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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.

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


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


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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

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
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
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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Checking on Damon and Matsui

Posted by Stephen R. at 5:10 pm 1 Response »
May 092010

Over the offseason the Yankees swapped out Melky Cabrera, Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui for Curtis Granderson, Brett Gardner and Nick Johnson.  As a fan of the move, I looked forward to seeing Granderson’s bat in Yankee Stadium, Gardner’s speed and defense in a lineup dominated by heavy hitters, and watching Nick Johnson get on base 38% of the time ahead of two of the best hitters in baseball.  Granderson and Johnson are now both on the disabled list, and while Granderson’s injury was more of the fluke kind, Johnson’s may be similar to a past wrist injury that caused him to miss significant time in 2008. This may have some fans pining for the days of Matsui and Damon, and so while we wait for tonight’s nightcap against Boston, I thought it would be interesting to check in on Damon and Matsui a month into the year, especially as the Yankees prepare to go to Detroit tomorrow to face the Tigers.

Through 30 games, Johnny Damon is hitting .302/.409/.443 with a .384 wOBA.  While he is sporting an unusually high BABIP of .356, he has also increased his walk rate from his 2009 level of 11.3% to 15%.  Unfortunately for Damon, he isn’t finding the same power stroke that he had in 2009 and his ISO has dropped from .209 to .142.  Some might be quick to attribute this decline in power to his move from Yankee Stadium to Comerica Park, but Damon is actually hitting for more power at home than on the road, with a line of .302/.392/.512 at home in 18 games and line of .302/.421/.397 on the road.  Despite the decent tripleslash though, Damon has only hit one home run.  We are only a month into the year, and so we should be slow to draw any conclusions about how Damon will fare in 2010.  If his walk rate drops back to career norms, then he may struggle to have an OPS above .800.  Despite that, Damon has gotten off to a very good start and the Tigers have to be pleased.

Hideki Matsui hasn’t fared so well in Los Angeles.  In 32 games, he is only hitting .237/.311/.390 with 4 home runs and 14 RBIs. While Matsui has never been an on-base machine, his walk rate has dropped in 2010 to a career low of 9.8%, down from his career average of 10.9% and his 2009 mark of 21.2%.  At the same time, Matsui is striking out more than ever.  His K rate in 2010 is 21.2%, 5% higher than his 2009 campaign.  His ISO has dropped to .153, down from his career mark of .189.  Matsui’s BABIP is .267, 40 points off his career average.  Last year’s BABIP was .273, and wasn’t accompanied by a decrease in any important peripheral like LD%.  The same holds true for this year, as his LD% is almost identical to his career average.  Matsui should see some of those line drives fall in for hits, but he’ll need to cut down on the strikeouts and take some walks if he wants to see a true improvement.  I will also note that the Angels’ decision to let Matsui play the field has resulted, thus far, in a UZR of -1.2.  Small samples size warnings apply here, obviously, but I can’t imagine the Matsui-in-LF experiment will result in anything good.

At the end of the day, I fall in the “judge the process, not the result” camp, and so I still support Cashman’s decision to let Damon and Matsui walk and bring in Granderson and Johnson because I trusted the reasoning behind it.  I’m hopeful that Granderson and Johnson will be able to get healthy and return as solid contributors.  I have nothing but respect for Hideki and Johnny, though.  They were solid contributors to our team last year and helped us win a title, and so I’ll be rooting for them all year long. Except when they’re playing us.

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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)-

