Cano looking to retool swing
By · CommentsAccording to Bryan Hoch, Kevin Long and Robinson Cano are going to work together to retool Cano’s swing this off-season. The Yanks seem to feel that Cano’s moving parts are to blame for his sub-par season. However, I’m not quite convinced this is indeed the case.
On the season, Cano’s batting metrics are right in line with his previous seasons’ numbers. His line drive percentage is at 19.1, 2.2 percentage points higher than his 2007 number; his groundball percentage is 48.4, 3.8 percentage points lower than last year’s total. Meanwhile, Cano’s batting average on balls in play is sitting at .273, nearly .060 points lower than it was last year. These numbers seem to suggest that Cano is simply having one of the unluckiest seasons in recent memory.
So as the Yankees head into the off-season, looking to turn around one of the players most responsible for the team’s offensive malaise this year, I have to wonder if this is just a misguided effort or if the Yankees are seeing something in Cano’s swing and results that we’re not seeing reflected in the numbers.
To me, Cano’s steeply declining home run total is the biggest indication of a problem. He’s gone from a home run every 32.5 ABs to one every 41.6 ABs. If Cano were simply unlucky, his absolute power — his ability to hit the ball over the fence — shouldn’t decline as much as it has. For now, we’ll just have to wait ’til next year on this one, but this could just be case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Hat tip to Manimal for the article.
What would you take from the stadium?
By · CommentsAccording to the ever-reliable George A. King III, the current Yankees are going to have the chance to purchase parts of the old Yankee Stadium. The list of what they want, if true, is a doozy:
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez would like their lockers; Andy Pettitte Andy Pettitte wants to use some of the outfield padding in his gym at home. Joba Chamberlain requested two seats, one with No. 6 and another with No. 2 on them. Mariano Rivera wants a seat, a pitching rubber and dirt from the mound. Mike Mussina wants the center field flagpole.
Yes, that’s right. Mike Mussina is planning on taking home the center field flagpole. He’s either pulling one over King or King’s trying to pull one over on us. You decide.
Meanwhile, that flagpole is actually rather historic. It’s topped with a baseball bat weathervane, and prior to the 1970s renovations, the flagpole was in play in very deep center field. If Moose really does want that flagpole, he has impeccable historical taste.
Let me toss out a question on an off-day: If you had the run of the stadium, what would you take from Yankee Stadium?
Blowhard Rieber: Forget innings limits
By · CommentsI just got through reading this column by Newsday’s Anthony Rieber. And I have to ask: who made you the expert on innings limits? He opens up with the typical anti-innings-limit rhetoric of “they didn’t do that in the good ol’ days.” Yeah, well, no one had found a pattern and conducted a study about the usage of young pitchers in the old days. That’s like saying we never used to have fuel economy standards in the old days, so why have them now?
Here’s Rieber using Jerry Manuel as the “voice of reason” in the innings limit debate, referring to Mike Pelfrey:
“Where we are in this pennant race, I can ill-afford to be concerned with that at this point. Unless I hear something from him or the pitching coach or the medical people or I see a tremendous dip in stuff or velocity, I won’t be concerned with this at that point.”
It’s not about what he’s feeling this year, though. It’s about what the pitcher will feel next year. And the year after. After all, these are young guys we expect to help the team for years to come.
For an example, take Dustin McGowan. In 2006, he threw 111.1 innings between the majors and minors. In 2007, when he started to break out, he tossed 191.2 IP between the majors and minors. That’s quite the jump there, and most would consider it unsafe. What happened in 2007? he tossed 111.1 innings before going down with a season-ending rotator cuff injury.
That’s not to say that anyone making a large innings jump will face arm problems. Evidence, however, suggests that a pitcher is at a greater risk of injury when they make a large jump — over 30, 35 innings per year.
Rieber goes on to say: “It’s arrogant to think that you can control things like injuries. You can’t.” Of course you can’t control injuries. Those who advocate innings limits don’t think they’re controlling anything. What they’re doing is avoiding exposure to a known risk. It’s like in Blackjack, when you’ve got 12 and the dealer is showing five or six. You don’t hit. There are decent odds that the dealer will bust. So you stand pat with your 12 and hope for the best. You don’t know what the dealer is holding, just like you don’t know what’s in store for the pitcher. But you play the odds as best you can, hoping it works out. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. But you don’t want to expose yourself to undue risk.
