The Pettitte problem
By · CommentsNo matter what happens today, the Yankees will head into the All Star Break with the third-highest win total in the Major Leagues. They are holding down a playoff position and have played some of the best baseball I’ve seen this team play in a few seasons.
All however is not wine and roses. While we looked at Joba’s recent struggles yesterday, today we are faced with the reality of Andy Pettitte. He may have eight wins, but they haven’t been pretty. Lately, he’s barely been keeping the Yanks in the game. Handed a 4-0 lead yesterday afternoon, Pettitte gave it all back and more before the 5th inning was out. Similar to Joba on Friday, Pettitte was showered by the end of the 5th.
This start caps off a bad end to the first half for Pettitte. After going 5-1 with a 4.10 ERA through the end of May, Pettitte has tanked. He’s 3-4 with a 5.93 ERA. He has allowed 51 hits over his last 44 innings while walking 21 and striking out 36. That’s a 1.66 WHIP for those keeping score at home. Opponents have an OPS against Pettitte well over .800 now.
More alarming, in a way though, are his innings totals. Those 44 innings span eight starts. He’s averaging just 5.5 innings per game. When the season started, Pettitte was billed as a solid back-end guy. He’d throw to a mid-4 ERA but would give the Yanks some length. He’s not really doing that anymore.
Overall, Pettitte heads into the break with an 8-5 record and a 4.85 ERA. Since the 2008 All Star break, Pettitte is 12-12 with a 5.06 ERA. He just turned 37 last month, and we’re unlikely to see Pettitte improve.
When I saw the results of the game yesterday, I sent Joe and Mike an e-mail. “The Yanks have a bit of a pitching problem on their hands,” I said, and my two co-writers agreed. What we’re seeing is what we’re going to get from Pettitte right now. He throws 88 or 89 with flashes of 90 but can’t push a ball by too many hitters anymore. He hasn’t yet reinvented himself a la Mike Mussina 2008 but is showing why I was reluctant to bring him back this past winter.
The Yankees can feel good about themselves after today’s game, and we should too. They’re a very good team right now, but they have some holes. For better or worse, Andy Pettitte is one of those holes, and with Wang out and Joba struggling as a youngster breaking into the Bigs, the Yanks should be pondering how to address this Andy Pettitte problem.
Brackman highlights busy night with solid effort
By · CommentsZach Kroenke was added to the International League All Star Team. That’s what a 0.95 ERA will get you.
Jesus Montero was place on the temporary inactive list since he’s in St. Louis for the Futures Game. He’s going to start the game behind the plate for the World Team and bat fifth tomorrow. Jonathan Mayo says the starting pitchers will be Chris Tillman (O’s) and Junichi Tazawa (Red Sox).
Triple-A Scranton (2-0 loss to Buffalo)
Kevin Russo: 1 for 5, 1 R
Ramiro Pena: 2 for 5 – he was supposed to play CF tonight, but the outfield was wet so they held him back … he’s supposed to be out there tomorrow
Austin Jackson: 3 for 4, 1 R, 1 K – 11 for his last 24 (.458)
Shelley Duncan & Frankie Cervelli: both 1 for 4 – Shelley threw a runner out at second from RF … Cervelli doubled & K’ed twice
Juan Miranda: 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 K
Colin Curtis & Yurendell DeCaster: both 0 for 4 – DeCaster K’ed twice
Doug Bernier: 1 for 3, 1 2B, 1 K
Ivan Nova: 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 15-3 GB/FB – 58 of 98 pitches were strikes (59.2%) … just keeps on mowin’ ‘em down
Zach Kroenke: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1-0 GB/FB – 4 of 6 pitches were strike … wait, is it too late to take back that All Star spot?
Jon Albaladejo: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K – 11 of 16 pitches were strikes (68.8%) … allowed the lone inherited runner to score
ByAmid the muck of this game, Alex Rodriguez hit his 569th and 570th career home runs, tying him and then moving him past Rafael Palmeiro for 10th all-time. Three more and he’s tied with Harmon Killebrew. A-Rod could reach seventh all-time this season: he needs just 17 more to pass Frank Robinson. · (34) ·
Game 87 Spillover Thread
By · CommentsSo what do the Yankees do now that they’re down to two reliable pitchers?
Game 87: Pettitte, Yanks seek redemption
By · CommentsYesterday’s game seemed pretty well at hand in the early goings, but the pitching slipped up after the fourth. They’ll look to rebound as a unit today and force a rubber game against a (what should be, considering their injuries) reeling Angels team. Andy Pettitte will seek some redemption on his own, as well. He pitched poorly last time out, and really needs to give the Yanks a solid start today.
The offense will have to do it against Jered Weaver, brother of forsaken former-Yank Jeff. The future of the Yankees could actually rest on Anaheim’s decision to select Jered with the 12th pick of the 2004 draft. Pre-draft word was that they had their eyes on a So-Cal high schooler named Phil Hughes. They opted for Weaver instead, and the Yankees took Hughes with the 23rd pick, one they received from the Houston Astros in compensation for, guess who, Andy Pettitte.
