River Avenue Blues

Casey McGehee and the Opposite Field

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(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The Yankees apparently had very real interest in acquiring Ryan Dempster prior to yesterday’s trade deadline (according to Joel Sherman), but they instead walked away having made just one minor move, sending Chad Qualls to the Pirates for corner infielder Casey McGehee. Considering that Qualls was on his way out once Joba Chamberlain was ready to come off the DL, give Brian Cashman credit for turning a completely disposable piece into a potentially useful one. Alex Rodriguez’s hand injury created a need for some infield depth, and that’s exactly what they got.

McGehee, 29, is a classic right-handed platoon bat who can hold down both first and third base. He’s hitting .250/.344/.463 (119 wRC+) against southpaws this season and owns a .259/.327/.427 (100 wRC+) line for his career against pitchers of the opposite hand. McGehee had an excellent rookie campaign as a part-time player in 2009 (124 wRC+) and was solid in full-time duty in 2010 (114 wRC+), but he started to get exposed a bit with more playing time these last two seasons…

Year Age Tm G PA H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ GDP HBP IBB
2008 25 CHC 9 25 4 1 0 0 0 8 .167 .160 .208 .368 -7 1 0 0
2009 26 MIL 116 394 107 20 1 16 34 67 .301 .360 .499 .859 126 13 1 2
2010 27 MIL 157 670 174 38 1 23 50 102 .285 .337 .464 .801 114 18 2 5
2011 28 MIL 155 600 122 24 2 13 45 104 .223 .280 .346 .626 69 19 1 4
2012 29 PIT 92 293 61 13 1 8 24 60 .230 .297 .377 .674 88 7 2 0
5 Yrs 529 1982 468 96 5 60 153 341 .260 .316 .419 .735 97 58 6 11
162 Game Avg. 162 607 143 29 2 18 47 104 .260 .316 .419 .735 97 18 2 3
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/31/2012.

The Yankees aren’t going to ask McGehee to play regularly, not unless something goes horribly wrong or he just hits the snot out of the ball and forces his way into the lineup. They acquired him specifically to combat lefties and provide some right-handed pop while A-Rod is on the shelf, presumably from the bottom third of the order. Don’t count on him being a savior.

One thing that McGehee really has going for him is his opposite field stroke (here’s some video), something he’s maintained even during his two subpar seasons. During his career he’s hit .336 with a .199 ISO on balls hit to right field, good for a 128 wRC+. The numbers since the start of 2011 are essentially identical, a .328 average with a .199 ISO and a 128 wRC+ that ranks 17th out of all right-handed batters with at least 100 balls in play to the opposite field. The 16 guys ahead of him are basically the best right-handed hitters in the world, I’m talking Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun, Andrew McCutchen, Miguel Cabrera … pretty great hitters. McGehee’s opposite field production is a notch below those guys but still very good.

Thanks to the magic of Texas Leaguers, we can take a quick look at his spray chart over these last two seasons…

Remember, the dots show where the ball was fielded by the defender, not where it landed. McGehee has hit 21 homers since the start of 2011 and I unofficially count 15 that have been hit out to right and right-center. Given the short right field porch in Yankee Stadium, he has a chance to be surprisingly productive if he just maintains his natural stroke and is platooned properly. Only half of that is under his control, it’s up to Joe Girardi to take care of the other half.

Once Mark Teixeira’s wrist heals up and he’s back at first base full-time, I suspect we’ll see McGehee play third base against southpaws regularly while Andruw Jones starts at DH and Jayson Nix roams left field. He could make his Yankees debut as soon as this afternoon with the left-handed Zach Britton on the mound, though that depends on his travel schedule and what not. The Yankees aren’t going to be able to replace all that A-Rod gives them but they do have some solid substitutes. McGehee might work out or he might not (when the cost is Chad Qualls, the team is playing with house money), but he has the skillset to be productive in the role he’s being asked to fill.

Orioles pound Nova as Yanks lose fourth straight

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I suppose the good news is that the Yankees didn’t lose by one run. All those close losses were getting to be a little too infuriating. Instead they lost by six runs after blowing a five-run first inning lead. Hey, if you’re going to stink, you might as well go all out and get booed off the field.

(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Remember A Friend

One of Ivan Nova’s best friends on the team last year was A.J. Burnett, and apparently he’s decided to honor his traded friend by pitching just like him. Not the good Pirates version of Burnett, the bad version that polluted the Yankee Stadium mound for the last two years. After allowing a career-high nine runs in five innings to the Orioles — he said after the game that this start was a product of bad luck — Nova owns a 4.53 ERA (4.44 FIP) that is far too close to the 5.20 ERA (4.80 FIP) that A.J. posted from 2010-2011 for my liking. Ivan has allowed at least six runs for the third time in his last six starts and raised his July ERA to 5.97. June is the only month of the season in which he’s had a sub-5.00 ERA (1.26).

The worst part of it all is that all seven runs in that second inning scored with two outs. Nova had noted whiffed machine Mark Reynolds in an 0-2 hole with men on the corners and a chance to escape the inning unscathed when he hung a slider that was ripped just fair for a ground rule double. It just snowballed into a disaster inning from that. That “hung a slider” part was a common theme all night — Nova consistently made mistakes out over the plate…

Nova looks nothing like the pitcher we saw in the second half last season and really hasn’t for most of the season. He’s kinda lucky that Andy Pettitte is injured and David Phelps has been shoe-horned into a relief role — in part because the Yankees never bothered to add a non-matchup reliever over these last few weeks — because otherwise he’d be back in Triple-A. The trip to the minors did him a world of good last year, but now he’s got to figure it out at the big league level where the hitters are less forgiving. The sooner Nova stops pitching like crap, the better.

Cheap Suit

The Yankees exploded for those five runs in the first inning and it was glorious. They hit homers, had regular old base hits with runners in scoring position, they scored on an out, the defense made an error, there was something for everyone in that inning. New York’s offense folded right up after that, recording just five hits — including two infield singles by Derek Jeter — the rest of the way. Only two Yankees made it as far as second base after that first inning. I really don’t have the motivation to write about this, they’ve been stinking the place up with the bats since the start of the West Coast trip.

(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Leftovers

Since the start of the Red Sox series, the Yankees’ cleanup hitters are a combined 1-for-20. This lineup is just so much different without Alex Rodriguez, he changes everything. Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson have a combined two hits in their last 33 at-bats, both of which came in that first inning (single by Grandy, homer by Robbie)

The Yankees have drawn one walk in these two games, which is very un-Yankee-like. You can tell when this offense is in a funk because they aren’t racking up big pitch counts and drawing those base-on-balls. They’re all trying to force something that isn’t there. On the other hand, every starter had at least one hit, but most of them came in that first inning. Jeter had three and was the only guy with multiple knocks.

For a guy with a great arm, it sure seems like a lot of base-runners have taken the extra-base on Ichiro Suzuki since he came to New York, no? Maybe my expectations were too high. Either way, he slapped a ground ball single back up the middle to extend his streak of exactly one hit in every game with the Yankees to eight.

Clay Rapada allowed a two-run homer to Nick Markakis, pretty much a no-no for a left-handed specialist. Boone Logan and Cody Eppley otherwise pitched well after Nova bit the bullet for five innings. The bullpen was short with Chad Qualls on his way to Pittsburgh and David Phelps unavailable after throwing nearly 40 pitches on Monday.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs some other stats, and ESPN the updated standings. The Yankees are still six games up in the loss column in the division.


Source: FanGraphs

Up Next

The Yankees will look to salvage this pathetic excuse of the series on Wednesday afternoon, when Phil Hughes gets the ball against Zach Britton. Check out RAB Tickets if you want to catch the matinee.

Austin has big night in Tampa win

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Two minor health updates: C Austin Romine is out with the flu and LHP Shaeffer Hall has been placed on the DL with a toe problem. Nothing major, but how the hell do you get the flu in July?

