04/17: News & Notes
Posted by: James
I've been swamped at work the past week or so (and nuts, it doesn't look good for the forseeable future) but I couldn't hold off that much longer. A lot of people have beaten me to the punch on a bunch of these topics but hey, I might as well throw in my two cents.
Even at 6-6 and with the issues with the starting pitching, the Yankees actually lead the AL in ERA (they're 4th in all of baseball). I know this is over only twelve games but hopefully, we can see this kind of performance all year from the staff and with the Yankees offense being what it is, that W-L record should be much improved.
There's been some bluster (including from myself) about Jeter sac-bunting and whether it makes sense but I wanted to make this caveat. Late in games when the Yankees are tied, I really don't have a problem seeing a sac bunt to move the runner over. In my mind, this is only because of Mariano. I am so confident in Mo that if you can just get that run to eke it out, Rivera will get you that win. Most other closers...no thank you, a hitter of Jeter's ability should hit away.
Speaking of bunts, you know who really should bunt a couple times just to see what would happen? Jason Giambi. Seriously, if he pushed a couple bunts with that infield shift on that most teams play against him, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make it to first base standing up. If nothing else, it would certainly give other teams something else to think about when Giambi comes up. Not that opposing teams are doing much thinking these days, just some neck excercises so they can watch the path of some his latest moonshots as he's been on fire lately.
With Giambi's hot hitting, he's followed up his league-leading .420 OBP from last year (.413 Career) with a .543 OBP so far. Of course, that brings up the question of lineup construction (again). Now, I know Sheff has a career OBP of .399 but the truth is that his OBP has declined for the last two years (.379 last year) and he hasn't really started clicking at the plate yet. Until he does (and honestly, after he does), it makes no sense not to hit Giambi in the 3 hole. In close games, we need guys on base in front of the sluggers and Giambi is the best way to achieve that. In addition, breaking up the lefty bats of Giambi/Matsui and righties Jeter/Sheffield/A-Rod isn't something to be taken lightly.
In regards to the pitchers, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Chien-Min Wang's (4.08 ERA, 3.35 FIP) performance yesterday. I said earlier that his K rate (currently 6 Ks per game) is due for a rebound and I think that it's beginning to show. This is an important development as an increased K rate will definitely help him when he plays on artificial turf and with the defense that he has behind him. Also, I know that this screams small sample size but Scott Proctor has pitched well in the 7 innings of work he's seen so far (1.29 ERA, 4.13 FIP). Some of the more encouraging signs are that he has limited all batter to a .208/.345/.292. His walk rate is a bit worrisome but I'm very happy to see him keep the balls in the park and the XBHs to a minimum. Rounding out the bullpen, I believe that Tanyon Sturtze (7.36 ERA, 10.22 FIP) should be sent down to the minors. I'd rather he find out what's going on with his arm and his stuff in AAA. As it stands, he's a time bomb in the bullpen.
Finally, here are a couple of links that I came across that I thought were interesting and worth a quick look:
For a contest for YouTube's best internet viral video, Conor Lastowka decided to re-enact Game Six of the 1986 World Series in RBI Baseball, his favorite video game of all time (and mine!). He even has it synced up with the actual audio from the game! It looks like it took a lot of time and effort but it's definitely amusing (Buckner takes place at the 7:50 mark).
On NPR, there's a story of a Yankee fan, Anthony D'Andrea, who in 1943 went on a quest to get the entire Yankee team to sign his baseball. It's a pretty interesting to listen to, especially the way D'Andrea, now 75 years old, speaks of the players of the past. It's refreshing and something that normally wouldn't get a lot of press but I do like the way it ends, with the Yankees winning the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in five games.
Even at 6-6 and with the issues with the starting pitching, the Yankees actually lead the AL in ERA (they're 4th in all of baseball). I know this is over only twelve games but hopefully, we can see this kind of performance all year from the staff and with the Yankees offense being what it is, that W-L record should be much improved.
There's been some bluster (including from myself) about Jeter sac-bunting and whether it makes sense but I wanted to make this caveat. Late in games when the Yankees are tied, I really don't have a problem seeing a sac bunt to move the runner over. In my mind, this is only because of Mariano. I am so confident in Mo that if you can just get that run to eke it out, Rivera will get you that win. Most other closers...no thank you, a hitter of Jeter's ability should hit away.
Speaking of bunts, you know who really should bunt a couple times just to see what would happen? Jason Giambi. Seriously, if he pushed a couple bunts with that infield shift on that most teams play against him, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make it to first base standing up. If nothing else, it would certainly give other teams something else to think about when Giambi comes up. Not that opposing teams are doing much thinking these days, just some neck excercises so they can watch the path of some his latest moonshots as he's been on fire lately.
With Giambi's hot hitting, he's followed up his league-leading .420 OBP from last year (.413 Career) with a .543 OBP so far. Of course, that brings up the question of lineup construction (again). Now, I know Sheff has a career OBP of .399 but the truth is that his OBP has declined for the last two years (.379 last year) and he hasn't really started clicking at the plate yet. Until he does (and honestly, after he does), it makes no sense not to hit Giambi in the 3 hole. In close games, we need guys on base in front of the sluggers and Giambi is the best way to achieve that. In addition, breaking up the lefty bats of Giambi/Matsui and righties Jeter/Sheffield/A-Rod isn't something to be taken lightly.
In regards to the pitchers, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Chien-Min Wang's (4.08 ERA, 3.35 FIP) performance yesterday. I said earlier that his K rate (currently 6 Ks per game) is due for a rebound and I think that it's beginning to show. This is an important development as an increased K rate will definitely help him when he plays on artificial turf and with the defense that he has behind him. Also, I know that this screams small sample size but Scott Proctor has pitched well in the 7 innings of work he's seen so far (1.29 ERA, 4.13 FIP). Some of the more encouraging signs are that he has limited all batter to a .208/.345/.292. His walk rate is a bit worrisome but I'm very happy to see him keep the balls in the park and the XBHs to a minimum. Rounding out the bullpen, I believe that Tanyon Sturtze (7.36 ERA, 10.22 FIP) should be sent down to the minors. I'd rather he find out what's going on with his arm and his stuff in AAA. As it stands, he's a time bomb in the bullpen.
Finally, here are a couple of links that I came across that I thought were interesting and worth a quick look:
For a contest for YouTube's best internet viral video, Conor Lastowka decided to re-enact Game Six of the 1986 World Series in RBI Baseball, his favorite video game of all time (and mine!). He even has it synced up with the actual audio from the game! It looks like it took a lot of time and effort but it's definitely amusing (Buckner takes place at the 7:50 mark).
On NPR, there's a story of a Yankee fan, Anthony D'Andrea, who in 1943 went on a quest to get the entire Yankee team to sign his baseball. It's a pretty interesting to listen to, especially the way D'Andrea, now 75 years old, speaks of the players of the past. It's refreshing and something that normally wouldn't get a lot of press but I do like the way it ends, with the Yankees winning the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in five games.
Patrick wrote: