The Alfredo Aceves Appreciation Thread
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Now that he’s been named Thursday’s starter, it’s time for us to show some love to do-it-all man Alfredo Aceves. He’s been called The New Ramiro Mendoza, and his call up on May 4th coincides with the start of the bullpen’s turn around. On the date of Aceves’ call up, the bullpen’s ERA was hovering around 6.50 with a WHIP around 1.50. Since then, those totals have dropped to 4.02 and 1.24, respectively, no doubt thanks in part to Aceves’ stellar relief work.
Aceves has allowed just 30 hits and issued 8 free passes in 40 innings of work. He’s holding opposing hitters to a .208-.256-.354 batting line, which is slightly worse than Jeff Francoeur’s output this season. He’s entered games in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th innings. He came in to face a lone righty batter in one outing before picking up a four inning save four days later. His ERA at home is lower than his ERA on the road despite the New Stadium’s … ahem … fondness for hitters. Only 16 of the 156 batters he’s faced have worked the count full. He’s performed his best with that horrific game caller Jorge Posada behind the plate. Simply put, Aceves has been everything the Yanks could have ever asked for, and then some.
So spill your guts here, folks. Tell us how much you love The Mexican Gangster.
Photo Credit: Ray Stubblebine, Reuters
134 Comments»
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“He’s entered games in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th innings.”
I heart that
BUT WHAT ABOUT ROLES?!???!?!?!??!?!
MULTIPLE INTERROBANGS?!??!??!??!??!
Aceves isn’t good enough to enter in the 3rd. DFA him.
Sorry, I just can’t respect a guy that hasn’t entered a game in the 3rd inning.
Cash and Co. really hit the nail on the head with this signing.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
The irony here is priceless.
IETC
I do like the phrase he used, despite how wrong it is in this context.
I was also considering going with:
Bo says:
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside says:
It takes one to know one.
That also would have been excellent.
“Pot. Kettle. Black.” also would have been appropriate.
+1
But does he have grit? (I’m kidding)
(Insert dig against Red Sox / ESPN / New England here)
of course not he isn’t white or particularly small and certainly doesn’t have a goatee so how could he possibly be a gamer. The only thing he has going for him is a fastball that doesn’t touch 95, and a relatively low salary. In fairness, though, it’s awfully hard for a pitcher (let alone a latino one) to be a gamer if he hasn’t had cancer
Let’s include him in a trade for Roy Halladay.
Not only all of that, but he’s got some of the best nicknames around. I personally love the Mexicutioner
Yeah, Joakim Soria _is_ really good. Not sure why you bring him up in a thread about the Mexican Gangster…
I’ve also heard Ace referred to as that. I didn’t realize that name was claimed
http://cache.deadspin.com/asse.....tioner.jpg
For some reason, I want to refer to Aceves as “The Mexi-King,” but I feel like I’ll be the only one like when Kaat tried to force the nickname AlSo on Soriano.
Thats awesome
To think how far he’s come from, “Who’s that Aceves guy with another good start in Tampa”
So far a real steal for Cashman & Co.
I like Ace as much as the next guy, but I can’t help but think about how just two years ago, he had an ERA toward 5 in the Mexican League, and how he has performed much better at the Major League level than in the minors, particularly AAA. And as someone cast away by another Major League team years ago, and as a guy who hit the majors at age 26 with iffy stuff, I am pessimistically waiting for the wheels to come off.
On the other hand, stuff is overrated, and I love his control, so maybe the wheels won’t come off for at least another couple years…
He will eventually come back to earth, no doubt. Hopefully not this year though. Some people were already comparing him to Mo! Getting way ahead of themselves considering how long Mo has been good.
Sorry, should be toward 4, not 5…
In 126 games in the Mexican League, over 6 years after having been sold by the Blue Jays, he went 34-23 with a 4.06 ERA. Doesn’t scream success in the bigs…
What was his numbers his last 2 years? Were his numbers in his early years inflated? I need more then just career numbers
Isn’t the Mexican league a crazy hitters league?
Not only is the mexican league known for their hitters.
Don’t they play at a stupid altitude???
Plus Im sure there are a lot of no glove dudes in the Mexican league which means that a lot of would be outs in the majors fall for hits.. And we all know he pitches to contact.
Also as we know starting and the bullpen are 2 very different beast.
I believe Aceves will be a major part of our bullpen for many years to come.
Not only should they be applauded for their finding of Aceves, but lets not forget Ramiro Pena and minor league star Manny Banuelos. Whoever the Yankees scout is in Mexico should be getting a raise ASAP!
As I’ve said before, his reputation is expanding faster than the universe.
When he orders a salad, he gets the dressing right there on top of the salad, where it belongs…where there is no turning back.
Aceves has guile. This is the difference between the high upside under-achievers like joba, etc. Aceves’ success represents the value of (and the difficulty to attain) veteran pitching knowledge. (see greg maddux)
He’s also three years older than Joba and three and a half years older than Phil.
That’s a decent amount of extra guile-accumulatin’ time.
Nope. Joba and Phil are maxed out. They’ll never get better than they ar now.
They’re Benjamin Button pitchers. They will only regress.
The only way they can pitch good is if they are in the bullpen.
Ironically, Aaron Guiel is now his poolboy.
IETC
+31
Alfredo Aceves > Justin Masterson. It’s amazing how valuable it is to have a swing-man RHP in the bullpen with the ability to get out southpaw hitters. Just sayin’.
If his tear ducts still worked, you would have made Peter Gammons cry.
Nice job, Jamal.
But is Cleveland salivating at the possibility of owning Aceves? Peter Gammons hasn’t said so.
Peter Gammons is salivating for a whole other reason.
Excuse me, did I say salivating, I meant drooling.
I saw Aceves start against the CWS on the last homestand of the ’08 season and he was just great. This year he has been superb. I also like his no-nonsense–but not rude–dealings w/the press. “It’s my job. It’s what I’m here to do” or words to that effect.
Orale, güey!
He seems a lot like Mo in his approach to the game. He is here to do a job, no matter what it is. I like that mentality.
No mention about Buddy Lee? For shame RAB
All credit for finding this dude goes to Lee Sigman, who runs the Mexican Academy for Los Yanquis:
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/.....#more-8051
Sorry, I meant to say he ran a Mexican Academy, and then was a scout for the Yanks.
Absolutely. He recommended Joakim Soria, and the Yanks were going to take him in the R5, but the Royals beat them to it.
wow, could you imagine? that wouldve been stellar
Heh. Joakim Soria, Josh Hamilton, and Jesus Flores all changed hands in that R5 before we had a chance to take any of them.
Damn communistic parity bullshit.
They could have bought Josh Hamilton just as the Reds did.
You’ve got a point. I’d rather have bought Flores or Soria, but you do have a point.
Right now, if Aceves stays in the bullpen, he’s on pace to outpitch what Mo did in 1996.
I’m totally not making this up, either.
How is he on pace to be better? Aceves will have a WHIP .07 lower and ERA .07 lower, but Rivera will have a better K/9 by 3.2, HR/9 by 1, and ERA+ by 22 in an expected 27.2 IP more. So Aceves will be damn good, but I certainly wouldn’t say better.
Also, Rivera’s K/BB ratio this year is 14.00. Holy Schnikees!
I yield to Celerino Sanchez below.
How is what he said different from what I said?
Aceves has a slightly better ERA/WHIP, Rivera better K’s, HR’s, and ERA+ in more innings (obviously Aceves starting in the minors is a major difference). Also Rivera’s FIP was 1.88 and Aceves is 3.64.
As I said Aceves has been great, just not as good as Rivera was in 1996.
1996 Mo: 2.09 ERA, 239 ERA+, .994 WHIP, 130 K in 107.2 IP
2009 Ace (so far): 2.02 ERA, 217 ERA+, .925 WHIP, 34 K in 40 IP
Not too shabby. Mo struck out more guys, but otherwise their numbers are pretty comparable. If Ace started the season with the Yanks, even his IP would be comparable to Mo’s pace. Of course, Ace has to sustain this pace for the whole season. Mo already did that.
I’m sure his wife appreciates him every night too.
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/fil.....15;332.jpg
I was expecting that link to be much more graphic and lascivious than it was.
God almighty.
That is one fine, fine woman.
She’s no Laura Posada or Michelle Damon, but she’s a quality option out of the ‘pen.
Is it me or does she look 15? It looks like her la quinceañera party dress.
How tall is that woman? Aceves is listed at 6’3″ and she’s as tall as he is in that picture. I mean, even with heels…
she is 24 and is 5’4” … so even with heels she is shorter than him
and Ace is the best option
I like his approach a lot. Not bashing coke, but this guy doesn’t give a crap about roles, He just throws strikes until he’s told to stop, or the game is over.
also random side note. I can’t wait till next september when Montero starts mashing balls out of yankee stadium. They need to have a clip of Jon turturro in the big lebowski ready to go. Don’t fuck with the Jesus, man.
Why can’t we just call him “El Guadalajara”?
Al Aceves is better than Ramiro Mendoza.
He keeps hitters off-balance and throws strikes.
My favorite Al Aceves moment was when he glared at Nelson Cruz for admiring his garbage time HR.
True. Nothing says “badass” more than staring at those who have gotten the best of you lol
It was 11-0 Yankees in the bottom of the 9th at Texas. Aceves was throwing strikes to just end the game and Cruz hit a 1-0 fastball for a solo shot and stood at the plate admiring his handiwork.
Aceves gave him a gift and Cruz showed him up.
Too bad Crash Davis wasn’t there to ball him out …
this.
The comparison to Ramiro Mendoza doesn’t hold. Aceves is better than Ramiro.
Meh, let’s let Aceves keep doing this for another couple of years before we proclaim him “better” than Mendoza.
Ace is good, but he’s only pitched 70 big league innings to this point, his age 25-26 seasons. Mendoza pitched 264 innings in his age 25-26 seasons.
I am holding all my Swisher-isms to use again for Aceves when the time comes.
Aceves nice ERA will go up in a flash when he has a bad outing or two, and that’s going to happen. Three months does not replace six years. I’d be quite happy, however, if one day we look back and can say Aceves is better than Mendoza, yet that will take a few years. As excellent as he’s been, I wouldn’t be surprised if in two years he’s joined Aaron Small on the unemployment line.
I love Ace, but I was still with you … until you made the Aaron Small reference. Small was 34 and had been with 6 MLB teams before coming to the Yanks. Ace is 26 and is in the big leagues for the first time (beginning last season).
I know you weren’t literally comparing them, and if Ace ends up unemployed, he would, in fact, be where Small is now, as you wrote.
I just think Ace has better stuff than Small, and a greater chance of actually being a good pitcher.
I was going over-the-top for effect, since the Ace reviews were over the top. I also believe he has better stuff than Small, but that still doesn’t mean he’ll last in the majors. I’ve been a supporter since I saw him last year and was hoping the Yankees gave him a shot in the pen this year. He’s done better than expected, but I can’t guess his future at this point. 70 innings pitched over two seasons, part as a start, part as a reliever, is not enough. Like all of us, though, I want him to stick.
I agree. Time will tell. He could be a discovery or a flash in the pan. I’m rooting for the first option.
his wife is gorgeous.
She has beautiful eyes and her hair smells like cinnamon.
They got married on top of a mountain. I wasn’t invited.
She makes flowers bloom just walking by them.
It always comes back to Anchorman with you …
Just wait until Anchorman 2 in 2010.
No way, really? Hollywood really does have to beat an idea into the ground eh? Milk every last dollar out of the sucker!
Speaking of milk, maybe I’ll go have a nice glass of warm milk.
I’ve got a feeling that’s going to be a bad choice.
http://www.cinematical.com/200.....-burgundy/
What do you all think of Aceves fantasy value? Is it worth it for me to pick him up and cut a guy like nick blackburn???
Oh sorry about this randomquestion but why havent we seen phil hughes’s glasses he promissed us???
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=mlb
Because rockers don’t wear no stinking glasses.
Fantasy depends on league, is it saves/holds or just saves?
saves holds qs era are all categories..its a head to head league
Then he’s probably useful
I added him to my fantasy team shortly after he made a few appearances in the majors figuring he’d be in a good position to get some wins.
