’t really fully rest. Most important is that Matsui was very solid and a guy you could plug into the lineup and not worry about any platooning etc…With Granderson we will take advantage of what he does extremely well, but you need the flexibility for his shortcoming which means more roster spots. We have now done the same with our DH spot! 6.5 mil for a one year deal is a steal and as I said before Matsui more than pays for himself. This was a very bad decision by the Yanks; it just has no logic to it as far as I can see. I consider Damon a DH and they will end up paying more for Damon and probably for 2 years and the productivity will not be any better, most likely it will be worse. I still don’t want them to sign Damon and this move may make them feel they need him more which makes it even worse. I would be happier if they just decided they didn’t want to sign any 35 year old player, but for one year keeping Matsui (even at 8 mil a year) is a no brainer to me). I am VERY VERY unhappy with this move; I get the feeling barring injury that we will be saying, "wouldn't it be nice if we had Matsui manning the DH spot all year." Anaheim got a steal!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
I was pleased to see the Yankees rule 5 pick (the player they received for Bruney) was a solid defender who hits lefties very well. From what I gather, he is a big guy who runs well, has a good arm and hits lefties very well. Most likely he doesn’t hit righties well and thus a lower batting average and OPS against 2/3 of the pitchers out there lowered his stock. It looks like Cashman realizes late in the game Granderson is a matchup problem against a lefty specialist…I hope this guy does enough?
I was also pleased with Halladay going out of the AL. I understand the Phillies have a budget, but I don’t get why they wouldn’t go for the win this year and keep lee for one more year to have an amazing 1-2 punch to go along with their offense? It just didn’t make sense to me, but I guess they figure they have enough. Halladay wanted to play there and they signed him for a very reasonable amount of money over the next 4 years (Including this year about 17.5 mil a year as they only signed a 3 year extension)
I was not pleased to see the Red Sox grab the two guys I thought fit the Yankees well. Some people had concerns with lackey’s shoulder as he only logged about 170 innings the last 2 years and if that was a major concern of the Yanks I understand. However, the guy is a very solid pitcher and gives the Red Sox and excellent rotation. Cameron helps their defense and crushes lefties and is not below average against righties. I thought he was a great fit for the Yanks with Granderson.
I am extremely upset that the Yankees let Matsui sign a one year deal for 6.5 mil a year! I don’t get this at all. Supposedly Girardi likes to have the DH spot open to juggle his players around and give them a day off by DH’ng. That is all fine, but I would rather give a guy a full day off so that he can truly rest. If you are the DH you don’t really fully rest. Most important is that Matsui was very solid and a guy you could plug into the lineup and not worry about any platooning etc…With Granderson we will take advantage of what he does extremely well, but you need the flexibility for his shortcoming which means more roster spots. We have now done the same with our DH spot! 6.5 mil for a one year deal is a steal and as I said before Matsui more than pays for himself. This was a very bad decision by the Yanks; it just has no logic to it as far as I can see. I consider Damon a DH and they will end up paying more for Damon and probably for 2 years and the productivity will not be any better, most likely it will be worse. I still don’t want them to sign Damon and this move may make them feel they need him more which makes it even worse. I would be happier if they just decided they didn’t want to sign any 35 year old player, but for one year keeping Matsui (even at 8 mil a year) is a no brainer to me). I am VERY VERY unhappy with this move; I get the feeling barring injury that we will be saying, "wouldn't it be nice if we had Matsui manning the DH spot all year." Anaheim got a steal!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
2010 off season #2
Good to see all the responses from people!
I thought I would answer some of the thoughts/questions:
Yes, I will do my end of year in review to see how my predictions went.
Yes, I still like the Granderson trade after sleeping on it J He is only making 5.5 mil next year. It should be noted, even if it is absurd, but Joba and Hughes were who the Tigers asked for at the start…
No, I doubt the Yankees will correctly start Granderson only against righties. What I do hope though is that they use Granderson in all OF spots so that we can have our best defensive team in there, but Gardner should be in CF if he is playing. I get the feeling Melky will be traded.
Some people are concerned about Granderson’s low OBP and how it will work if he is at the top of the order. Yes, it was low last year, but that was mostly because of 180 AB’s against lefties. He has walked over 70 times each of the last 2 seasons with an average of about 60 walks against righties. The 72 walks last year were the same as Damon and Jeter so he does walk; his BA was just very low last year. The 2 previous years his OBP was .363. In fact, if you took his last 3 years, his numbers are basically what Damon’s were last year. I think those numbers would improve with less playing time against lefties and while not playing against lefties decreases his value, having an OPS over the last 3 years of .940 with a .378 OBP against righties is extremely valuable, especially out of CF.
I mentioned I get the feeling Melky gets traded and that is because he is an ok 4th OF, but he really doesn’t stand out anywhere. His defense on the corners is solid, but as a CF’r he lacks range. As a hitter he is OK for CF, but is too weak to be a corner OF’r. So he is a little bit of a tweener and I would trade him if there is a market.
I would let Damon go and be more likely to keep Matsui if the dollars worked, because he will pay for himself in marketing to Japan. Yeah, I know people are always quick to spend the Yankee money, but they do work within a budget and the money saved can always be used for the stretch run or a free agent next year.
Based on trading Melky, I would not be surprised if the Yanks went after Bay or Holliday. The only part is what do they get paid? They are just a notch below Texiera in value so will they get a 4 year deal worth $17-18 mil a year or so? That is probably about right. Not sure I want to invest them at this point in time. However, if the Yanks said they were dropping both Matsui and Damon and then they picked up one of those guys they would still have reduced they payroll slightly when you take into account Pettitte and Granderson…almost a wash. I think I would rather get Matsui for another year and then have the money freed up to grab Halladay as a free agent or whoever else is there. I don’t want to trade for Halladay based on his money and the people to give up.
I also would not shut the door on Lackey. I would definitely test the waters for him as he is a very good pitcher and throwing CC, Burnett, Lackey, Pettitte and Hughes would be a great rotation. If the money was the same, I would rather Lackey than the LF’rs and I would make due with less in other areas. We were able to free up 5 mil for Wang, I would drop Hairston (2mil), drop Molina (2+ mil) Hinske (1+ mil) and you will pickup almost 10 mil (taking away about a mil for Cervelli and Pena.
I don’t know what the Yankees are thinking, but I would keep Joba in the pen and move Hughes to the rotation. As you know, I think there is a lot more value in a starter than a setup guy, but Joba seems much more comfortable in the bullpen and Hughes has stuff that is better suited for the rotation.
Other notes: Pettitte signed for 11.75 mil for a year. I think they paid too much for Pettitte, but maybe it is a 1 year thank you. Not sure why they had to guarantee the money and they would have been much better off doing what they did last year, even if they started the base at 7 mil instead of 5 mil like last year…either way though a thanks you is OK.
Bruney – the player to be named later is the first pick in Thursday’s rule 5 draft that the Nationals had, so that it is actually pretty good.
Keep enjoying the fact we are Champions!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
I thought I would answer some of the thoughts/questions:
Yes, I will do my end of year in review to see how my predictions went.
Yes, I still like the Granderson trade after sleeping on it J He is only making 5.5 mil next year. It should be noted, even if it is absurd, but Joba and Hughes were who the Tigers asked for at the start…
No, I doubt the Yankees will correctly start Granderson only against righties. What I do hope though is that they use Granderson in all OF spots so that we can have our best defensive team in there, but Gardner should be in CF if he is playing. I get the feeling Melky will be traded.
Some people are concerned about Granderson’s low OBP and how it will work if he is at the top of the order. Yes, it was low last year, but that was mostly because of 180 AB’s against lefties. He has walked over 70 times each of the last 2 seasons with an average of about 60 walks against righties. The 72 walks last year were the same as Damon and Jeter so he does walk; his BA was just very low last year. The 2 previous years his OBP was .363. In fact, if you took his last 3 years, his numbers are basically what Damon’s were last year. I think those numbers would improve with less playing time against lefties and while not playing against lefties decreases his value, having an OPS over the last 3 years of .940 with a .378 OBP against righties is extremely valuable, especially out of CF.
I mentioned I get the feeling Melky gets traded and that is because he is an ok 4th OF, but he really doesn’t stand out anywhere. His defense on the corners is solid, but as a CF’r he lacks range. As a hitter he is OK for CF, but is too weak to be a corner OF’r. So he is a little bit of a tweener and I would trade him if there is a market.
I would let Damon go and be more likely to keep Matsui if the dollars worked, because he will pay for himself in marketing to Japan. Yeah, I know people are always quick to spend the Yankee money, but they do work within a budget and the money saved can always be used for the stretch run or a free agent next year.
Based on trading Melky, I would not be surprised if the Yanks went after Bay or Holliday. The only part is what do they get paid? They are just a notch below Texiera in value so will they get a 4 year deal worth $17-18 mil a year or so? That is probably about right. Not sure I want to invest them at this point in time. However, if the Yanks said they were dropping both Matsui and Damon and then they picked up one of those guys they would still have reduced they payroll slightly when you take into account Pettitte and Granderson…almost a wash. I think I would rather get Matsui for another year and then have the money freed up to grab Halladay as a free agent or whoever else is there. I don’t want to trade for Halladay based on his money and the people to give up.
I also would not shut the door on Lackey. I would definitely test the waters for him as he is a very good pitcher and throwing CC, Burnett, Lackey, Pettitte and Hughes would be a great rotation. If the money was the same, I would rather Lackey than the LF’rs and I would make due with less in other areas. We were able to free up 5 mil for Wang, I would drop Hairston (2mil), drop Molina (2+ mil) Hinske (1+ mil) and you will pickup almost 10 mil (taking away about a mil for Cervelli and Pena.
I don’t know what the Yankees are thinking, but I would keep Joba in the pen and move Hughes to the rotation. As you know, I think there is a lot more value in a starter than a setup guy, but Joba seems much more comfortable in the bullpen and Hughes has stuff that is better suited for the rotation.
Other notes: Pettitte signed for 11.75 mil for a year. I think they paid too much for Pettitte, but maybe it is a 1 year thank you. Not sure why they had to guarantee the money and they would have been much better off doing what they did last year, even if they started the base at 7 mil instead of 5 mil like last year…either way though a thanks you is OK.
Bruney – the player to be named later is the first pick in Thursday’s rule 5 draft that the Nationals had, so that it is actually pretty good.
Keep enjoying the fact we are Champions!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
2010 off season #1
It has been awhile since the last blog and I hope everyone has enjoyed the bragging rights and the excitement of the World Series Champion New York Yankees!
Time to move to the off-season which is under way.
The Yanks have paid Damon and Matsui a decent amount of money the last few years (about $13 mil a year) and everyone thinks they must bring them back. I don’t feel that way unless they will sign a Bobby Abreu type of deal where he received only 6 mil or so. I am not questioning whether these guys can be productive, but it is clear that they each were breaking down last year. Damon had a ton of ailments and Matsui’s knees were giving him a lot of trouble. No way am I signing them to a 3 year deal even at a reduced rate. A one year deal is probably all I would give or 2 at $12. I think they have pretty equal value overall, because while Damon could play the field, he doesn’t play it very well.
Moving on, there are rumors that the Yanks have traded for Curtis Granderson. Supposedly they have given up their prized minor leaguer OF Austin Jackson, Phil Coke and Ian Kennedy. Jackson seems like a guy who is developing but slower than the Yanks have hoped and doesn’t seem like a guy who will have great power. The Yanks supposedly love Granderson and I have to say they really didn’t give up too much to get him. Granderson is 28 and while I heard he is a free agent after 2011, ESPN had his contract at 5.5 next year 8.25 in 2011, $10 mil in 2012 and a club option of $13 mil or a $2 mil buy out. These salaries are pretty reasonable. The Yanks took this deal after the Tigers removed one player from the trade.
My take: Granderson is a guy who should platoon. He struggles against lefties but hits righties very well. His best year was 2 years ago and has steadily gone down the last 2 years. Overall, he fits the ball park well and can play CF better than anyone except Gardner. Granderson has an ok OPS of .780 last year but was a very solid .897 against righties and a horrible .484 against lefties. Over the last 3 years his OPS is an excellent .940 against righties and bad .570 against lefties. Truthfully, you normally would not pay this much for a platoon player, but if the Yankees treat him as such, he can be very valuable. I would not start him against lefties and if he is in the lineup and a lefty comes up he should bunt. He runs well, but is not a great base stealer and a solid OF’r. He did hit 30 HR’s last year for the first time but his batting average suffered. Overall, I like the move and this based on the stats I have seen about Austin Jackson and if the yanks platoon Granderson.
