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Send Swish!

Posted by Matt Imbrogno at 3:00 pm 4 Responses »
Jul 052010

You guys probably know by now, but in case you didn’t, everyone’s favorite right fielder Nick Swisher needs our help in sending him to the All-Star Game. Nick is on the “Final Vote” ballot on the American League side and we can vote all we want until Thursday. I urge you all to vote as many times as humanly possible (damn sites that block bot voting!) and send Swish to the All-Star game!

Why? Well, aside from being a seemingly laid back and fun guy, Nick’s having one hell of a year.

He’s got a career high .381 wOBA to go along with a career high 139 wRC+ and career high .504 SLG. That wOBA is the second highest among American League right fielders and he’s had the third most wRAA among all right fielders. For the traditionalists out there, he’s second among AL RFs in HRs (behind Jose Bautista) with 13 and third among the position with 47 RBI.

All in all, Nick Swisher is having a great year and we should reward him for it with a trip to Anaheim. Vote Early! Vote Often! VOTE SWISH!

P.S.
While you’re at it, vote for Joey Votto in the National League. He’s leading all NL 1Bs in wRC, wRAA, wOBA, and WAR. The fact that he didn’t make it on his own is a baseball travesty.

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The Best 8 AL Pitchers

Posted by Stephen R. at 1:00 pm 8 Responses »
Jul 052010

Over the next few days, I’m going to look at the entire American League All-Star Game roster and break down the selections.  Today, I’ll start with the AL starting pitchers, a conversation surely familiar to readers of TYU. Two weeks ago I examined the cream of the AL SP crop and made a preliminary ranking of my top 15, recommending 8 for the All-Star Game in Anaheim next weekend.  You can read that piece here.

Yesterday, Girardi made his selections, electing to take the following pitchers: CC Sabathia, Clay Buchholz, Fausto Carmona, David Price, Phil Hughes, Jon Lester, Cliff Lee and Trevor Cahill.  In all probability, Sabathia, Buchholz and Cahill will not pitch in the All-Star Game.  Sabathia and Cahill are scheduled to pitch on Sunday before the break, and Buchholz is likely to head to the DL.  This will give Girardi the opportunity to replace them.  Additionally, keep in mind that Carmona and Cahill were chosen to fulfill the quota representation system which mandates that a player from each team be chosen for the roster.  That said, here is my top 8.  My methodology is simple: try to select the pitchers who have done the best job at controlling the things they can control.  For your ease, I have put in bold players that were included on the roster.

1.  Jered Weaver. Last ranking: 3.  Easily the best pitcher in the American League this year, Weaver has thrown 108.2 innings, good for a 2.82 ERA, 2.88 FIP and 3.25 xFIP.  He’s struck out an astounding 10.27 batters per nine innings, walked 2.15/9, leaving him with an AL third-best 4.77 K/BB ratio.  Weaver should have been on the roster, there’s absolutely no question about it. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to pitch in the All-Star Game regardless, as he’s scheduled to pitch the Sunday before the break.

2. Francisco Liriano.  Last ranking: 1.  105.2 IP, 3.32 ERA, 2.10 FIP, 2.88 xFIP.  Liriano has seen his ERA climb 0.4 runs, while maintaining a very low FIP.  His K/9 is still a crackling 9.88 and he limits the walks (2.38 BB/9), leaving him with a K/BB ratio of 4.14.  That’s just dang good, yo.  I understand that Mauer is the Twins representative pic, but there’s no reason why Liriano should be excluded.  The players and Girardi are 0 for 2.

3. Cliff Lee.  Last ranking: 2.  Over 95.2 IP, Lee has a 2.45 ERA, 2.34 FIP and 3.30 xFIP.  His K/9 is relatively low at 7.34 K/9, but he walks 0.47 batters per nine, leaving him with an otherworldly, unbelievable, insert-superlative-here, 15.60 K/BB ratio. Somebody wants himself a shiny new contract from the New York Yankees…

4. Jon Lester – Last ranking: 5. My AL Cy Young pick has thrown 107 innings with a 2.86 ERA, 3.01 FIP, and 3.43 xFIP.  He’s sporting a nifty K/9 of 9.34, and walks 3.45 BB/9, leaving him with a 2.71 K/BB ratio. He deserved his spot on the All-Star team.

5. Felix Hernandez.  Last ranking: 8.  King Felix has hurled 121.2 innings in the first half and has a 3.03 ERA, a 3.25 FIP and a 3.46 xFIP.  He’s struck out 8.58 batters per nine and has a 2.81 BB/9 rate and a 3.05 K/BB ratio. This was another undeserved snub.

6. Justin Verlander.  Last ranking: 7.  Over 110 innings, Verlander has struck out 8.43 batters per nine and walked 3.03 per nine.  He has a 3.85 ERA and a 3.21 FIP and a 3.97 xFIP.  Verlander isn’t as good as his 2009 performance, but he’s better than he was in 2008.  This first half in 2010 is probably a reasonable expectation for his statistics going forward, and it’s All-Star worthy.

7. Phil Hughes.  Last ranking: 4. Over 94.0 IP, Hughes has a 3.83 ERA and a 3.75 FIP.  His K/9 is now 8.23 and his BB/9 is 2.78.  I recognize that there have been pitchers with higher WAR totals or lower ERAs than Hughes, like Buchholz or Price, but I don’t care.  This is my homer pick, and I’m taking the Yankees’ young ace over those of our rivals.  Sue me.

