Austin Jackson

Granderson's Poor Season

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 1:00 pm 11 Responses »

Aug 102010

Joel Sherman chimes in with a good column on Curtis Granderson’s struggles:

Curtis Granderson hasn’t been very good this year. But he just might be the luckiest player in the majors.
If he were playing for the old owner in his prime or in the old stadium or for a team that did not have the majors’ best record, Granderson would know what hell in baseball feels like. Instead, the highest-profile Yankee acquisition of the offseason has essentially skirted criticism and boos despite having the kind of season that once made Steve Kemp’s stint as a Yankee short and bitter…..

“I haven’t been able to be the guy, but at the same time, on this team, we don’t necessarily need that type of guy,” Granderson said.

Maybe. But Granderson was brought here to be more than an observer to the excellence of others, certainly more than a ninth-place-hitting detriment. He has sidestepped the boos and criticism. But the biggest games are still to come. Granderson will either rise up and prove an asset or learn that even with the old Stadium and the old Boss gone that this is not the place you want to debut as an abject failure.

While Curtis has been very good in the field thus far and missing a month hurt him in the counting stat department, it is difficult to deny that he has been a major disappointment. He has been as bad as ever against lefties, is not showing as much power as he did in the past, and has yet to put together any sort of substantial hot streak at the plate. His numbers have now trended downward for three straight seasons, and I have a hard time finding evidence that suggests a turnaround is imminent.

Additionally, while Granderson’s bat actually grades out about league average for center field, that is less relevant for a team that has another center fielder on the roster who is actually a better defender. Essentially, Granderson’s value to the Yankees this season has been the defensive value Gardner provides relative to your average leftfielder. While the leftfielder he replaced, Johnny Damon, is not having a great season and his loss should not be a source of angst, Austin Jackson has put together a solid season in Detroit at a lower cost. While I liked it at the time and Curtis still has 2 seasons and 2 months to turn things around, the Granderson trade looks like a bit of a disaster.

Keeping up with the ex-Yanks: New addition edition

Posted by Steve S. at 8:06 am 6 Responses »

Aug 072010

A Yankee no more

With the recent passing of the July 31st trade deadline, we have a new name to add to our bi-weekly updates. Mark Melancon reported to the Astros AAA Round Rock Express, where he earned his first save on Friday. He was also interviewed by Alyson Footer and had some interesting things to say about what was going on with him this season. Apparently, the Yanks wanted him to keep the ball down, so they changed his arm slot from over the top to a more 3/4 delivery and the results weren’t pretty.

In other ex-Yankee news, Brian Bruney was placed on the DL retroactive to August 3rd by the Mets AAA Buffalo Bisons affiliate, where he was working as a starter. Xavier Nady narrowly avoided being traded to the Giants at the trade deadline. Johnny Damon, Austin Jackson and Phil Coke return to the Bronx on Tuesday. Johnny had some kind words of support for ex-teammate Alex Rodriguez after #600. He has been dropped to 6th in the lineup, in an effort to get the struggling Brennan Boesch going by replacing him as the No. 2 hitter. Ian Kennedy has been struggling of late, posting a 6.39 ERA in his past 9 starts, which has ballooned his ERA for the season to 4.40. He’s on an innings limit, so even when he’s pitching well he tends to get pulled early and the stellar AZ bullpen goes to work for him.

Mark Melancon-

Year                          Age                    Tm              Lg             Lev             Aff  W L  W-L%  ERA   G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP   H  R ER HR BB IBB  SO HBP BK WP  BF  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2010                           25               2 Teams           2 Lgs             AAA          NYYHOU  7 1  .875 3.41  43  0 19  0   0  7  60.2  68 24 23  5 32   0  60   3  0  7 277 1.648 10.1  0.7  4.7  8.9  1.88
2010                           25 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre              IL             AAA             NYY  6 1  .857 3.67  40  0 17  0   0  6  56.1  63 24 23  5 31   0  58   3  0  7 258 1.669 10.1  0.8  5.0  9.3  1.87
2010                           25             RoundRock             PCL             AAA             HOU  1 0 1.000 0.00   3  0  2  0   0  1   4.1   5  0  0  0  1   0   2   0  0  0  19 1.385 10.4  0.0  2.1  4.2  2.00

