Anatomy of a winning streak
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 15, 2007 
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Just broke down a few stats you might be interested in:
Starters last nine games: 6-0, 2.98 ERA (60.1 innings, 50 hits, 20 ER, 11 BB, 43 K)
Bullpen last nine games: 3-0, 1.66 ERA (21.2 innings, 18 hits, 4 ER, 12 BB, 18 K)
Offense last nine games:
102-313 (.326)
67 runs (7.4)
41 BB/49 K
33 extra-base hits
12 of 16 SBs
1 error
35 of 91 RISP (.385)
Notable players in the streak:
Matsui: 11 of 31, 14 RBI
A-Rod: 14 of 32, 21 RBI, 5 HR
Abreu last 13 games: 22 of 50 (.440), 18 R, 12 RBI, 11 BB
Cabrera last 14 games (as an everday player): 17 of 48 (.354), 5 RBI, 10 R
Miguel Cairo since June 5: 9 of 33 (.273), 3 runs, 2 doubles, sac, BB, 3 SBs.
Peter,
If you want more fun,you can do the opposition over the last 9 games!
hey, check this out, it’s so funny.
http://bostondirtdogs.boston.c.....roger.html
Why is Cairo on that list? Cairo hasn’t had ANYTHING to do with the offensive resurgence. He looks to be playing a solid defensive 1B, but now would be the time if I were Brian Cashman to solidify that position for the rest of the season. The rest of the lineup is not going to sustain this rate, nor will the pitching staff, but the black hole that has been this traditionally offensive position in our lineup will still be there.
I’m more worried about the blackhole known as Nieves. What happens when Jorge comes back down to Earth? I think the Mo himself could probably swing the bat better than Nieves.
thres no doubt that when things are going great , things go great . i wouldnt have guessed melky was doing so well but the numbers dont lie .
I find it funny how the anti-Torre comments can go by the
wayside when everyone on the team is doing their job correctly.
Let’s go YANKS!!!!!
By the way Peter, keep giving it to the “sky is falling” Yankee fan and their ability to have some number to prove to you that Cairo is the worse player on the planet. Nobody is calling Cairo a great player, but for whatever reason people love to pick on the guy and think the Yanks must field a team with every position having an OPS+ > 100. Every time I hear their constant bitching I think of think of the JayZ song, 99 Problems.
Mike,
Cairo has added a spark along with Melky & I feel a lot more comfortable with him in the lineup than Phelps. Cashman probably will get another 1B & a catcher, but everything is going well now, why not enjoy it.
For real guys, enjoy what’s going on now. We certainly weren’t winning with Dougie out there everday (although I do like him out there) so give Miggy a break. Plus I don’t know if I’m watching the same games as a lot of these guys. Nieves might not tear the cover off the ball, but he deoesn’t strike out a lot and he puts the ball in play. He’ll get his hits. He’s a great defensive catcher and he’s got one of our most valuable pitchers throwing the ball well. Get off him. On that note, VOTE FOR JORGE! Why is he not number 1 in the all star voting for catchers?? If I have to see Varipoo, or I-Rod start over him, I’ll vomit. No joke. Please vote! (Tom, that video is histerical)
Cairo has done his part as a guy batting at the bottom of order in this 9-game winning streak, is why he’s included on the list. He’s played flawless defense at 1B. His stats are impressive when you consider he barely played prior to 6/5 and most people didn’t expect him to produce like he’s done, perhaps you included among them. Also he’s who he is doing what he’s doing, so it’s notable -he’s the backup 2B/3B/SS ferchrissakes. He got to 2B 5 out of 10X getting on base (2 doubles + 3 SB). I’m more than happy with him collecting 3 hits out of every 11 at-bats from here on in, but I know that probably won’t happen. You never know. Gimme good defense and .250 with as much contact as possible in the #9 slot from him and I’m happy.
The rest of the offense can sustain Cairo’s production because they’re that good. If the Yanks get a new 1B -I wouldn’t be adverse to it- it should be to make sure Phelps plays as little as possible and is out of here once Mientkiewicz returns and have Cairo return to doing what he does best in the long run: being a serviceable utility infielder.
Enjoy Cairo’s good production while it lasts instead of ridiculously dismissing it.
IT’S GREAT TO SEE THAT YANKEE TRAIN BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK!
NOW LET’S RUN OVER THE MUTS
Who says that you can’t enjoy the current winning streak while not constructively looking at ways to improve the roster. I agree that Melky has been a spark, he has an OPS of .942 in June. He’s shown patience, and the ability to get extra base hits, all while being our best defensive OF.
Cairo has a .619 OPS in June. Which is dreadful for a first baseman. Saying you prefer him to Phelps isn’t really saying much, he hasn’t been much of a spark, the sparks have been A-Rod, Abreu, Matsui, and Cabrera. The fact that Cairo has been in the lineup is just a complete coincidence.
The bullpen needs to stop walking so many people.
Let’s stop the Cairo bashing. He has hit ok, I’ll give you that although .273 is better than Minky and probably Phelps have hit. But he has played outstanding defense, he has a knack for hitting at the right time, and he is running. The speed in the 9th spot is great.
Anyway, I realize that he is not the long term answer at 1st, but you know what, Minky is coming back in a few months, so have Cairo play decent allows Cash not to have to make a panic move for a 1B. He has been very valuable.
all I want from Melky is just keep hitting every 2 at bats and become our answer to Placido Polanco
Who is Cairo bashing? He is what he is, a utility infielder that’s playing good defense at 1B during a time when the rest of the team is white hot. His production hasn’t been good. We need a 1B for the rest of the season, and now is actually the perfect time to acquire one, because the perception is going to be that Cashman doesn’t have to panic. Cairo, Mienky, and Phelps are all not the answer.