Triple-A Empire State (4-2 loss to Pawtucket)
CF Chris Dickerson: 2-5, 1 2B, 3 K
2B Corban Joseph: 0-5
SS Eduardo Nunez & RF Darnell McDonald: both 1-4, 1 R — Nunez doubled and struck out three times … McDonald hit a solo homer
DH Jack Cust: 0-4, 4 K
LF Ronnie Mustelier: 2-3, 1 HBP
3B Brandon Laird & C Frankie Cervelli: both 1-3, 1 K, 1 HBP — Cervelli doubled
1B Doug Bernier: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Ramon Ortiz: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HB, 9/3 GB/FB — 51 of 79 pitches were strikes (65%)
LHP Justin Thomas: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2/1 GB/FB — 19 of 26 pitches were strikes (73%)
RHP Preston Claiborne: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 2/0 GB/FB — eleven pitches, nine strikes

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Marlins hoped to send Carlos Lee to Yankees

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Via Jayson Stark and Buster Olney, the Marlins approached Carlos Lee about waiving his no-trade clause to accept a trade to the Yankees, but he declined. The two sides were not close to agreeing to a deal or anything, talks didn’t advance after Lee said no. I have no idea what the Bombers would have done with the (former) slugger; I suppose use him for spot starts at first base and at DH against left-handed pitchers. Anything more would have really been pushing it. Casey McGehee makes much more sense given his ability to actually play the field without being a hazard to himself and those around him.

Game 103: The Return of Joba

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(REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi)

The Yankees swung just one trade before this afternoon’s deadline, but they ultimately upgraded two roster spots. Casey McGehee will replace Ramiro Pena when he joins the team tomorrow, and Joba Chamberlain officially returns from the DL to replace the departed Chad Qualls tonight. It’s been 208 regular season games and 421 days since Joba last pitched in a big league game, and his return tonight isn’t just a feel-good story. The Yankees need another non-matchup late-inning arm and since they didn’t acquire anyone like that the deadline, Joba’s the guy. Here’s the starting nine…

DH Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
2B Robinson Cano
1B Nick Swisher
LF Raul Ibanez
3B Eric Chavez
RF Ichiro Suzuki
C  Russell Martin
SS Ramiro Pena

RHP Ivan Nova

Tonight’s game is schedule to start at 7:05pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy.

Yankees will activate Joba in time for tonight’s game

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In the wake of the Chad Qualls-Casey McGehee trade, the Yankees will activate Joba Chamberlain off the DL in time for tonight’s game. He was scheduled to make what was likely his final minor league rehab appearance with Double-A tonight. The Yankees need another non-matchup reliever in the worst way, and Joba certainly fits the bill. Welcome back, big guy.

Yankees acquire Casey McGehee

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(Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The Yankees needed to add some infield depth following Alex Rodriguez’s hand injury, and they did so by acquiring Casey McGehee from the Pirates in exchange for Chad Qualls before Tuesday’s trade deadline. Joel Sherman broke the news and reports that New York will receive $250k in the deal as well. McGehee will almost certainly take Ramiro Pena’s roster spot.

A 29-year-old right-handed hitter, McGehee owns a career 100 wRC+ against left-handers (95 vs. RHP). The split is much more pronounced this year (119 vs. 67 wRC+), however. He has some power (career .159 ISO) and is basically league average in the strikeout (17.2%) and walk (7.7%) departments. The various defensive metrics says he’s about average at the hot corner and you can forget about speed on the bases. Not happening.

McGehee’s an upgrade over Pena and he gives the Yankees another right-handed bat. They could use him at third, Jayson Nix in left field, and Andruw Jones at DH against southpaws with Ichiro Suzuki glued to the bench. He’ll also provide some depth in the short-term as Mark Teixeira deals with his wrist issue. McGehee started to get exposed when the Brewers and Pirates tried playing him everyday, but he’s a useful role player and won’t see that much playing time with the Yankees. As an added bonus, he’s under team control as an arbitration-eligible player through 2014.

Qualls, 33, pitched to a 6.14 ERA (3.76 FIP) during his brief time in pinstripes. The Yankees acquired him from the Phillies earlier this month, but he was clearly going to be the odd man out once Joba Chamberlain was ready to come off the DL. The fact that Brian Cashman was able to turn him into a useful piece is a minor miracle, frankly. McGehee is not expected to join the team in time for tonight’s game.