8. Pick ‘em. I think there are two good choices for the eighth spot.  They are:

Ricky Romero.  Despite his horrific outing on Saturday, Romero still has an ERA of 3.39 over 114 innings.  His FIP is a near identical 3.34, and he’s struck out 8.37 batters per nine and walked 3.39 per nine.

Andy Pettitte. On Saturday, Pettitte appeared to be scuffling in the early going and was having difficulty with the strike zone and putting batters away.  After the Yankees 3rd inning outburst, he settled down and cruised to an easy win.  He’s thrown 105 innings and has a very low 2.82 ERA with 6.66 K/9 and a 2.65 BB/9.  His FIP is 3.93, and he may see some regression in the way of BABIP going forward, but he’s certainly posted an excellent first half for the Yankees.

Given the way their matchup went on Saturday, and given the fun I had taunting Romero as he walked off the mound after giving up a grand slam to Brett Gardner, I’m going to go with Andy Pettitte.  That’s some sweet irony.

Honorable Mention: John Danks, Shaun Marcum, Clay Buchholz, Zack Greinke, David Price, Gavin Floyd, CC Sabathia

Dishonorable Mention: James Shields.  Dude, I’m a big a fan of advanced statistics as anyone, but it’s difficult to praise your K/BB when your ERA is almost 5.

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On the Fourth

Posted by Matt Imbrogno at 11:00 am 10 Responses »
Jul 052010

Yesterday, my girlfriend Liz and I attended Yankee Stadium for the third time this season. And, all three times, the Yankees have won. Without digging through all my old ticket stubs, I’m relatively certain I’ve never been to a game on July 4th before.

Maybe it’s because I’m older and slightly more jaded than I was as a youngster but I felt as though the tributes to the country on its birthday at the Stadium yesterday were rather lacking. I will, though, say that the woman from West Point who sang the National Anthem and God Bless America (more on this later) had a great voice and brought some life to those songs.

Easily my favorite part of the day was the reading of the Lou Gehrig speech by current Yankees. Though it was recycled, it was still touching. Perhaps showing the whole clip of Gehrig’s speech without anyone else reading would be better, but this still works well. I had to hold back the tears, I’ll admit (“No, babe. It’s just sweat.” An awful lie considering we were shaded in Section 208 until about the 5th inning).

While it was nice to see soldiers scattered throughout the stadium and they got nice hands, it didn’t feel as though there was enough of a reminder that yesterday was the Fourth of July.

Most noticeably absent was a prolonged tribute to The Boss. The display of World Series trophies during the game was a nice subtle reminder of Big Stein’s dominance as an owner, but to put his name on the scoreboard and make mention of it only during the “Fan Marquee” portion of the game seemed wickedly weak to me.

As for the other patriotic mumbo jumbo that was lacking, I think I know why. While I’m generally not a fan of empty patriotism, if there’s a time I’ll allow it, it’s the Fourth of July at a baseball game. But in a Yankee world of God Bless America during every seventh inning stretch, that song has lost any bit of specialness it once had. Sure it’s nice when someone sings it live rather than having to hear the scratchy Kate Smith version, but it’s just not that special. Maybe if the Yankees changed it up, at least for a day, and included America the Beautiful, My Country ‘Tis of Thee, or, hell, even This Land Is Your Land. Perhaps then the day would’ve seemed more Fourth of Julyish. Whatever that truly means. Anyway, a belated Happy Birthday, America.

Hughes over Andy?

Posted by Steve S. at 7:20 am 6 Responses »
Jul 052010

Every year that MLB announces it’s All Star Game rosters, there are always a few selections that raise some eyebrows and this year was no different. Joey Votto absence from the National League roster had many fans scratching their heads, and in the American League the selection of Phil Hughes over Andy Pettitte had some fans crying foul. So lets take a look at both pitcher’s first halves of the 2010 campaign, and see how they stack up against each other.

Phil Hughes

2010 Season Stats
SPLITS G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO W L P/GS WHIP BAA ERA
Season 15 15 0 0 94.0 84 41 40 11 29 86 10 2 103.7 1.20 .240 3.83

Andy Pettitte

2010 Season Stats
SPLITS G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO W L P/GS WHIP BAA ERA
Season 16 16 0 0 105.1 90 37 33 11 31 78 10 2 99.2 1.15 .237 2.82

While both pitchers have been remarkable similar in many categories, Andy’s allowing a full run less in ERA should give him the nod. All of this may be moot, however. With CC Sabathia scheduled to pitch on Sunday, he will be ineligible to pitch in the All Star Game. That means he will need to be replaced on the active roster, and Girardi hinted after yesterday’s game that he will select Andy to take CCs place. Since managers select the Pitchers, I have a feeling that much of this was by design. We all know that Girardi is very detail oriented, and I’ll bet he wanted to give Phil a boost of confidence by selecting him to the first team, knowing that Andy would understand and that CC was pitching Sunday.

NOTE: It’s too soon for another edition of “Keeping up with the ex-Yanks” but Arodys Vizcaino has been placed on the DL with a partially torn elbow ligament. No surgery will be needed at this time, but he will miss at least 6 weeks. With the minor league season ending in late August, that means his season is over.

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