Last year I wanted the Yanks to go after Cameron for a 1 or 2 year deal. He had another solid year of being great against lefties and mediocre against righties. He can help us out again this year for the same reasons. He can still play a solid CF and he crushes lefties. Last year after a mediocre 2nd half where his OPS was only .743 (.838 1st half) he finished the year with an OPS of .954 against lefties. (.748 against righties) – his numbers over the previous 2 years were similar as well. I think it is safe to say one of Damon or Matsui will go and maybe both, Cameron would give the team some good punch from the right side and it would be good to offset the lefties teams like to throw at us and would be a fantastic platoon in CF with Granderson. What is interesting is when you look at the cost for the 2 players, it would be about $13 mil this year and probably about 17 mil next year and while next year may seem high to patrol CF you are getting a platoon that should give you a combined OPS of at the minimum of .860 which would be a fantastic CF’r. There is also depth and good defense which can be used at the corner spots as well. If Melky and Gardner are still around they would fill out our OF. The problem I see with this is if the Yanks decide that Granderson should not platoon. Maybe they see some adjustment he can make but if we are lucky his OPS goes up to .700 against lefties and while that would be a great improvement it is still not good.
Other news: The Yanks have sent Bruney to the Washington Nationals for a player to be named later. Hard for me to say whether this was a good move or not without knowing the player, but I think Bruney when healthy was pretty good. The Yankees felt they had enough righties and probably wanted to clear a spot on their 40 man roster, but overall, I would have hoped he could have done more for us or at least garnered more than the player to be named later.
As for Pettitte I would hope they work out a deal similar to last year where the Yanks don’t overpay unless Pettitte has a very good year (and at that point it is worth it).
More to follow, but wanted to get my take on Granderson out there.
Keep enjoying the fact we are Champions.
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
Time to move to the off-season which is under way.
The Yanks have paid Damon and Matsui a decent amount of money the last few years (about $13 mil a year) and everyone thinks they must bring them back. I don’t feel that way unless they will sign a Bobby Abreu type of deal where he received only 6 mil or so. I am not questioning whether these guys can be productive, but it is clear that they each were breaking down last year. Damon had a ton of ailments and Matsui’s knees were giving him a lot of trouble. No way am I signing them to a 3 year deal even at a reduced rate. A one year deal is probably all I would give or 2 at $12. I think they have pretty equal value overall, because while Damon could play the field, he doesn’t play it very well.
Moving on, there are rumors that the Yanks have traded for Curtis Granderson. Supposedly they have given up their prized minor leaguer OF Austin Jackson, Phil Coke and Ian Kennedy. Jackson seems like a guy who is developing but slower than the Yanks have hoped and doesn’t seem like a guy who will have great power. The Yanks supposedly love Granderson and I have to say they really didn’t give up too much to get him. Granderson is 28 and while I heard he is a free agent after 2011, ESPN had his contract at 5.5 next year 8.25 in 2011, $10 mil in 2012 and a club option of $13 mil or a $2 mil buy out. These salaries are pretty reasonable. The Yanks took this deal after the Tigers removed one player from the trade.
My take: Granderson is a guy who should platoon. He struggles against lefties but hits righties very well. His best year was 2 years ago and has steadily gone down the last 2 years. Overall, he fits the ball park well and can play CF better than anyone except Gardner. Granderson has an ok OPS of .780 last year but was a very solid .897 against righties and a horrible .484 against lefties. Over the last 3 years his OPS is an excellent .940 against righties and bad .570 against lefties. Truthfully, you normally would not pay this much for a platoon player, but if the Yankees treat him as such, he can be very valuable. I would not start him against lefties and if he is in the lineup and a lefty comes up he should bunt. He runs well, but is not a great base stealer and a solid OF’r. He did hit 30 HR’s last year for the first time but his batting average suffered. Overall, I like the move and this based on the stats I have seen about Austin Jackson and if the yanks platoon Granderson.
Last year I wanted the Yanks to go after Cameron for a 1 or 2 year deal. He had another solid year of being great against lefties and mediocre against righties. He can help us out again this year for the same reasons. He can still play a solid CF and he crushes lefties. Last year after a mediocre 2nd half where his OPS was only .743 (.838 1st half) he finished the year with an OPS of .954 against lefties. (.748 against righties) – his numbers over the previous 2 years were similar as well. I think it is safe to say one of Damon or Matsui will go and maybe both, Cameron would give the team some good punch from the right side and it would be good to offset the lefties teams like to throw at us and would be a fantastic platoon in CF with Granderson. What is interesting is when you look at the cost for the 2 players, it would be about $13 mil this year and probably about 17 mil next year and while next year may seem high to patrol CF you are getting a platoon that should give you a combined OPS of at the minimum of .860 which would be a fantastic CF’r. There is also depth and good defense which can be used at the corner spots as well. If Melky and Gardner are still around they would fill out our OF. The problem I see with this is if the Yanks decide that Granderson should not platoon. Maybe they see some adjustment he can make but if we are lucky his OPS goes up to .700 against lefties and while that would be a great improvement it is still not good.
Other news: The Yanks have sent Bruney to the Washington Nationals for a player to be named later. Hard for me to say whether this was a good move or not without knowing the player, but I think Bruney when healthy was pretty good. The Yankees felt they had enough righties and probably wanted to clear a spot on their 40 man roster, but overall, I would have hoped he could have done more for us or at least garnered more than the player to be named later.
As for Pettitte I would hope they work out a deal similar to last year where the Yanks don’t overpay unless Pettitte has a very good year (and at that point it is worth it).
More to follow, but wanted to get my take on Granderson out there.
Keep enjoying the fact we are Champions.
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
Thursday, November 5, 2009
WORLD SERIES CHAMPION POST
The Yankees are the Champions!!!!!!
We did it!!!!!
I don’t want to get into too much analysis right now, as we should all feel great about our team and we should enjoy every minute of this. It is a very long year and it is very hard to win. Congratulations to the Yankee organization and congratulations to all of us!
I will make a few comments though:
Pettitte showed that 3 days rest didn’t make a difference. He allowed 1 run in 5 innings and was allowed to continue because of the lead. He was taken out at the right time. The homer by Howard just made it to the 1st row so overall while 3 runs in 5.1 innings is not good, he did his job.
Marte was huge in the postseason! I loved the trade when Cashman made it, but it surely looked bad after Nady and Marte were injured, but having that lefty specialist was enormous. I would have left him in to face Werth and Ibanez only because he was sharp, we had a 4 run lead, I only wanted 2 more batters for him to face and in the slight chance that Rivera didn’t have it, we could be extending him and it was possible he would not be available Thursday, in the slight chance he struggled. That being said, my comment was that I would leave Marte in, but I surely can’t argue with going to Rivera here.
