Joe Posnanski did an interesting post on the types of pitches thrown to particular hitters, and Mark Teixeria’s name showed up on one of the lists:
Most change-ups
1. Ben Zobrist, 17.6%
2. Mark Teixeira, 16.3%
3. Melky Cabrera, 15.6%
4. Shane Victorino, 15.4%
5. Cristian Guzman, 15.3%
(tie) Nick Swisher, 15.3%
(tie) Victor Martinez, 15.3%
Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera made this list as well, but I would like to focus upon Teixeira. Any Yankees fan who watched the Yankees regularly in 2009 probably could have noted that pitchers tend to throw Teixeira plenty of changeups. When he was struggling early in the season, it seemed like most of his strikeouts came on that pitch, as he would be sitting fastball and would swing over the slower change. Let’s take a look at the pitch type values from Fangraphs to see if the numbers support this strategy by pitchers. A “w” before a pitch type denotes that the number measures how many runs above average the player was on that particular pitch. A suffix of /C means that the number has been converted to a rate statistic, in this case runs above average per 100 pitches of that type.
I am going to focus on fastballs, changeups, curveballs, and sliders, because those are the pitches thrown to Teixeira most frequently. As you can see, Tex is above average against most pitches, a product of his being an excellent all around hitter. In regard to changeups, his wCH/C displays that he has not been below average on changeups since his rookie season. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that for his career, he hits the changeup better than he does sliders or curveballs, with only fastballs being a greater source of offense for Teixeira.
So, while it did seem like Teixeira struggled against changeups last season, the numbers do not support this assertion. Instead, they suggest that he has had a bit of trouble in his career with sliders, and that pitchers who have a split fingered pitch or a knuckler should likely throw them to keep Tex off balance. One caveat is that these numbers do not account for the way in which pitches help set hitters up. The changeup may have some value in terms of decreasing Teixeira’s effectiveness against other pitches that does not appear in these numbers. Still, it seems that the changeup in of itself is not actually hurting Mark Teixeira.
Bob Sheppard enjoying his retirement
Here’s some reading material for a quiet holiday weekend Sunday morning
-Tremendous Yankee video retrospective covering everything from 1903 to 2008. About 8 1/2 minutes long, and worth every second. It’s incredible just how many great moments this franchise has had. (h/t to Zell’s Pinstripe Blog for the link)
-THTs Shysterball is no more. You can still read Craig Calcaterra on NBC Sports.
-Typically good, funny, smart piece from Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski (aka the other Joe P). The LVP awards (Least Valuable Players) discussing players and managers.
-Good MLBTR piece on draft pick compensation, which got me thinking about offering Johnny Damon arbitration.
Would you offer it to Johnny Damon? Boras rarely accepts arbitration. He not only aggressively takes his clients to free agency but often takes them deep into January. It’s an opportunity to use Boras’ ambitious nature to your advantage. If you think there’s a 2 year deal out there for Johnny, you would offer him arbitration knowing he would decline. However, if there’s not a multi year deal out there for Johnny . . what’s the downside? Would it be so bad to have Johnny come back on a 1 year deal? That’s the Yanks preference, they’re on record saying they would like to sign him to a 1 year deal, possibly with an option. 2 years would be tops they would offer to him as a free agent. I’d rather overpay him a bit for one year than negotiate with him and wind up with a guaranteed 2nd year. I offer it arbitration to Johnny, I don’t see any big downside.
-(Facepalm) Some ideas are too batshit crazy to even begin to break down. In the newspaper biz, it’s common to take reporters without a sports background and give them a team to cover. The plus side can be a fresh take on a well worn topic. The downside can be articles like this one.
-The Red Sox 1912 World Series trophy is currently owned by a New York Real Estate broker named Robert Fraser, who’s auctioning the thing off. Don’t ask me what I would do with it.
