The time has come for Robbie to get some pie

Robinson Cano has been something of a pet project for Yankee hitting coach Kevin Long in recent years. He visited Robbie last year during the off season in the Dominican to work on adjusting his stance, and again this year to help him make the necessary adjustments for what the Yanks just recently revealed their plan was, to bat Robbie 5th this year.

There has always been a question about which way Robbie’s career would go. Whether he would ever learn to draw more walks and become a lethal presence at the top of the order, or if he would fill out physically, develop more pop and use his outstanding ability to make contact to be a perfect 5 hole hitter. Clearly, the Yanks have decided the latter is where they think he’s best suited. The one thing holding him back has been his struggles with RISP. Unlike some Sabermatricians (who I respect) I’m not going to tell you this was some statistical anomaly based on a small sample size. I don’t believe that’s the case. I’ve watched him far too often uncharacteristically swing a pitches way out of the zone in those spots, and just look jumpy at the plate. It’s one thing to be aggressive, it’s another to swing at everything. Robbie has an (unfair) tag about him being lazy. But in clutch situations, I see the exact opposite. I see someone who’s trying TOO hard.

Yankee hitting Coach Kevin Long seems to agree. Check out what Long said about in a February Daily News interview:

As any Yankee fan knows, Cano is an aggressive free swinger, to the point where he drew only 30 walks last season. In clutch situations, pitchers take advantage of his aggressiveness and get him to chase pitches out of the strike zone.

“In those situations pitchers go to their out pitch against him,” said Long, “which means more movement, more down, and something that gets you off-balance. That’s where Robby has to be more patient, more selective, so that he brings the ball to the middle of the plate.

“We chart chase percentages for each of our hitters, and Robby chased 11% of pitches out of the strike zone, which was the highest on the team. Most guys are around 5 or 6%. And Robby’s chases go up with runners in scoring position.“

Bingo. Situations like his call for qualitative analysis as much as quantitative. Pitchers know his aggressive nature, and have been getting him out by throwing him garbage in clutch situations. His struggles with RISP have as much to do with how he’s being pitched as it does his approach in those spots, both of which conspire yield poor results. It’s not some statistical noise, it’s a function of his scouting report.

So how will batting him 5th help? Simple, hitting behind Alex means that opposing pitchers will often pitch around A-Rod to get to Cano. But that cuts both ways, with men on base pitchers will be forced to throw Robbie more strikes, to avoid walking the bases loaded or walking in a run. But they will also try to tease him with some garbage pitches to see if he’ll chase before he gets his pitch to hit. Look for Robbie to get deep into counts in those spots, forcing the pitcher to challenge him with fastballs in the zone. That’s when he’ll have the pitcher just where he wants him.

“It’s more than an honor to hit behind A-Rod and in front of Posada,” Cano said. “That means I’m going to have to step it up early in the season.”

Those were Robinson Cano’s words when talking about hitting fifth in the potent, loaded, and likely to be dangerous offense. This will be a relatively new experience for Robinson, who has amassed only 290 plate appearances in the five spot, hitting to an unimpressive .774 OPS.

Girardi’s move to put Robbie in this prominent spot in the batting order represents a sort of “sink-or-swim” position to Cano. I’ve always said that Cano should bat in the lower part of the order so the Yankees’ high-on base guys could be on in front of him. Then, Cano’s power could drive them in. Of course, this works in theory, but Cano’s troubles with runners on base are well noted. By being placed in the fifth spot, Cano is being asked to improve on his relatively poor numbers.

It is worth noting that Cano’s BABIPs with runners on base (.294), RISP (.267), and high leverage situations (.271) are lower than his career BABIP of .321. This means a combination of two things; it means that Robinson is experiencing a little bit of bad luck and is probably hitting the ball a little bit weaker in those situations.

Looking at Robinson’s batted ball splits in the different leverage situations, we can see some interesting things. First, he has his lowest (among the three leverage categories) line drive percentage, 17.7%. This tells us he’s not hitting the ball with as much authority as he does in other situations–his career LD% is 19.3.

The next two items blend together and reinforce the point about line drive percentage. In the high-leverage situations, Cano has his lowest ground ball percentage (46.8) and highest fly ball percentage (35.5), as well as his lowest HR/Fly Ball ball percentage (6.4). It would seem that when Robbie is hitting in high leverage situations, he’s not getting as on top of the ball as he should be, and this is leading to a higher amount of outs.