Melky Cabrera-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg   G   PA   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+  TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB   Pos Awards

2010                       25           ATL            NL 106  365  327  35  87  18  3  4  29  5  1  30  43 .266 .328 .376 .704   90 123   5   1  5  2   7         *789

Hideki Matsui-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg    G   PA   AB   R    H  2B 3B  HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+   TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB    Pos   Awards

2010                       36           LAA            AL  101  399  354  32   87  15  0  14  55  0  0  41  79 .246 .323 .407 .730   96  144   5   1  0  3   3             *D7

Johnny Damon-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg    G   PA   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB   SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+   TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB    Pos   Awards
2010                       36           DET            AL   98  414  360   63   99  27  2   7   34   7  1  50   56 .275 .364 .419 .784  109  151   3   1  2  1   1            D7/8

Ian Kennedy-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg W  L  W-L%  ERA  G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP   H   R  ER HR BB IBB  SO HBP BK WP  BF ERA+  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
2010                       25           ARI            NL 6  9  .400 4.40 22 22  0  0   0  0 133.0 118  69  65 23 51   2 113   6  0 11 565  102 1.271  8.0  1.6  3.5  7.6         2.22
4 Seasons           4 Seasons     4 Seasons     4 Seasons 7 13  .350 4.90 36 34  1  0   0  0 192.2 181 112 105 29 88   2 156   8  0 14 842   92 1.396  8.5  1.4  4.1  7.3         1.77

Austin Jackson-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg   G  PA  AB   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+  TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
2010                       23           DET            AL  99 438 406  63 124 26  7  1  24 16  4 28 113 .305 .355 .411 .766  105 167   5   3  1  0   0         *8
1 Season             1 Season      1 Season      1 Season  99 438 406  63 124 26  7  1  24 16  4 28 113 .305 .355 .411 .766  105 167   5   3  1  0              0

Arodys Vizcaino (High-A)-

Year              Age           Tm        Lg       Lev       Aff  W L W-L%  ERA  G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP   H  R ER HR BB IBB  SO HBP BK WP  BF  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2010               19      2 Teams     2 Lgs      A-A+       ATL  9 3 .750 2.71 15 15  0  0   0  0  83.0  76 33 25  2 12   0  77   4  3  7 344 1.060  8.2  0.2  1.3  8.3  6.42
2010               19         Rome      SALL         A       ATL  9 3 .750 2.34 12 12  0  0   0  0  69.1  60 24 18  1  9   0  66   3  2  6 283 0.995  7.8  0.1  1.2  8.6  7.33
2010               19  MyrtleBeach      CARL        A+       ATL  0      0 4.61  3  3  0  0   0  0  13.2  16  9  7  1  3   0  11   1  1  1  61 1.390 10.5  0.7  2.0  7.2  3.67

Xavier Nady-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg   G   PA   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG   OPS OPS+   TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB     Pos Awards
2010                       31           CHC            NL  71  168  149  12  33   5  0  4  19  0  0  10  40  .221  .292  .336  .627   63   50   8   6  0  3   0          9/37D

Brian Bruney-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg  W  L  W-L%  ERA   G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP   H   R  ER HR  BB IBB  SO HBP BK WP   BF ERA+  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
2010                       28           WSN            NL  1  2  .333 7.64  19  0  6  0   0  0  17.2  21  18  15  1  20   1  16   0  0  1   93   55 2.321 10.7  0.5 10.2  8.2         0.80

Phil Coke-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg  W L  W-L%  ERA   G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP  H  R ER HR BB IBB  SO HBP BK WP  BF ERA+  WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
2010                       27           DET            AL  6 2  .750 2.60  52  0 10  0   0  1  45.0 42 15 13  1 17   3  38   2  0  1 188  167 1.311 8.4  0.2  3.4  7.6         2.24

