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The Red Cross needs your help

Posted by Steve S. at 9:44 pm 7 Responses »
Jan 132010

I know this is a Baseball site, but I just wanted to give you guys a quick link to donate whatever you can to the American Red Cross. As I’m sure you’re aware, the situation in Haiti is dire and we’re already getting reports that the Red Cross is running out of medical supplies. They estimate that 3 million people will need emergency aid just to get through the next week or so. The Yankees have already done their part, announcing via Twitter that they’ve made a 500k donation. Here’s a quote from their press release:

“The catastrophic event has devastated an entire nation and will have far-reaching effects in the worldwide Haitian community, The Yankees hope their donation will inspire people throughout the United States to do everything they can to aid the people of Haiti in their time of need.”

Any donation of any size will help, don’t feel like $5-10 is too small an amount to contribute. To get even more bang for your buck, Small Dog Electronics is doing matching donations up to $200 with the proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders Haitian relief efforts. If you prefer, you can also text “HAITI” to 90999 and $10 will automatically be given to the Red Cross and charged to your cellphone bill.

Thanks in advance for all that contribute, and as always thanks for reading our blog.

Discussion: Girardi's Contract Status

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 7:00 pm 13 Responses »
Jan 132010


A number of blogs have discussed Joe Girardi’s status as a lame duck manager today, with Joe Pawlikowski over at RAB comprehensively covering the subject. He concludes, and I agree, that:

…it would take not only any catastrophe, but one that could be blamed solely on Girardi, for him to get the axe after this season. It’s hard to argue with a World Series title during your first contract.

My question to you is twofold.

1) Do you think Girardi should have that sort of job security? I do, for the reason very eloquently stated by commenter Honorable Congressman Mondesi in the comments to the RAB post:

You know, I know it’s a results-driven business, but I don’t think there are any managerial options who I trust more to get the process right than Girardi. Even when I disagree with his moves, which last year was more often than I expected, I have faith that he’s thinking critically about what he’s doing and using the information available to him, and that’s really the most important thing. Of course none of that would matter if he didn’t have the ability to choose the right tacts and strategies, but he does more often than not, and when he errs, I don’t think he’s too proud to realize it and I think he’s able to understand why and work on fixing whatever problem he might have. He’s a really smart guy who seems to have a good relationship with and the trust of the front office, he seems to not only think critically but also be open to learning and changing his ways, and he showed a marked improvement in one area of weakness, dealing with the media, that’s important for a manager of this team. It’s all about the process, and I have faith that he’s the right guy to get that right and keep it going.

There really is not much I can add to that. I cannot remember a single decision that Girardi has made in the last two seasons for which I could not come up with a rational, somewhat reasonable explanation for. He may be mistaken at times, but he always thinks about what he is doing and tries to be logical.

2) If you believe they should extend him, when do you think it should be done? One the one hand, his contract status could become a distraction for the club, which suggests he should be given a new deal prior to the season. However, if you do not believe that the manager’s status will be a major issue to the players, it might make sense to wait until the end of the season, as he currently has an immense amount of leverage. A good season is unlikely to increase his leverage by much, but a weaker year could help the Yankees in negotiations.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Chime in below.

Photo Credit: Ny Daily News

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Gardner's wheels unmatched in 2009

Posted by Chris H. at 5:00 pm 12 Responses »
Jan 132010

Thanks to Nick Swisher for the title.

Quick item on Brett Gardner, the Yankees’ regular left fielder come Opening Day (as of now). According to Bill James’ speed score, which is, via David Appelman (FanGraphs), “an average of Stolen Base Percentage, Frequency of Stolen Base Attempts, Percentage of Triples, and Runs Scored Percentage,” Brett Gardner was the fastest player in the game in 2009 (among those with with 250 plate appearances or more). His score of 9.2 beat out notable burners such as Michael Bourn (8.6), Jacoby Ellsbury (8.1), Rajai Davis (8.0), and Juan Pierre (7.9). While everyone knows Gardner is a fast and productive baserunner, his speed score this past season serves to further support that notion.