First off, Mike, you weren’t constructively looking at ways to improve the roster, you were looking to denigrate Cairo’s solid production in these last 9 games. And I didn’t exactly see you proposing a better man at 1B than Cairo until Mientkiewicz returns and don’t give me Phelps, Phillips, or Shelley Duncan. Don’t give me Damon with almost zero M.L.B. experience at 1B either, not at this time. This is no time to experiment.
Second, get your nose out of the stats and watch the games: .273, 3 SB + 2 doubles = 5X on 2B out of 10X on base and solid defense at 1B in 9 games from the #8/9-hitting backup 2B/3B/SS who barely played this year before 6/5 is solid. Cairo has been a spark given his limited abilities.
Coincidence the Yanks have won 9 straight and he’s hitting well? Bullshit. He’s been doing well playing every day during this winning streak and his part in the winning, admit it and move on from dismissing him.
I have to admit — I thought Cairo was through as a Major League quality player. I had no idea he’d look so good at 1B. I also had no idea that Phelps was so bad in the field. There’s no question that Cairo’s much better than Phelps there. If Cairo his .240 and Phelps .300, I’d still say it’s better to have Cairo there because Phelps seems terrible. And terrible in ways that stats don’t reflect, such as the balls hit betwen him and 2B or pitcher, when he has no idea whether to go for the ball or the bag, and it results in infield hits. No error on Phelps in the stats, but he’s the cause of it. Plus, the Cairo error yesterday — yes, Cairo should be the one charged with it, but you could see there was no way Phelps was going to scoop the throw successfully, whereas Cairo or even Giambi (and certainly Mienky) may have.
I think Moose’s whining about Torre taking him out too early last week may have been a good thing, as it may have helped convince Torre to let his starters go a bit longer in games, which has been an enormous benefit. The starters have been pitching better for awhile now, but it’s only since then that Torre has let anyone other than Wang go deeper into games.
I do agree with another poster, though — the Yanks still are closer to last than first in the AL East, so there’s a LONG way to go before getting too cocky, although clearly things are looking much rosier.
yeah, Pete, why quote those Cairo stats?
lemme put those stats for games at first in simple terms:
average: 277, on-base: 294, slugging: 333, ops: 627
you think those stats are making the case FOR him?
the total ops of our 1b including those crappy #s is .759–he’s a LOT worse offensively than Phelps/Minky.
better to just chant “clutchy gritty gamer smallball leather” and hide the stats under the table….
Yeah, the backup catcher who plays twice a week and gets 8 at bats a week is a problem.
If thats the least of our worries the rest of the way, I’ll sign for it.
Im a big Anti Torre fella but even I can see its the pitching that control everything.
Great starting pitching leads to so many good things.
Cairo deserves mention because he has had a handful of timely hits since he has been in the lineup.
It’s not always about OPS or some other glamorous stat that looks good on ESPN highlights, the back of baseball cards, or in a hot-aired metrics discussion that makes a player have value to a team’s resurgence.
I have a temporary solution to our 1B problem….let’s bring Andy Phillips up to start at 1B and demote Basak, then move Cairo back to utility IF. Phillips combines the defense of Cairo (not quite as good but he’s pretty close) and the offensive production of Phelps (again, might not be quite as good with the bat as Phelps, but its close). At any rate he should certainly give us better offensive production than Cairo without being a liability in the field.
I know he’s struggled up here before, but he’s hittng .320 in AAA with some modest power. Seems to the best comprpomise between Phelps’ bat and Cairo’s defense.
I agree with Phillips being a better solution for right now. Cairo has done his job, most definately, but he’s no an every day player. I am the antithesis of a Phelps fan and I’ve always liked Andy Phillips, so I am a bit bias on the subject, but in my opinion bringing Phillips up and playing the hot hand between him and Cairo would be the best solution for the present moment.
What? Cairo has been great, why mess with that by bringing up ANDY PHILLIPS of all people?
Because a .627 OPS – when you are “hot” – is not great – despite what Micheal Kay, John Sterling, Suzie W. or even our own loveable Peter A. will tell you. He’s been “hot” in the field, but Phillips’ defense is close to par with Cairo’s….and he will absolutely be an offensive upgrade over Cairo.
Andy Phillips is a joke. He is not a substantial improvement on Cairo. His career OPS is 657, and it would be a lot lower if he hadn’t had three good weeks at the plate in 2006. He had a great June last year. He, Shane Spencer, and Kevin Maas can tell their kids about the fun times they had raking at Yankee Stadium. But those three weeks obscure the fact that he really, really sucks.
Outside of June, here are his 2006 numbers:
.203/.257/.305
a whopping OPS of 562. That’s pathetic. And it’s in line with his career stats.
Miguel Cairo’s career OPS is 674. That’s pretty bad.
Andy Phillips’s career OPS entering this year is 879. In the minors. And he’s 30 years old, so he’s not getting any better.
Josh Phelps has a career OPS of 809. He’s a comically bad defender. But he should get a few more regular ABs.
Andy Phillips should gets lots and lots and lots of ABs. In Scranton.
Nobody is saying Andy Phillips is going to tear it up if he gets the call, but you can’t honestly say that he won’t be a better hitter that Cairo. His major league numbers are over an extraordinarily small sample size…based on how he’s hit this seaon in Scranton his ML equivalent OPS is much higher than Cairo’s career numbers.
Our best option at 1B right now is probably Phelps, but if Torre is so afraid of his defense that he simply won’t play him than Phillips becomes the best of a bunch of bad options we have right now…pending any trades.