Matsui was fantastic. 8-13 with a walk 3 HR’s and 8 RBI’s! I know he didn’t play that much, but if he had 7 more AB’s and didn’t get a hit, he would have still hit .400.
ARod’s postseason OPS is now better than his regular season OPS. Roll your eyes next time people talk about being clutch…I am sure some people would be talking about Texiera if the Yankees lost.
And last but certainly not least…how about the Genius Maker? He is a difference maker as the Phillies have nobody like him (or anyone else). I can’t believe he is still so much better than any other closer; it really is amazing. He pitched 5.1 scoreless innings in the World Series and closed out (2 saves) all 4 of the wins. For the Postseason he pitched 16 innings and allowed only 1 run! He is the GENIUS MAKER!
ENJOY THE VICTORY!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
We did it!!!!!
I don’t want to get into too much analysis right now, as we should all feel great about our team and we should enjoy every minute of this. It is a very long year and it is very hard to win. Congratulations to the Yankee organization and congratulations to all of us!
I will make a few comments though:
Pettitte showed that 3 days rest didn’t make a difference. He allowed 1 run in 5 innings and was allowed to continue because of the lead. He was taken out at the right time. The homer by Howard just made it to the 1st row so overall while 3 runs in 5.1 innings is not good, he did his job.
Marte was huge in the postseason! I loved the trade when Cashman made it, but it surely looked bad after Nady and Marte were injured, but having that lefty specialist was enormous. I would have left him in to face Werth and Ibanez only because he was sharp, we had a 4 run lead, I only wanted 2 more batters for him to face and in the slight chance that Rivera didn’t have it, we could be extending him and it was possible he would not be available Thursday, in the slight chance he struggled. That being said, my comment was that I would leave Marte in, but I surely can’t argue with going to Rivera here.
Matsui was fantastic. 8-13 with a walk 3 HR’s and 8 RBI’s! I know he didn’t play that much, but if he had 7 more AB’s and didn’t get a hit, he would have still hit .400.
ARod’s postseason OPS is now better than his regular season OPS. Roll your eyes next time people talk about being clutch…I am sure some people would be talking about Texiera if the Yankees lost.
And last but certainly not least…how about the Genius Maker? He is a difference maker as the Phillies have nobody like him (or anyone else). I can’t believe he is still so much better than any other closer; it really is amazing. He pitched 5.1 scoreless innings in the World Series and closed out (2 saves) all 4 of the wins. For the Postseason he pitched 16 innings and allowed only 1 run! He is the GENIUS MAKER!
ENJOY THE VICTORY!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
World Series Post Game 5
Well all that thinking and a flip of a coin decision went the wrong way. AJ didn’t have his release point at all. He simply couldn’t throw anything where he wanted it.
I think the ump blew the HBP call on Victorino. He never took the bat back and that should have been a strike. That play really hurt.
I know I said I wouldn’t retaliate other than winning, but after we fell behind I wanted AJ to throw inside on Utley and plunk him after the 3 run homer. We need to make him move his feet and fear the inside pitch a little. It would have been a great time and who knows how it would have impacted his next homer. Oh, and we may want to stop throwing pitches down the middle of the plate to Utley. All of the homers were fastballs except the hanging curveball by CC. If you think about it, Philly has hit mostly fastballs the entire series. The breaking ball hits have been bleeders.
I thought the ump was really squeezing us and calling strikes for Philly every time the game was close (early and late). The ump also messed up on Posada when he allowed Cliff Lee to quick pitch after Lee took forever to get the sign before they regrouped. The ump should never have allowed that…I was really ticked about that situation. After many bad calls early on, the ump really blew the first pitch to Texiera in the 9th, that pitch was 8 “ outside…and really changed the AB as 3 more changeups ended the game.
Jeter failed miserably in the 9th inning after being ahead on a 2-0 count. Really poor job to not get the barrel out on a hittable 2-1 pitch That DP was a killer. Not sure why Girardi didn’t pinch run for Matsui? It might not have mattered but perhaps Pena could have broken up the DP?
Coke failed miserably as well, even if he allowed only one homer we could have played Jeter’s AB differently or at least the complexion would have been very different.
Great job by this team to never give up. I love our fight and really believe we will find a way to win this series. Cano swung the bat well tonight and that is huge for us. Tex didn’t get the job done, but he did get one hit. We lost, but I feel good about the way we came back. Pedro will not be as sharp IMO and we will get to him. Then again, we may need to with Pettitte going.
Molina needs to make a good throw down to 2nd as Utley should have been out. We just saw the last of Molina in a Yankee uniform I believe.
Gardner made a terrific catch that there is zero chance Melky would have come close to. Melky has about 50 points of OPS on Gardner, but the defensive doubles/singles that Gardner will save will make up more than 100 points. He is more valuable to play in CF than Melky.
Coke and Jeter were the goats, but two guys that match up well against Philly did their job. Robertson and Aceves pitched 4 scoreless innings.
Time to kick Pedro’s butt!
One more to go for the big prize!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
I think the ump blew the HBP call on Victorino. He never took the bat back and that should have been a strike. That play really hurt.
I know I said I wouldn’t retaliate other than winning, but after we fell behind I wanted AJ to throw inside on Utley and plunk him after the 3 run homer. We need to make him move his feet and fear the inside pitch a little. It would have been a great time and who knows how it would have impacted his next homer. Oh, and we may want to stop throwing pitches down the middle of the plate to Utley. All of the homers were fastballs except the hanging curveball by CC. If you think about it, Philly has hit mostly fastballs the entire series. The breaking ball hits have been bleeders.
I thought the ump was really squeezing us and calling strikes for Philly every time the game was close (early and late). The ump also messed up on Posada when he allowed Cliff Lee to quick pitch after Lee took forever to get the sign before they regrouped. The ump should never have allowed that…I was really ticked about that situation. After many bad calls early on, the ump really blew the first pitch to Texiera in the 9th, that pitch was 8 “ outside…and really changed the AB as 3 more changeups ended the game.
Jeter failed miserably in the 9th inning after being ahead on a 2-0 count. Really poor job to not get the barrel out on a hittable 2-1 pitch That DP was a killer. Not sure why Girardi didn’t pinch run for Matsui? It might not have mattered but perhaps Pena could have broken up the DP?
Coke failed miserably as well, even if he allowed only one homer we could have played Jeter’s AB differently or at least the complexion would have been very different.