Robinson also makes slightly less contact when he hits in high leverage situations. His career strikeout percentage is 11.7% and goes up to 14.6% when in high leverage situations. While both of those numbers are good–they’re well below the league average strikeout percentage–the uptick in strikeouts with men on is concerning.

As I’m not a batting coach and I haven’t dissected hours and hours of video, I can’t reliably prescribe something to fix Mr. Cano’s ills. What I suggest is likely to be the “Spark Notes” version of what hitting coach Kevin Long will say: focus on making contact and make sure you’re swinging down on the ball.

Like Girardi, Long, and hopefully all of you reading this, I have every confidence that Cano will right himself in situations with runners on and will come through this year. Remember, he’s driven in at least 70 runs each season for the last four seasons with these poor numbers with runners on and high leverage situations. With just a bit of improvement at the plate–and a small up-turn in luck–Cano could potentially drive in 100 runs.

From George King:

The Post has learned Adeinis Hechavarria is going to get more money than the $8 million Jose Iglesias Iglesias got from the Red Sox.
However, it won’t be from the Yankees. And it has nothing to do with the Yankees not wanting to spend the money on the Cuban refugee shortstop.
According to an industry source Hechavarria is close to signing a $10 million deal with the Blue Jays because he didn’t envision himself playing short for the Yankees.
Hechavarria, 21, was leery of Derek Jeter’s impending extension that will keep him at short for the foreseeable future.

This is an unexpected first casualty of the Jeter contract situation. A prospect like Hechevarria is unique in the sense that he is close to the majors and can pick an organization that has room for him. This differs from most international prospects, who are typically 16-18 years old and are 3-5 years away from the majors, so that the current rosters of the clubs are largely irrelevant. While this is an unfortunate loss of a talent that the Yankees liked, it is probable that the only way the Yankees could have changed the shortstop’s mind was to offer him a lot more money than they thought he was worth, a poor way for a team to do business. The only logical move was to pass.

Yesterday, Joe Girardi discussed a few things with Mike Francesa (H/T to Steve for this). I’ll briefly run through the points General Joe made and my reactions to them:

1. Nick Johnson will bat second.
This is something with which I whole-heartedly agree (and Moshe does, too). Johnson at the top of the order will give Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez yet another man to drive in. While Johnson may not be the fleetest of foot out there, the important thing is being on base. In fact, in 2009, Johnson scored 11 times from second base when a single was hit. In the same situation, Curtis Granderson scored five times. I wouldn’t worry too much about Johnson “clogging the bases”.

2. Curtis Granderson is going to play center field.
Though I ran the numbers, way back on my second day at TYU, and they came out saying Granderson in left and Gardner in center would be better numerically, I don’t have a problem with this. If Granderson really has issues defensively, he can be moved. No matter what position he’s at, Granderson’s bat will play, and he’s still likely to be a good defender in center. Regardless, Gardner-Granderson-Swisher will be fine offensively and will be one of the best defensively.

3. Cano will hit fifth to avoid “stacking lefties” (5-9: Cano, Posada, Granderson, Swisher, Gardner).
I’m rather surprised by this, actually. I thought for sure Jorge would’ve been the five place hitter. Frankly, though, it doesn’t matter. The reality is that the 5-8 guys listed above could all bat at any of those spots (and some of them could bat higher) and this “problem” just speaks to how strong and “circular” the Yankee lineup is. Cano’s power should play well in the five spot and having a lot of guys on in front of him–from Jeter through A-Rod–should help correct his problems with runners on.

4. Girardi believes Cano’s struggles w/RISP are sample size issues.
I agree. Cano’s eventually going to hit like he normally does when there are runners in scoring position. Perhaps “forcing” the issue by putting him higher in the order will correct this issue. As long as Robbie puts up numbers like he did in ‘05-’07 and ‘09, I’ll be happy.

5. Posada will catch 100-120 games.
He caught 111 games last season, and that was with a hamstring issue, so he could do that again this year. At his age, though, catching that many games may be wishful thinking. If it happens, though, the Yankees are in great, great shape. An additional note, Girardi added that Johnson will primarily DH (see below) and on days that Posada sits, Johnson will still DH. This is clearly aimed at keeping Jorge healthy.

6. Nick Johnson will play 1B 2-3 times a month, spelling Tex, who will DH on those days.
This, too, surprises me. While it’s nice to give Tex a little break, I’m not sure if it’s necessary. Johnson’s generally been a strong fielder, though, so it can’t hurt–unless, of course, Nick gets hurt.