G-3 ERA-4.24 IP-17 H-19 ER-8 BB-5 SO-13 WHIP-1.41

Xavier Nady-

G-13 PA-32 H-6 BB-2 HR-1 BA-.222  OBP-.344 SLG-.333 OPS-.677

Brian Bruney-

G-9 ERA-5.40 IP-8.1 H-5 ER-5 BB-9 SO-6 WHIP-1.680

Phil Coke-

G-9 ERA-2.16 IP-8.1 H-10 ER-2 BB-6 SO-4 WHIP-1.92

Mike Dunn (AAA)-

G-5 ERA-1.29 IP-7 H-5 ER-1 BB-2 SO-9 WHIP-1.00

Jose Tabata (AAA)-

G-14 PA-67 H-20 BB-5 HR-1 BA-.323  OBP-.373 SLG-.403 OPS-.776

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Keeping up with the ex's

Posted by Steve S. at 8:19 am 7 Responses »
Apr 102010

With last night’s all-too-forgettable loss to the Rays, I thought it would be a good time to get this going. This is a series I plan to run throughout the 2010 season, updating the results every few weeks. There was a lot of turnover this year with some beloved Yanks, some intriguing prospects and some other players who many fans won’t miss. I’m sure many Yankee fans will be wondering how these guys are doing. Now you’ll know where to go to find out. Sorry, unlike your other ex’s, these friends come without benefits. Unless you consider schadenfreude to be a benefit.

Melky Cabrera-

G-3 PA-15 H-1 BB-2 HR-0 BA-.077  OBP-.200 SLG-.077 OPS-.277

Hideki Matsui-

G-4 PA-16 H-6 BB-1 HR-1 BA-.400  OBP-.438 SLG-.667 OPS-.1104

Johnny Damon-

G-3 PA-15 H-2 BB-1 HR-0 BA-.143  OBP-.200 SLG-.214 OPS-.414

Ian Kennedy-

G-1 ERA-5.40 IP-5 H-6 ER-3 BB-0 SO-8 WHIP-1.20

Austin Jackson-

G-3 PA-15 H-5 BB-1 HR-0 BA-.333  OBP-.333 SLG-.667 OPS-1.000

Arodys Vizcaino-

N/A

Xavier Nady-

G-2 PA-5 H-1 BB-1 HR-0 BA-.500  OBP-.800 SLG-.500 OPS-1.300

Brian Bruney-

G-2 ERA-0.00 IP-2.0 H-2 ER-0 BB-3 SO-2 WHIP-2.50

Phil Coke-

G-2 ERA-0.00 IP-2.2 H-3 ER-0 BB-1 SO-0 WHIP-1.50

Mike Dunn-

G-1 ERA-0.00 IP-2 H-1 ER-0 BB-0 SO-2

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Can All Those Walk Offs Tell Us Anything?

Posted by Matt Imbrogno at 1:00 pm 5 Responses »
Mar 012010

In 2009, the Yankees won 15 games in their last at bat. That’s a lot of games that could’ve gone either way, but because of a few things, they went the Yankees’ way. A lot of it is the fact that the 2009 Yankees were an incredible hitting team and that allowed them to rarely feel like they were completely out of the game. Of course, luck was also a factor. When the game is so close that it must go down to the last at bat or extra innings, a team will almost always be lucky to win. How lucky were the 2009 Yankees when it came to walking off in 2010?

HUGE DISCLAIMER: I DID NOT DO VERY WELL IN STATS 101 MY SENIOR YEAR OF COLLEGE SO SOME OF THIS MATH MAY BE A LITTLE FUZZY. IF ANYONE OUT THERE WANTS/NEEDS TO CORRECT MY MATH IN THE COMMENTS, PLEASE DO SO.

To try and figure this out, I went to the Yankees’ pages on Baseball Reference and looked at the last ten years results data. The Yankees had the following number(s) of walk off wins in the given years:
2009: 15
2008: 9
2007: 6
2006: 3
2005: 10
2004: 7
2003: 5
2002: 7
2001: 3
2000: 6

That’s a total of 71 walk off wins in the last ten years, so the average is 7.1 walk off wins per year. To see if the Yankees got a little lucky in 2009, I also calculated the standard deviation of this set of data. That came out to be about 3.4. According to the Empirical Rule, 99.7% of data lies within 3 standard deviations of the mean (average).

So, to see years in which the Yankees got lucky (or unlucky) let’s multiply our SD, 3.4, by three (10.2) and add it to our mean, 7.1.

7.1 + (3.4*3)= 17.30

What this tells us is that anything higher than 17.3 walk off wins would be a ridiculous outlier. It would seem, then, that the Yankees’ 15 walk off wins, no matter how gaudy and outlandish looking it was, were not too much of a statistical outlier.

Still, this sample is still relatively small, so I’m not sure exactly how reliable it is. Not only am I only using one team and not comparing these numbers to the broader league average, but the team has changed so much since 2000 that the teams are completely incomparable.