Speed is often an underrated offensive weapon, yet it has made somewhat of a comeback as of late, along with defense and youth, which Gardner also brings to the table. If he is given a full season of playing time in 2010, Gardner’s speed and stellar plate discipline could make him a legitimate threat at the bottom of the Yankee lineup.

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

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Johnny's useless arm

Posted by Chris H. at 3:00 pm 4 Responses »
Jan 132010

Man, I love that picture.

Anyway, last season, in left field, Johnny Damon’s 36-year old throwing arm was 4.2 runs below average. Damon’s negative mark was the lowest arm rating of any regular outfielder in the American League, except for… wait for it… Nick Swisher’s -4.3 grade. However, whereas Swisher’s outfield arm rating was more likely the result of errant and inaccurate throws earlier in the season (Swisher later worked on the issue with Dave Eiland and he seemed to improve), Damon’s rating was simply an indication of just how feeble his arm is and will continue to be as he ages.

I honestly think it – the arm – is one of the primary reasons teams are concerned about his defense and have chosen to shy away from him this winter. His overall range in 2009 wasn’t that bad – RngR of -3.7 – but it was the limp appendage he calls his left arm that mainly contributed to his -9.2 UZR (there are three components used to compile FanGraphs’ UZR totals, including arm runs, range runs, and error runs).

Original photo via La Prensa

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A Hall Case, Part Two

Posted by Matt Imbrogno at 1:00 pm 2 Responses »
Jan 132010

Yesterday, I examined the Hall of Fame case for Mike Mussina by comparing him to Tom Glavine. Today, I’m going to further that argument using the CHONE WAR system.

Both players rank in the top 30. Mussina ranks 24th and Glavine ranks 29th. What I did to further compare them was order their top WAR seasons to see how they stacked up. First, let’s get to the raw numbers:

Mussina:
High: 7.4
Low: 0.3
Range: 7.1
Average: 4.20

Glavine:
High: 7.4
Low: -0.2
Range: 7.6
Average: 3.05

So, while they had the exact same high of 7.4, Mussina had a higher low and a higher average. To further this point, I charted the data. The Y-Axis is the WAR and the X-Axis is the “nth” best season.

Moose/Glavine WAR

As you can see, Mussina’s line is consistently higher than Glavine’s. If you’re a Hall of Fame voter and you’re looking at your ballot in the winter of 2009, if you’re going to put Tom Glavine in, you’d damn well better elect Mike Mussina. While he may not have pitched as long–and Glavine should get points for longevity–he put up better numbers (see previous post) but he was also, as this post and the graph and the chart on the CHONE site prove, more valuable than Glavine despite pitching fewer innings, games, and years.

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Marlins Ordered To Spend More On Players

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 11:00 am No Responses »
Jan 132010


For years, Yankees fans have grumbled about clubs like the Marlins that have taken revenue sharing dollars and pocketed them, rather than investing that money into their team. Well, MLB and MLBPA have finally taken umbrage with this practice, and ordered the Marlins to spend more on player salaries. Maury Brown brings us the press release, with this quote from new MLBPA leader Michael Weiner:

“In response to our concerns that revenue sharing proceeds have not been used as required, the Marlins have assured the Union and the Commissioner’s Office that they plan to use such proceeds to increase player payroll annually as they move toward the opening of their new ballpark. Today’s agreement, which covers the period 2010 through 2012, calls for ongoing communication among the Marlins, the Commissioner’s Office and the Union as the Marlins proceed with that plan. It also permits, after consultation among all parties, adjustments in the Marlins’ plan to respond to unforeseen developments, and calls for arbitral intervention if disagreements arise. We greatly appreciate the willingness of the Commissioner’s Office and the Marlins to engage with us and ensure that all terms of the Basic Agreement are met.”