7. Granderson plays every day.
Yes. 100% yes. The only way Curtis can work through his problems against left handers is to face them as much as possible and get as many reps as he can. Obviously, if there isn’t progress by May or June, it’s time to scrap that plan. I have faith, though, in Granderson and Kevin Long to fix the problem and make Curtis even better than he is.

I’ve done a handful of these projection things, but I haven’t done one for Robinson Cano. Over the past few weeks, especially yesterday, Cano’s been a popular subject on The Yankee U and across the Yankee-based media. Like I’ve done with the other guys, I’d like to start outside the numbers before diving in.

Robinson Cano is a hell of a baseball player. He’s got a gorgeous swing and a very strong arm. I am going to say a few things and I mean them with every fiber of my being. I want all of you reading this post to take these statements to heart.

Robinson Cano is not lazy. He likely cares more about performing on the baseball field than you or I care about almost anything in our lives. Cano’s talent and performance is not dependent on someone else. He doesn’t need Larry Bowa looking over his shoulder, reminding him how to do things. He doesn’t need to have his friend Melky Cabrera next to him as a pseudo security blanket in order to perform. Robinson has worked harder than we can ever imagine to get to where he is and it has paid off incredibly. Cano is among the top three second basemen in the game and he didn’t get there by luck and talent alone. He is not, I repeat, not lazy, nonchalant, or careless.

Carrying on, Cano rebounded from a pretty dismal 2008 with a great 2009. He set a career high in homers with 25, OPS+ with 125, and IsoP with an impressive .199. His wOBA (.370) and wRC+ (128) were each the second highest they’ve been (2006: .377, 130).

Cano’s 2009 was beyond successful and he’s truly blossoming into a great offensive player. If he keeps up this hitting and improves his fielding, he will bump Dustin Pedroia (whom I feel has an edge because of his better on-base skills and his fielding) as the second best second baseman in baseball (Chase Utley is the best, and there’s no question at all). Let’s see what the projection systems see in 2010 for Robbie:

.306/.339/.489/.828; 20 HR; 86 RBI; 31 BB; 68 SO, 289 TB, 42 2B.

That’s an awesome line, especially considering it’ll be coming from a second baseman. The patience and plate discipline may not be there yet–it may be wishful thinking that they come any time soon–but the power is still there and so is a general lack of strikeouts. Remember, this is just an averaged out projection and Cano could easily outperform it and put up a line closer to what he did in 2009. In fact, I’d say he’s more likely to hit like he did in 2009 than he is to hit at that projection. Cano will be 27 this season and is entering his baseball-playing prime. This means very good things for the Yankees.

Here’s an interesting bit of text via Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record:

Yankee hitting instructor Kevin Long spoke for the franchise when he said, “We all want to see Robbie get to the next level. It’s definitely time, and he knows it.”

Cano seems ready for the challenge, showing up at 7 a.m. this week for infield drills with Alex Rodriguez. That’s a considerable lifestyle change for the historically easygoing Cano, whose friendship with Melky Cabrera may or may not have kept him from reaching superstar status.

Cano lamented his buddy’s off-season trade to the Braves, saying, “We used to go out and talk all the time. I’ve known him for 10 years.” But one member of the organization says Cano is better off on his own, spending more of his baseball-time with A-Rod.

This notion that the Melky-Cano relationship was a hindrance in terms of Cano’s overall development has been longstanding, although I’m not quite sure that I buy it. I guess it makes sense in that by having your best friend around, at all times, you choose to hang out with him throughout the season rather than other players such as Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, etc. In that sense, the loss of Melky could force Cano to spend time with other players – better players – and glean valuable knowledge from them. However, again, I think that might be overstated here in Klapisch’s article.

I guess we will have to wait and see how Melky’s absence affects Cano, but I figure any impact will be minimal.

Photo via Talk-Sports.net

Over the weekend, Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record compared Yankees second baseman, Robinson Cano, to Boston’s Dustin Pedroia. At one point in the text, Klapisch discusses the two in terms of fielding ability, and concludes that Cano is actually a better second baseman than Pedroia. “In this regard,” he writes, “Pedroia doesn’t come close to Cano – he can’t duplicate his rival’s range to his right and that signature ability to throw to first base while moving in the opposite direction.” However, it seems that Ultimate Zone Rating disagrees with Klapisch.