-Hanley Ramirez to Boston? From Bill Madden’s latest column-
7. David Samson
The Florida Marlins president obviously has no shame. After finally succeeding in securing a new taxpayer-funded stadium for the Marlins in downtown Miami – supposedly enabling the Marlins to have the financial means to keep their star players – Samson demonstrated he has no intention of doing that when he refused to give his best pitcher, Josh Johnson, a four-year extension. Now it also looks as if Hanley Ramirez won’t ever see that new stadium in a Marlins uniform as the Red Sox, who let incumbent Alex Gonzalez go, are reportedly engaged in talks with Florida about reacquiring the All-Star shortstop.
What is it with Madden having all these Red Sox contacts all of a sudden? First the Halladay-to-the-Sox stuff, now this. I think Madden is carrying somebody’s water for them, and they live about 200 miles north of Yankee Stadium. Watch him get a big Red Sox-related scoop later this off season. Neither of these stories ring true to me. First, if either Ramirez or Johnson was officially available it would be a huge back page news story, not some footnote in an editorial. They’re two of the best young players in the game. Next, Hanley’s big money doesn’t kick in until 2011, he’s only due to get a 1.5 mil bump next year, whch even the Marlins can afford. These Madden stories lately all seem designed to have the same effect, and that’s to scare the Yanks into doing something.
-Happy Birthday to Mariano Rivera, who turns 40 today.
Photo courtesy of the great NoMaas.org
Sometimes, a piece of writing perfectly encapsulates an idea or event, putting into a few short words what our hearts and minds knew to be true all along. Joe Posnanski’s article on baseball’s enduring nature fits snugly into that category:
People have been burying baseball for a long time, and there are certainly reasons to believe that someday soon America will move on to something else.
I don’t think so, though. Yes, it’s local. No, it doesn’t do great TV ratings. Yes, there’s cynicism in the game and yes kids need more stimulation in their lives. But there’s something about baseball that has endured and, I believe, will endure through steroids and short attention spans and free agency and big contracts and everything else. Maybe I could explain it like this: If you go up to a baseball fan anywhere in America — in Montana, in Florida, in Texas or in Connecticut — and ask “Who scored the millionth run?” there’s a chance they will say they have no idea. But there’s a pretty good chance they’ll say “Bob Watson.” Why do they know that? Why do they care about something that meaningless? I think they care because of something I have said about baseball before: ”I never argue with people who say baseball is boring because baseball IS boring. But then, suddenly, it isn’t. And that’s why it’s great.“
Sometimes, baseball can be boring, especially if you are not particularly fascinated by the mental tug of war between pitcher and batter. However, you can go into a run of the mill game and suddenly find that A-Rod has homered on his first swing back from surgery, or Andy Pettitte is chasing perfection, or Melky hits another walkoff, or Luis Castillo drops the ball. Suddenly, what once may have seemed boring is thrilling and exhilarating, and you have a memory that lasts a lifetime. That is what makes baseball great.
A few windows I have open in my browser that could not be worked into individual posts:
- Tom Verducci picked his All-Stars, and he only has two Yankees (Jeter and Rivera). I think Teixeira and Sabathia both have a decent shot as well, but his team is fairly reasonable. I will have more on the ASG once the actual teams are released.
- From Buster Olney:
- Ken Singleton was a fine player, ahead of his time with a .388 career OBP. I really had no idea.
- Joe Posnanski on Mariano
and the Yankee mythos. Just an excellent read.
The two sides haggled for a time, and in the end, the Pirates — with a payroll one-quarter the size of the Yankees’ — relented, because it makes sense for them to save as much money as possible, even $400,000, in what’s becoming a summer of frugality. This small trade says a lot about what’s going on in baseball this season. The expectation among a lot of general managers is that you’re going to see a lot of teams looking to make deals like this, eating some salary to get rid of as much as they can. The small handful of teams that appear willing to take on salary — the Red Sox, the Phillies, the Giants, the Mets, perhaps a few others — will be in position to dictate terms in what will be a buyer’s market.
Sounds like a buyer’s market, which bodes well for the Yankees.