Pelfrey is right around that 30-inning jump at this point. He pitched 152.2 IP last year, and is at 181.2 this year. I can understand the Mets not wanting to shut him down. I hope they realize, though, that they’re hitting on 12 when the dealer is showing five.
Should the Yanks tank the season?
By · CommentsOver the past few days and weeks, I’ve seen the sentiment arise that the Yankees should tank the rest of the season. Phone it in. Lay down and let other teams walk all over you. For the most part — actually, for all the part — none of those suggesting this are or were professional athletes. So it makes a degree of sense. They have something else in mind, which I’ll get to in just a second.
My main question is, why would any fan want to see a player on their team lay down? Isn’t that the sign of an uncommitted athlete? It seems that this type of player could turn it on or turn it off whenever. According to many sports fans, including probably the majority of commenters at RAB, that’s not the type of player you want on your team. This came up yesterday in the Manny Ramirez thread. A number of people don’t want someone who can just turn it off if things aren’t going exactly his way. Yet tanking the rest of the season would indicate just that.
The reason a few fans want the team to lose in September is for reasons of a higher and possibly protected draft pick. The first mention of this I saw was at, where else, NoMaas. Let me start by saying that having a higher draft pick means little for the Yankees. If they sign a Type A free agent, and by all indications they will, they’ll lose that first rounder anyway. Yes, they’ll have a higher pick in the subsequent rounds, but the higher spot means less and less as you get deeper in the draft.
Second, in order to protect their pick, they have to be the 15th worst team in baseball. Right now the Yankees are the 18th worst team in baseball. Cleveland, with 71 wins, is the 15th worst. While dropping three spots in the standings doesn’t seem out of the question, dropping six games over the last few weeks of the season seems a bit less likely. Plus, do you really want the distinction of finishing fourth in the AL East this year?
I think Andy Pettitte puts things into proper perspective:
If guys think we’re out of the playoffs, I would hope they’d play for some pride. We’re getting paid an awful lot of money to do a job. I would hope that would never come into account, no matter how far out we are.
Personally, I want to see them win a few more games of these final 16. What motivation would I have to turn on the TV if I know they’re just mailing it in? Play. Win. Finish 3rd. Please, please, finish 3rd.
ByFast Company, the publishers behind a rather successful business magazine, explores baseball’s not-so-hidden secret this month. In a rather lengthy — but compelling — piece, Chuck Salter explores everything there is to know about pitching guru and surgeon-to-the-stars Dr. James Andrews. It’s a very interesting look into the way baseball teams are prepping their pitchers for the 162-game marathon and dealing with the inevitable injuries. · (3) ·
Scranton walks off with a Game 2 win
By · CommentsTriple-A Scranton (1-0 win in 13 innings, walk-off style) SWB leads the best-of-five series 2-0 thanks to their second straight walk-off win … one more win and they’ll be the first Yanks’ AAA affiliate to win the Governor’s Cup since the good ol’ Columbus Clippers in 1991 … Kei Igawa gets the ball in Game 3 tomorrow … Yanks pitchers set a franchise record with 17 K
Justin Christian, Juan Miranda & Matt Carson: all 0 for 5 – Miranda K’ed thrice, Carson twice
Bernie Castro: 1 for 4, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB, 1 CS – walk-off single was their first hit since the 5th inning
Shelley Duncan, Ben Broussard & Chris Basak: all 0 for 4 – Shelley drew a walk & K’ed twice … Broussard drew a walk & K’ed thrice … Basak K’ed twice
Eric Duncan: 1 for 4, 3 K
Nick Green: 1 for 1 – left the game due to injury
Chris Stewart: 1 for 3, 1 R, 2 BB – picked a runner off second with a snap throw … scored the winning run after drawing a walk & being sacrificed into scoring position
Ian Kennedy: 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 1 HB, 3-3 GB/FB - 67 of 106 pitches were strikes (63.2%) … tip your cap to the kid, you don’t allow 11 baserunners in 5 innings & not give up a run without being able to a pitch when you have too … games like this are good for young pitchers, learning how to get by on days you don’t have your best stuff is a big part of pitching
Steven Jackson: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 3-1 GB/FB – 24 of 36 pitches were strikes (66.7%) … that’s some solid relief work right there
Mark Melancon: 2 IP, zeroes, 2 K, 2-2 GB/FB – 12 of 14 pitches were strikes (85.7%) … he recorded a K, GB & FB in his first inning of work in a grand total of 5 pitches … ladies and gentlemen, Mark Melancon
Scott Strickland: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1-3 GB/FB – 19 of 27 pitches were strikes (71.4%)
Oneli Perez: 1 IP, zeroes
Game 146: A day game on the west coast? Madness!