According to FanGraphs, which Klapisch later uses to discuss offense yet did not use to justify his defensive evaluation (for whatever reason), Robinson Cano’s career UZR is -26.8 and his career UZR per 150 defensive games is -5.4. On the other hand, Dustin Pedroia’s career UZR is +21.7 and his career UZR per 150 defensive games is 7.4. With regards to defense, there is a fairly large gulf, run-wise, between the two, with Pedroia reigning supreme. While I do think that UZR actually underrates Cano – a product, perhaps, of the way in which his “smooth” style of play is perceived, i.e., as not trying hard enough – to say that Pedroia “doesn’t come close to Cano” with a glove is quite a reach. Based on what I have seen, Cano has a better arm and range to his right, but Pedroia, with his speed and instincts, seems to react better and, as a result, can often cover more ground, overall (he was 7.5 range runs above average in 2009, and Cano was 2.5 runs below average). Would most fans agree with that assessment? I think so.

Cano has the potential to improve significantly, and become a better second baseman, but, as of right now, if I were building a defense-first team and were forced to choose between he and Pedroia, I would probably take the latter.

Photo by Reuters

Yesterday, Moshe posted 25 questions/issues going into Spring Training. Tackling them one-by-one in full posts would take way too long, so I’m going to give some quick hit answers to each one.

1. Jorge’s decline: Steve’s got legit concerns about Jorge declining, and if there’s anyone on the Yankees who’s going to decline, it’s likely to be Jorge. The average projection for Jorge doesn’t seem too ominous, but you never know with older catchers. My guess? Jorge doesn’t fall off a cliff, but he’s not as productive with the bat as he was last year.

2. The back up catcher: barring injury, I think this job is Cervelli’s to lose. His bat is iffy, but it’s okay for a back up catcher and his defense is solid.

3. The Jesus and 2010/catching: If we see El Carpentiero at all in ‘10, it’ll likely be as a September call up. As for whether he can handle catching, I’m cautiously optimistic. Regardless, that bat is downright dreamy and I want it sticking around in the Yankee organization for years to come.

4. Nick Johnson: Like with Hideki Matsui in ‘09, keeping Johnson off the field could be the key to keeping him healthy. If he does stay healthy, I think he could at the very least come close to matching Hideki/Johnny Damon, he’ll just do it in different ways. His power should bounce back by being in YSIII and I’d expect his HR/FB anomaly from 2009 to correct itself as well.

5. Cano’s defense: I think he’ll stay where he is, which is frustrating ’cause he’s brilliant out there at times.

6. Jeter’s contract situation as a potential distraction: I don’t think it will be an issue until after the ASB.

7. A-Rod’s defense: I think we’ll see the second half A-Rod on defense–still below average with the range (but what an arm!), but not as bad as he was immediately after returning.

8. Utility role: I say Pena, unless Russo really wows everyone in ST.

9. Which Swish: It may not be an exact copy, but I’d put good money on the ‘10 Swisher looking a lot like the ‘09 Swisher.

10. Grandy vs. lefties: Hopefully, Kevin Long can work some magic. And, yes, moving to YSIII will definitely help C-Grand.

11. Gardner as an everyday player: I’m cautiously optimistic for Gardner, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on this issue.

12. Randy Winn’s possible decline: 2009 looks like one of two outliers in the last 8 seasons, 2006 was the other. If he can bounce back, great. If not, it’s not a huge sunken cost and he’s replaceable.

13. Gardy or Grandy in CF: I’ll be happy either way, but the numbers point to Gardner in CF.

14. Hoffmann or Thames: I think they’ll go with Hoffmann, just to see what he’s got unless Thames absolutely destroys the Grapefruit League.

15. October hangover for SPs: It’s possible, but they’re veterans who know how to manage their bodies. Hopefully, there are no ill effects.

16. Javy as unclutch: I see good things for Javy this time around.

17. A.J.’s health: Burnett will pitch at least 185 innings in 2010.

18. 5th starter: I’ve written more than once about this. Joba it shall be.

19. BP or SWB: See above.

20. Damaso: He won’t be as lights out in the playoffs, but he’ll be his usual lefty destroying self since he’ll finally be healthy for a full year.

21. Second lefty: I don’t think a second lefty is a must, but I think General Joe likes the idea of having two lefties, so I think they’ll at least start off the year w/2 LHRPs.

