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Igawa to work out of the bullpen this year

Posted by Chris H. at 5:00 pm 5 Responses »
Feb 232010

According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, in a last-ditch effort to extract some level of value from Japanese southpaw, Kei Igawa, who ultimately cost the team over $46 million (posting fee and a four-year contract) and forced the front office to reevaluate its scouting program, the Yankees have decided to use Igawa strictly as a reliever this spring. Sherman also adds that the 30-year old will continue to work out of the bullpen while with Scranton, as well.

If there is no value to be had from Igawa as a starter, then it makes sense to try him as a reliever and, frankly, I am surprised that the Yankees have not tried this earlier, as it is an idea I have pondered since 2007. Igawa’s minor-league numbers against lefties are strong – 3.25 FIP, 7.09 K/9, 1.49 BB/9 – and would likely improve as a reliever. If the Yankees are not comfortable with Boone Logan, then maybe Igawa could get a shot later this season as the second lefty out of the bullpen. At this point, the biggest issue is whether or not he deserves a spot on the roster.

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

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Burnett trying to cut down on the freebies in 2010

Posted by Chris H. at 3:00 pm No Responses »
Feb 232010

Yesterday, A.J. Burnett told reporters that he plans to cut down on his walks in 2010, after issuing 97 of them a season ago. “I would like to not walk as many people, go a little deeper in the games and be a little more efficient like [CC] is,” noted Burnett. “He’s real efficient with his pitches. He’s 12-15 an inning as opposed to 20-25 an inning, and it helps. Being more efficient in strike one, and just not give away free bags. Let them earn their bases.” Not only was Burnett’s 4.22 BB/9 the second highest mark of his career when tossing 100 or more innings in a season, it was also the highest mark he had posted in eight years (he walked 4.31 per nine innings in 2001). Basically, the base-on-balls was a significant problem for the tattooed right-hander in 2009, as nearly 11% of his at-bats resulted in a free pass.

While it is difficult to explain the uptick in Burnett’s walk rate last season – his career rate is 3.78 – there are some factors to consider that might shed a bit of light on the issue. First, in the first year of his contract with New York, Burnett dealt with some mechanical flaws in his delivery, which likely caused many of his command problems. He was also dealing with a series of complex contextual elements, such as working with a new catcher, moving to a new area, joining a new team, playing in a new ballpark, and so on and so forth. For instance, at one point last season, Burnett admitted to trying to throw harder as the fans in Yankee Stadium cheered louder, which consequently hurt his ability to locate pitches effectively. These things, in tandem, likely contributed to Burnett’s particularly wild year.

If the 33-year old hopes to improve upon his 2009 campaign, slowing his walk rate would be a very good start.

Photo by the AP

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What Kind Of Deal Would You Give Carl Crawford?

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 1:00 pm 23 Responses »
Feb 232010


From John Heyman:

One reason the Yankees were reluctant to go for a two-year deal for Johnny Damon might have had little to do with Damon and been a greater reflection of what they think of Carl Crawford. The Yankees love him. Crawford is almost sure to be too rich for the low-revenue Rays, and the Yankees jump to the head of the class for interested teams. Remember, too, that the Yankees passed on Matt Holliday. It all seems to set up nicely for Crawford.

I am not certain that the Yankees are in fact “in love” with Crawford, as this might be posturing from Boras to explain why Damon is suiting up for another club. However, if the Yankees are interested in Crawford, I would be loathe to give him more than 4 years. Furthermore, if the Yankees only have room in the budget for one large deal, I think Cliff Lee might be a better long-term investment. I will address Lee at a later point, but let’s take a look at what concerns me about Crawford.

1) Crawford, who is entering his age 28 season, is coming off a career year. He was worth 5.5 wins in 2009 according to Fangraphs, with his next highest number coming in 2005 (4.9). However, Crawford’s 2009 represented a major bounce-back for him, as he was coming off two seasons in which he was about a 3 win player, after 3 years of being close to 5 wins a season. If Crawford wants to be paid like a 13-15M player, then a longer deal might make sense. But if he wants to inch closer to the 24.9M he was worth in 2009, I would hope that the Yankees stay away or insist on a short-term deal.

2) Crawford’s skills depend on his legs. His offense is built upon speed, as he has a career .772 OPS that illustrates his mediocre batting eye and unspectacular power. He uses stolen bases and taking the extra base to maximize his offensive output. Furthermore, much of his value comes from his excellent left field defense. Any deal that carries him past his age-32 season would be risking that Crawford begins to slow down, which could result in a significant loss of value.

Of course, a strong 2010 could assuage the first fear, but would also drive Crawford’s price up significantly. Additionally, there are some trends in Crawford’s numbers, particularly an upward trend in OBP, that suggest his aging might not be an issue. It is not that I do not like Crawford or think that he would be a bad fit. That said, I preferred Matt Holliday to Crawford when the question was raised this offseason, but Holliday received an extremely pricey contract that I certainly understand passing on. If Crawford wants to approach Holliday’s deal, the Yankees should sit this one out.