Mike Dunn (MLB)-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg W L  W-L%  ERA  G GS GF CG SHO SV   IP  H  R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP  BF ERA+  WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
2010                       25           ATL            NL 1 0 1.000 0.00  8  0  2  0   0  0  6.0  3  0  0  0  9   0  5   0  0  0       29 2.000 4.5  0.0 13.5  7.5         0.56

Jose Tabata-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg   G  PA  AB  R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+  TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
2010                       21           PIT            NL  49 217 199 30  60 12  0  2  16 11  5 16 26 .302 .353 .392 .745  103  78   4   0  2  0   0         78

Tyler Clippard-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg  W  L W-L%  ERA   G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP   H  R ER HR BB IBB  SO HBP BK WP  BF ERA+  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
2010                       25           WSN            NL  8  6 .571 3.38  54  0 12  0   0  1  64.0  49 26 24  5 31   4  73   2  0  1 267  122 1.250  6.9  0.7  4.4 10.3         2.35

Keeping up with the ex Yanks-July 17th edition

Posted by Steve S. at 6:00 am No Responses »

Jul 182010

Time to dust this baby off after a few weeks and a long All Star break. In recent news, Mike Dunn was called up by the Braves. The 25 year old has been dominating for their AAA Gwinnett farm team. But of course, if you’re a regular TYU reader then you knew that already. Since our last report the Mets signed Brian Bruney to a minor league deal. In other news, Mike Scioscia expects the slumping Hideki Matsui to hit better in the 2nd half, Johnny Damon reflected on the passing of George Steinbrenner. Austin Jackson still leads all of Baseball with his .417 BABIP, has the 17th highest K%, is in the bottom fifth with his walk rate and is hitting for no power (.107 ISOP). He’s just having one of those years.

Here’s the full recap:

Melky Cabrera-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg   G   PA   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+  TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB   Pos Awards
2010                       25           ATL            NL  87  304  274  29  72  13  1  3  24  4  1  23  37 .263 .321 .350 .671   82  96   5   1  5  1   3         *789

Hideki Matsui-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg    G   PA   AB   R    H  2B 3B  HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+   TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB    Pos   Awards
2010                       36           LAA            AL   87  343  302  24   76  14  0  10  47  0  0  37  69 .252 .332 .397 .730   96  120   4   1  0  3   3             *D7

Johnny Damon-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg    G   PA   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB   SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+   TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB    Pos   Awards
2010                       36           DET            AL   79  340  296   54   81  21  2   6   28   7  1  40   47 .274 .361 .419 .780  108  124   3   1  2  1   1            D7/8

Ian Kennedy-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg W  L  W-L%  ERA  G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP   H   R  ER HR BB IBB  SO HBP BK WP  BF ERA+  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
2010                       25           ARI            NL 4  7  .364 4.12 18 18  0  0   0  0 111.1  97  55  51 19 42   2 100   6  0  7 470  109 1.249  7.8  1.5  3.4  8.1         2.38

Austin Jackson-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg   G  PA  AB   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+  TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
2010                       23           DET            AL  79 344 317  53  96 21  5  1  20 15  3 23  88 .303 .356 .410 .766  104 130   4   3  1  0   0         *8

Arodys Vizcaino (High-A)-

Year              Age           Tm        Lg       Lev       Aff  W L W-L%  ERA  G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP   H  R ER HR BB IBB  SO HBP BK WP  BF  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2010               19      2 Teams     2 Lgs      A-A+       ATL  9 3 .750 2.71 15 15  0  0   0  0  83.0  76 33 25  2 12   0  77   4  3  7 344 1.060  8.2  0.2  1.3  8.3  6.42
2010               19         Rome      SALL         A       ATL  9 3 .750 2.34 12 12  0  0   0  0  69.1  60 24 18  1  9   0  66   3  2  6 283 0.995  7.8  0.1  1.2  8.6  7.33
2010               19  MyrtleBeach      CARL        A+       ATL  0      0 4.61  3  3  0  0   0  0  13.2  16  9  7  1  3   0  11   1  1  1  61 1.390 10.5  0.7  2.0  7.2  3.67