It really depends on what type of league you’re in. I have him in a straight-Roto, very deep AL-only league, so filling out my pitching staff with someone who can get wins and won’t hurt my ERA and WHIP/Ratio is a key to winning. That strategy may not play well under other fantasy formats.
i think he a good bet for me. bec im in a head to head league and Era , SO’s, Svs. holds, Inhereted runners, Wins and Quality Starts are all sepperate categories…
No “El Guadalajara”??
How about “El Queso Sucio”?
I wonder if this appreciation will last if/when Aceves regresses (which he almost certainly will, given that hardly anyone puts up a 2 ERA for very long in the AL – he’ll still probably be an above-average pitcher though). I’ll still love you, Al!
Comparing him to Ramiro Mendoza makes the most sense since Mendoza also pitched at any point in games, and could also serve as the ocassional starter. Mendoza gave us six solid seasons. I’ll be happy if Aceves can give us half that. Actually, I’ll take it one season at a time!
Everyone talks about how the Yankees have never been able to replace Stanton and Nelson, yet that underestimated how important Mendoza was in allowing Stanton and Nelson to do their jobs. I’m hoping Aceves only pitches once or twice as a starter. Unlike Joba or Hughes, Aceves should be in the pen.
If black players are athletic, white players are gritty and Dominicans are lazy, What are Mexican players? Hard workers? Grinders?
Soccer players.
If black players are athletic, white players are gritty and Dominicans are lazy, What are Mexican players?
Dominicans. All Mexican players are Dominicans now.
50 years ago, all Dominican players were Mexican. Racial stereotypes don’t have time to be geographically correct. They’re designed to be time savers.
http://store.theonion.com/ster.....-p-80.html
I lived in Mexico for a while and old-fashioned Mexican guys had this impregnable working-class dignity that was like pride without vanity.
Unfortunately, new-fashioned ones were drugrunners, but hey…
El Queso Sucio. Awesome.
I almost had vitamin water on my monitor at work. I like it! Thanks to this blog, I’ve been an Ace fan since he was signed (I think). When he first came up last year, I love the way he worked, and just got the job done. He throws strikes, and makes outs, and comes back and does it again. When he threw that 4 inning win/save, I picked him up in my fantasy league right away.
Cheers,
C
He’s been great this year and I’ve enjoyed watching him pitch. The guy throws strikes and maintains his control every time out. I think that’s his big thing, he’s getting ahead in the count and making them hit his pitch instead of their own.
We should all get tacos and watch the game thursday! WHOS IN??
Anyone know any good mexican places in NYC that has tv’s????
Ima chipotle supporter but they deff won’t be showing the game
Down in Daytona, we have this restaurant called Taco Bell, now they don’t have TV’s, but its still a nice place to go. I almost exclusively take my dates there. I’m a Plalla.
You could call us Aaron Burr from the way we’re dropping Hamiltons.
IETC
Sorry for the change in topic but what ever happened to Mark Melancon?
Props to Aceves.
http://www.google.com
That just took me to some stupid search engine! I want to know what happened to Mark Melancon damn it!
Melancon is still in AAA. He went through a bit of a slump after being sent back but is pitching better of late. We should really call him up with Ace in the pen.
In 40 IP this year, Aceves has 5 wins and 1 loss while in 84 IP this year, Joba has 4 wins and 2 losses
Despite a 2.91 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP over 108.1 sterling innings, Jair Jurjjens has 6 wins and 7 losses.
Despite a mediocre 4.86 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP over 90.2 “meh” innings, Kevin Slowey has 10 wins and 3 losses.
Baseball Rule #4,080: Wins and losses are a stupid metric.
Yeah, but Aceves is outpitching Joba.
He is.
(in half the number of innings. That’s an important part of the equation. Would you rather have 40 excellent innings or 80 good innings? Think about it for a long time before you answer.
I see where you’re going with this, tsjc. Jobber to da pen!!
yeah, but that won’t last. sorry
I definately get that wins and losses aren’t important, especcially for bullpen guys, but if u look at other stats too, Aceves is looking a lot better than Joba, though in a fraction of the innings
Alan Embree picked up the win for the Rox last night W/O throwing a pitch!1!!1!