Great job by this team to never give up. I love our fight and really believe we will find a way to win this series. Cano swung the bat well tonight and that is huge for us. Tex didn’t get the job done, but he did get one hit. We lost, but I feel good about the way we came back. Pedro will not be as sharp IMO and we will get to him. Then again, we may need to with Pettitte going.
Molina needs to make a good throw down to 2nd as Utley should have been out. We just saw the last of Molina in a Yankee uniform I believe.
Gardner made a terrific catch that there is zero chance Melky would have come close to. Melky has about 50 points of OPS on Gardner, but the defensive doubles/singles that Gardner will save will make up more than 100 points. He is more valuable to play in CF than Melky.
Coke and Jeter were the goats, but two guys that match up well against Philly did their job. Robertson and Aceves pitched 4 scoreless innings.
Time to kick Pedro’s butt!
One more to go for the big prize!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
Monday, November 2, 2009
World Series Post Game 4
I wrote most of this last night but wanted to sleep on the decision of who to start tonight. Answer near the bottom.
In a previous blog I mentioned that I wanted at least 4 runs in 6 innings off of Blanton. We achieved that, but I was not happy as we continued our pattern of taking strikes and swinging at balls. When the score was 4-3 in the 8th inning I was concerned we didn’t take enough advantage of our pitching edge of CC against Blanton. Partly because the ump was very inconsistent and I felt gave Blanton a lot more calls than CC, especially with CC’s changeup. Usually a staple of what makes CC very tough as he throws it on any count; CC had a lot of trouble getting called strikes on the changeup. Regardless, the offense should have done more against Blanton.
Because this was the best match up in terms of advantage from a pitchers standpoint, I felt this was a game we should win. Both teams showing a never quit attitude, but once again the Genius Maker is the difference as their closer allows 3 runs and Rivera just keeps plowing along. It really is amazing when you see what other closers due in the postseason and how great Rivera has been. When closers fail games are usually lost and Rivera has been the difference maker.
You have to give credit to Philly as they took advantage of our bad pitches. The hanging curve to Utley was deposited and then in the 8th inning after Joba blew away Werth and Ibanez, he missed with 2 sliders and then came in with a fastball that was supposed to be outside and ended up catching most of the inside part of the plate and Feliz deposited it. They really took advantage of our mistakes and this last one could have been a huge blow especially when I felt that if either slider was close to being a strike the inning would have been over. This is a learning experience for Joba and it shows you simply can’t miss your spots and get away with it very often…even at 95. Of course, if he was throwing 97-98 you can get away with a little more. Joba did get a little lucky against Werth in that he was looking to go away with a fastball and it ended up in a perfect spot up and in and Werth missed it. That reminded me of Lee and how when he missed he was fortunate that many of his pitches ended up in great spots. Against Feliz he was not as fortunate.
After 2 outs and the announcers talking about how good Lidge has been since he straightened himself out, Damon had a fantastic AB. Damon had the count 1-2 and then worked the count full and then fouled off 2 more before hitting a solid single the other way on the 9th pitch he saw. After a ball, Damon showed some real heads up play in stealing 2nd (subtle point was that Texiera was heads up enough to take a strike and allow Damon to steal the base) and then knowing that 3rd base was his for the taking as long as he could be Feliz who caught the ball leaning toward the 1st base side of 2nd. Now, I have to admit when I saw him going my first thought was crap, he thought the ball went into 2nd base as they had not shown the shift was on. But, when Feliz never threw I was thrilled. Kind of makes you wonder who screwed up on their side. If Feliz is taking the throws, the pitcher should be covering 3rd base and Lidge fell asleep. Great sequence for Johnny. After they hit Texiera, and no you don’t intentionally hit a guy hitting under .100 to face ARod, hit was up to Captain Clutch in yet again another classic spot for Alex. I expected sliders as I don’t buy this crap about having Damon on 3rd limited him to only throwing his fastball. You have to get the batter out and your catcher better stop the ball form getting by him if it is in the dirt. The Phillies stuck with the fastball and ARod with a very compact swing turned on the inside pitch and lined a double to left. A group of us were out of our chairs as ARod came through again. While we were in good shape, getting another hit could ice the game. Posada came through with another big hit and this was the final nail in the coffin for this game. Not sure why Posada went for 2nd, but the damage was done and those 2 extra runs were enormous. Posada is a great hitting catcher, calls a good game and has always thrown out runners at a very high rate, but he has to have some of the worst base running instincts of anyone. Add that to his lack of speed and he is one of the worst base runner you can have. Great job though Jorge!
A couple of other notes:
I believe we have been hit 5 times (I may be off here), and 2 of the ones to ARod were intentional in my opinion. I hate the rule that after you get hit, both sides get warned. It pays to “strike first.” I do like that ARod said something and the Girardi went out to make sure that CC came inside and happened to hit someone that he was not going to be tossed. I think the Umps knew that they would only toss someone if it were in an obvious spot. Tex was not hit on purpose. I don’t like that we have been plunked so much and the ARod 2 were BS, but I don’t want to see us retaliate in any way. Let’s just win. Burnett is wild enough where he will probably hit someone anyway.
I feel that Damon should have caught the very high pop up by Victorino in the 1st inning. I think he got a terrible jump and that cost him. A ball that high needs to be caught. I also think that on the 2nd run not only should have he caught that ball, but he also should have kept charging the ball to help his VERY weak throw. He misjudged that the ball carried farther than he thought. If he charges that ball he makes a fairly routine shoe string catch, but even if he couldn’t, at worst it would have been a very short hop where he could then keep his momentum going on the throw home. As the ball reached home plate Posada should have come forward before that last (I think 3rd hop) so that he could just tag Howard out. It was a tough play to stand there and wait for the ball and Jorge should have gone to get it as slow as it was coming. As for Howard not touching home plate, it is what it is, but CC threw to 2nd anyway instead of tagging him so it doesn’t matter. Also, he barely missed it so I could see if the ump thought he touched it.
Cano is absolutely lost at the plate. He is following the taking strikes and swinging at balls routine to an art form. It is a shame because he is a difference maker for us. I get the feeling Girardi may start Hairston at 2nd base against Lee.
With Gardner in CF (I imagine Melky is out), Molina catching, and Burnett hitting, we will have trouble generating any offense so having a punchers chance in Cano hitting a homer may be worth keeping him out there? Tough call, but it may be time to rest Cano for one game just like Swisher.
McCarver has starting to show his age. He has made many wrong comments and just seems to swing and miss often. Just a few of many examples: McCarver made the comment about “not one pitch inside to a lefty” and that was wrong as Utley was pitched inside with 3 pitches. He made the comment about Joba coming out to pitch even though he was already pinch hit for and many items such as this.