22. If not, who gets the job: No thinking, gut reaction, Melancon.

23. Mo and…aging…: I’ll defer to Chris Turk for the answer.

24. Girardi’s lack of job security: The only way it becomes an issue is if Joe really screws up this year, which won’t happen.

25. Room in the budget if needed: They’ll find it.

So, there you have it: 25 quick answers to 25 complex questions. Before you know it, it’ll be November and we’ll be looking back on these (hopefully after a 28th championship) issues and their outcomes. Here’s to hoping they all turn out the way we want them to.

Last week, I wrote a post about aversive racism in sports analysis. In the post, I provided an example in the perceived effort levels of Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano, and suggested that it is almost impossible for us to judge whether a player cares and is giving his all. Mets pitcher John Maine, in an interview with Matt Cerrone, touched on this same issue:

John Maine: I think, especially here in New York, you see a lot of negative things in the papers and you see a lot of negative things from the fans. I personally don’t mind it, I know they want to win… But, they’ve got to realize that we want to win too. We are not going out there to try and lose. We are not going out there to try to give up a home run. We are not trying to boot balls. We’re not trying to lose 100 games. We are out there to try and win too. Even if somebody has a bad week or a bad month, it’s not a reflection on their personality. They are good guys and we are out there busting our butts. Sometimes it’s just doesn’t happen… We are out there trying to win for us and the fans.

Matthew Cerrone: I notice some fans who feel certain players don’t try hard enough…

John Maine: Try harder? Why don’t I try to maybe throw harder? That makes no sense. We do care.

Maine is speaking very strongly here while emphasizing a point that was discussed in last year’s RAB article that spawned my racism post. In that article, Joe built off the following two quotes, one from a post I had written, and one from RJ Anderson of DRays Bay. Here is mine:

Unless a player is obviously dogging it, it is impossible to discern whether a player is giving his all by watching on television. We can try and interpret the events on the field, but ultimately, we just do not have enough information about the player’s level of preparation, will to improve, or willingness to try new things. Usually, a player who is not performing or is making the same errors repeatedly is trying to change, but cannot execute. Does anyone truly believe that these players are satisfied with failure on the largest stage for baseball in the world? The assumption should be that the players are attempting to avoid failure unless they clearly show otherwise.

And here is RJ’s:

Imagine practicing an instrument nearly every single day since you were 12-years-old. For more than half your life, all you know is playing that instrument. You play some concerts, some shows at a club, and as it turns out, people like you. The club starts paying you upfront and things look great, but you’ve been doing this for 12+ years. What drives you to continue? It wasn’t the money until recently; it isn’t the fame because you have little. Is it the desire to master the craft?

Upton has put in more hours at a baseball field than most of us will our entire lives. By suggesting that he doesn’t care about the game you’re suggesting that most of his life is irrelevant to him. I suppose it could be true, but why the hell would he continue to play if he hated and was disinterested by it?

All of these excerpts point towards a single conclusion: as fans, we should assume that players are trying unless we have convincing evidence to the alternative. Robinson Cano provides a perfect example of a guy who has been bitten by the propensity for fans to judge a player’s effort by one or two plays rather than looking at his entire profile. He is a guy who has gotten a reputation for being lazy despite constantly showing willingness to work on his craft during his “free time.” Cano certainly cares, yet any instance in a 162 game season where it does not look like he is giving every ounce of energy to beat out a ground ball serves to reinforce this false reputation.

I am not suggesting that every player goes all out on every play, because that is simply not a realistic expectation. It is possible, and likely, that a player will have days where he is just not feeling it and simply cannot reach down and find an extra bit of energy to help the team. But to conclude that there are players who are generally lazy or do not care based upon the little information that we can glean from our couches seems irresponsible to me. As Maine stated, they do care.

Do you agree? Are you more confident in our abilities to judge effort? Chime in below.

We authors here at TYU all seem to bring something different to the proverbial table. Moshe grinds out meaningful posts that are well developed and thought provoking. E.J. does the prospect thing. Steve likes to touch on the “hot button” issues of Yankee-land. Chris and I delve into a more analytical realm. Of course, we all reach across “genres” and touch on all of these things. Like we who write about them, each of the Yankee hitters brings his own special skills to the plate and the field.

