Comments on: Don’t look now, but our leadoff man is heating up

By: River Ave. Blues | Game 23: We could use a little Franchise

River Ave. Blues | Game 23: We could use a little Franchise — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:34:21 +0000

[...] As noted earlier, Johnny Damon has something of a hot streak brewing, as he’s 7 for his last 14, with a pair of doubles and a pair of dingers. The guy hitting behind him has six fewer hits in his last 14 at bats. But if they get going at the same time, whoo-boy, we’re in for an offensive explosion — not that we’ve been lacking over the past three games. [...]

By: Travis G.

Travis G. — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:17:46 +0000

perhaps i should have finished my point. of course the Yanks do well when their leadoff hitter does well. despite damon’s recent outburst, i still prefer jeter or abreu in the leadoff hole.

By: Travis G.

Travis G. — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:15:12 +0000

22 games in: Melky 122 OPS+, Beltran 108 OPS+. i know, i know, small sample size and all, but he’s been excellent so far.

By: Manimal

Manimal — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:50:36 +0000

Melky is proving that he has elevated his game to the major leagues, when hes good he is as good as any CF.

By: RustyJohn

RustyJohn — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:21:11 +0000

He is looking better at the plate, but I sure would love to see Cano or Giambi do something- that 6/7 or 7/8 hole (depending on the night) is where rallies die.

I’m just glad Jorge is back to his old (2007) self- last night he was killing the ball. Maybe all Yankees should urinate on their hands.

By: whozat

whozat — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:42:24 +0000

“Melky had two hits last night. One was a little dribbler to the SS hole. The other was a little jam shot that landed behind 1B in short RF. I like ‘lil Melky and all, but he hasn’t exactly been smoking the ball.”

If his job is just to get on base, he really doesn’t have to.

It irks me when people say “oh, when Johnny goes, it’s a different team!”

Of course it is. Whenever he plays, he’s the leadoff man. Whenever the leadoff man is contributing offensively, the team will score more runs. It has nothing to do with Johnny. ANYONE that was producing in the leadoff spot would drive the offense in the same way.

By: steve (different one)

steve (different one) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:36:51 +0000

i posted 3-4 days ago about how Damon’s numbers were superficially bad, but when you looked deeper, he was doing ok.

his isoD and isoP were fine, his LD% was good, and he was seeing lots of pitches.

in other words, his line was suppressed by his crappy batting average, which looked low b/c of a poor BABIP that didn’t line up with his LD%.

he’s been working the count, getting on base, stealing some bases, and playing decent defense. he’s been pretty good for a while, just hitting into some bad luck.

By: Rob_in_CT

Rob_in_CT — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:19:39 +0000

Melky had two hits last night. One was a little dribbler to the SS hole. The other was a little jam shot that landed behind 1B in short RF. I like ‘lil Melky and all, but he hasn’t exactly been smoking the ball.

By: Joseph P.

Joseph P. — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:59:05 +0000

I’m not even concerned about the OPS+, though it’s nice. If he can maintain the approach he’s shown in the early going, I’ll rescind every bad word I’ve ever said about Melky. If he can be an OBP machine, I can forget about his lack of pop.

By: kunaldo

kunaldo — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:55:50 +0000

How about Melky and his shiny new 122 OPS+?? It would be beautiful if he can maintain that…