So how does this impact the Yankees? Well, in terms of fairness, some will be pleased that the Yankees will no longer be paying the Marlins dollars that are supposed to be “level the playing field” but actually go towards filling the pockets of greedy owners. On the other hand, do the Yankees really want clubs like the Marlins to put those dollars into player procurement? This will result in weaker MLB teams improving, as well as cause salaries for players to escalate. When clubs like the Marlins start locking up their Josh Johnson’s on long term deals rather than making them available to the highest bidder, Yankees fans may learn find the old saw “Be careful what you wish for” particularly relevant.

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The Lefty side of the bullpen

Posted by Steve S. at 7:30 am 7 Responses »
Jan 132010

One of the truly under reported areas of the 2010 Yanks is the lefthanded bullpen options. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that after Damaso Marte, there aren’t many. Add on top of that the fact that Marte has been hurt for most of his tenure as a Yankee and it’s something that Yankee fans should have some concern about. Chad Jennings took a look at this area of potential weakness for the 2010 Yanks on a post over at LoHud yesterday. He lists the Lefthanded bullpen options as follows:

Damaso Marte
Despite last year’s ugly season ERA — a shockingly bad 9.45 through 13.1 innings spread across 21 games — Marte was actually good against left-handers last year. As a strictly left-on-left specialist, last season actually gives no reason for concern.
Career vs. LH: .197/.294/.287
2009 vs. LH: .120/.214/.280

Boone Logan
Back in 2006, Logan went into spring training having pitched a total of four games above rookie ball, but he somehow made the White Sox opening day roster. With his career suddenly pushed much faster than expected, Logan’s first big league appearance spanned two scoreless innings, but he ultimately had an 8.31 big league ERA that season. Since then, he’s been up and down (in terms of going from the big leagues to the minors, and in terms of his success at the major league level). These are his big league splits the past three years.
2007 vs. LH: .221/.296/.291
2008 vs. LH: .291/.324/.505
2009 vs. LH: .231/.318/.308

Wilkin De La Rosa
The young prospect of the group, De La Rosa is a converted outfielder who pitched last year out of the Double-A rotation. Mark Newman has said De La Rosa is likely to return to the Double-A rotation for the start of 2010, but I’m not ready to completely rule him out of the big league mix. It seems unlikely, but possible that he’ll make such an impression in big league camp that the Yankees change their plans.
2009 AA vs. LH: .159/.274/.262
2008 LA vs. LH: .182/.291/.250
De La Rosa also made three High-A starts in 2008 and three more in 2009, but those sample sizes are too small to mean much.

Royce Ring
Signed a minor league deal, Ring will get a chance to pitch in spring training but seems more likely to open the season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. His career big league splits against lefties are OK but not great (.229 average, but a lot of walks leading to a .350 on-base percentage). He has allowed only two left-handed home runs in 159 career appearances against lefties in the majors.
2009 AAA vs. LH: .208/.296/.264

After Marte, the list is not encouraging. You’re looking at a junkballer who’s likely to get crushed in the AL East in Logan, a AA pitcher who’s at best a mid-season callup in De La Rosa, and a guy who’s bounced around the majors for good reason in Royce Ring. Even Phil Hughes had a fairly stark platoon split last year, so he’s not going to be your go-to guy in a late inning situation when you need to get that one batter out.

But that’s not to say the Yanks will be walking David Ortiz anytime soon. The guy who the Yanks will call upon when Marte is not available in these (non-save) situations will be David Robertson. He had a stark reverse platoon split last year, and for those of us who’ve followed him throughout his minor league career that’s actually been the rule, not the exception. His fastball has a natural cutting action that gives him an edge facing Lefty batters. He also throws an occasional change, which can be more effective against opposite handed hitters. A pitcher’s handedness is something that fans shouldn’t get too hung up about anyway.  All too often, we’ve seen Lefty pitchers come here and get everyone out except Lefties, with Chris Hammond as a notable example from back in 2003. The point is to get outs, regardless of which hand a certain pitcher throws with.

But as you can see, the list of options we have is very thin. Especially in light of Marte’s recent health history. I never thought I’d say this, but we may actually miss Phil Coke after all.

(photo courtesy of Newsday)

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