Jorge Posada

Let’s kick it off with the man behind the plate: Jorge Posada. It’s my contention that Jorge is one of the most underrated players of the last twenty years. His offense out of the catcher’s spot has been both consistent and at a high level for 15 years and aside from Mike Piazza, he has been the finest offensive catcher in the game (Joe Mauer will take this title shortly, but Posada’s done it for a long time). Anyway, that’s enough gushing. Jorge’s value, like many Yankees, comes from patience and power. His .277 average is quite average, but his .379 OBP is more than solid and his .480 SLG is good for anyone, let a lone a catcher.

Mark Teixeira

It’s hard to think of something Mark doesn’t do well. He plays solid defense. He’s a good contact hitter (.290 career batting average). He’s patient at the plate (.373 career OBP, 80 walks per 162 games). He’s got great power (.545 SLG, .255 IsoP, 80 XBH per 162). Basically, Tex is arguably the most well-rounded player on the Yankees. Teixeira brings value to the team in a big variety of ways and I speak for all Yankee fans when I say I’m incredibly happy he is on the team.

Robinson Cano

Robbie Cano is a player with incredible talent, and is probably the third best second baseman in baseball–I give Pedroia the edge over Cano because Rogaine’s defense is better–but there are hols in his game. His defense is flashy at times, but awful at others. His lack of on base skills is also a bit frustrating (.033 IsoD, 4.2% BB%, average is around 9%). Cano, however, does two things very well: he hits for average (.306 career BA, 11.7 career K%, league average is about 20%) and hit for power (.480 career SLG, .173 IsoP, league average is about .155). If you’re looking for a patient hitter to work walks, Cano isn’t your guy. However, if you’re looking for a guy who’s gonna make a lot of contact and hit the ball real hard when he does make contact, look no further than Robbie.

Alex Rodriguez

A-Rod is like Tex. He does everything well. He may strike out a bit, 130 per 162, but he still hits for a high average at .302, gets on base at a .390 clip (.401 since joining the Yankees). Alex mashes the ball, with a career .576 SLG and .204 IsoP, with a 162 game average of 79 XBH, and 583 home runs in his career. Alex’s defense has taken a down turn in the last few years, but his offense cannot be overlooked. He’s one of the top hitters in the game and it’s quite clear from where his value comes.

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is the more patient, but slightly less powerful, version of Robinson Cano. His defense is so-so (though it was sparkling in ‘09), but his offense, especially relative to his position, is dreamy. A career .317/.388/.459 hitter, the Captain is good for around 200 hits and 70 walks per season. Like Teixeira and Rodriguez–but with lesser power and more contact–Jeter does everything well.

Brett Gardner

In a word: speed. Gardner’s speed is what will give him value to the team in 2010 and beyond. His on-base skills were very good in the minors, but they haven’t been great at the major league level. If he can keep his OBP where he kept it last year–between .340 and .350–then his speed will be incredibly valuable because he’ll be on base enough for his steals to matter. His lack of power, though, makes it seem possible that pitchers will simply challenge Brett and not allow him to reach via the walk.

Curtis Granderson

Curtis’s best feature is his power. His career slugging percentage is .484 and his IsoP is .212. Curtis does have a bit of a hole in his swing–149 strikeouts per 162–but he walks at a decent clip: .344 OBP, 67 BBs/162, 9.5% career BB%. If Curtis’s BABIP can rebound (.321 career, .275 in ‘09), and he continues to hit for power and walk at an average rate, Curtis’s offense will be quite valuable in 2010.

Nick Swisher

Disclaimer: I love Nick Swisher. Anyway, whenever discussing Nick Swisher–or players like him–with casual fans, I lead off with this: if you like players that hit for high batting averages, Nick Swisher is not gonna be a guy you like. Nick is never going to hit .300. What Nick is going to do, however, is still valuable: he walks a lot and he hits for a lot of power. Swisher’s career BA is a lowly .245 but his career on base percentage is .357 and his career slugging percentage is .460. That means an IsoD of .112 and an IsoP of .216; those are excellent marks. Swisher’s value comes from his patience and his power.

Nick Johnson

Last but not least is new-old- friend Nick Johnson. Johnson is like the “lite” version” of Swisher: he hits for more contact, .273 as opposed to Swish’s .245, but he also hits for less power: .447 and an IsoP of .174. However, Johnson’s on base skills are supreme: .402 career OBP, 15.6% walk rate, 0.93 BB/K. Out of the two hole, Johnson’s skill set will be invaluable in 2010. Not only will his hits move Derek Jeter around, but his walks will set up more RBI opportunities for the big boppers behind him.