By · CommentsLast game of a 10-day road trip, hopefully the boys can head into the final series ever at Yankee Stadium on a nice little two game winning streak.
1. Damon, CF – why not just play Gardner in CF the rest of the year?
2. Jeter, SS
3. Abreu, RF
4. A-Rod, 3B
5. Giambi, 1B
6. Nady, LF
7. Matsui, DH
8. Cano, 2B
9. Molina, C
And on the mound, Mikey Moose Andy Pettitte.
Notes: Pudge and Torii Hunter have been suspended two games each for their little grab-ass session the other night, neither player will appeal … where the hell is Joba?
Pags: Manny, Yanks a perfect fit
By · CommentsTake it away, Mike Paglairulo:
You could argue that Ramirez should return to the Dodgers for 2009 and beyond, given his success in 119 at bats (.403/.500/.748). But we have to face the facts that most players go for the money. That means, for me, that there’s a pretty good chance Ramirez will end up in pinstripes next year. Especially given that there’s going to be extra pressure in New York to win in 2009.
I like Ramirez in New York for two reasons. First, he’s an elite player – one of the game’s best five hitters and future Hall of Famer. Bottom line is that he produces. Bundle Ramirez with Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui, and you have the game’s best line-up.
Second, Ramirez in New York would be great drama. It would take the Boston – New York rivalry to a whole new level, and I wouldn’t miss a game.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard analysts suggest that the Yanks pursue Manny Ramirez this off-season. In fact, we wrote about the very same idea in early August, and while Peter Gammons doesn’t believe Manny will be Bronx-bound, this story just won’t go away.
Now, while Pags has been known to be wrong — Kei Igawa, anyone? — his ideas actually make a lot of sense. First, the Yankees will have oodles of money to throw around next year, and while Manny isn’t a spring chicken, it’s nigh impossible to find a better hitter than he will be on the free agent market. He’ll also command fewer years than Mark Teixeira, the only other comparable offensive player.
Meanwhile, the Yankees have to keep the outfield warm when and if Austin Jackson is ready to play. They have Johnny Damon or perhaps Melky — who has yet to play since being recalled last week — for center. They have Xavier Nady for one of the corner slots. And if it’s a choice between overpaying Bobby Abreu or Manny Ramirez for three or four years, Manny is the far superior choice, differences in age notwithstanding.
In the end, this is probably nothing more than idle musings from idle minds attempting to quote-unquote fix the Yankees. But if Manny Ramirez didn’t carry the baggage of being the Manny Ramirez, he would be an obvious target for the Yankees this off-season whether we like to admit it or not.
BySince returning from the disabled list on Sept. 2, eight days ago, Joba Chamberlain has graced a whopping two games with his appearance, and it’s now been four days since his two-out, 22-pitch effort against the Mariners. Meanwhile, Joba is sitting pretty on 91 innings this season with but two and a half weeks left to play. The Yankees need to get him innings, and last night was as good a time as any to bring him in. Why not have him throw two or three innings in a 6-1 game? Why not stretch him out a little from the bullpen?
I understand that the Yanks are proceeding cautiously with Joba. I understand they don’t want to risk further injury, a reaggravation or anything of the sort. But Joba is a great starter and should be throwing more innings. He shouldn’t just become the de facto 8th inning guy because that’s what Joe Girardi has written down in his black binder. If Joba’s injured worse than the Yanks are letting on, they should say so. If not, let him pitch. Give him his innings. He needs it. · (31) ·