While on the announcing, I am very tired of the stating the obvious announcing such as a guy likes good when he is performing well (looks relaxed) and looks indifferent, depressed or distant when performing poorly…even though it is the same look. Even ARod looks different to everyone…the only difference is he is playing much better now. “He looks to be in great control and is locked in” followed by “and the Yankees score their 2nd run of the inning.” J
Girardi managed well and getting CC out after 107 pitches should make him be strong for game 7 if needed
Many people did not want Marte on the post season roster, but he has now pitched in 7 games and been able to get 10 outs against good lefty hitters while allowing only 2 hits and no walks! I have been saying how important it is to have specialists and in the post season it is even more important.
I liked that Posada had his arm around Joba after the Yanks bailed him out. I am sure that was very valuable and should be a great learning experience for Joba. Most likely he will be our closer of the future.
Who should we start tonight?
I have been going back and forth on starting Burnett. I stated that I wanted Burnett on 3 days rest as well as Andy from the start. But, in looking at stats, Andy (from what I have been told) is not good on 3 days rest, but AJ has been. Not sure of the relevance of either stat, but what has some relevance is the situation and the way AJ has pitched at home compared to on the road. AJ has a 3.51 ERA at home and 4.59 ERA on the road. In his 4 postseason games so far he has pitched very well at home with a 1.86 ERA allowing 4 ER in 19.1 innings at home. On his one road start he allowed 6 runs in 6 innings. This gives me great pause in sending AJ on short rest rather than holding him back to be on 5 days rest on Wednesday at home. It also makes them beat us twice at home with our 2 best on the mound. Of course we could still win with Gaudin, Acevas or whoever, but let’s assume we are almost giving that game up. Stat wise, the answer is to probably hold AJ back, but the other factors say to stay with AJ. These other factors are led by the fact that he has prepared to start tonight and holding him back 2 days could throw off his preparation (this is important). You don’t want to take anything for granted and when you have your foot on their throat you want to keep up the pressure and act like you need this game as bad as they do. If we would have lost yesterday, there is no question AJ would be on the mound tonight. No reason to offer any momentum to Philly and “concede” game 5. Again, we might be able to win with Gaudin, but Gaudin does not match up well against this team and has not pitched in a very long time. As poor as he has pitched lately I would actually have more faith in Acevas than Gaudin. Of course, Andy does not match up well either and did not pitch well his last outing.
As you can see, this is a very hard decision and I don’t think it is fair to criticize either one as they both have merits and pitfalls. My final decision would be to pitch AJ as that is what I planned from the start and try to close it out tonight. Also, AJ should be available to pitch out of the pen if needed in game 7 and with the shaky pitching of anyone not named Marte or Rivera, that may be needed. Act like you need every game, because with Lee going and a what could be a shaky Andy, there is a possibility we will need CC in game 7.
AJ, go out tonight and earn yourself the MVP of the World Series; it is yours for the taking!
10 wins under our belt with one more for the big prize!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
In a previous blog I mentioned that I wanted at least 4 runs in 6 innings off of Blanton. We achieved that, but I was not happy as we continued our pattern of taking strikes and swinging at balls. When the score was 4-3 in the 8th inning I was concerned we didn’t take enough advantage of our pitching edge of CC against Blanton. Partly because the ump was very inconsistent and I felt gave Blanton a lot more calls than CC, especially with CC’s changeup. Usually a staple of what makes CC very tough as he throws it on any count; CC had a lot of trouble getting called strikes on the changeup. Regardless, the offense should have done more against Blanton.
Because this was the best match up in terms of advantage from a pitchers standpoint, I felt this was a game we should win. Both teams showing a never quit attitude, but once again the Genius Maker is the difference as their closer allows 3 runs and Rivera just keeps plowing along. It really is amazing when you see what other closers due in the postseason and how great Rivera has been. When closers fail games are usually lost and Rivera has been the difference maker.
You have to give credit to Philly as they took advantage of our bad pitches. The hanging curve to Utley was deposited and then in the 8th inning after Joba blew away Werth and Ibanez, he missed with 2 sliders and then came in with a fastball that was supposed to be outside and ended up catching most of the inside part of the plate and Feliz deposited it. They really took advantage of our mistakes and this last one could have been a huge blow especially when I felt that if either slider was close to being a strike the inning would have been over. This is a learning experience for Joba and it shows you simply can’t miss your spots and get away with it very often…even at 95. Of course, if he was throwing 97-98 you can get away with a little more. Joba did get a little lucky against Werth in that he was looking to go away with a fastball and it ended up in a perfect spot up and in and Werth missed it. That reminded me of Lee and how when he missed he was fortunate that many of his pitches ended up in great spots. Against Feliz he was not as fortunate.
After 2 outs and the announcers talking about how good Lidge has been since he straightened himself out, Damon had a fantastic AB. Damon had the count 1-2 and then worked the count full and then fouled off 2 more before hitting a solid single the other way on the 9th pitch he saw. After a ball, Damon showed some real heads up play in stealing 2nd (subtle point was that Texiera was heads up enough to take a strike and allow Damon to steal the base) and then knowing that 3rd base was his for the taking as long as he could be Feliz who caught the ball leaning toward the 1st base side of 2nd. Now, I have to admit when I saw him going my first thought was crap, he thought the ball went into 2nd base as they had not shown the shift was on. But, when Feliz never threw I was thrilled. Kind of makes you wonder who screwed up on their side. If Feliz is taking the throws, the pitcher should be covering 3rd base and Lidge fell asleep. Great sequence for Johnny. After they hit Texiera, and no you don’t intentionally hit a guy hitting under .100 to face ARod, hit was up to Captain Clutch in yet again another classic spot for Alex. I expected sliders as I don’t buy this crap about having Damon on 3rd limited him to only throwing his fastball. You have to get the batter out and your catcher better stop the ball form getting by him if it is in the dirt. The Phillies stuck with the fastball and ARod with a very compact swing turned on the inside pitch and lined a double to left. A group of us were out of our chairs as ARod came through again. While we were in good shape, getting another hit could ice the game. Posada came through with another big hit and this was the final nail in the coffin for this game. Not sure why Posada went for 2nd, but the damage was done and those 2 extra runs were enormous. Posada is a great hitting catcher, calls a good game and has always thrown out runners at a very high rate, but he has to have some of the worst base running instincts of anyone. Add that to his lack of speed and he is one of the worst base runner you can have. Great job though Jorge!