Weaver came up guns blazing in 2006, and actually took the rotation spot of his older brother, whom the Angels would eventually release. He had an over 3:1 K/BB ratio, and pitched to a 2.56 ERA over a few stints. He hasn’t been quite as good since, though given his solid peripherals his 4.33 ERA last year might have been a bit out of line (his FIP was 3.90).
This year Weaver has been by far the Angels’ best starter, though he’s had some trouble recently. The pinnacle of his season is his complete game shutout against San Diego on June 14. Since then he’s pitched 23.2 innings and allowed 19 runs. I always note recent trends for pitchers in the game threads, and after a half season of looking at it in hindsight, it appears to have no bearing on how he starts against the Yankees. So while Weaver has been getting slaughtered, it really means nothing insofar as today’s start is concerned.
Weaver throws a fastball that mostly sits high 80s and touches around 92 at times. That doesn’t sound like much, but he mixes it with a changeup that has about 10 mph separation. He’ll also drop a curve or a slider to mix things up, though not with as much frequency as the change.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Eric Hinske, RF
9. Brett Gardner, CF
And on the mound, number forty-six, Andy Pettitte.
ByIn the Wall Street Journal, Darren Everson takes a look at the toughest pitches to hit in baseball, based on the swing and miss percentage on them. Strangely, A’s reliever MIchael Wurtz holds the highest percentage with his slider, which batters miss almost half the time when he buries it low and away. Zach Grienke’s slider and Rich Harden’s changeup are next up, and fourth on the list is A.J. Burnett’s curve, low and in. The article’s pretty short, but make sure to check out the expanded data at Beyond the Boxscore. CC Sabathia generates plenty of swings and misses on his changeup, but in all the other analyses they run the Yanks don’t show up. Both are neat reads on some of the nastiest (and easiest-to-hit) pitches in the game. · (11) ·
If Sanchez can do it, why not Hughes?
By · CommentsMost of the baseball world looked on last night as Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez polished off a perfect game no-hitter (thanks, Juan Uribe) against the punchless Padres, returning to the rotation with a bang. Sanchez struggled as a starter earlier this season, posting a 5.62 ERA and a .836 OPS against in 65.2 IP before being shifted into the bullpen. After two effective relief outings, an injury moved him back into the starting rotation and the rest is history. I think you know where I’m going with this.
Phil Hughes posted numbers similar to Sanchez while working as a starter (5.45 ERA & .868 OPSA), albeit in a smaller sample, then was moved to the bullpen where he’s been wildly successful in a bigger sample. Yet when the opportunity came to move him back into the rotation due to injury, the team didn’t act. Instead he remains in the bullpen indefinitely, with no apparent plan to move him back into a more valuable role. Al Aceves, who was just as effective as Hughes in the bullpen, got the call for Thursday’s spot start because “he was more stretched out.” Aceves lasted just 3.1 IP thanks to his pitch count.
Now, am I saying Hughes would throw a no-hitter if they moved him back in to the rotation? No, of course not. That’s crazy. All I’m saying is that there’s precedence for a starter shifting to the bullpen, gaining confidence and honing his craft, then moving back into the rotation and being effective. Sanchez is just the latest example. Dan Haren also did it. So did Zack Greinke. And Adam Wainwright and Chad Billinglsey and countless others. Why can’t Hughes?
Phil may or may not be able to translate his success as a reliever into success as a starter, but how will you ever find out if you don’t try?
Where have you gone, Joba Chamberlain?
By · CommentsFollowing a stellar eight-inning appearance in Cleveland on June 1, Joba Chamberlain seemed to be on the verge of a run. He had allowed just four hits and two walks while winning his third decision of the year. His ERA sat at 3.71, and he had reached the 8th for the first time this year.
The run he went on was not the one we expected. Since then, Joba has thrown 35.2 innings, and he has been awful. He has allowed 27 runs — just 20 earned — while giving up 47 hits and 15 runs. That’s a WHIP of 1.74 and an ERA of 5.05. Opponents are hitting nearly .300/.400/.450 during this stretch. It’s ugly.
As I’ve said a few times, I don’t know what’s wrong. Joba has no approach on the mound. He has no pattern; he has not rhythm; and he has no velocity. His stuff — once electric even as as starting pitcher — is simply average. His breaking pitches have less bite than they once did, and his fastball isn’t even all that fast.
Joba doesn’t seem to have a clue about it. “I made great pitches throughout,” he said after the game, seemingly in denial. I can’t even begin to guess what that was all about.
A good number of Yankee fans feel that the bullpen will magically restore Joba to the pitcher we saw in 2007 and 2008. That, though, just won’t happen. The Yankees will be left with another ineffective reliever who can’t locate his pitches and can’t find an out pitch when things, as they did in the 5th inning last night, start to go bad.
The bullpen may have been the worst thing to happen to Joba. Where the Yanks go from here with the once-heralded phenom struggling as a 23-year-old in the Majors will be both telling and vital to the team’s future.