Xavier Nady-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg   G   PA   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG   OPS OPS+   TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB     Pos Awards
2010                       31           CHC            NL  62  156  138  12  31   5  0  4  19  0  0   9  37  .225  .295  .348  .643   67   48   6   6  0  3   0          9/37D

Brian Bruney-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg  W  L  W-L%  ERA   G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP   H   R  ER HR  BB IBB  SO HBP BK WP   BF ERA+  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
2010                       28           WSN            NL  1  2  .333 7.64  19  0  6  0   0  0  17.2  21  18  15  1  20   1  16   0  0  1   93   55 2.321 10.7  0.5 10.2  8.2         0.80

Phil Coke-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg  W L  W-L%  ERA   G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP  H  R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP  BF ERA+  WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
2010                       27           DET            AL  5 0 1.000 2.48  42  0  8  0   0  1  36.1 34 12 10  1 14   1 30   2  0  1 154  177 1.321 8.4  0.2  3.5  7.4         2.14

Mike Dunn (MLB)-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg W L W-L%  ERA  G GS GF CG SHO SV  IP  H  R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP  BF ERA+  WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
2010                       25           ATL            NL 0      0 0.00  1  0  0  0   0  0 1.0  1  0  0  0  1   0  2   0  0  0        5 2.000 9.0  0.0  9.0 18.0         2.00

Jose Tabata-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg   G  PA  AB  R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+  TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
2010                       21           PIT            NL  30 134 120 12  30  7  0  1   6  8  4 14 18 .250 .328 .333 .662   81  40   1   0  0  0   0        7/8

Tyler Clippard-

Year                      Age            Tm            Lg  W  L W-L%  ERA  G GS GF CG SHO SV    IP   H  R ER HR BB IBB  SO HBP BK WP  BF ERA+  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
2010                       25           WSN            NL  8  6 .571 3.31 44  0 10  0   0  1  51.2  43 21 19  4 24   4  58   2  0  1 218  125 1.297  7.5  0.7  4.2 10.1         2.42

Keeping up with the ex-Yanks June 27th edition

Posted by Steve S. at 9:40 pm 12 Responses »

Jun 262010

It’s been 2 weeks since my last update, so it’s time to take this baby out for another spin. At this point of the year (mid-season) most of the numbers are a big enough sample that we should have a good idea of where these guys are and what they’ll produce. Arodys Vizcaino has earned himself a promotion to the Braves High-A affiliate, but has been getting knocked around in his first 3 appearances. While the Diamondbacks are looking at a fire sale, don’t expect Ian Kennedy to go anywhere. He and Justin Upton are the only two players on the team who are considered “untouchable” by GM Josh Byrnes. Looking up and down the list, there’s very little to complain about, especially with the free agents who left the team in Damon and Matsui. The only guy who the Yanks really miss right now is Mike Dunn, as they find themselves looking for a 2nd Lefty out of the bullpen.

Here’s the full recap:

Melky Cabrera-

G-71 PA-245 H-59 BB-19 HR-1 SO-29 BA-.267 OBP-.325 SLG-.339 OPS-.664

Hideki Matsui-

G-71 PA-282 H-65 BB-28 HR-9 SO-59 BA-.259 OBP-.333 SLG-.418 OPS-.752

Johnny Damon-

G-67 PA-288 H-67 BB-37 HR-3 SO-39 BA-.270 OBP-.366 SLG-.395 OPS-.761

Ian Kennedy-

W-L 3-5 G-13 ERA-3.60 IP-95.0 H-81 ER-38 BB-31 SO-82 WHIP-1.179

Austin Jackson-

G-58 PA-262 H-75 BB-16 HR-1 SO-67 BA-.306 OBP-.351 SLG-.412 OPS-.763

Arodys Vizcaino (High-A)-

W-L 9-3 G-15 ERA-2.71 IP-83.0 H-76 ER-25 BB-12 SO-77 WHIP-1.060

Xavier Nady-

G-44 PA-102 H-22 BB-8 HR-4 SO-20 BA-.250 OBP-.333 SLG-.432 OPS-.765

Brian Bruney-

W-L 1-2 G-19 ERA-7.64 IP-17.2 H-21 ER-15 BB-20 SO-16 WHIP-2.321

Phil Coke-

W-L 5-0 G-34 ERA-3.00 IP-30.0 H-28 ER-10 BB-11 SO-23 WHIP-1.300

Mike Dunn (AAA)-

W-L 2-0 G-25 ERA-0.79 IP-34.1 H-24 ER-3 BB-14 SO-46 WHIP-1.114

Jose Tabata-

(AAA) G-53 PA-224 H-69 BB-23 HR-3 SO-35 BA-.308 OBP-.373 SLG-.424 OPS-.797

(MLB) G-15 PA-67 H-15 BB-5 HR-1 SO-10 BA-.242 OBP-.299 SLG-.339 OPS-.637

Tyler Clippard-

W-L 8-4 G-38 ERA-2.11 IP-47.0 H-32 ER-11 BB-20 SO-53 WHIP-1.106

Keeping up with the ex-Yanks May 27th edition

Posted by Steve S. at 7:14 am No Responses »

May 272010

It’s been 2 weeks since my last update, so it’s time for another edition. In recent news, Brian Bruney has been released by the Nats. Mike Scioscia has dropped Hideki Matsui from the clean up spot and is considering platooning the Japanese slugger, who’s done little after his hot start. Austin Jackson and Tyler Clippard are coming back down to Earth after their extremely hot starts. Ian Kennedy has continued to pitch well for Arizona and Mike Dunn is earning himself an MLB call up from the Braves.

Here’s the full list:

Melky Cabrera-

G-43 PA-142 H-27 BB-15 HR-1 SO-17 BA-.220 OBP-.304 SLG-.276 OPS-.581

Hideki Matsui-

G-45 PA-176 H-36 BB-17 HR-5 SO-34 BA-.231 OBP-.307 SLG-.372 OPS-.679

Johnny Damon-

G-44 PA-187 H-45 BB-26 HR-3 SO-27 BA-.283 OBP-.385 SLG-.428 OPS-.813

Ian Kennedy-

W-L 3-3 G-10 ERA-3.41 IP-63.1 H-53 ER-24 BB-20 SO-51 WHIP-1.153

Austin Jackson-

G-43 PA-196 H-60 BB-15 HR-1 SO-52 BA-.333 OBP-.388 SLG-.450 OPS-.838

Arodys Vizcaino (A)-

W-L 6-3 G-9 ERA-3.16 IP-51.1 H-50 ER-18 BB-9 SO-49 WHIP-1.154

Xavier Nady-

G-33 PA-76 H-15 BB-5 HR-1 SO-14 BA-.227 OBP-.316 SLG-.318 OPS-.634

Brian Bruney-

W-L 1-2 G-19 ERA-7.64 IP-17.2 H-21 ER-15 BB-20 SO-16 WHIP-2.321

Phil Coke-

W-L 3-3 G-15 ERA-1.80 IP-15.0 H-15 ER-3 BB-8 SO-412 WHIP-1.533

Mike Dunn (AAA)-

W-L 1-0 G-15 ERA-0.83 IP-21.2 H-15 ER-2 BB-9 SO-27 WHIP-1.132

Jose Tabata (AAA)-

G-42 PA-178 H-58 BB-16 HR-2 SO-27 BA-.326 OBP-.382 SLG-.433 OPS-.814

Tyler Clippard

W-L 7-3 G-23 ERA-2.12 IP-29.2 H-18 ER-7 BB-16 SO-33 WHIP-1.146

Keeping up with the ex-Yanks: May 10th edition

Posted by Steve S. at 6:05 am 1 Response »

May 102010

It’s been 2 weeks since my last update, so it’s time for another edition. Ian Kennedy has been a pleasant surprise for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and his full season numbers are starting to catch up with his recent performances. As Stephen R. detailed yesterday, Matsui has been slumping and Johnny Damon has been rolling. Here’s the full list:

Melky Cabrera-

G-28 PA-110 H-18 BB-12 HR-0 SO-13 BA-.189 OBP-.280 SLG-.221 OPS-.501

Hideki Matsui-

G-32 PA-132 H-28 BB-13 HR-4 SO-25 BA-.237 OBP-.311 SLG-.390 OPS-.700

Johnny Damon-

G-308 PA-127 H-32 BB-19 HR-1 SO-19 BA-.302 OBP-.409 SLG-.443 OPS-.853

Ian Kennedy-

G-6 ERA-3.65 IP-37.0 H-32 ER-15 BB-10 SO-30 WHIP-1.135

Austin Jackson-

G-29 PA-138 H-47 BB-11 HR-1 SO-36 BA-.370 OBP-.420 SLG-.512 OPS-.932

Arodys Vizcaino (A)-

G-6 ERA-4.35 IP-31 H-32 ER-15 BB-9 SO-34 WHIP-1.322

Xavier Nady-

G-22 PA-48 H-7 BB-5 HR-1 SO-9 BA-.179 OBP-.333 SLG-.282 OPS-.615

Brian Bruney-

G-15 ERA-6.00 IP-15.0 H-17 ER-10 BB-18 SO-13 WHIP-2.333

Phil Coke-

G-15 ERA-1.80 IP-15.0 H-15 ER-3 BB-8 SO-412 WHIP-1.533

Mike Dunn (AAA)-

G-9 ERA-0.69 IP-13.0 H-10 ER-1 BB-5 SO-15 WHIP-1.15

Jose Tabata (AAA)-

G-27 PA-119 H-41 BB-12 HR-2 SO-19 BA-.345 OBP-.414 SLG-.454 OPS-.867

..and since he’s been making such a splash as the Washington National’s closer, I’m going to start tracking the progress of a player we affectionately once knew as ‘The Yankee Clippard’

Tyler Clippard

G-5 ERA-0.79 IP-22.2 H-11 ER-2 BB-11 SO-15 WHIP-0.971

Discussion: How Does A GM Want Traded Prospects To Perform?

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 3:00 pm 11 Responses »

May 072010

This was a thought that I saw posted elsewhere over the last few days, but cannot remember where I saw it first. If this was your point, I apologize for not linking to you.

With Austin Jackson performing incredibly well in Detroit, Ian Kennedy looking good in Arizona, and Arodys Vizcaino getting glowing reviews from scouts, many have suggested that Brian Cashman must be hoping for a regression from these players. As the Yankee ends of these trades struggle, Cashman begins to look bad to those making very hasty evaluations of those deals, and is only escaping significant criticism due to the team’s strong play. It seems only natural that he would want those players to fail, making him look like a genius who consistently wins trades. However, I think that there is a flip side to this situation, one that fans often fail to consider.

After Moneyball was released, Billy Beane supposedly had a hard time making trades with the freedom that he had previously, because the book presented him as a genius that always won trades. Opposing General Managers eventually became wary of dealing with Beane, suspecting that he was fleecing them with overvalued prospects in order to obtain undervalued assets. There is value in having prospects that the team trades work out: it gives the GM some cachet with his peers, as it displays that he is willing to give up talent to obtain talent. This trust will help the GM make deals in the future, as those across the table will know that the team’s prospects are not simply overhyped and may actually have legitimate potential.

As fans, we want our team to win every trade, and I am sure that on some level, Brian Cashman would not mind that result at all. But there is value in having a trade work for the other party as well.

What do you think? Do you want your GM to “win” every trade? Or do you think it is important that some traded assets succeed?

It's too Early to Judge the 2009-2010 Offseason

Posted by Matt Imbrogno at 11:00 am 6 Responses »

May 042010

Curtis Granderson is on the 15-Day Disabled List and will miss all of May.
Chan Ho Park has been a ghost after a few solid outings
Randy Winn has a -57 OPS+.
Nick Johnson is off to a slow start.
Javier Vazquez looks bad. Real bad.

It’s the end of the world as we know it. And I feel fine.

I feel like I’m going to be preaching to the choir, but with the hot start of Austin Jackson and the solid start of Ian Kennedy, I feel it’s necessary to put forth a reminder: it’s still way, way too early for us to judge the most recent offseason. As Moshe said yesterday, we must balance process and results when evaluating the moves of a general manager.