A couple of other notes:
I believe we have been hit 5 times (I may be off here), and 2 of the ones to ARod were intentional in my opinion. I hate the rule that after you get hit, both sides get warned. It pays to “strike first.” I do like that ARod said something and the Girardi went out to make sure that CC came inside and happened to hit someone that he was not going to be tossed. I think the Umps knew that they would only toss someone if it were in an obvious spot. Tex was not hit on purpose. I don’t like that we have been plunked so much and the ARod 2 were BS, but I don’t want to see us retaliate in any way. Let’s just win. Burnett is wild enough where he will probably hit someone anyway.
I feel that Damon should have caught the very high pop up by Victorino in the 1st inning. I think he got a terrible jump and that cost him. A ball that high needs to be caught. I also think that on the 2nd run not only should have he caught that ball, but he also should have kept charging the ball to help his VERY weak throw. He misjudged that the ball carried farther than he thought. If he charges that ball he makes a fairly routine shoe string catch, but even if he couldn’t, at worst it would have been a very short hop where he could then keep his momentum going on the throw home. As the ball reached home plate Posada should have come forward before that last (I think 3rd hop) so that he could just tag Howard out. It was a tough play to stand there and wait for the ball and Jorge should have gone to get it as slow as it was coming. As for Howard not touching home plate, it is what it is, but CC threw to 2nd anyway instead of tagging him so it doesn’t matter. Also, he barely missed it so I could see if the ump thought he touched it.
Cano is absolutely lost at the plate. He is following the taking strikes and swinging at balls routine to an art form. It is a shame because he is a difference maker for us. I get the feeling Girardi may start Hairston at 2nd base against Lee.
With Gardner in CF (I imagine Melky is out), Molina catching, and Burnett hitting, we will have trouble generating any offense so having a punchers chance in Cano hitting a homer may be worth keeping him out there? Tough call, but it may be time to rest Cano for one game just like Swisher.
McCarver has starting to show his age. He has made many wrong comments and just seems to swing and miss often. Just a few of many examples: McCarver made the comment about “not one pitch inside to a lefty” and that was wrong as Utley was pitched inside with 3 pitches. He made the comment about Joba coming out to pitch even though he was already pinch hit for and many items such as this.
While on the announcing, I am very tired of the stating the obvious announcing such as a guy likes good when he is performing well (looks relaxed) and looks indifferent, depressed or distant when performing poorly…even though it is the same look. Even ARod looks different to everyone…the only difference is he is playing much better now. “He looks to be in great control and is locked in” followed by “and the Yankees score their 2nd run of the inning.” J
Girardi managed well and getting CC out after 107 pitches should make him be strong for game 7 if needed
Many people did not want Marte on the post season roster, but he has now pitched in 7 games and been able to get 10 outs against good lefty hitters while allowing only 2 hits and no walks! I have been saying how important it is to have specialists and in the post season it is even more important.
I liked that Posada had his arm around Joba after the Yanks bailed him out. I am sure that was very valuable and should be a great learning experience for Joba. Most likely he will be our closer of the future.
Who should we start tonight?
I have been going back and forth on starting Burnett. I stated that I wanted Burnett on 3 days rest as well as Andy from the start. But, in looking at stats, Andy (from what I have been told) is not good on 3 days rest, but AJ has been. Not sure of the relevance of either stat, but what has some relevance is the situation and the way AJ has pitched at home compared to on the road. AJ has a 3.51 ERA at home and 4.59 ERA on the road. In his 4 postseason games so far he has pitched very well at home with a 1.86 ERA allowing 4 ER in 19.1 innings at home. On his one road start he allowed 6 runs in 6 innings. This gives me great pause in sending AJ on short rest rather than holding him back to be on 5 days rest on Wednesday at home. It also makes them beat us twice at home with our 2 best on the mound. Of course we could still win with Gaudin, Acevas or whoever, but let’s assume we are almost giving that game up. Stat wise, the answer is to probably hold AJ back, but the other factors say to stay with AJ. These other factors are led by the fact that he has prepared to start tonight and holding him back 2 days could throw off his preparation (this is important). You don’t want to take anything for granted and when you have your foot on their throat you want to keep up the pressure and act like you need this game as bad as they do. If we would have lost yesterday, there is no question AJ would be on the mound tonight. No reason to offer any momentum to Philly and “concede” game 5. Again, we might be able to win with Gaudin, but Gaudin does not match up well against this team and has not pitched in a very long time. As poor as he has pitched lately I would actually have more faith in Acevas than Gaudin. Of course, Andy does not match up well either and did not pitch well his last outing.
As you can see, this is a very hard decision and I don’t think it is fair to criticize either one as they both have merits and pitfalls. My final decision would be to pitch AJ as that is what I planned from the start and try to close it out tonight. Also, AJ should be available to pitch out of the pen if needed in game 7 and with the shaky pitching of anyone not named Marte or Rivera, that may be needed. Act like you need every game, because with Lee going and a what could be a shaky Andy, there is a possibility we will need CC in game 7.
AJ, go out tonight and earn yourself the MVP of the World Series; it is yours for the taking!
10 wins under our belt with one more for the big prize!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
Sunday, November 1, 2009
World Series Post Game 3
Maybe someone sent Joe a copy of the blog as he got it right for the most part. Swisher started and I think Joe handled the bullpen according the matchups. HUGE win for us, I really feel good right now, but it will all go away if Blanton can upset CC tomorrow. Our offense better get us at least 4 runs in 6 innings and I want more.
If I am a Philly fan, I am upset at the way my team played. They had Andy on the ropes and Pettitte was not throwing strikes and was limited to 2 pitches as he didn't throw a single changeup for a strike the entire night. Also his fastball was 89 at best. The key AB to me was right after Andy walked in a run he threw 2 balls that were way out of the strike zone and Victorino swing and missed at both. Andy then grooved a 0-2 pitch and Victorino flied out for a sac fly and a 3-0 lead. Really bad AB for Victorino. Utley then didn't do any more damage and Andy pitched out of any other damage mostly because of poor offense as opposed to Andy pitching well. Then, immediately following Swisher turning on a fastball for a foul ball I turned to the people I was watching the game with and said, "that should be the last fastball Swisher sees," they throw him another one and Swish goes yard. Victorino should have caught the blooper by Jeter. His feet were farther ahead of the ball and if he either dived at it or stayed on his feet and reached forward he could have caught it; he misjudged it. Philly also could have turned a DP early in the game but it didn't hurt them. Either way, Philly did a bad job and allowed the Yankees to then play well.