Is your mind blown?
In all seriousness, W’s in a overrated number to use to determine how a pitcher is doing.
Change his name to “Ramiro Mendoza Jr.” and move on. I think he’s much more valuable in the pen. Hughes needs to be stretched out now so he can be the 5th starter after the break.
I agree.
Aceves is much more like Ed Figueroa (a 2 time 20 game winner in the 70′s) than Ramiro Mendoza, who was basically a one pitch pitcher (sinker). Aceves knows how to challenge hitters, isn’t afraid to throw strikes to contact, and has really, really good control. There is no reason why he can’t be a good starter for the Yankees for a number of years. Just because he was unknown when he was signed and hasn’t had the hype or velocity of Joba and Hughes doesn’t mean he has less ability. Who had heard of Fernando Valenzuela before he pitched in the big leagues? You can probably name 20 other starting pitchers who became successful without hype, just think for a minute. He’s already made 4 starts for the Yankees last year and who wouldn’t take those stats, or anything close to it, for a whole season?
all these arguments about Aceves being more valuable in the bullpen, where he basically comes in when a starter gets knocked out, just makes no sense to me whatsoever. If the starter gets knocked out early it means he’s given up at least 5-7 runs and the Yankees are most likely behind. The way the Yankees score runs a quality start will most likely turn into a win with strong late inning relief help, which the Yankees have in full with Hughes, Coke and Mo. The 5th starter has about 15 starts left this season, what would you rather have, Aceves pitching in 15 games that start out 0-0 or have him come in 20 times (at most) in games where the Yankees are probably behind? The team’s record in games where Aceves has appeared is 12-9, including 3 blowout wins. For my money, I’m having him in there at the beginning of the game (in the absence of Wang and given the fact that Hughes is in the bullpen for the rest of the season-something I’m not 100% happy about) where he has a better than 50% chance of winning.
I went to Sunday’s game and was amazed at the difference in swing and miss rates from Aceves to Joba.
I’ve never pitched, so I don’t know, but it seems like having good control is key to making guys swing and miss. Against Joba, they seemed relaxed at the plate and had an easy time fouling pitches off. But when Aceves got in there, it was as if they had to be worried because any pitch might be a called strike, so they were hacking weakly at what are actually more ordinary pitches, stuff-wise? Any pitchers out there think this makes any sense?
Joba’s stuff (his fastball at least) isn’t the same. He’s missing ~3mph of velocity. That matters.
It’s all in the way he changes speeds and uses all 4 pitches effectively. If the batter doesn’t know what speed or movement is coming it’s hard to keep the bat moving through the strike zone and make contact. It also could be scouting reports, you never know. It seems like the scouting report on Joba has been widely circulated-don’t swing at the slider, wait for the fastball.
That’s correct, I think, and something that is not taken into account when considering Joba in the bullpen. There’s no reason to assume Joba of 2007 will be back just because he’ll be appearing in the 8th innning. His fastball is not going to go from 91-93 to 98-100. Maybe he might achieve 95-96 again, maybe, but I’m not even sure of that since it now taks him an inning or two just to warm up.
Not only has he lost velocity, but hitters were facing him for the first time two years ago. They now know to lay off the slider, which finishes out of the strike zone, and wait on the fastball. They will still know this coming out of the pen.
Ironically, Joba’s loss of velocity, his difficulty warming and his familiarity eliminates him from the pen. His best chance is to develop as a starter, and I’m of the mind that if he can’t do it in hte majors, he may need more time in the minors.
I appreciate The Mexican Gangster so much… (How Much do you Appreciate him?) … that I consider his wife nearly as hot as Mrs. Derek Jeter (of recent … ) Jessica Biel …. THAT is how much I appreciate Mr. ACEves
[...] we get a guest start. Alfredo Aceves, yesterday’s man of the hour, gets the ball in place of the injured Chien-Ming Wang. Aceves is on something of a pitch count, [...]
[...] “It doesn’t matter, I’ll do whatever job they give me.” On July 8th, River Avenue Blues posted a tribute to Aceves including these interesting tidbits: Aceves has allowed just 30 hits and issued 8 free passes in 40 [...]