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Projecting the New(est) Guy

Posted by Matt Imbrogno at 11:00 am No Responses »
Feb 232010

South Korean right hander Chan Ho Park was just signed by the Yankees and he will likely be the long man out of the bullpen. Before getting into the numbers, I like this deal. At $1.2MM base, this is a pretty good deal for the Yankees. It’s relatively cheap and Park is pretty versatile. He can be called on for multiple inning duty, which I love, and can do the one inning stuff as well. Basically, he’s an older version of Alfredo Aceves. Having two men out of the bullpen who can go multiple innings is very valuable, because it can give the late inning guys a big break if they need it.

As the Phillies’ swingman last year, Park was worth 1.5 WAR, which was 7th among NL relievers. A big part of Park’s improvement was that he did a very good job of keep the ball in the park. His HR/9 was a minuscule 0.54, which is way better than his career mark of 1.03; the league average for his career has been 1.05 HR/9. With Park moving to the ultra-powerful A.L. East, it will be interesting to see if he can keep the homers down. Now, let’s look at what we can reasonably expect from Chan Ho in 2010.

The average projected line for Park is basically what we could expect from him: 73.75 IP in 53 G, 61 SO, 29 BB (2.10 K/BB), and a 4.45 FIP. Using the WAR Spreadsheet from BTB (thanks to Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues for sending that along), we can predict that Park will be worth a relatively underwhelming 0.2 WAR, which is what Sergio Mitre was worth in 2009. It is, however, better than Phil Coke’s 0.1 mark.

For a 37 year old reliever who hasn’t pitched in the A.L. since 2004, that projection seems about right. The projection systems are confident that his HR/9 will bounce back towards his career average (the avg. projection is 1.1 HR/9), so that’s influencing the higher than normal FIP. It’s also worth noting that Park has pitched to an FIP under 4.45 in three of his last four full seasons.

If Park ends up pitching much worse than this, his salary will likely not be an obstacle to cutting him loose. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that. If it does, though, it won’t be the end of the world for the Yankees.

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The Johnny Damon Quote-O-Rama

Posted by Steve S. at 6:13 am 5 Responses »
Feb 232010

Ladies and gentlemen, boy and girls, friends and countrymen, I come to you this morning to bring you the greatest show on earth,  the Johnny Damon Quote-o-rama!

From yesterdays press conference:

“This is where I wanted to be,” he said Monday after completing his $8 million, one-year contract. “The Tigers were my first choice. I love it here and think I am a good fit.”

“This is where we wanted to be,” Damon said. “It is where my family wanted to be. Contrary to what has been reported, I wanted a place where I could win right away. I have always been truthful and Detroit was always my first choice, and my wife and I are going to love it there.”

“This isn’t the same market we lived in years ago. I told Scott that Detroit was No. 1.”

“I feel like I belong here. It took a little while, but I probably felt like I was a Tiger a month and a half ago. I really feel good about this.”

Febuary 17th, 2010

Damon’s wife, Michelle, “would prefer him to play in a more cosmopolitan city than Detroit.”

January 29, 2010

“I hope (Derek Jeter) is not offered a 45 percent pay cut,” Damon said.

August 17, 2009

“I don’t know where else I would want to go to,” Damon said. “Obviously, that’s not the right thing to say when you’re about ready to approach free agency, but I’m very happy with playing in New York, and my family’s happy I play for New York. There’s no bigger place to go. If you play well here, you’re going to get paid. New York has the resources. But we also have the chance to win every year. I don’t want to attempt to go make more money elsewhere, for more years, with a chance to be out of the race by the first of June.

May 13th, 2009

“I’d sure love to keep taking advantage of that right-field porch,” Damon said to Hoch.

May 1, 2009

“I know where I want to be next year,” Damon told 1050 ESPN New York. “I want to be here in New York.

December 23rd, 2005

Jimmy Damon, Johnny’s dad:

Mark it down: It’s going to be another Babe Ruth. They sent Johnny off just like they sent off Babe Ruth. It’s going to be another big, big mistake. They made the biggest mistake of their lives.

December 21st, 2005

“I know fans are upset. I’m sorry. It wasn’t even close and obviously the money looks like a huge factor, but the fact that they wanted me real bad, they courted me. There was a 6-year offer for more money than the Yankees. I’m walking away from $25 million from another team, so I can play for four years in New York… It was difficult with many other people gone… trainers, players, Millar screaming at the top of his lungs … (chokes back tears) … that’s the stuff I’m going to miss,” Johnny Damon told CBS4′s Dan Roche Wednesday night from his home in Orlando, Fla.

“I was just trying to get the best offer,” Damon said.

December 20th, 2005

“Without a doubt (I’ll cut my hair and shave my moustache). Mr. Steinbrenner has a policy and I’m going to stick to it. Our policy with the Yankees is to go out there and win and we’re going to try to bring another championship to them.

December 17, 2005

My message to Red Sox fans is I tried. I tried everything in my power to try and come back, but unfortunately I know they’re going to be upset, but I’m always going to have a strong feeling about them. I’m always going to remember the great times, the World Series, the three out of the four years we made the playoffs.

May 1st, 2005

“There’s no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they are going to come after me hard,” Damon said. “It’s definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It’s not what I need.”

Johnny seems to be a fellow who changes his mind quite a bit. At least one thing he said recently did check out. He is a Red Wings fan. Or at least, he was a few years ago.  You never know with Johnny.

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