ARod with the 2 run bomb was huge again as it gave us life.
Then in an AB where I would have pinch hit for Andy early (5th inning), Pettitte got a huge bloop hit. I was done with Andy as it was clear he had nothing, but as it turned out Pettitte was able to get through two more innings allowing one more run. Getting the hit was huge and even though he allowed another run, it probably was the right move and a different one than I would have made.
They are giving Posada a healthy dose of changeups. He must have seen 8 today.
I guess we can see why Werth crushes lefties.
In the 7th inning we were facing the top of the order and as I said last time this is a spot for Robertson or Joba. Joe went to Joba who was throwing very well and after mowing down the first 2 guys Girardi correctly stuck with Joba who got Utley out. Then with Howard (remember every time a lefty must face him), Werth and Ibanez up, Girardi correctly pinch hit for Joba with Matsui, who did a great job as those tack on runs were huge.
After the extra run scored I only saw Hughes throwing in the pen and I texted about 4 people and the folks I was watching with and said if Marte is not in the 8th I will really be disappointed in Girardi because he obviously doesn't get it. My faith in Joe is still there though as Marte came out and struck out Howard. In this spot if Marte didn't get Howard out I could see making a move away from him unless he looked great in failing (maybe a dropped 3rd strike or an error), but once he got Howard facing Werth was clear move with Ibanez on deck. Marte did a great job striking out Werth and getting Ibanez reach on a soft liner to 3rd. Marte is coming through in a big way (as did Joba tonight).
Now, we enter the 9th up 8-4 and we are at the spot for Hughes (two righties who hit lefties better and the pitcher). I really wanted Rivera to rest, I really did, but after getting one out and throwing 2 fastballs right down the middle with the 2nd taken deep, I was in 100% agreement with bringing in Rivera. He only needed 2 outs, the top of the lineup was up and there were 4 lefties coming up. I am not screwing around there when Utley would represent the tying run. It is time to call on the genius maker who thankfully got the job done in 4 pitches! This was a critical game and you simply can't screw around in that spot. If Robertson were ready I could see trying to get an out with him, but he had sat down and Rivera was ready and I would have done the same thing. I wouldn't have been critical if he went to Robertson though.
Swisher, ARod, Joba and Marte were the heroes today, but we had good contributions from many (Matsui and Damon had big hits).
Melky and Cano have really been struggling; against Blanton Gardner should see some time. I think Gardner should have been getting more work just for his defense. Cano you just have to hope he gets it going as he seems lost. Swinging at balls and taking strikes.
I am very happy and feeling very good right now. CC should put us up 3-1 and if the offense can do what it should we are in the drivers seat. This is a very good offensive team though so we need to score ourselves.
2 more wins for the big prize!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
If I am a Philly fan, I am upset at the way my team played. They had Andy on the ropes and Pettitte was not throwing strikes and was limited to 2 pitches as he didn't throw a single changeup for a strike the entire night. Also his fastball was 89 at best. The key AB to me was right after Andy walked in a run he threw 2 balls that were way out of the strike zone and Victorino swing and missed at both. Andy then grooved a 0-2 pitch and Victorino flied out for a sac fly and a 3-0 lead. Really bad AB for Victorino. Utley then didn't do any more damage and Andy pitched out of any other damage mostly because of poor offense as opposed to Andy pitching well. Then, immediately following Swisher turning on a fastball for a foul ball I turned to the people I was watching the game with and said, "that should be the last fastball Swisher sees," they throw him another one and Swish goes yard. Victorino should have caught the blooper by Jeter. His feet were farther ahead of the ball and if he either dived at it or stayed on his feet and reached forward he could have caught it; he misjudged it. Philly also could have turned a DP early in the game but it didn't hurt them. Either way, Philly did a bad job and allowed the Yankees to then play well.
ARod with the 2 run bomb was huge again as it gave us life.
Then in an AB where I would have pinch hit for Andy early (5th inning), Pettitte got a huge bloop hit. I was done with Andy as it was clear he had nothing, but as it turned out Pettitte was able to get through two more innings allowing one more run. Getting the hit was huge and even though he allowed another run, it probably was the right move and a different one than I would have made.
They are giving Posada a healthy dose of changeups. He must have seen 8 today.
I guess we can see why Werth crushes lefties.
In the 7th inning we were facing the top of the order and as I said last time this is a spot for Robertson or Joba. Joe went to Joba who was throwing very well and after mowing down the first 2 guys Girardi correctly stuck with Joba who got Utley out. Then with Howard (remember every time a lefty must face him), Werth and Ibanez up, Girardi correctly pinch hit for Joba with Matsui, who did a great job as those tack on runs were huge.
After the extra run scored I only saw Hughes throwing in the pen and I texted about 4 people and the folks I was watching with and said if Marte is not in the 8th I will really be disappointed in Girardi because he obviously doesn't get it. My faith in Joe is still there though as Marte came out and struck out Howard. In this spot if Marte didn't get Howard out I could see making a move away from him unless he looked great in failing (maybe a dropped 3rd strike or an error), but once he got Howard facing Werth was clear move with Ibanez on deck. Marte did a great job striking out Werth and getting Ibanez reach on a soft liner to 3rd. Marte is coming through in a big way (as did Joba tonight).
Now, we enter the 9th up 8-4 and we are at the spot for Hughes (two righties who hit lefties better and the pitcher). I really wanted Rivera to rest, I really did, but after getting one out and throwing 2 fastballs right down the middle with the 2nd taken deep, I was in 100% agreement with bringing in Rivera. He only needed 2 outs, the top of the lineup was up and there were 4 lefties coming up. I am not screwing around there when Utley would represent the tying run. It is time to call on the genius maker who thankfully got the job done in 4 pitches! This was a critical game and you simply can't screw around in that spot. If Robertson were ready I could see trying to get an out with him, but he had sat down and Rivera was ready and I would have done the same thing. I wouldn't have been critical if he went to Robertson though.
Swisher, ARod, Joba and Marte were the heroes today, but we had good contributions from many (Matsui and Damon had big hits).
Melky and Cano have really been struggling; against Blanton Gardner should see some time. I think Gardner should have been getting more work just for his defense. Cano you just have to hope he gets it going as he seems lost. Swinging at balls and taking strikes.
I am very happy and feeling very good right now. CC should put us up 3-1 and if the offense can do what it should we are in the drivers seat. This is a very good offensive team though so we need to score ourselves.
2 more wins for the big prize!
The Genius Maker tm is a tribute to Mariano Rivera who makes coaches look a like a genius...
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