In terms of process, I think we all know how GM Brian Cashman was approaching this offseason. He was going for comparable pieces at more reasonable prices. I think Cashman’s process was right. As a DH, Nick Johnson will likely be just as valuable as Hideki Matsui, just in a different way–Matsui will hit for more power, but Johnson will get on base. A lot. Curtis Granderson is younger than Johnny Damon and plays a more premium position. The two are also comparable on offense, and Granderson is in his age-prime, while Damon is in his age-decline. It was unforeseeable that Granderson would be injured. Granderson’s price was also lower than originally expected, and was still good, despite how well Austin Jackson’s been playing.

The same goes for Javy Vazquez. His price was right and it was a good move to trade for him. The early returns have not been good, but the operative word there is “early.” There is still plenty of time for Javy to improve himself and remind us that Cash’s acquisition of him was as much about results as it was the process.

Regardless of what’s happened in the 25 games played so far, it’s still May 4th. We don’t judge players and teams at this point in the season and we shouldn’t judge transactions either.

A-Jax Looking Good In Detroit

Posted by Chris H. at 7:08 pm 13 Responses »

May 032010

Via Terry Foster of the Detroit News:

Tigers rookie center fielder Austin Jackson only thinks about one thing every day he comes to the ballpark.Relax.

That’s why he makes playing center field look so easy. That’s why he leads the major leagues with 40 hits and is second in batting average (.367). And it’s why criticism about the Curtis Granderson trade to the Yankees has died down in this town.

Jackson did it again Sunday with three hits in the Tigers’ 5-1 victory Sunday over the Angels at Comerica Park. Jackson recorded two singles and a double and drove in a run.

“You just go out there and get the bat on the ball and get your hits and go out in the field and catch the ball,” he said. “You know it’s the same thing every day. You just go out and play.”

Even though I fully expect Austin Jackson, with his incredibly high BABIP – his .514 mark is the highest in the majors – and his extremely high strike out rate (31.7%), to regress significantly going forward, his emergence as a Detroit Tiger will likely bother a certain segment of fickle Yankee fans. Curtis Granderson, the player Jackson was shipped away for, was rightfully billed by Brian Cashman as a very good offensive center fielder, but has slumped over the past few weeks after a strong start. On top of that, he is now out for a month with a groin strain, preventing him from proving his bat until he returns. Thus, I expect some fans, those who are a bit more short-sighted, to perhaps gaze at A-Jax’s line in Detroit and quietly criticize Cashman for trading him, although, I think most would agree that such criticism is unfair. You still make that trade any day of the week, regardless of what the current numbers are or will be.

Still, as long as Jackson continues to hit well over .300, some fans will complain. That’s just the way it is.

Keeping up with the ex-Yanks

Posted by Steve S. at 10:10 am 5 Responses »

Apr 252010

Photo courtesy of the Associated Press

Here’s another installment on how the former Yanks from the 2009 championship team have been faring this year. Ian Kennedy had a tremendous outing facing the tough Phillies lineup yesterday, by far his best of the year. He went 8 innings and gave up just 4 hits, 1 BB and 2 runs (both solo HRs). You may have also been able to see Melky go 1-4 yesterday and have trouble with the sun catching a fly ball if you’re in the NY or ATL area, since the Mets played the Braves yesterday.

Note-Due to popular demand, I’m adding Jose Tabata since I received so many requests to include him last time.

Melky Cabrera-

G-16 PA-65 H-8 BB-8 HR-0 BA-.143 OBP-.250 SLG-.179 OPS-.429

Hideki Matsui-

G-19 PA-79 H-22 BB-8 HR-4 BA-.310 OBP-.380 SLG-.563 OPS-.943

Johnny Damon-

G-18 PA-75 H-20 BB-13 HR-0 BA-.328 OBP-.453 SLG-.426 OPS-.880

Ian Kennedy-

G-4 ERA-4.43 IP-22.1 H-18 ER-11 BB-7 SO-21 WHIP-1.12

Austin Jackson-

G-17 PA-82 H-23 BB-7 HR-0 BA-.307 OBP-.366 SLG-.413 OPS-.779

Arodys Vizcaino (A)-