Going forward, this half-assed study doesn’t have any real predictive value, but it was fun to just crunch some numbers and remind myself of how awesome the Yankees were in walk-off situations last season. So, I leave you with a video of the two walk offs for which I was in attendance:

April 16th vs. Twins
July 20th vs. Baltmore

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Of Regressions and Rebounds

Posted by Matt Imbrogno at 1:00 pm 1 Response »
Feb 152010

In 2009, the Yankees got a good “rebound” seasons from a few different players.

Jorge Posada missed plenty of time in 2008, but recovered to have the fourth highest OPS+ of his career.

Derek Jeter was bothered by a hand injury for a good portion of 2008 and added 100 points to his OPS.

Hideki Mastui also saw a big jump in his OPS, 81 points.

Finally, Nick Swisher rebounded in the biggest way. 2008 was a career worst for Swisher, whereas 2009 was arguably a career best and the same goes for second baseman Robinson Cano.

In 2010, it’s fair to wonder if these same players will have years like they did in 2009. The team is also hoping for a bit of a “bounceback” year from Curtis Gradnerson; though he hit a career high 30 home runs, he had a career low OBP and the second lowest SLG of his career. Randy Winn had a career worst year, especially against LHP, but his role is much smaller so his rebound is less necessary. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen.

Let’s start with Winn. In an article I wrote right after Winn was signed, I listed his wOBA and wRC+ totals from 2002-2009:

.360/124
.342/114
.339/110
.367/129
.311/86
.350/112
.351/115
.302/82

I’ll repeat what I said then: 2009 and 2006 seem to be outliers. While Winn will likely be a bench player, if he can rebound to what he’s generally been for the last eight years–an average player–he will be a valuable substitute player. Winn’s rebound will not have to be a huge one, especially considering his “diminished” role (yes, I know, I’m a broken record with this), for his 2010 to be successful.

Staying with the new guys, let’s look at Curtis Granderson. As we saw in Moshe’s post about interesting hitting splits, Granderson should benefit from playing in Yankee Stadium. Playing 81 games in a park that’s quite inviting for lefty power hitters should definitely help Curtis in 2010.

Javy Vazquez had his best year ever in 2009, and moving to the A.L. East, he probably won’t be that good again. 2003-2009 showed an interesting trend ERA+ wise for Vazquez. In the odd numbered years–’03, ’05, and ’07–he had ERA+ marks of at least 100. In the even numbered years–’04, ’06, and ’08–he had ERA+ numbers below 100. Hopefully, he bucks that trend in 2010; I’m optimistic and think he can do that, but some regression from 2009 would be understandable, considering just how good ’09 was. Regardless, 2010 is different for Vazquez. This season, he will not be counted on to head a rotation. When the season starts, he’ll likely be the fourth starter. If Vazquez can do what he’s done every year since 2000–pitch at least 190 innings and strike out at least 175 batters–he’ll be incredibly valuable for the Yankees, making the trade look even better.

Moving to the “incumbent” Yankees, let’s start in the infield. Robinson Cano’s 2009 looked a lot more like his career than 2008 did. Like Swisher, 2009 was the rule and 2008 was the exception. I expect both of these guys to hit at a high level again. Swisher may not slug .498 again, but he’s sure as hell not going to slug as low as the .410 he did in 2008. The only thing that scares me with Cano is that if the hits aren’t falling–like in the first half of 2008–he’s essentially neutralized as a player. His on base skills are still iffy and if his line drives aren’t turning into hits, Cano will have big problems. Granted, this is true of literally everyone. However, with players like Nick Swisher, who have very good on base skills, it’s a lot less troubling.

Though they’ve had sustained success for longest of this group, there is a good argument to be made that the pair of Jeter and Posada is the least likely to repeat its 2009 performance. This isn’t because they aren’t good hitters, they are (they’re two of the best in the league at their respective positions); it’s because they’re the oldest and it’s because they play the most physically demanding positions (non-starting pitcher division). I don’t think Jeter’s going to be as mediocre as he was in 2008 and I don’t think Posada will be as punch-less (.411 SLG) as he was in 2008. However, it’s highly unlikely for us to expect them both to put up 130 and higher OPS+’s.

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