ByVia this Fark thread comes a gem of a poster:
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The good news about Tabata’s injury
By · CommentsFrom Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus (subscription required):
The fact that he recently had surgery on his hamate bone is a mitigating factor, as that’s exactly the kind of injury that can sap a player of his power…Nonetheless, on a pure hitting level, Tabata is pretty special and should be a consistent contender for batting titles when he reaches the big leagues.
It’s a little reassuring, and should at least silence the Tabata cynics for another six months or so. Hard to knock a guy’s power when he’s on the DL with an injury that was directly related to it.
ByRon Villone has never looked better.
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Britton-gate
By · Comments7.38 Hper9, 0.44 HRper9, 8.56 Kper9, 2.21 BBper9, 3.93 K/BB, 1.07 WHIP
Yankee relievers not named Mariano or Joba in 2007:
8.35 Hper9, 0.87 HRper9, 6.37 Kper9, 4.92 BBper9, 1.30 K/BB, 1.47 WHIP
So why is this guy still in Triple-A? Oh that’s right, he’s sleeping with Mrs. Cashman.
On Mussina’s inconsistent pitching
By · CommentsOver at WasWatching, Steve took care of some research I was about to conduct on Mike Mussina. Here’s what he (and I) have found:
In the 12 games started by Mussina where the Yankees lost: Mussina averages 4.8 IP per start and has an ERA of 8.16.
In the 10 games started by Mussina where the Yankees won: Mussina averages 6.3 IP per start and has an ERA of 2.57.
While Steve’s conclusion is that Mussina is good while on and terrible while off a la Randy Johnson 2006, I have a different conclusion: Mike Mussina simply cannot pitch against good teams and expect to win.
The ten games in which Mussina has pitched and the Yanks have won came against some pretty woeful teams going through bad stretches. He beat Texas in back-to-back starts in May; he has pitched well in wins against the White Sox twice; he beat the Royals twice; he stifled a pathetic Oakland offense and downed the Devil Rays.
On the flip side, Mussina has gotten shelled by the Red Sox (twice), Angels, Tigers, and, um, the Devil Rays and Orioles. He can’t beat playoff contenders and seems to have problems with teams that have a few good hitters.
And, hey, we’ve got him for another season too. That two-year extension just looks better and better with every passing minute. Ted Lilly and his 3.88 ERA would have come to New York for a lesser per-year deal that Mussina received.
Ben Kozlowski didn’t pitch in either game of Scranton’s doubleheader. Nor did Bruney. Could we see one of them recalled today?
Triple-A Scranton (3-1 loss to Rochester in Game 1)
Brett Gardner: 1 for 3, 1 HR, 2 K — the powah!
Eric Duncan: 0 for 3, 1 K
Alberto Gonzalez: 0 for 3
Jose Cruz: 1 for 3
Angel Chavez: 0 for 1, 2 BB
Mighty Matt: 3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
Chris Britton: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K — Ron Villone, Sean Henn…why?!?
Jose Veras: 1 IP, 1 H, zeroes — is also making a case
ByBecause they’re done. A half inning after falling behind 12-5, the Yanks go 1-2-3 on a whopping 7 pitches off of Kelvim Escobar. Relatedly, the last two Google searches for RAB were “Ron Villone sucks” and “painful death games,” both of which are apt descriptions of tonight. Get some sleep; there’s no reason to stay up for this one. · (18) ·
By…but, hey, Chris Britton threw 3 innings today at Scranton, giving up 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks and striking out 2. What’s the excuse here, Brian Cashman? Because I can’t think of a valid one. · (2) ·
ByWith the Red Sox winning earlier in the evening and Seattle taking a comfortable lead into the late innings against Minnesota, Mike Mussina turned in a vintage performance. At 10:56 p.m. in New York, Mussina was removed from the game after a whopping five outs. His final line: 1.2 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.
And for the first time all season, I will be going to bed before the Yankee game ends.On second thought, I may just stay up yet. · (16) ·
